washington report on middle east affairs july 2010

THE MULTIPLE LESSONS OF FAISAL SHAHZADTHE MULTIPLE LESSONS OF FAISAL SHAHZAD

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On Middle East AffairsVolume XXIX, No. 5 July 2010

Telling the Truth for 28 Years…Interpreting the Middle East for North Americans ■ Interpreting North America for the Middle East

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

8 Obama Sends a Warning to Israel—But With No “Or Else”—Rachelle Marshall

11 The Multiple Lessons of Faisal Shahzad—Patrick Seale

12 Should the U.S. Impose a Middle East PeacePlan?—Two Views

—Amjad Atallah, Rami G. Khouri

14 Is a Two-State Solution Still Possible?—Two Views—John J. Mearsheimer, Uri Avnery

17 Dr. Strangelove, Made in Israel—Philip Giraldi

20 A Third U.S. Speaking Tour, as Israeli WarplanesDrop Leaflets and Missiles on Gaza

—Mohammed Omer

22 Rumors of War—Patrick Seale

23 The Next 9/11—Made in Israel?—Maidhc Ó Cathail

24 Sanctioning Iran Is an Act of War—Rep. Ron Paul

25 With Few Exceptions, Obedient CongressContinues to Do AIPAC’s Bidding—Shirl McArthur

27 Although Leaving Office, Rep. Brian Baird Vows toContinue to Fight for Justice—Delinda C. Hanley

28 New York State Capital Takes Stand Against Pre-Emptive Prosecution of Muslims—Stephen Downs, Esq.

31 Hypocrisy on the March—From the U.S. and Israelto France and Morocco—Ian Williams

36 A New Wind Blows in Egypt—Rannie Amiri

38 Malaysian Opposition Leader Anwar Ibrahim PlaysThe Israel Card—John Gee

70 Kuwaiti Dogs Looking for Loving Homes inWashington, DC—Michael Keating

ON THE COVER: In Ramallah, a Palestinian girl with a picture of a relative held in an Israeli jail takes part in theannual Prisoner Day commemoration, held in solidarity with the more than 7,000 Palestinians imprisoned by Israel,April 17, 2010—the day after a Palestinian died in his Israeli prison cell. The Arabic writing on the girl’s face reads,“Freedom to the prisoners.” AFP PHOTO/ABBAS MOMANI

SPECIAL REPORTS

KHALIL BENDIB

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5 LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

7 PUBLISHERS’ PAGE

33 OTHER PEOPLE’S MAIL

35 THE WORLD LOOKS AT THE

MIDDLE EAST — CARTOONS

40 NORTHERN CALIFORNIA

CHRONICLE: San Francisco

Police Chief Apologizes for

Offensive Comments on

Afghans, Yemenis

—Elaine Pasquini

42 SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA

CHRONICLE: John Ging Head-

lines KinderUSA Program,

Corries, Richard Falk at

Rebuilding Alliance

—Pat and Samir Twair

44 NEW YORK CITY AND TRI-STATE NEWS: Bill Fletcher, Jr.Discusses Settler States and thePalestinian Gandhi—Jane Adas

47 ISRAEL AND JUDAISM:“Delegitimization” of Israel: The New Buzzword of Pro-Israel Activism—Allan C. Brownfeld

50 ARAB-AMERICAN ACTIVISM:U.N. AmbassadorRice Addresses AAI’s 25th Anniversary Party

51 HUMAN RIGHTS: Craig andCindy Corrie Meet With Supporters in Iowa

52 MUSIC & ARTS:Celebrating Syrian Culture, Ancient and Modern

54 MUSLIM-AMERICAN ACTIVISM: Keynote Speech byIslamic Scholar Tariq Ramadan

56 WAGING PEACE:Independent Media in theMiddle East: Challenges and Opportunities

65 DIPLOMATIC DOINGS:A Conversation With the Jordanian Ambassador

66 BOOK REVIEWS:Yemen: Dancing on the HeadsOf Snakes—Reviewed by Adam Chamy

67 NEW ARRIVALS FROM THEAET BOOK CLUB

68 BULLETIN BOARD

69 2010 AET CHOIR OF ANGELS

24 INDEX TO ADVERTISERS

Papering the War Against Iran,Philip Giraldi, www.antiwar.com OV-1

Obama’s Nuclear Weapons Conference Fatally Flawed Before It Began, William Pfaff, www.antiwar.com OV-3

The Palestinians Are WinningThe Legitimacy War: Will It Matter?, Richard Falk, www.redress.cc OV-4

Sly Maneuver,Editorial, Arab News OV-5

Why There Are No “Israelis” in The Jewish State, Jonathan Cook,www.dissidentvoice.org OV-6

Labeling NGOs, Choking Gaza,Jasmin Ramsey, Le Monde diplomatique OV-7

A Chill in San Francisco,Alan Snitow and Deborah Kaufman, The Forward OV-8

The Ongoing Torture of Syed Fahad Hashmi,Bill Quigley, www.counterpunch.com OV-9

License to Kill?,David Cole, The Nation OV-10

U.S. War-Fighting Numbers to Knock Your Socks Off,Tom Engelhardt, TomDispatch.com OV-11

The Puppet Tries to Cut His Strings,Eric Margolis, www.ericmargolis.com OV-13

Ignorance of Afghan SocietyLed to Botched Raids,Gareth Porter, Inter Press Service (IPS) OV-14

Bringing Compassion to the Middle East, Karen Armstrong, www.huffingtonpost.com OV-15

Other VoicesOther Voices(A Supplement to the Washington Report on Middle East Affairs available by sub-scription at $15 per year. To subscribe, call toll-free 1-800-368-5788, and press 1.For other options, see page OV-3 in this issue.)

Compiled by Janet McMahon

DEPARTMENTS

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Pinpointing the ProblemThe problem? Iran is not the problem.Mahmoud Ahmadinejad is not the prob-lem. The mullahs are not the problem. TheRevolutionary Guard is not the problem.Nuclear weapons are the problem. And Is-rael, not Iran, has ‘em. If the pro-con Zion-ist shills would use their influence work-ing toward a nuclear-free Middle East, thatcould help solve the problem—both forIran and Israel (not to mention Uncle Sam).Paul Richards, Salem, ORUnfortunately, Israel not only doesn’t want

a nuclear-free Middle East, it also doesn’tsubscribe to the Cold War—but historicallysuccessful—doctrine of nuclear de-terrence. Instead it insists on beingthe region’s only nuclear power so itcan continue to act with impunity.

Bad for One, Bad for AllAfter reading Allan Brownfeld’s“Rising Extremism—and Rac -ism—in Israel Ignored by Ameri-can Jewish Organizations,” (April2010 Washington Report, p. 38)and “Rabbinic Text or Call to Ter-ror?” (April “Other Voices” sup-plement) my blood boils. To quoteDr. Chaim Herzog, one-time Israeli ambas-sador to the U.N., “If terror is bad, it is badfor everyone, on every occasion. It is badwhatever race, color, and creed of the ter-rorist. It is bad whatever race, color, orcreed of the victim.”Howard S. Yee, Minneapolis, MNWe suspect that the late Dr. Herzog’s

words are rarely cited in Israel thesedays—but that he and Dr. Richard Gold-stone share the same values.

Rounded UpYour magazine has served us, your readers,well by publishing Katherine Hughes’ re-view of Rounded Up: Artificial Terroristsand Muslim Entrapment After 9/11, byShamshad Ahmed (see May/June 2010Washington Report, p. 62). I urge your sub-scribers to read this book [available fromthe AET Book Club].There are many similar cases, many un-

known to most people, even well-read civilrights activists. I was shocked when I firstheard of Dr. Rafil Dhafir’s case (seeMay/June 2007 Washington Report, p. 12).Convicted of an act of charity (sending aidto Iraq during the period of sanctions), hewas treated as a terrorist by the media andelected officials.

MacGregor Eddy, Salinas, CA, chair, Dr.Dhafir Support Committee, <www.dhafirtrial.net>We can only console ourselves with the

fact that so many Americans like you areworking tirelessly to right these wrongs. Oneof those Americans is Steve Downs, whosearticle on p. 28 of this issue discusses localand national initiatives against the pre-emp-tive prosecutions of Muslims in America.

From a Friend…to an AngelI was introduced by a friend to your pub-lication. Although I have been in the USAsince 1958, I had never heard of it.

Anyhow, I am so impressed by the kindof work and publication you are providingthat I would like to get reports in the futureand to show a token of my appreciation bysending a check for $1,000. Please send methe necessary required acknowledgement.Dr. M.T. Amirana, Las Vegas, NVWe welcome you to our Choir of Angels

and are most grateful for your generous con-tribution. We shall put it to good use by,among other things, continuing to keep trackof pro-Israel PAC contributions to your con-gresswoman, Rep. Shelley Berkeley (D-NV)—who, with a career total of $309,555,has received more than any of her House col-leagues. We have no doubt that, when we up-date the 2010 race in our next issue, her totalwill be even higher.

Support for Peace—or for Israel?Enclosed is our check from the LouVinFoundation to the American EducationalTrust Library Endowment. We are hopeful that our president will

muster enough courage to force Israel toend its brutal occupation of the Palestini-ans at the top of his “To-Do” list. He couldeasily do this by reporting the true costs toAmerican people, not just in taxpayermoney, but by the sacrifice of American

Publisher: ANDREW I. KILLGOREExecutive Editor: RICHARD H. CURTISSManaging Editor: JANET McMAHON

News Editor: DELINDA C. HANLEYBook Club Director: ADAM CHAMY

Circulation Director: ANNE O’ROURKEArt Director: RALPH U. SCHERER

Editorial Assistant: ANDREW BLAKELY

Washington Report on Middle East Affairs (ISSN 8755-4917) is published 9 times ayear, monthly except Jan./Feb., May/June andSept./Oct. combined, at 1902 18th St., NW, Wash-ington, DC 20009-1707. Tel. (202) 939-6050. Sub-scription prices (United States and possessions):one year, $29; two years, $55; three years, $75. ForCanadian and Mexican subscriptions, $35 per year;for other foreign subscriptions, $70 per year. Periodicals, postage paid at Washington, DC andadditional mailing offices. POSTMASTER: Sendaddress changes to Washington Report onMiddle East Affairs, P.O. Box 53062, Washington,DC 20009-9062.

Published by theAmerican Educational Trust(AET), a non-profit foundation incorporated inWash-ington, DC by retired U.S. foreign service officers toprovide the American public with balanced and ac-curate information concerning U.S. relations withMiddle Eastern states.AET’s Foreign Policy Commit-tee has included former U.S. ambassadors, govern-ment officials, and members of Con gress, includingthe late Demo cratic Sen. J.William Fulbright, and Re-publican Sen. Charles Percy, both former chairmen ofthe Senate Foreign Relations Committee. Membersof AET’s Board of Directors and advisory committeesreceive 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 dis-pute, it endorses U.N. Security Council Resolution242’s land-for-peace formula, supported by sevensuccessive U.S. presidents. In general, it supportsMiddle East solutions which it judges to be consis-tent with the charter of the United Nations and traditional American support for human rights, self-determination, and fair play.

Material from the Washington Report may bereprinted without charge with attribution to Wash-ington Report on Middle East Affairs. Bylined mate-rial must also be attributed to the author. This re-lease does not apply to photo graphs, cartoons orreprints from other publications.Indexed by Ebsco Information Services,Info Trac, LexisNexis, Public Affairs Informa-tion Service, Index to Jewish Periodicals,Ethnic NewsWatch, Periodica Islamica.

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http://www.middleeastbooks.comSubscriptions, sample copies and donations:

P.O. Box 53062, Washington, DC 20009-9062Printed in the USA

LetterstotheEditor

JULY 2010 5THE WASHINGTON REPORT ON MIDDLE EAST AFFAIRS

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6 JULY 2010THE WASHINGTON REPORT ON MIDDLE EAST AFFAIRS

men and women. While Americans arebeing killed, our so-called “friend andally” is building more and more settle-ments on Palestinian lands which our gov-ernment officially says is illegal.Last year, Christian Century magazine

listed the 10 most peaceful nations in theworld. We called to find out the source oftheir information and were given the Website. Of the 144 nations listed, Israel wasthe 141st least peaceful. And we give them$10 million every day!Thank you for your tireless efforts for

peace.Vince and Louis Larsen, Billings, MT After nearly three decades of publishing

the Washington Report, we believe we fi-nally are seeing a shift in Americans’ under-standing of the nature of Zionist Israel andits cost to this country and the world. With-out the continuing support of angels like youand everyone who has helped us over theyears, we may not have made it to this day.We thank you most sincerely.

A Different PlanetYesterday author and journalist ReeseEhrlich spoke here (very good!), and dur-ing the question period I asked very deli-cately if it wouldn’t help if the U.S. cut offall aid to Israel until Israel returned to its1967 borders. Many in the audienceclapped, and when Reese Ehrlich agreedwholeheartedly, they practically cheered.Not one person objected out of about 100residents. We’re on a different planet!Rachelle Marshall, Mill Valley, CAWe recently heard author and scholar Nor-

man Finkelstein say that at a recent appear-ance at Brooklyn College—where he firsttaught, in the face of vitriolic hostility fromthe campus Hillel organization—he had to

beg Hillel members to challenge the facts ofhis presentation. This now being a differentplanet, as you say, Finkelstein begged in vain.

Talks Are CheapThank you for transmitting to your ActionAlert list the article, “To achieve Mideastpeace, Obama must make a bold Mideasttrip,” by Zbigniew Brzezinski and StephenSolarz, Washington Post, April 11, 2010.However, I’m “underwhelmed” by the

authors’ opinions who, despite their cre-dentials, seem very naive. What is neededto resolve the issue is not “talks” betweenthe victims and their oppressors, but insis-tence (backed up by real intentions of ap-plying sanctions and withholding Ameri-can taxpayers’ funds if Israel does not com-ply) that Israel implement all United Na-tions resolutions, starting with 242 and338, and dismantle all their illegal colonies. Talks have gone on for 60 years or so,

and all they have done is buy Israel a lot oftime to take hold of all the land; and theirleaders have openly stated on many occa-sions that they are happy to talk foreverand keep taking Palestinians’ lands. (Youdon’t have to trust me, just trust your owneyes: e.g., East Jerusalem.) So, unless Pres-ident Obama is ready to withhold ourmoney and military “aid” to Israel, he willachieve nothing. The Israelis are anapartheid state and continue to thumb theirnoses at international law because they can! These authors, Mr. Brezinski and Mr.

Stephen Solarz (who, if the latter is thesame person, as a congressman was an un-questioning supporter of all dastardly Is-raeli policies before he was finally voted outof office, and has no credibility on the sub-ject for me) apply a huge double standard.They are concerned for Israel’s “security,”

but not at all con-cerned aboutPalestinians’ secu-rity; whereas it isPalestinians whoare murdereddaily by Israelibullets and mis-siles, not the otherway around. Theauthors use thesame tired “bothsides”—when oneside has all thepower and theother has none. Their sugges-

tion for a demili-tarized Palestine isfine, as long as Is-

rael is also demilitarized. Every people hasthe right to freedom and to defend them-selves when their freedom has beenusurped. If you want to end resistance,stop the occupation. No Justice, No Peace! Laila P. via emailBrzezinski served as national security ad-

viser for President Jimmy Carter and is atrustee at the Center for Strategic and Inter-national Studies. Former New York Rep.Stephen Solarz—who, while in Congress,certainly was one of Israel’s most ardent ad-vocates—now is a member of the board ofthe International Crisis Group.

Bantustan Alert?I am disappointed that you consider theBrzezinski-Solarz op-ed, which is essentiallythe projection of a Palestinian Bantustan,worthy of an e-mail alert. It seems that youare endorsing such an outrageous proposal,which explicitly gives away the Palestinianright of return, preserves a racist Jewishstate, legitimizes illegal settlements in EastJerusalem and calls for a non-sovereign de-militarized Palestinian “state” with no con-trol of any of its borders (Israeli troops alongthe Jordan River?!?). This article is so nause-ating that it even talks of a “political cover”for the illegal and undemocratic Vichy-gov-ernment in Ramallah. If that was notenough, it endorses the normalization ofArab governments with Israel even BEFOREIsrael makes a single concession. Ziyaad Lunat, via e-mailPerhaps our admiration for Dr. Brzezinski

caused us to hope that his Zionist co-author—one of many who, like formerAIPAC head Thomas Dine, have not ceasedtheir albeit less visibile efforts to influenceU.S. policy on Israel’s behalf—realized thatthe train was about to leave the station with-out him. We are encouraged by the openingup of dialogue about how the U.S. can influ-ence Israel’s actions—although we suggesttreating it like the foreign country it is, andending Washington’s unconditional militaryand diplomatic support. In other words, theopinion was theirs, not ours.

Positive EnhancementYour magazine very positively enhancesmy “Peoples and Cultures of the MiddleEast” and “Violations of Human Rights”classes. Our college’s Palestine Club andAmnesty International Club also benefitgreatly from your articles.Thank you!Prof. A. A. Samad, New York, NYWe extend our regards to members of the

next generation, and thank you for educatingthem! ❑

Other Voices is an optional 16-page supplement available onlyto subscribers of the WashingtonReport on Middle East Affairs. Foran additional $15 per year (seepostcard insert for Wash ingtonRe port subscription rates),subscribers will receive OtherVoices bound into each issue oftheir Washington Report onMiddle East Affairs.Back issues of both publica-

tions are avail able. To subscribe telephone 1 (800) 368-5788(press 1), fax (202) 265-4574, e-mail <[email protected]>,or write to P.O. Box 53062, Washington, DC 20009.

lte_5-6_July 2010 LTE 5/13/10 3:29 PM

Publishers’ Page Publishers’ PageThis Page Has Moved...From the back of the bus to the front, so tospeak—something, we might add, that the20 percent of Israeli citizens who are Arabs(compared to 13 percent of African-Ameri-cans in this country) have yet to be allowedto do. We have every confidence, however,that…

They Shall Overcome.Judging by its actions, we’re quite sureIsrael increasingly fears that this very out-come—which, after all, means no more orless than equal justice for all—may come topass. In the face of nonviolent resistance inthe tradition of Gandhi and Dr. MartinLuther King, Israel is arresting more andmore leaders in such West Bank towns asBil’in, firing tear gas at, and sometimeskilling, demonstrators against its illegalWest Bank wall. Apparently it’s not evenenough to be Jewish, as Israel has bannedsuch Jewish Americans as Norman Finkel-stein and Adam Shapiro from entering. Thereal criterion, apparently, is that…

One Has to Be a Zionist.Both Finkelstein and Shapiro are allowedinto Gaza, however. The former traveledthere in June 2009, following Israel’s mur-derous “Operation Cast Lead,” while thelatter is setting sail May 24 as part of theFree Gaza Movement’s international flotillabringing much-needed humanitarian aid tothe besieged Mediterranean prison. Israel,by contrast, seems to be on a…

Deportation Roll.On April 13 Israel announced a new mili-tary order defining as an “infiltrator”anyone stopped in the West Bank without aWest Bank ID—including Palestinian resi-dents of Jerusalem, citizens of countries(such as the U.S.) with friendly ties to Israel,as well as Israeli citizens, whether Arab orJewish. The order affects Gazans living orattending school in the West Bank, Jordani-ans married to West Bankers, expatriatesworking with NGOs, and Jerusalemitesworking in the West Bank, who will beforced to decide whether the city or its sub-urbs are their “center of life.” The secondsuch deportee, 19-year-old Fadi al-Azazmeh,is pictured on the following page as heawaits his forced return to Gaza. (We suspectManhattanites working in the Bronx—likeNew York Yankees star Alex Rodriguez, for

example—would not stand for that.) Butthen perhaps he, like Israel, has…

No Sense of Humor…As evidenced by the fact that, after interro-gating him for six hours on April 26, Israeldenied entry to Spain’s most famous clown,Ivan Prado, “for security reasons.” Prado,director of the International Clown Festivalin Galicia, had planned to go to Ramallah tohelp organize a similar festival. Prado atleast remains a free man, however, unlikethe heroic…

Whistleblower Mordechai Vanunu.On May 11 the Israeli Supreme Court ruledthat Vanunu, 56, who served 18 years inprison for revealing information aboutIsrael’s nuclear program, must serve an ad-ditional three months for meeting a foreignnational. The Christian convert has beenprohibited from leaving the Jewish state orcommunicating with foreigners, restrictionsimposed on him by the military upon hisrelease from prison in April 2004.

Ambassador for Which Country?Former Australian and U.S. Ambassador toIsrael Martin S. Indyk, currently director ofthe Brookings Institution’s Saban Center forMiddle East Policy, commenting on Presi-dent Barack Obama’s outreach to theMuslim world and Jewish Americans, ad-vised the president that his “real charm of-fensive needs to take place in Israel. Iwould accept it was a charm offensive if hecaught a plane and went over there, whichhe needs to do. He’s lost the Israeli public.If he were to go over there and explain tothe Israeli public, it would be hugely ben-eficial to his objectives.” Never mind theobjectives of 300 million Americans.

U.S. Senator or Knesset Member?Meanwhile, in the Israeli-occupied terri-tory otherwise known as Capitol Hill, Sen.Joe Lieberman (I-CT) proposed a new lawthat could strip Americans of their citizen-ship if they’re involved with foreign terror-ist organizations as defined by the State De-partment. (Perhaps the senator doesn’trealize that among those organizations sodefined are the Jewish Kach and KahaneChai.) But we know the senator caresdeeply about the citizens of a certain for-eign country. As he explained to a radio in-terviewer, “You know, my name….comes

from the word shomer, guardian, watcher.My ancestors were guardians of the ghettowall in Chortkov. And I believe Hashem(God) actually gave me that name. One ofmy roles, very important in the UnitedStates Senate, is to be a shomer—to be theshomer Yisrael. And I will continue to bethat with…

“Every Bone in my Body.”Meanwhile, an anonymous Israel-firster inthe Senate has put a hold on the nomina-tion of Robert Ford to become the first U.S.ambassador to Syria in four years, after Is-raeli President Shimon Peres on April 12 ac-cused Syria of transferring Scud missiles toHezbollah. It was Peres, of course, who, ina desperate attempt to actually win electionas prime minister, launched the deadly1996 attack on the U.N. peacekeeping out-post in Qana, Lebanon, killing more than100 civilians who were taking refuge therefrom Israeli bombardment. And, just as inthe case of “Operation Cast Lead” againstGaza, it was Washington that gave Israelthe money and weapons to carry out thatearlier massacre—courtesy of Americantaxpayers…

Whether They Like It or Not.

New and Improved—and Temporar-ily Free—Web Site Upgrade

A digital, flip-page copy of the WashingtonReport may actually reach your computermailbox before it arrives at your door. Takea look at the new feature—free for the Julyissue—and pass it along to your friends.You’ll have the opportunity to subscribe tothe new Internet version of the Washing-ton Report on our Web site or when you re-spond to our upcoming biannual donationappeal (hint, hint). While the digital issuewill never replace the paper magazine—wehope!—it should appeal to both new sub-scribers around the world who prefer read-ing their news online, and thousands ofreaders who visit our Web site, <www.wrmea.org>, in search of older articles.(Some of our cybervisitors are not evenaware that we publish an internationalmagazine!) Please help us continue to pro-vide you with news you need so that to-gether, we can …

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American Educational Trust


publishers_7 5/13/10 4:45 PM

The message President Barack Obamadelivered at his April 13 press confer-

ence was crystal clear: The White Houseno longer regards Israel as a vital strategically but as a hindrance to U.S. policy in theMiddle East. Experts have argued for fourdecades that Washington’s unstinting sup-port for Israel and its ongoing occupationof Palestine undermines U.S. relations withArabs and Muslims worldwide, but it tookthe military to convince a sitting presidentthat a change in policy was necessary.

National Security Adviser Gen. James L.Jones said in a speech last year that endingthe Palestinian-Israeli conflict was essentialto easing tensions in the region. Gen.

David H. Petraeus, head of the U.S. CentralCommand, went further this March whenhe told the Senate Armed Service Commit-tee that America’s perceived favoritism forIsrael created a hostile environment in theregion for U.S. troops and made it easier foral-Qaeda and other militant groups to mo-bilize support.

Petraeus’ implicit message, that Ameri-can soldiers were imperiled by the U.S. al-liance with Israel, was backed by Lt. Gen.Keith Dayton, who oversees the training ofPalestinian security forces in Jordan. Day-ton said that in searching Iraqi army bar-racks after the 2003 U.S. invasion he foundnumerous copies of a drawing of the al-Aqsa mosque in Jerusalem. Surroundingthe dome was a serpent labeled “Israel.”

Obama in his press conference linked thestalled Middle East peace process to thesafety of Americans, saying such conflicts

“are costing us significantly in terms ofboth blood and treasure.” It was an unmis-takable warning to Israeli Prime MinisterBinyamin Netanyahu that Israel’s stallingtactics are detrimental to U.S. interests. Butwarnings are meaningless if they carry nopenalty, and there is not likely to be one ifObama listens to the advice of his MiddleEast adviser, recent pro-Israel lobbyistDennis Ross, and waits for Israel and thePalestinians to come to a mutual agreement.

The Israelis are in no hurry to do so, ofcourse. Instead of introducing the confi-dence-building measures Obama has re-quested, such as easing travel restrictionsand freeing more Palestinian prisoners, Is-rael has done its best to provoke Palestin-ian anger. All seven members of Ne-tanyahu’s inner cabinet announced pub-licly in late March that there would be norestrictions on Jewish housing in any part

Obama Sends a Warning to Israel—ButWith No “Or Else”By Rachelle Marshall

Rachelle Marshall is a free-lance editor liv-ing in Mill Valley, CA. A member of A Jew-ish Voice for Peace, she writes frequently onthe Middle East.


SpecialReportSpecialReport

Fadi al-Azazmeh (r), 19, sits in a tent at the Erez crossing between Israel and the northern Gaza Strip, April 28, 2010 after Israel deportedhim from the occupied West Bank to Gaza, where he had not set foot in more than 10 years. Azazmeh was the second West Bank residentto be deported as an “infiltrator” under a recent Israeli military order.

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of Jerusalem, and no further concessions tothe Palestinians of any kind. Foreign Min-ister Avigdor Lieberman called concessions“pointless;” another senior cabinet mem-ber, Benny Begin, said concessions wouldonly “bring about a hardening in the pol-icy of the Arabs.”

Disregarding such statements, Obamapressed both sides to begin “indirect”peace talks at which Israeli and Palestiniannegotiators would talk to a mediator butnot to each other. Palestinian PresidentMahmoud Abbas, who had insisted thatIsrael freeze settlement building in EastJerusalem before he would resume negoti-ations, agreed to take part in the talks afterNetanyahu quietly assured Obama’s specialMiddle East envoy George J. Mitchell thatsuch construction would halt. Jerusalem’smayor, Nir Barkat, quickly came back withthe opposite message, however. “There isno freeze,” he declared during a visit toWashington on April 28. Barkat has theauthority to approve building projects inJerusalem without informing Netanyahu.

Seldom mentioned in the controversy isthat such projects are a clear violation ofinternational law. Jerusalem had the statusof an international city when Israel cap-tured and annexed it in 1967. The Israelisthen extended the city’s boundaries to takein a stretch of the West Bank containingseveral Palestinians villages. The U.N. andmost of the world today regard these an-nexations as illegal. Israel has neverthelessproceeded to destroy Palestinian homes inJerusalem to make way for Jews and,thanks to Washington’s use of the veto, hasavoided U.N. sanctions.

How long Netanyahu’s promised haltwill last is anyone’s guess. Despite his an-nouncement last November of a 10-monthfreeze in the West Bank, more constructionis underway today than a year ago, muchof it financed by American contributors.Housing starts in the last three months of2009 were up by almost a third over thesame period in 2008. Israel also has vio-lated its pledge to dismantle the “unautho-rized” settlements that began as ram-shackle trailers set up on private Palestin-ian land and today are thriving settlementswith electricity, water, and paved roadssupplied by the Housing Ministry.

Such settlements are likely to remain.With ultra-religious Israeli nationalists get-ting a disproportionate share of govern-ment spending on education, more andmore Israeli youths are being indoctrinatedearly, and are pledging at their inductioninto the army not to take part in any evac-uation of settlers from the West Bank.Many of the 18-year-olds are graduates ofreligious prep schools where they learn the

West Bank is sacred Jewish land. Israel ratcheted up tensions even further

on April 13, when it imposed a new rulethat could result in the expulsion of thou-sands of Palestinians from the West Bank.The measure that went into effect on April13 extends a 1969 military order aimed at“infiltrators” from Arab countries to nowinclude anyone without an Israel residencepermit. A person “without the right pa-perwork,” according a military spokesman,can be deported without a hearing, or sub-ject to a seven-year prison term.

The chief victims are likely to be law-abiding families in which one spouse isfrom Gaza, or from abroad, and the otherfrom the West Bank. Such couples may nolonger live together, which means thatwives and husbands must separate, andparents must often leave their children.Since neither the permit nor the require-ments for obtaining one were specified, theIsraelis can also use the order to get rid ofanyone they don’t like, including interna-tional peace activists, foreigners consideredcritical of Israel, and Palestinian advocatesof nonviolent resistance.

The latter already are treated as crimi-nals. On March 28, after Palm SundayMass at Bethlehem’s Church of the Nativ-ity, a group of Israelis, Palestinians and in-ternational peace activists marched peace-fully to an Israeli checkpoint to protest re-strictions on Palestinians’ right to worshipin Jerusalem. On the way they were at-tacked by Israeli police, and 15 were ar-rested, including Ahmad Al Azzeh andMarwan Farjah, who are leading advocatesof nonviolence. On April 24, marchers cel-ebrating the fifth anniversary of protests atthe Bi’lin wall were met as they ap-proached the wall by Israeli soldiers firingtear gas, sound grenades and smokebombs. Many of the participants were se-riously wounded, including Emad Rezqa,who suffered a fractured skull. Many morewere arrested.

Israelis who speak out against crimesagainst the Palestinians are vilified, androutinely called “traitors.” A bill currentlybefore the Knesset that has a strong chanceof passing would outlaw any Israeli orga-nization that provides information abroadagainst government officials or military of-ficers accused of war crimes. Ten Israelihuman rights groups said the bill would“reduce [democracy] to ashes.” AnatKamm, a young journalist who gave toHaaretz documentary accounts of illegalkillings by the army that she had obtainedduring her miltary service, currently isawaiting trial on charges of “aggravated es-pionage.”

Justice Richard Goldstone, who oversaw

a U.N. report detailing war crimes commit-ted by Israel and Hamas in Gaza last year,is widely condemned by right-wing Is-raelis as “a traitor” and was temporarilybarred from attending his grandson’s BarMitzvah in South Africa.

While Hamas has carefully avoided ac-tions that would provoke Israeli retaliation,Gazans who protest peacefully against Is-rael’s rule against farming within severalhundred yards of the border are routinelyfired on if they come too close. Severaldemonstrators were seriously wounded inApril, and two were killed. Five morePalestinians died on April 28 while tryingto smuggle desperately needed fuel intoGaza through a tunnel from Egypt. WhenEgypt blew up an adjoining tunnel theflames spread and ignited the fuel.

A Timely AccusationIn suggesting that continuing support forIsrael has a detrimental effect on U.S. secu-rity interests, Obama and Petraeus weremainly referring to Israel’s long-standingoccupation. A day after Obama deliveredthis message, however, Israel laid anotherland mine under the administration’s Mid-dle East policy by charging that Syria wasproviding Hezbollah with Scud missilesthat could reach Tel Aviv.

The accusation came just as the Senate ispreparing to vote on the confirmation ofRobert Ford, the career diplomat whomObama has nominated to be the first U.S.ambassador to Syria in five years. Syriaand Lebanon denied that Scud missiles hadbeen sent to Hezbollah, and U.S. officialshave found no evidence that they were.The resumption of diplomatic relationswith Damascus is high on Obama’s agenda,but Israel’s latest accusation may give theIsrael lobby enough ammunition to scuttleFord’s nomination and see to it that Syriaremains isolated.

In keeping the threat of a potential at-tack on Israel alive, Netanyahu continuesto follow the playbook provided him byRichard Perle and Douglas Feith in 1996 atthe start of his first term as prime minister.The two pro-Israel hawks who advisedPresident George W. Bush to invade Iraqhad five years earlier urged Netanyahu toput peace with the Palestinians on theback burner, and aim instead at establish-ing a Hashemite regime in Iraq and“seiz[ing] the strategic initiative along [Is-rael’s] northern borders by engagingHezbollah, Syria, and Iran.”

There is no evidence that the Iranians aredeveloping a nuclear weapon or intend to,but the repeated assertion that Iran posesan “existential threat” to Israel serves torally support inside Israel for the Ne-

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tanyahu government and enable pro-Israelzealots in the U.S. to divert attention fromIsrael’s crimes against the Palestinians. Theemphasis on Iran as a nuclear threat alsoprevents Obama from mending U.S. rela-tions with Arab nations urging that theMiddle East become a nuclear-free zone.

Israel’s image as a small nation sur-rounded by enemies, diligently promotedby its supporters, forces Washington intothe role of hypocrite as it turns a blind eyeto Israel’s nuclear arsenal. Obama has madestrengthening the Non-Proliferation Treatya key principle of his nuclear strategy, butEgypt and other Arab nations refuse tosupport stricter inspections until Israelsigns the treaty. “To be able to deal withthe Iranian issue, you have to deal with thenuclear capabilities of Israel,” pointed outEgypt’s U.N. Ambassador Maged A. Abdu-

laziz. Iran’s President Mahmoud Ah-madinejad was a prominent figure at theconference of 189 nations held in NewYork in May to discuss reducing nucleararms. The Israelis were notably absent.

A recent BBC poll showed Israel to beamong the least favored nations in theworld, along with Iran, North Korea, andPakistan. The results reflect the stark truththat others are aware of but Americans areled to ignore: that Israel is depriving threemillion Palestinians of their most basicrights and has created in Gaza a giantprison in which everyone down to thesmallest infant is made to suffer.

An editorial in Haaretz followingObama’s April 13 press conference referredto the fact that U.S. friendship and support“are vital to [Israel’s] existence.” If so, thenObama has the means to effect a change in

Israel’s policy, including a cut-off of U.S.aid, an end to tax exemption for contribu-tions to settlement construction, and anend to use of the veto at the U.N. SecurityCouncil to protect Israel from the imposi-tion of international sanctions.

The testimony provided by his generalshas provided Obama with the incentive toend an unhealthy relationship that has al-lowed Israel to damage American interestswith impunity. Moderate Israelis andPalestinians, along with most of the world,have long supported a Middle East peaceagreement that provides for a Palestinianstate in the West Bank and Gaza, with con-trol over its own borders and a capital inEast Jerusalem. Obama has the power toimpose such a solution and end a conflictthat could have ended years ago—if hewould only use it. ❑

10 JULY 2010 THE WASHINGTON REPORT ON MIDDLE EAST AFFAIRS

The hope that U.S. troops will leave behind a newly elected govern-ment when they withdraw from Iraq later this year is being rapidlyeroded by Iraqi President Nuri Kamal al-Maliki, who is using everymeans at his disposal to undo the results of the March 7 election.Early in the campaign al-Maliki’s police threw hundreds of prominentSunnis into prison. Once the campaign was underway a governmentelection commission with dubious authority eliminated 500 Sunnicandidates from the ballot, claiming they were Ba’athists sympatheticto Saddam Hussain.

After Al-Maliki’s party won two fewer seats than that of his closestrival, Ayad Allawi, the prime minister demanded a recount of votescast in Baghdad province, where he could count on the most votersupport. Several weeks later the election commission, backed by athree-judge court, disqualified 52 more Sunni candidates, includingseven who had won seats. The court, like the election commission,claimed those disqualified were supporters of Saddam Hussain. Alawihas responded by calling for new elections.

The delays in announcing final election results and the political vac-uum that has resulted caused a resurgence of violence, including awave of bombings on April 23 that killed 67 people in Baghdad. Thevolatile situation could pose a dilemma for Obama, who intends toremove all combat troops from Iraq this summer and shift many ofthem to Afghanistan.

Tensions increased even further in late April, when U.S. officialsand Iraq’s human rights minister disclosed the existence of secretprisons holding hundreds of Sunni prisoners, many of whom weresystematically tortured, according to reports documented by HumanRights Watch. Al-Maliki responded by calling the reports “lies,” and atthe same time pointing to Abu Ghraib. The secret prisons were con-trolled by the Baghdad Operations Command, which, like the eliteCounterterrorism Task Force, was created by the prime minister andis accountable directly to him. Al-Maliki answers charges of humanrights abuse by echoing former President Bush and asserting that ascommander-in-chief he has the right to take whatever steps he thinksnecessary to defend his country.

In Afghanistan the U.S. is at odds with President Hamid Karzai,whose feelings were ruffled by accusations that his reelection wastainted by fraud. He in turn accused Washington of obstructing hisefforts to reach an agreement with the Taliban and complained thattoo many civilians were being killed by U.S. troops. Karzai met inMarch with leaders of three insurgent groups who said they wouldwork with the present Afghan government until new elections couldbe held, but only if all foreign troops agree to leave. Karzai called a

meeting of tribal heads in May to discuss reconciliation with the Tal-iban.

The U.S. and NATO have largely ignored Karzai’s peacemaking ef-forts and are proceeding with a large-scale offensive in Kandaharprovince aimed at delivering a crippling blow to the Taliban in itshome base. The Taliban must be sufficiently weakened, U.S. officialssay, before peace talks can begin. The stepped-up fighting has so farhad the opposite effect, however, and may end up strengthening theinsurgency. The city of Kandahar has become so dangerous that U.N.employees were evacuated or advised to leave. Night raids by U.S.and Afghan troops are killing more civilians, and many people saidthey are more afraid of NATO checkpoints and convoys than of Tal-iban bombs.

Villagers also complain that men working in the fields are humili-ated when helicopters swoop down on farmers and hover close tothe ground while the crew demands that they take off their clothesand hold up their arms to prove they are not armed. In late April anangry mob burned 12 NATO fuel trucks in retaliation for allied mili-tary operations.

NATO members stipulated at their April meeting that a compe-tent Afghan police force and a reliable Afghan government must be inplace before allied troops can withdraw from the country. Neithergoal is anywhere in sight. According to a report in the March 20 issueof Newsweek, the $6 billion-a-year effort by the U.S. to train Afghanpolice has been “a disaster.” Too many recruits are illiterate andundisciplined, and those on the job are often guilty of extortion, as-sault, and rape.

The Afghan government is no more popular. “The first thingAfghans fear is the coming of more foreign troops, and the secondthing they fear is the empowering of the current leadership and ad-ministration,” said Shahabuddin Akhunzada, a tribal elder in Kanda-har. A similar sentiment was expressed by Hajji Muhammed Ehsan, amember of Kandahar’s provincial council, who concluded, “The onlyway out of this conflict is to talk with the opposition, bring them intothe system and give them an equal portion.”

After nine years of war, and as the number of U.S. deaths reacheda total of 1,037, the Pentagon released a report on the last sixmonths in Afghanistan that portrays a spreading insurgency, a gov-ernment with little credibility, and a nonexistent judiciary. The Tal-iban, after its alleged defeat by U.S. forces in Marjah last winter, hasgradually retaken control of that province. “The Taliban are every-where,” a tribal elder in Marjah said. —R.M.

Unreliable Allies Thwart Obama’s War Plans

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How to explain the case of FaisalShahzad, the young Pakistani-Ameri-

can who attempted to blow up a car in NewYork’s Times Square on May 3? He had amaster’s degree in business administrationand had worked for various American com-panies, including the cosmetics firm Eliza-beth Arden. His wife, Huma Mian, born inColorado, had a degree in accountancy.

His father, Bahar ul-Haq, was a retiredhigh-ranking Pakistani air force pilot. Herfather, Mohammad Asif Mian, had earnedtwo master’s degrees from the ColoradoSchool of Mines and was the author of fourbooks.

To all appearances, Faisal and Huma werepart of Pakistan’s expatriate elite. Theycame from solidly middle-class families,were American citizens, had two small chil-dren, and seemed fully integrated intoAmerican life. But evidently they werenot—or at least had decided, in recentmonths, that they were not.

Many explanations have been suggestedfor Faisal Shahzad’s attempt in May tostrike a blow at America, his adopted coun-try. The family seem to have had financialdifficulties, victims like so many others ofthe economic crisis. Their house was repos-sessed and they moved into rented accom-modation. That may have been the start ofit. As a Muslim, Faisal may also have beenradicalized by the online lectures of Anwaral-Awlaki, a Yemeni-American clericknown for his harsh criticism of America’swar against Islamic militants in Yemen andelsewhere.

The most likely explanation is that FaisalShahzad was outraged by the campaignwhich the Pakistani army—under intenseAmerican pressure—has been wagingagainst militant groups in the tribal areas ofnorthwest Pakistan, flanking Afghanistan.Faisal is said to have traveled to Pakistan 13times in the past seven years, and to havevisited the tribal areas. He would have seenat first hand the terrible impact NATO’sAfghan war has had on Pakistan.

America’s drone attacks against Talibantargets in the tribal areas have aroused par-ticular fury, as well as fierce anti-Americanfeeling, because of the civilian casualtiesthey have caused and because they are seenas intolerable infringements of Pakistan’ssovereignty. The Pakistan army has beenwidely criticized for fighting what is seenas America’s war. Faisal may well have cometo think that the drone attacks had to beavenged.

His case offers a classic example of theway South Asian tensions have been im-ported into the United States (and perhapsinto the United Kingdom as well, as wasseen by the 2007 attacks on the LondonUnderground). Pakistan lies at the heart ofthese tensions—and has done so since thepartition of the subcontinent in 1947.

Pakistan and India have fought four warssince then—in 1948-49, 1965, 1971 and1979—but the immediate cause of tensionbetween them is the proxy war they arenow fighting over Afghanistan. America’swar against the Taliban has thus beengrafted onto the longer-lasting and deeperIndo-Pakistan conflict.

To fight India in Kashmir, the ISI, Pak-istan’s military intelligence service, set upand maintained close ties over the yearswith jihadi groups, whose role was to bleedand destabilize India. When the Soviets in-vaded Afghanistan in the 1980s, these Is-

lamic militants were mobilized to fightthem, before turning their guns on theAmericans when, after 9/11, they in turninvaded the country to overthrow the Tal-iban—who had, in fact, been put in powerby Pakistan in 1996.

In its conflict with India, Pakistan seesAfghanistan as its “strategic depth.” ForPakistan, jihadi groups in Afghanistan,such as the Taliban, are important becauseit believes it will need them to keep India’sgrowing influence at bay, once the UnitedStates and its NATO allies depart—as theymust one day. The Taliban are in fact Pak-istan’s potential allies. For this reason, inspite of American urging, the Pakistanarmy has been extremely reluctant to fightthe Afghan Taliban, even when they crossthe border to find shelter in Pakistan’s tribalareas. The Haqqani network, for example,operates on both sides of the porous bor-der.

Jihadi groups, believed to have beentrained and armed by shadowy elements inPakistan, have mounted numerous attacksagainst India in the last decade, of whichthe most spectacular was the November2008 terrorist attack on Mumbai that killedmore than 160 people. Arriving by boat,the commando group attacked a train sta-tion, two hotels, a Jewish center and a bar.In May the lone survivor of the group was

SpecialReportSpecialReportThe Multiple Lessons of Faisal ShahzadBy Patrick Seale

In Peshawar, Pakistan, a policeman sits in the back of a pick-up truck as a donkey-pulledcart passes in front of the locked residence of Pakistani-American Faisal Shahzad, May 5,2010, following Shahzad’s arrest in New York for an attempted car bombing in Times Square.

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Patrick Seale is a leading British writer onthe Middle East. His latest book is TheStruggle for Arab Independence: Riad el-Solh and the Makers of the Modern Mid-dle East (Cambridge University Press).Copyright © 2010 Patrick Seale. Distributedby Agence Global.


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Obama Just Won’t Give Up onPeace, Dammit!By Amjad Atallah

The Washington Post and The New YorkTimes are both running stories that

seem to indicate President Obama remainsabsolutely committed to seeing an end tothe Israeli-Arab conflict, and not necessar-ily in the half-step of a borders-first strat-egy or an “economic peace.” Both pieces re-count a recent meeting of former nationalsecurity advisers hosted by current Na-tional Security Adviser Gen. Jim Jones.President Obama popped in on the March24 meeting and the group ended up dis-cussing what was obviously considered thegreatest priority among the group—resolv-

ing the Israeli-Arab dispute.David Ignatius’ piece [in the Post] points

out that the White House is “consideringdetailed interagency talks to frame thestrategy and form a political consensus forit.” Ignatius quotes an unnamed official ad-mitting, “[i]ncrementalism hasn’t worked.”Helene Cooper’s piece in The New YorkTimes further notes that Colin Powellchimed into the conversation rightly re-minding the president that he would needto have his next steps planned out whenthe parties balked at the terms of an Amer-ican presented peace plan, or I might add,when they present their “14 reservations”as former Israeli Prime Minister ArielSharon did with President Bush’s ill-fated2003 road map.What the conversation taking place in

the White House shows is that the presi-dent is still being Obama. He has alwaysbeen an idealist, but not an ideologue,pushing through his ideas very pragmati-cally. For a progressive watching his cam-

paign and his administration, there havebeen a lot of flashbacks to growing up as aChicago Bulls fan: lots of emotional ups anddowns, expecting a win, wishing the teamwould play harder, wondering whyMichael Jordan wasn’t playing for thatmatter, and rejoicing when MJ finally de-cided to get in there and win the game.When some in his administration, and

certainly in the Democratic Party, wantedto cut tail and run after the Massachusettselections, the president issued new march-ing orders and went in for the win, deter-mined to get some version of health carereform through. Now, perhaps the samething is happening with peace for Israeland the region.The administration seems to fall into

three categories: there are those who wishto maintain the status quo, those who areafraid of the political capital that will in-evitably need to be spent before peace canbe had, and those who probably lack ideasof how to make this happen—but it seemsthat Jones and others never gave up on thenecessity of ending this conflict. Now thepresident is once again pushing forwardjust when the Israelis are settled into theirown version of the old Arab “three no’s.”Before all the Arab states formally ac-

cepted in 2002 to normalize relations withIsrael once the latter ended the occupationof Arab territory, they were famously tiedto the slogan “no peace with Israel, norecognition of Israel, and no negotiationswith Israel.” Today, Israeli Prime MinisterBinyamin Netanyahu has his own version:no to a halt in settlements, no to a sharedJerusalem, and no to a withdrawal of Is-raeli troops from Palestinian territory.You can expect neoconservatives who

support a continuation of the status quo topaint any consideration by the administra-tion of how to finally end this conflict as“undue pressure” on Israel. Instead, theywill argue for the “waiting for Godot”strategy of waiting for Israelis and Pales-tinians to come to an agreement entirely ontheir own. They will shout and scream thatefforts to make peace by ending the occu-pation are an outrage and threat to Israel.The opposite is true. The president deals

with Iraq, Iran, Afghanistan, Pakistan,Yemen, and the rest of the Middle Eastevery day. He has looked and seen the

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Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu at a May 12 Jerusalem Day ceremony marking the43rd anniversary of Israel’s capture of the city’s Arab eastern half. Addressing the ceremony, hevowed that construction of Jewish settlements would continue unabated in all of Jerusalem.

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abyss. He knows what lies in store forIsrael and for the United States if the statusquo continues. In the last month, GeneralPetraeus, Admiral Mullen, and Secretary ofDefense Gates have all emphasized in oneway or another that the U.S.-led resolutionof the Israeli-Arab conflict would improveAmerica’s ability to deal with all its MiddleEast challenges, including those with Iran.The president knows good (if obvious)advice when he hears it, and he’s idealisticand visionary enough to believe in a futurewhere Israelis and Palestinians and Arabsare at peace and where the U.S. isn’t con-stantly picking at this sore.For Palestinians, it will no doubt be frus-

trating that the American imperative for asolution comes not primarily from a con-cern about Palestinian rights or overarch-ing themes of justice, but from a cold-hearted calculation as to what is in Israel’sand America’s best interests. Any U.S.-pre-sented peace parameters will no doubt re-flect this. Without a Palestinian nationalmovement embodied in an ANC-like orga-nization, the Palestinian ability to mobilizeinternational and American support for arights-based approach remains limited.Ask other oppressed groups who are noteven on the radar screen of American or Is-raeli interests.For Israelis and American Jews who

want normalcy and security, there must bea desire for President Obama to succeed.Recent polls reinforce this. To those con-vinced of the benefits of eternal war, thepresident’s promise of peace must seemthreatening.The problem this administration has

always faced has been matching the presi-dent’s idealism and vision with practicaltactical steps. Undoubtedly, as with anyadministration, there are kinks to workout. But the first step remains the presi-dent’s leadership. And he hasn’t been will-ing to surrender that to those enamoredwith the current mess.

An American Middle EastPeace PlanBy Rami G. Khouri

The Obama administration is indicatingthat it may offer its own version of a

reasonable Palestinian-Israeli peace plan, ifthe parties themselves cannot agree to start

the U.S.-mediated “proximity talks.” Thismay be useful, but it must be carefullythought out—much more carefully than allother American-organized Middle Eastpeace moves in the past generation.One of the ironies in seeking a negoti-

ated Arab-Israeli peace agreement is thatonly the Americans seem capable of play-ing the mediator’s role, but also that theAmericans are woefully unqualified to doso, to judge by their own legacy. Otherthan the Jimmy Carter-mediated CampDavid agreements in 1978 and the disen-gagement accords negotiated by HenryKissinger in the mid-1970s, major Ameri-can-mediated peace efforts have been a re-curring failure. (Consequently, manypeople question why someone like StateDepartment Ambassador Dennis Ross con-tinues to hold important positions relatedto Middle East policy, when his trackrecord is defined by colossal failure.)My advice to the U.S. government if it

offers a blueprint for Arab-Israeli peace:Review all the failed mediating efforts ofthe past 30 years, and chart a new strategythat avoids repeating all the mistakes of thepast. This could include the following princi-

ples:1. Do not offer an “American plan” for

Arab-Israeli peace, but instead use the vastAmerican experience and inside knowledgeof recent mediations to forge a united inter-national position that would have a muchbetter chance of being accepted and negoti-ated. An unambiguous major lesson of thisgeneration is that Arabs and Israelis alike(along with Turks, Iranians and others) rou-tinely defy and actively resist the UnitedStates when it operates unilaterally.2. So, this is the time to bury the derelict

“Quartet” and come up with a new mech-anism that brings together the key interna-tional parties who will be needed to pushall the parties toward agreement on a com-prehensive peace. Russia, the EuropeanUnion, China, Turkey, Switzerland,Norway, Canada, Japan, and India strikeme as parties that should be involved inthis process from the start.3. The United Nations must be the neu-

tral mechanism within which multinationaldiplomacy takes place—not a subordinateto Israeli-dictated American foreign policyas it has been in the Quartet. U.N. resolu-tions remain the only common referencepoints for a legitimate peace agreement.The Organization of the Islamic Confer-ence, OECD and NATO also can be used toprovide wider frameworks within whichthe parties might feel comfortable negoti-ating seriously.

4. All recent American-mediated negotia-tions have failed for two main reasons, I be-lieve: the United States has not been an im-partial mediator but usually has tiltedwildly towards the Israeli position on keyissues, and, a permanent peace was soughtthrough incremental advances via “confi-dence-building measures.” Any chance ofsuccess today, therefore, requires a moreeven-handed American position (we may beseeing some novel signs of this with theObama position), and peace-making propos-als that directly, substantively and quicklyaddress the core demands of both sides.5. These core demands are: The Palestini-

ans need recognition of the role of Israeland its pre-state Zionist groups in generat-ing their exile and refugeehood in 1947-48;resolution of this problem through imple-menting international law and U.N. resolu-tions on refugee compensation, restitution,return, resettlement and other options, ina negotiated manner acceptable to and re-specting the bottom line needs of bothsides; and, ending the occupation of 1967and the creation of a viable and truly sov-ereign Palestinian state. The Israelis needto receive formal, unambiguous recogni-tion of their existence as a Jewish-majoritystate in the region that is fully accepted byall other states; formal affirmation of theend of conflict and the end of all Arabclaims against Israel; security guaranteesfor Israel as for all other states; and,normal, open relations with all states in theregion. Most American-mediated peace ef-forts have sought to achieve these goals asthe final point of a negotiating process,without success. It is time to place theseissues as the starting point of a diplomaticprocess, making it clear what an agreementwill offer.6. Finally, any plan proposed by the

United States and the international com-munity that hopes to have a chance of suc-cess must be anchored firmly in the dic-tates of international law and legitimacy,not in the current power balance or the do-mestic political pressures of Israel or an Is-raeli-manipulated American Congress.These are tough conditions. But success-

ful peace-making is a tough business thatrequires serious men and women who op-erate according to a combination of politi-cal realism, even-handed persistence, inde-pendence of action, and moral and legallegitimacy. American mediators havelargely lacked those qualities for over ageneration. They should try to regain thembefore they venture out again on thetreacherous stage of Arab-Israeli diplomacythat more often discredits rather than val-idates the work of American diplomats. ❑


Rami G. Khouri is editor-at-large of The DailyStar, and director of the Issam Fares Institutefor Public Policy and International Affairs atthe American University of Beirut, in Beirut,Lebanon. Copyright © 2010 Rami G. Khouri.Distributed by Agence Global.

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Israel’s Fated Bleak FutureBy John J. Mearsheimer

President Barack Obama has finallycoaxed Israel and the Palestinians back

to the negotiating table. He and mostAmericans hope that the talks will lead tothe creation of a Palestinian state in Gazaand theWest Bank. Regrettably, that is notgoing to happen. Instead, those territoriesare almost certain to be incorporated intoa “Greater Israel,” which will then be anapartheid state bearing a marked resem-blance to white-ruled South Africa.There are four possible futures regardingIsrael and the occupied territories. The out-come that gets the most attention is thetwo-state solution, where a Palestinianstate would control 95 percent or more oftheWest Bank and all of Gaza, and territo-

rial swaps would compensate the Palestini-ans for those small pieces of theWest Bankthat Israel would keep. East Jerusalemwould be its capital.The alternatives to a two-state solutionall involve creating a Greater Israel—anIsrael that effectively controls Gaza and theWest Bank. In the first scenario, it wouldbecome a democratic binational state inwhich Palestinians and Jews enjoy equalpolitical rights. This solution would meanabandoning the original Zionist vision of aJewish state, since Palestinians wouldeventually outnumber Jews.Israel could also expel most of the Pales-tinians from Greater Israel, preserving itsJewish character through ethnic cleansing.Something similar happened in 1948,when the Zionists drove 700,000 Palestini-ans out of the territory that became Israel.The final alternative is some form ofapartheid, whereby Israel increases its con-trol over the occupied territories, butallows the Palestinians to exercise limitedautonomy in a set of disconnected and eco-nomically crippled enclaves.The two-state solution is the best ofthese alternatives, but most Israelis are op-

posed to making the sacrifices that wouldbe necessary to create a viable Palestinianstate. There are about 480,000 settlers inthe occupied territories and an extensiveinfrastructure of connector and bypassroads, not to mention the settlementsthemselves. A Hebrew University TrumanInstitute poll in March of West Bank set-tlers found that 21 percent believe that “allmeans must be employed to resist the evac-uation of most West Bank settlements, in-cluding the use of arms.” They needn’tworry, however, because Israeli PrimeMinister Binyamin Netanyahu is commit-ted to expanding the settlements through-out the occupied territories.Of course, there are prominent Israelislike former ForeignMinisterTzipi Livni andformer PrimeMinister Ehud Olmert who dofavor a two-state solution. But that does notmean that they would be willing or able tomake the concessions necessary to create alegitimate Palestinian state. Olmert did notdo so when he was prime minister, and it isunlikely that he or Livni could get enoughof their fellow citizens to back a genuinetwo-state solution. The political center ofgravity in Israel has shifted sharply to the

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A Palestinian imam stands inside a mosque set afire a few days earlier in the West Bank village of Lubban Ash-Sharquiy, south of Nablus, May7, 2010.

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right over the past decade, and there is nosizable pro-peace political party or move-ment they could turn to for help.Some advocates of a two-state solution

believe the Obama administration cancompel Israel to accept a two-state out-come. The United States, after all, is themost powerful country in the world andshould have great leverage over Israel, be-cause it gives the Jewish state so muchdiplomatic and material support.But no American president can pressure

Israel to change its policies toward thePalestinians. The main reason is the Israellobby, a powerful coalition of AmericanJews and Christian evangelicals that has aprofound influence on U.S. Middle Eastpolicy. Alan Dershowitz was spot on whenhe said, “My generation of Jews…becamepart of what is perhaps the most effectivelobbying and fund-raising effort in the his-tory of democracy.”Consider that every American president

since 1967 has opposed settlement build-ing, yet none has been able to get Israel tostop building them. There is little evidencethat Obama is different from his predeces-sors. Shortly after taking office, he de-manded that Israel stop all settlementbuilding in the occupied territories. Ne-tanyahu refused and Obama caved in tohim. The president recently made it clearthat he wants Israel to stop building inEast Jerusalem. In response, Netanyahusaid that Israel would never stop buildingthere, because it is an integral part of theJewish state. Obama, under pressure fromthe lobby, has remained silent and cer-tainly has not threatened to punish Israel.The best Obama can hope for is to push

forward the so-called peace process, butmost people understand that these negoti-ations are a charade. The two sides willengage in endless talks while Israel contin-ues to colonize Palestinian lands. The likelyresult, therefore, will be a Greater Israel be-tween the Jordan River and the Mediter-ranean Sea.But who will live there and what kind of

political system will it have?It will not be a democratic binational

state, at least not in the near future. Thevast majority of Israel’s Jews have no inter-est in living in a state dominated by Pales-tinians. Ethnic cleansing would guaranteethat Greater Israel retains a Jewish major-ity, but that murderous strategy would doenormous damage to Israel’s moral fabric,to its relationship with Jews in the Dias-pora, and to its international standing. Nogenuine friend of Israel could support thiscrime against humanity.The most likely outcome is that Greater

Israel will become a full-fledged apartheidstate. There are already separate laws, sep-arate roads and separate housing in the oc-cupied territories, and the Palestinians areessentially confined to impoverished en-claves. Indeed, two former Israeli primeministers—Ehud Barak and Olmert—havemade just this point. Olmert said that if thetwo-state solution collapses, Israel will facea “South African-style struggle.” He wentso far as to argue, “as soon as that happens,the state of Israel is finished.”Olmert is correct. A Jewish apartheid

state is not sustainable over the long term.The discrimination and repression that un-derpin apartheid are antithetical to coreWestern values. How could anyone make amoral case for it in the United States,where democracy is venerated and segre-gation and racism are routinely con-demned? It is equally hard to imagine theUnited States having a “special relation-ship” with an apartheid state. It is mucheasier to imagine Americans strongly op-posing that racist state’s political systemand working hard to change it. Anapartheid Israel would also be a strategicliability for the United States.This is why, in the end, Greater Israel

will become a democratic binational state,whose politics will be dominated by itsPalestinian citizens. This will mean the endof the Zionist dream.What is truly remarkable about this situ-

ation is that the lobby is effectively helpingIsrael destroy its own future as a Jewishstate. On top of that, there is an alternativeoutcome that would be relatively easy toachieve and is clearly in Israel’s best inter-ests: the two-state solution. It is hard to un-derstand why Israel and its American sup-porters are not working overtime to create aviable Palestinian state and why insteadthey are moving full-speed ahead to buildan apartheid state. It makes no sense fromeither a moral or a strategic perspective.

A FantasyBy Uri Avnery

IADMIRE Prof. John Mearsheimer. Hisrigorous logic. His lucid presentation.

His rare moral courage.I was very honored to host him and his

colleague, Prof. StephenWalt, in Tel Aviv,after their book about the Israel lobby inthe U.S. provoked a furor.And I don’t agree with his conclusions.On April 29, Professor Mearsheimer de-

livered an impressive lecture in Washing-ton, DC [summarized in his op-ed]. He pre-sented a profound analysis of the chancesof Israel surviving in the long term. EveryIsraeli who is concerned about the future ofhis state should grapple with this analysis.The professor does not hide his opinion

that the two-state solution is by far thebest. But he believes that it is “dead.”Greater Israel, ruling over all the territorybetween the Mediterranean Sea and theJordan River, already exists. It is anapartheid state that will steadily becomemore consolidated and more brutal—untilits collapse.This is a frightening prognosis. It is also

very logical. If current developments con-tinue in a straight line, this is exactly whatwill happen.But I do not believe in straight lines.

There are very few straight lines in nature,and there are no straight lines in the life ofnations and states.In the 86 years of my life, innumerable

unforeseen things have happened, and in-numerable expected things have not comeabout. The fate of nations is governed byunexpected factors. They are shaped byhuman beings, who are by nature unpre-dictable creatures.Who foresaw in 1928 that Adolf Hitler

would come to power in Germany?Who in1941 foresaw that the Red Army wouldstop the invincible Wehrmacht? Who in1939 foresaw the Holocaust? Who in 1945foresaw the creation of the State of Israel?Who in 1989 foresaw the collapse of theSoviet Union?Who foresaw, the day beforeit happened, the fall of the Berlin Wall?Who foresaw the Khomeini revolution?Who foresaw the election of a black U.S.president?Of course, one cannot build plans on the

unexpected. But it should be taken into ac-count. It is irrational to discount the irra-tional.I do not accept the professor’s judgment

that “most Israelis are opposed to makingthe sacrifices that would be necessary tocreate a viable Palestinian state.” As an Is-raeli living and fighting in Israel, I am con-vinced that the great majority of Israelisare ready to accept the necessary condi-tions, which are well-known to all: a Pales-tinian state with its capital in EastJerusalem, the 1967 borders with minimalland swaps, a mutually acceptable solutionfor the refugee problem.The real problem is that most Israelis do

not believe that peace is possible. Dozens ofyears of propaganda have convinced themthat “we have no partner for peace.” Eventson the ground (as seen through Israeli eyes)


Uri Avnery is a former member of the IsraeliKnesset and a founder of Gush Shalom(<www.gush-shalom.org>).


have confirmed this view. If this perceptionis dissolved, everything is possible.In this, President Obama could play a

big role. I believe that this is his real mis-sion: to prove that it is possible. That thereis a partner out there. That there is a guar-antee for the security of Israel. And—yes—that the alternative is frightening.Can the settlements be removed? Will

there ever be an Israeli government that willhave the guts to do so?Where is the leaderwho will undertake this Herculean task?The professor is right that “there is

nobody with that kind of standing in Is-raeli politics today.” And that “there is nosizable pro-peace party or movement.”Yet history shows that exceptional lead-

ers often appear when they are needed. Ihave seen in my own lifetime a failed andgenerally detested politician called Win-ston Churchill become a national hero.And a reactionary general called Charles deGaulle liberate Algeria. And a grey Com-munist apparatchik called Mikhail Gor-bachev dismantle a huge empire without adrop of blood being shed. And the electionof a guy called Barack Obama.I have also seen a brutal general called

Ariel Sharon, the father of the settlements,destroying a series of settlements. His inten-tions may be debatable, but the facts cannotbe disputed: he challenged the settlers’movement—which Professor Mearsheimerdescribes in all its fearful menace—andwoneasily. In face of the total opposition of thesettlers and their allies, he evacuated some20 settlements in the Gaza Strip and theWest Bank. Not a single military unit mu-tinied. Not a single person was killed or se-riously injured.Sure, there is a quantitative and qualita-

tive difference between Sharon’s “separa-tion” and that task in front of us. But it isa big mistake to view the “settlers” as amonolithic structure. They are split intoseveral different sectors—the inhabitantsof the East Jerusalem neighborhoods donot resemble the West Bank settlers, thebuyers of cheap apartments in Ariel andMa’ale Adumim do not resemble thezealots of Yitzhar and Tapuach, the Ortho-dox in Modi’in-Illit and Immanuel do notresemble the “Youth of the Hills.”If a peace agreement is achieved, it will

be necessary to approach the evacuationjob with determination, but also with fi-nesse. For the inhabitants of the EastJerusalem neighborhoods, a solution willbe found in the framework of the agree-ment about Jerusalem. A large number ofsettlers near the Green Line will remainwhere they are in the framework of a fairexchange of territory. Another large partwill return home, if they know that apart-ments are ready and waiting for them in

the Tel Aviv metropolitan area. For some ofthem there may be a possibility to find anaccommodation with the Palestinian gov-ernment. In the end, the hard core of Mes-sianic settlers will not give up easily. Theymay use arms. But a strong leader willstand the test, if the great majority of theIsraeli public support the peace agreement.The two-state solution is not the best so-

lution. It is the only solution.The alternative is not a democratic, secu-

lar binational state, because such a statewill not come into being. Neither peoplewants it.As the professor rightly maintains, in

the absence of peace, Israel will rule fromthe sea to the river. The present situationwill go on and become worse: the sover-eign State of Israel holding on to the occu-pied territories.Except for a tiny group of dreamers, who

can be gathered in a medium-sized room,there are no Israelis who dream of living ina binational state, in which the Arabs con-stitute the majority. If such a state cameinto being, Israeli Jews would just emi-grate. But it is much more plausible thatthe reverse would happen: the Palestinianswould emigrate long before that.Ethnic cleansing does not have to take

the form of a dramatic expulsion, as in1948. It can take place quietly, in a creep-ing process, when more and more Pales-tinians simply give up. That is the greatdream of the settlers and their partners: tomake life for the Palestinians so miserablethat they take their families and leave.Either way, life in this country will turn

into hell. Not for one year, but for dozensof years. Both sides will be violent. Theidea of Palestinian “nonviolent resistance”is a pipe-dream. The professor’s hope thatin the putative binational state, the Pales-tinians would not treat the Jews as theJews are treating them now has been dis-proved by the Jews themselves—the per-secution they have suffered throughout theages has not inoculated them against be-coming persecutors themselves.There is a gap in the professor’s analysis:

he does not explain how the violent Israeliapartheid state will “develop” into an idealbinational state. In his opinion, this willcome about “eventually,” after “someyears.” How many? And how?OK, there will be pressures. World

public opinion will turn against Israel. TheJews in the Diaspora will distance them-selves. But how will all this bring about abinational state?Any comparison with South Africa is

unsound. There is no real similarity be-tween the situation that prevailed thereand the situation that exists—or will existin the future—here. Except for some meth-

ods of persecution, all the circumstances,in all fields, are vastly different.(To mention just one: the apartheid

regime was finally brought down not byinternational pressure, but by the massiveand crippling strikes of the black workforce. In this country, the occupation au-thorities do everything to prevent Pales-tinians from coming to work in Israel.)In the end, it is a matter of logic: if inter-

national pressure does not succeed in con-vincing the Israelis to accept the two-statesolution, which does no harm to their na-tional identity, how will it compel them togive up everything they have—their state,their identity, their culture, their economy,all they have built in a huge endeavor of120 years?Is it not much more plausible to assume

that long before their state collapses underall the pressures, Israelis would embracethe two-state solution?I completely agree with the professor:

the main obstacle to peace is psychological.What is needed is a profound change ofperceptions, before the Israeli public canbe brought to recognize reality and acceptpeace, with all it entails.That is the main task facing the Israeli

peace camp: to change the basic percep-tions of the public. I am certain that this ispossible. We have already traveled a longroad from the days of “There are no Pales-tinians!” and “Jerusalem united for alleternity!” Professor Mearsheimer’s analy-sis may well contribute to this process.An apartheid state or a binational state?

Neither. But the free State of Palestine sideby side with the free State of Israel, in thecommon homeland. ❑

sentenced to death by an Indian court.Under intense American and interna-

tional pressure, Pakistan has in the pastyear finally mounted attacks on home-grown jihadi groups—such as the Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan, or TTP, who, angered atPakistan’s alliance with the United States,started to make war on the Pakistani state.In response, the Pakistan army has

mounted large-scale campaigns against TTPsanctuaries in Swat and South Waziristan,displacing hundreds of thousands of civil-ians and drivingTTP leaders to seek shelterin North Waziristan—an area Pakistanseems very reluctant to assault, since it har-bors many of its own jihadi allies.It may be in just such an area that Faisal

Shahzad picked up the rudiments ofbomb-making, as well as learning to hateAmerica. ❑


Faisal Shahzad…Continued from page 11


One would expect the Air Force’s topcivilian adviser to be someone who

has spent some time in the U.S. military orwho has a very particular education, orskill set that brings something special towhat is, after all, a very senior and sensitiveposition. Not so. Dr. Lani Kass, senior spe-cial assistant to the Chief of Staff of theUnited States Air Force Gen. Norton A.Schwartz, was born, raised, and educatedin Israel and then served in that country’smilitary, where she reached the rank ofmajor. She has a Ph.D. in Russian studiesbut advises Air Force generals on cyber-warfare, terrorism, and the Middle East. Dr. Lani Kass is married to Norman Kass,

a former Pentagon deputy assistant secre-tary of defense, and resides in McLean, Vir-ginia. She has been naturalized as a U.S. cit-izen and is presumably a dual national whonow holds both American and Israeli pass-ports. Her three children were all born in Is-rael. While it is perhaps not unusual forAmerican citizens to volunteer with the Is-rael Defense Forces, as White House Chief ofStaff Rahm Emanuel did in 1991, it wouldhave to be considered unprecedented for asenior Israeli military officer to obtain ahigh level position at the Pentagon. In fact,it is hard to imagine that anyone carryingout a security background investigationwould approve such a transition under anycircumstances, suggesting the possibilitythat Kass’ ascent to high office might havebeen aided or even godfathered by friendsin key positions who were able to overrideor circumvent normal procedures.Indeed, Kass appears to have close and

continuing ties to her country of birth, fre-quently spicing her public statements withcomments about life in Israel while parrot-ing simplistic views of the nature of the Is-lamic threat that might have been scriptedin Tel Aviv’s Foreign Ministry. Information has come to light on Kass

that heightens my concern about her highposition in the United States government’s

defense and security establishment. Ac-cording to a highly reliable source, Dr. LaniKass is now the principal adviser to Chair-man of the Joint Chiefs of Staff AdmiralMike Mullen regarding the Middle East.She recently was involved in a very impor-tant meeting—one that concerned Israel.

The meeting took place because of con-cerns that the United States has been losingthe “war of ideas” in the Muslim world. Atthe end of last year, Gen. David Petraeussent a special emissary out on a fact-findingmission to meet with the heads of state andtop military officers in all of the Muslimcountries considered to be friends or alliesof the U.S. for a frank exchange of views.The emissary, an Arabic speaker, learnedthat no country any longer trusts theUnited States because it is widely believedthat all American policies in the Near Eastregion are subject to veto by Israel. It wasalso commonly observed that Washingtonis complicit in the genocide against thePalestinians because of its failure to do any-thing to restrain Israel, making it extremelydifficult to rally popular support in anyMuslim country for U.S. policies. Petraeus was surprised by the unanimity

and emotion of the views that were confi-dentially expressed, and thought the issue

to be important enough to move it up thechain of command. In February, he met withAdmiral Mullen and briefed him on his find-ings [see May/June 2010 Washington Report,p. 11]. Mullen was accompanied only by Dr.Lani Kass, who was described to Petraeus ashis special assistant for the Middle East.Mullen expressed some dismay at the impli-cations of the findings, while Kass disputedPetraeus’ conclusions and said that the con-cerns being expressed were greatly exagger-ated. Petraeus nevertheless presented his re-port to the Senate Armed Services Commit-tee on March 17 together with his judgmentthat the failure to address the Palestinianissue was putting U.S. soldiers in danger be-cause it was inflaming anti-American senti-ment and giving groups like al-Qaeda an un-necessary propaganda victory.

You Can Take the Girl Out of Israel…Dr. Kass’ full first name is Ilana and hermaiden name is Dimant. She has a 1971B.A. in political science and Russian areastudies, summa cum laude, from the He-brew University of Jerusalem, and a 1976joint Ph.D. from the Kaplan School of theHebrew University and Columbia Univer-sity in international affairs. She apparentlymet her husband, Norman, at Columbia.Both she and her husband are fluent inRussian and Hebrew. After completing herPh.D., she served in the Israeli Air Force,achieving the rank of major. For those whoare unfamiliar with the military, the rankof major is a senior rank that normallywould be awarded to a career officer. Her first job in Washington was with the

Advanced International Studies Institute(AISI), a Washington, DC area-based thinktank. After being recommended by some-one at the Pentagon, she was hired for herRussian-language skills in an unclassifiedprogram funded by the Department of De-fense called Soviet Watch. Her fellow em-ployees understood that she was a formermajor in Israeli intelligence. Some monthsafter she departed AISI, one of her col-leagues received a call from a personnelmanager at the Industrial War College ask-ing to confirm Kass’s employment withAISI. The Industrial War College was, asthe name implies, an institute set up to co-ordinate industrial production with De-fense Department needs. Some of its workwas classified. Kass’ colleague told the


Dr. Strangelove, Made in IsraelBy Philip Giraldi

Israeli-born-and-raised Dr. Lani Kass, seniorspecial assistant to Air Force Chief of StaffGen. Norton Schwartz.

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Philip Giraldi, a former CIA officer, is a con-tributing editor to The American Conservativeand a fellow at the American Conservative De-fense Alliance. This article is a synthesis of twoof the author’s articles first posted on Anti-war.com, <www.antiwar.com>, April 15 and21, 2010. Copyright © Antiwar.com 2010. Allrights reserved. Reprinted with permission.


giraldi_17-18_Special Report 5/13/10 12:41 PM

caller that Kass was an intelligence officerwho thought of herself as an Israeli andadded that putting her in any position ofinfluence would be a bad idea.A few months later she moved on to Belt-

way bandit Booz Allen Hamilton’s RussianResearch Center, where she worked be-tween 1979 and 1981. Between 1985 and2005 she held the position of professor ofmilitary strategy and operations of the Na-tional War College. In 1992 Dr. Kass ob-tained a senior position at the Pentagon asspecial assistant to the director, StrategicPlans and Policy Directorate (J5). Dick Cheney was secretary of defense at thetime. She returned to the Pentagon underSecretary William Cohen and stayed onduring 2000–2001 as senior policy adviserand special assistant for strategic initiativesto the director, Strategic Plans and PolicyDirectorate (J5) under Donald Rumsfeld.Kass’ powerpoint demonstration “A

Warfighting Domain,” dated Sept. 26,2006, is more than a little Strangelovean inits language and appeal. It includes a maptaken from an obscure Jihadi Web siteshowing the entire world depicted as the“United States of Islam,” in which everyonewill have to follow shariahMuslim law, anddefines the “mission” as “to fly and fight inthe Air, Space, and Cyberspace.” Sheboasts, “as Airmen we are the nation’s pre-mier multi-dimensional maneuver force,with the agility, reach, speed, stealth, pay-load, precision, and persistence to deliverglobal effects at the speed of sound and thespeed of light.” Her objective? To “foster aforce of 21st century warriors, capable ofdelivering the full spectrum of kinetic andnon-kinetic, lethal and non-lethal effects inthe Air, Space, and Cyber domains.”In early November 2006, U.S. Air Force

officials formed the Air Force CyberspaceCommand that had the “authority tolaunch wars in cyberspace.” The commandwas reported to be “largely the brainchild

of Dr. Lani Kass, director of the Air ForceCyberspace Task Force.”In a speech at Mountain Home Air Force

Base in Idaho on July 9, 2007, Kass saidradical Muslims hate the Western worldbecause Europe took their dominant polit-ical position away and they want it back.She also compared all Americans to sheepand sheepdogs. The former keep theirheads down hoping that someone else willbe eaten by wolves—a.k.a. terrorists—while the latter fight back. Kass sees herselfas a sheepdog. For her Air Force audienceshe concluded that the long war against theIslamists will end “when they learn to lovetheir children more than they hate us,” acomment originally attributed to IsraeliPrime Minister Golda Meir.

A Two-Decade AscentFrom there and then to here and now hastaken more than 20 years, proceedingthrough a number of Defense Departmentpositions with ever-increasing responsibil-ity and access. It would not be out of placeto observe that if the report that Kass wastruly an intelligence officer for the IsraelDefense Forces is correct, the Departmentof Defense security screeners should haveerred on the side of caution based on thesupposition that she was still in touch withher former employers. She should neverhave been given a security clearance andprovided access to United States classifiedinformation in the first place, which againraises the issue of just if and how thor-oughly her background was actually in-vestigated. And it is also not unreasonable to stop

and consider whether Kass might well bean agent working for the Israeli govern-ment, which aggressively spies against theUnited States. She left Israel and began herjourney through the U.S. Defense Depart-ment in 1981, when Israeli spy JonathanPollard was still active. Israeli intelligencecertainly was then and is now capable ofwhat is referred to in intelligence jargon asa seeding operation, in which “a mole” isplaced in an innocuous position and ex-pected to rise higher, eventually obtainingaccess to top secret information and evensometimes winding up in a position inwhich it is possible to direct policy as a so-called agent of influence. Kass started herascent by working on Russia for AISI, fol-lowed by Booz Allen Hamilton, quite likelyfor completely innocent reasons, but alsopossibly because it was a non-threateningway to ease her entry into the world of gov-ernment contractors. In seeking to discover how she wound up

where she is now, it is fair to ask how ex-actly she obtained the positions that she hasheld with the Pentagon and who sponsoredher through the bureaucracy. How did shemanage to obtain a clearance in spite of theobvious red flags in her background? Inlight of legitimate security concerns, has shebeen polygraphed, what questions abouther relationship with her former countrywere asked, and what were her answers?Was any deception indicated? Has she beenre-polygraphed recently? This is not in-tended as harassment or as any accusationagainst Kass, but rather to determine if shehas been subject to normal and appropriatesecurity measures. CIA officers are, for ex-ample, required to undergo polygraphexams every five years and the questionsconcentrate on possible unreported rela-tionships with foreign governments.Critics note that while Kass is genuinely

an expert on Russia, she has little back-ground to qualify her as an authority on thecurrently fashionable cyberwarfare, whereshe has somehow turned herself into amajor spokesman through mastery of thenecessary buzzwords and talking points.Nor does she have any genuine expertise onthe Middle East or on terrorism to sharewith Mullen and others, apart from her ownIsraeli perspective. Her access to the high-est levels of the Air Force also raises thequestions of just what is she advising andwhat does she know? Does she support anair war against Iran, for example, and is sheactively promoting that option? Does sheknow how the Obama administration willreact if Tel Aviv tries to stage a unilateral at-tack on Iran? Such information would bepure gold for the Israeli government.There are indications that Dr. Kass is a

major player in shaping U.S. security pol-icy. She has been described as a “key par-ticipant” in the development of the na-tional strategy for combating terrorism, aswell as the national military strategic planfor the Global War on Terrorism. One might argue that Dr. Lani Kass is

just another Israel firster who has risen tohigh office in the U.S. government, not really unlike Dennis Ross, Paul Wolfowitz,Richard Perle, Elliott Abrams, and DouglasFeith. And that might well be true. But atthe same time, one must challenge thejudgment of those who enabled her rise toa position of great responsibility andpower, and there should be serious ques-tions about whether her bellicose andracially tinged viewpoint comes from ob-jective and honest analysis of the genuinechallenges confronting the United States orfrom her loyalty to her country of birth. ❑


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20 JULY 2010

Isincerely believe that international dia-logue among people is the pillar support-ing the bridge of mutual understanding. Asa champion of freedom of expression, theUnited States is where I have chosen to an-chor the pylons of perception and compre-hension necessary in building that bridge.So it was that I arrived inChicago on a sunny Aprilday to speak about my workand my reflections on lifeand war in the Gaza Stripduring the four-year-longsiege imposed by Israel on1.6 million Palestinians.I was somewhat sur-

prised to find myself in thisvibrant Midwest city, forjust seven days earlier itseemed I wouldn’t be al-lowed to enter the U.S., dueto an unexplained manda-tory hold on my visa appli-cation.Some of my American

sponsors had seriously con-sidered canceling my en-gagements, others decidedto broadcast my talk onSkype and video, when,after much pressure from thousands of peo-ple worldwide, the U.S. Consulate in Ams-terdam finally granted me entry.I remain amazed and grateful at the

amassing of support and resources on mybehalf. Many showed their care and con-cern by writing letters, leveraging Facebookand Twitter networks, and sending e-mailsprotesting the withholding of my visa.Those who helped coordinate my trip, in-cluding the University of Houston, the Uni-versity of New Mexico and Jewish Voicefor Peace, activated their networks. Thesupport of the Lannan Foundation was cru-cial in providing a platform where I couldaddress American citizens on the situationand experiences of a war correspondentfrom Gaza.Nevertheless, arriving at Chicago’s

O’Hare airport I was apprehensive. Giventhe difficulties in obtaining my visa, I ex-

pected to encounter some hurdles. To mysurprise, however, when I handed the cus-toms officer my brand-new Palestinianpassport (a treasure in itself), he treated mewith respect and genuine curiosity. “Ohyou are from that part of the world?” heasked.

Lowering his voice, he added in a serioustone, “How are we doing down there?”Without hesitation I replied, “Well, there

are two answers to that: the real answer andthe diplomatic. Which would you prefer tohear?”“The real answer,” he said. “You are a

journalist.”So I told him that things were “going

pretty badly, overall.”“Yes, I thought so,” he said, “but hope-

fully we can change that, and maybe yourspeaking tour will help, too. We need towork together and keep the faith.”Smiling, he stamped my passport and

handed it back, saying, “There you go, havea nice trip.”I couldn’t help compare this pleasant,

non-stressful welcome with my first trip tothe U.S., when the customs officer kept con-fusing Palestine with Pakistan!Each time I travel to the United States I

marvel at the beauty and diversity of its so-ciety. In Chicago I met with relatively liberalaudiences. In Texas, conservative. ReachingNew Mexico, my audiences were of mixed

views, with multicultural, multiethnicbackgrounds. Each state has its ownrhythm and unique feel, but with an un-derlying unity of purpose.At a discussion with author Ali

Abunimah, founder of the Electronic In-tifada (<www.electronicintifada.net>), at

Chicago’s Newberry Li-brary, sponsored by Hay-market Books, I could seethat Americans’ perceptionof the situation in Gaza ischanging. People are gettingthe message about occupiedPalestine through socialmedia such as Facebook,Twitter and YouTube andother nontraditional mediaoutletsAs a result, many who

attended my presentationsin Chicago, Houston, Albu-querque and Santa Fe werewell versed on the suffer-ing of the Palestinians. Still,reactions ran the gamut.Some in the audienceclearly were shocked andhorrified to learn what isactually going on in Gaza.

Others were angered that it is paid for bytheir tax dollars. Often this realiza-tion—that, as Americans, they are under-writing the carnage—comes as a revela-tion, especially to those who depend fortheir information on the mainstreammedia, which frequently omits or mini-mizes such facts or otherwise misinformsthe citizenry.One of the many e-mails and letters I re-

ceived from attendees came from a womanin Santa Fe, who wrote: “You are as real asanyone I have ever met or heard. I couldn’tsleep last night. I watched the sun come upand a deep chill was still upon my soul.”It is because of Americans such as my

Santa Fe correspondent that I conclude eachtour of the United States with a renewedsense of hope. Americans are good, kind-hearted people, I have learned, who, onceinformed, act in the interests of justice andcompassion—regardless of their political orreligious background. This tour, more thanany other, confirmed that thesis—althoughthe primary obstacle to the ending of thesiege and a lasting peace exists within my

AThirdU.S. Speaking Tour, as IsraeliWar-planes Drop Leaflets andMissiles onGazaBy Mohammed Omer

Award-winning journalist Mohammed Omerreports on the Gaza Strip, and maintains theWeb site <www.rafahtoday.org>. He can bereached at <[email protected]>.

Gazaon the GroundGazaon the Ground

The author being interviewed on “Democracy Now!”C

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RTESY

M.O

MER

omer_20-21:Gaza on the Ground 5/12/10 9:18 PM

chosen profession. This, too, becamepainfully clear on my tour.

The iPad and the Cheese FactoryAs Ali Abunimah and I were walking inChicago one evening, I saw a beautifulyoung woman camped outside the localApple store, hoping to be the first to buythe new iPad. What struck me as odd wasnot the fact that she was camping out wait-ing to purchase a product. It was the im-portance the U.S. media attached to thisevent.Her story not only was broadcast on all

the local TV and radio stations, but also ap-peared on Google, which featured a largenewspaper headline reading, “iPad Launch:Cheline Lundin, 25, First In Line InChicago; Hopes It Will Be ‘A Best Friend.’”At the same moment, back home in Gaza

City’s Al-Sabra neighborhood, an Israelimissile destroyed a dairy and cheese factory(the second such target), killing and injur-ing several people while eliminating yet an-other source of nourishment for the nearly900,000 children trapped behind walls inthe besieged Gaza Strip.The cheese factory was a small family-

owned business which supportedMotassemDalloul and his seven children. While not amulti-billion dollar corporation like Apple,its destruction had a far greater impact onDalloul’s family and the people of Gaza thancould the debut of an electronic device thatfacilitates reading and Tweeting.

From Apple to FoxWhile in Texas, just prior to my departurefor New Mexico, I was invited to appear on“Democracy Now” with Amy Goodman.Also appearing was Ayman Mohyedien, anAl Jazeera correspondent based in Gaza. To-gether we discussed the challenges journal-ists encounter reporting from the Gaza Strip.I have always had a high regard for

”Democracy Now!” and Al-Jazeera. It wasironic, then, that in the Green Roomwhere Iwaited the television was tuned to FoxNews. Even abroad, Fox’s reputation pre-ceded it, so my curiosity forced me to watch.I wanted to know what Fox News did toearn the scorn of so many, yet the strongloyalty of its disciples. I found its program-ming, coverage and analysis disturbinglydisappointing. It literally made me nau-seous, I reluctantly explained when Good-man and co-host Juan Gonzalez asked me.Fox’s major story that day focused on the

nicotine-addicted Qatari diplomat whofurtively attempted tto smoke a cigarette inan airplane bathroom, provoking airport se-curity. Fox actually sent reporters to the air-port and spent much air time dissecting theevent.

Meanwhile,WikiLeaks had released 2007film footage of American soldiers firing intoa Baghdad crowd from two Apache heli-copters, killing a Reuter’s cameraman, sev-eral civilians and two children in coldblood. The jovial banter from the cockpitmade the murders seem like a video game.That wasn’t news for Fox, how-ever—certainly not compared to an Arabdiplomat sneaking a cigarette on a plane.Indeed, with a few exceptions, American

media focus on superficial, non-stressfulentertainment, with sensationalism,celebrity and products promotion dis-guised as news. I’ve been told that this isbecause such programming garners higherratings. Yet this contradicts my own expe-rience, which is that Americans are starv-ing for facts, analysis and truth. They wantto know—and they know they need toknow. The fact that, of the United States’330 million residents, fewer than 5 millionrely on Fox for their news would seem toconfirm that.Thankfully, such alternative media as

Link TV and Free Speech TV, coupled withavailable foreign news networks, provideoutlets for unbiased journalism and inves-tigative reporting.

In Gaza, the Israeli Siege ContinuesArriving at the airport in Albuquerque,New Mexico, I finally spoke with friendsand family back in Gaza and asked themhow they were. Little had changed. Theywere without running water, again—thistime going on four days—and electricitywas limited and sporadic. They remainedcaged in Gaza, unable to leave for medicaltreatment and denied vital life-sustainingbasic necessities.Looking around the Albuquerque airport

I saw an abundance of food, water and sup-plies. As people waited only for departingflights or arriving passengers, they sippedlattes, thumbed through newspapers andtexted on smart phones. Meanwhile, 8,000miles away, an American-made warplane,captained by an Israeli pilot, droppedleaflets on Gaza warning of yet another pos-sible strike that, more than likely, won’tqualify for mention in America’s main-stream media.Why bother to warn, one might wonder.

For the Israeli government, the leaflets pro-vide cover: if any Gazans are killed orwounded, Israel can argue that, since theywere warned, it’s their own fault. Nevermind that Israel has sealed the borders ofGaza—and hence any possibility of escape.Fortunately, Americans seem to be wak-

ing up to the reality of Israel and Palestine,and I thank God I have had the privilege tobe part of that awakening. ❑


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omer_20-21:Gaza on the Ground 5/12/10 9:18 PM

There is no denying the mood of acuteanxiety in the Middle East: Many fear

that war could break out this summer. Thescenario most often evoked is that of an-other Israeli assault on Lebanon—an ex-panded version of the 2006 attack—whichthis time could grow into a wider conflict,dragging in Syria, and even Iran, as well.

Jordan’s King Abdullah has warned ofthe danger of a regional war, while theLebanese Druze leader Walid Jumblat hassaid that Israel was waiting for the rightconditions to attack the Arab world.

Certainly, Israeli leaders have not hesi-tated to stoke the fires of war. PresidentShimon Peres—Israel’s wolf in sheep’sclothing—heightened regional tensionsthis month by publicly accusing Syria ofdelivering SCUD missiles to Hezbollah in

Lebanon—an accusation so far unproved,but which has earned Syria a sharp rebukefrom Washington.

An unnamed Israeli minister was quotedby Britain’s Sunday Times as saying that, ifHezbollah dared to launch a missile at Is-rael, “we will return Syria to the StoneAge—crippling its power stations, ports,fuel storage and every bit of strategic in-frastructure.” So much for good-neigh-borly sentiments!

Peres has also issued a dark warning toIran of Israel’s military “capabilities”—drawing an expression of regret for sucharrogant belligerence from the left-leaningnewspaper Haaretz. Needless to say, PrimeMinister Binyamin Netanyahu, like Pereshimself, never misses an opportunity todemonize Iran, portraying the Islamic Re-public as a deadly threat, not only to Israelbut to the whole world. Netanyahu has re-peatedly hinted that, if the United Satesfailed to halt Iran’s nuclear program, Israelwould have to do the job itself.

Iran, meanwhile, has not been idle. Ithas sought to rally international opinionagainst the tougher sanctions the United

States is seeking to im-pose on it. It has alsodenounced as “nuclearterrorism” America’snew nuclear posture—which singled out Iranand North Korea as po-tential targets for nu-clear attack.

In April, Iran’s Revo-lutionary Guard Corpscarried out large-scalewar games in the Gulfand in the Strait of Hor-muz, including the test-ing of missiles, with thedeclared aim of “main-taining security for oilroutes”—a way of say-ing that the security ofthis vital region couldnot be left to an externalpower like the UnitedStates. Iran woulddearly like to see U.S.forces removed from itsimmediate vicinity.

Three Prime MotivesWhat lies behind Israel’s shrill war propa-ganda? There would seem to be at leastthree primemotives. First, by threatening itsneighbors with war, Binyamin Netanyahu’sright-wing government seems anxious toshift Washington’s attention away from theIsraeli-Palestinian peace process and towardan alleged threat from Iran, Syria andHezbollah. Israel has been disturbed by re-ports from Washington that U.S. PresidentBarack Obama, anxious to break the currentdeadlock, might publish his own peace planand seek to impose it on the parties.

This is Netanyahu’s greatest fear. He im-mediately rejected any form of an “im-posed” settlement, while dismissingObama’s call for a building freeze in ArabEast Jerusalem. Like the far-right membersof his ruling coalition, Netanyahu is aGreater Israel ideologue, totally opposed toPalestinian nationalism and to the emer-gence of a viable Palestinian state. He maywell calculate that a small war could weakenthe Arab camp and win time for Israel tocontinue its seizure of Palestinian territory.


Rumors of WarBy Patrick Seale

Residents of the southern Lebanese village of Abbassiyeh, some holding national flags, try to dismantle a barbedwire fence erected by Israel three days earlier in a “disputed” border area, April 16, 2010.

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Patrick Seale is a leading British writer onthe Middle East. His latest book is TheStruggle for Arab Independence: Riad el-Solh and the Makers of the Modern Mid-dle East (Cambridge University Press).Copyright © 2010 Patrick Seale. Distributedby Agence Global. Continued on page 26

seale_22_Special Report 5/13/10 12:43 PM

Citing the possibility of a terrorist orga-nization getting hold of a nuclear

weapon as the greatest threat to U.S. secu-rity, President Barack Obama persuaded 46other countries at the recent Nuclear Secu-rity Summit to agree to secure the world’sloose nuclear material. Those leaders whocame to Washington might have donemore to avert a nuclear attack, however, ifthey had asked the U.S. president to ac-count for America’s own loose nukes. Of course, President Obama may not

even be aware of the egregious failure ofthe United States to secure its nuclear ma-terials and know-how from the predationof its alleged “closest ally.” But sinceObama is unwilling to even “speculate”about which country in the Middle Easthas nuclear weapons, he could hardly beexpected to acknowledge how it got them. In a recent Antiwar.com article aptly ti-

tled “America’s Loose Nukes in Israel,”Grant F. Smith, director of the Institute forResearch: Middle Eastern Policy (IRmep)and author of Spy Trade: How Israel’sLobby Undermines America’s Economy(available from the AET Book Club), showshow “the U.S is a sieve for Israeli nuclearespionage.” The massive arms smuggling network

set up by David Ben-Gurion in the UnitedStates in the 1940s had acquired a nuclearbranch within a decade, according toSmith. The 1955 purchase of the ApolloSteel Company plant in Pennsylvania wasfinanced by David Lowenthal, a closefriend of Israel’s first prime minister and aformer member of the Haganah, the pre-cursor to the Israeli army. The followingyear, Dr. Zalman Shapiro, head of a localZionist Organization of America chapter,incorporated the Nuclear Materials andEquipment Corporation (NUMEC) atApollo. Before long, NUMEC was receivinglarge quantities of highly enriched ura-nium and plutonium from Westinghouseand the U.S. Navy for nuclear reprocessing. By the 1960s, the Atomic Energy Com-

mission (AEC) became suspicious of secu-

rity lapses at NUMEC, and even consid-ered suspending its “classified weaponswork.” A 1965 AEC audit discovered that220 pounds of highly enriched uraniumwere unaccounted for. The following yearthe FBI launched its own investigation,code named Project Divert, to monitorNUMEC’s management and its frequent Is-raeli visitors. Nevertheless, the diversion ofnuclear material to Israel continued un-abated. After a Sept. 10, 1968 visit by fourIsraelis, including Mossad agent Rafi Eitan,a further 587 pounds of highly enricheduranium went missing.

“The U.S is a sieve for Israeli nuclear espionage.”Israel’s nuclear espionage against theUnited States didn’t end with its accessionto the nuclear club in the 1960s, however.As former FBI translator Sibel Edmonds re-vealed, its smuggling network receivedcrucial assistance from three high-rankingofficials in the George W. Bush administra-tion. All three have close ties to Israel’s mil-itary-industrial complex. According to the FBI whistleblower,

Richard Perle and Douglas Feith providedMarc Grossman, the third highest-rankingofficial in the State Department, with a listof Defense Department employees with ac-cess to sensitive data, including nucleartechnology. The list also included highlysensitive personal details, such as sexualpreference, problems with gambling or al-coholism, and how much they owed ontheir mortgages. Grossman then passed onthe information to Israeli and Turkishagents, who used it to “hook” those Penta-gon officials. In addition, as Edmonds tes-tified in an Ohio court case, the foreign op-eratives had recruited people “on almostevery major nuclear facility in the UnitedStates.” After Israel and Turkey took what they

wanted from the pilfered secrets, theiragents offered what was left to the highestbidder. As Edmonds has told the SundayTimes, American Conservative and Mili-tary.com, nuclear information was sold onthe black market, where anyone—even al-Qaeda—could buy it.

So then, it would seem that those whoshout loudest about the threat of terror-ists—namely, neoconservatives like Perle,Feith and Grossman and their Israeli coun-terparts—are the very ones who are aidingthem, at least indirectly, to acquire thosemuch touted weapons of mass destruction. But why, one might reasonably ask,

would Israeli agents help their supposedenemies get hold of the bomb?

“Very Good” for IsraelConsider: what would be the likely out-come if Obama’s worst fears of a nuclear at-tack on the United States—or one of its al-lies—are realized? Regardless of the facts, some Islamic

country—most likely Iran or Pak-istan—would be blamed for aiding the ter-rorists. And it doesn’t require an advanceddegree in game theory to predict whatAmerica’s reaction would be. The retalia-tion would be so swift and devastatingthat the designated evildoers might envythe fate of post-invasion Iraqis—also vic-tims of an Israeli misdirection. If, as Binyamin Netanyahu admitted,

9/11 was “very good” for Israel, a nuclear9/11 might be even better. As the spell-binding effects of that traumatic eventnine years ago have begun to wear off, andwith Americans increasingly questioningthe costs of a one-sided alliance, it mayeven be considered necessary. ❑

SpecialReportSpecialReportThe Next 9/11—Made in Israel?By Maidhc Ó Cathail

Maidhc Ó Cathail is a widely publishedwriter based in Japan. To read more of hiswriting, visit <http://maidhcocathail.word-press.com>. A version of this article first ap-peared in the online Islam Times.


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cathail_23_July 2010 Template 5/13/10 12:44 PM

Irise in opposition to thismotion to instruct House

conferees on HR 2194, theComprehensive Iran Sanc-tions, Accountability andDivestment Act, and I rise instrong opposition again tothe underlying bill and to itsSenate version as well. I ob-ject to this entire push forwar on Iran, however it isdisguised. Listening to thedebate on the Floor on thismotion and the underlyingbill it feels as if we are backin 2002 all over again: thesame falsehoods and distor-tions used to push theUnited States into a disas-trous and unnecessary one-trillion-dollar war on Iraqare being trotted out againto lead us to what will likelybe an even more disastrousand costly war on Iran. Theparallels are astonishing.

We hear war advocatestoday on the Floor scare-mongering about reportsthat in one year Iran willhave missiles that can hit theUnited States. Where havewe heard this bombast before? Anyone re-member the claims that Iraqi drones weregoing to fly over the United States and at-tack us? These “drones” ended up beingpure propaganda—the U.N. chief weaponsinspector concluded in 2004 that there wasno evidence that Saddam Hussain had everdeveloped unpiloted drones for use onenemy targets. Of course by then the pro-pagandists had gotten their war, so thetruth did not matter much.

We hear war advocates on the Floortoday arguing that we cannot afford to sitaround and wait for Iran to detonate a nu-clear weapon. Where have we heard thisbefore? Anyone remember then-Secretaryof State Condoleezza Rice’s oft-repeatedquip about Iraq, that we cannot wait forthe smoking gun to appear as a mushroomcloud?

We need to see all this for what it is: Pro-paganda to speed us to war against Iran forthe benefit of special interests.

Let us remember a few important things.Iran, a signatory of the Nuclear Non-Pro-liferation Treaty, has never been found inviolation of that treaty. Iran is not capableof enriching uranium to the necessarylevel to manufacture nuclear weapons. Ac-cording to the entire U.S. intelligence com-munity, Iran is not currently working on anuclear weapons program. These are facts,and to point them out does not make one asupporter or fan of the Iranian regime.Those pushing war on Iran will ignore ordistort these facts to serve their agenda,though, so it is important and necessary topoint them out.

Some of my well-intentioned colleaguesmay be tempted to vote for sanctions onIran because they view this as a way toavoid war on Iran. I will ask them whetherthe sanctions on Iraq satisfied those push-

ing for war at that time. Orwhether the application ofever-stronger sanctions infact helped war advocatesmake their case for war onIraq: as each round of newsanctions failed to “work”—to change the regime—warbecame the only remainingregime-change option.

This legislation, whetherthe House or Senate version,will lead us to war on Iran.The sanctions in this bill,and the blockade of Irannecessary to fully enforcethem, are in themselves actsof war according to interna-tional law. A vote for sanc-tions on Iran is a vote forwar against Iran. I urge mycolleagues in the strongestterms to turn back from thisunnecessary and counter-productive march to war. ❑

What TheySaidWhat TheySaid

Sanctioning Iran Is an Act of WarBy Rep. Ron Paul

Rep. Ron Paul (R-TX).


Rep. Ron Paul (R-TX) made this statementon the House Floor on April 22, 2010.

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paul_24_What They Said 5/13/10 12:47 PM


The March 21-23 annual meeting of theAmerican Israeli Public Affairs Com-

mittee (AIPAC) came on the heels of Israel’spublic humiliation of visiting Vice Presi-dent Joseph Biden with the announcementof 1,600 new apartment units for Israelicolonists in East Jerusalem, and PresidentBarack Obama’s administration’s strong,and public, denunciation of that act (seeMay/June 2010 Washington Report, p. 10).As usual, AIPAC’s meeting drew hordes

of Israel supporters (including more thanhalf the members of Congress), who sched-uled more than 500 meetings on CapitolHill to lobby for Israel’s, as opposed totheir own country’s, interests. Both Secre-tary of State Hillary Clinton and IsraeliPrime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu ad-dressed the conference. Clinton firmly re-peated the administration’s position thatcontinued Israeli construction in the occu-pied territories, including East Jerusalem,damages prospects for peace. However, Ne-tanyahu defiantly declared that he had nointention of halting construction in EastJerusalem.AIPAC then geared up its formidable

pressure machine on members of Congress,resulting in more than three-quarters ofthe members of Congress signing nearlyidentical House and Senate letters—re-markably similar to AIPAC’s talking pointsmemo—to Clinton. The letters implicitlytook Israel’s side in the dispute by urgingClinton to ensure that the announcementof construction in East Jerusalem not de-rail U.S.-Israel relations [note the emphasison the announcement, rather than the con-struction itself], and that any differencesbetween the two countries be resolved pri-vately rather than in public. In addition,no fewer than nine senators and 49 repre-sentatives made statements on the Houseand Senate floor, or submitted statementsfor the record, reaffirming the U.S.-Israelrelationship.The House letter, originated by Majority

Leader Steny Hoyer (D-MD) and MinorityWhip Eric Cantor (R-VA), was sent onMarch 26 with 333 (of a possible 435) sig-natures. The Senate letter, originated bySens. Barbara Boxer (D-CA) and Johnny

Isakson (R-GA), was sent on April 13 with76 (of a possible 100) signatures.

Letters Urge “Tough and DecisiveMeasures” Against IranPrior to its annual meeting, AIPAC wrote toall members of Congress calling for Con-gress to demand that the U.S. governmentfully implement existing Iran sanctionslaws, impose “crippling” new sanctions onIran, and work to impose “tough new mul-tilateral sanctions.” Obediently, more thanfour-fifths of the members of Congresssigned letters to Obama essentially makingthose points, assuring him of bipartisansupport for “tough and decisive measures,”and urging him to “reaffirm boldly andunambiguously that the U.S. can and willprevent Iran from acquiring a nuclearweapons capability.”The House letter, originated by Reps.

Jesse Jackson (D-IL) and Mike Pence (R-IN), was sent April 14 with 366 signatures.The Senate letter, originated by Sens.Charles Schumer (D-NY) and Lindsey Gra-ham (R-SC), was sent April 15 with 80 sig-natures.In addition, Rep. Steve Rothman (D-NJ),

a member of the House AppropriationsCommittee, announced in a March 25 pressrelease that he intended to “offer anamendment to each of the 12 appropria-tions bills to ensure that no federal fundsgo to companies doing business with Iran.”This was in response to a March 7 NewYork Times article claiming that $107 bil-lion of U.S. taxpayer money has gone tofirms doing business in Iran.

Previously Reported Iran SanctionsBills Make Little Progress…As reported in the May/June issue, onMarch 11 the Senate passed H.R. 2194, the“Iran Petroleum Sanctions” bill that theHouse passed in December, after replacingits text with that of S. 2799, the irresponsi-ble, punitive and counterproductive “Com-prehensive Iran Sanctions, Accountability,and Divestment” bill introduced by Sen.Christopher Dodd (D-CT) in November, anddescribed in more detail in previous issuesof the Washington Report. The Senate thenreturned the bill, as H.R. 2194, to the Houseand requested a conference to reconcile thedifferences between the two bills.

Both the House and the Senate have ap-pointed conference committee members,but during the House debate on the mo-tion to go to conference, Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (R-FL), one of Israel’s most ardentacolytes, moved to instruct the House con-ferees to insist on the provisions in theHouse-passed version of H.R. 2194, whichcould complicate the work of the confer-ence committee—especially since Ros-Lehtinen was named as one of the Houseconferees. Her motion passed on a roll callvote of 403-11, with three voting “pre-sent.” It also called for the conferees to pre-sent a conference report no later than May28, 2010.Two of the three bills, all with the short

title of the “Iran Human Rights SanctionsAct,” introduced in February and describedin the May/June issue, have gained a fewco-sponsors. In the Senate, S. 3022, intro-duced by Sen. John McCain (R-AZ), still has15 co-sponsors, including McCain. How-ever, the identical H.R. 4647, introduced byRep. Michael McMahon (D-NY), has gained11 co-sponsors and now has 25, includingMcMahon. The bills would require thepublic posting on the Web sites of the Trea-sury and State Departments the names ofpersons “who the president determines arecomplicit in human rights abuses commit-ted against citizens of Iran or their familymembers on or after June 12, 2009” [thedate of the Iranian elections]. It would alsobar those persons from getting visas to theU.S. and would impose some financial sanc-tions on them. Both the McCain and McMa-hon bills include a presidential waiver pro-vision and a provision that the presidentmay authorize exceptions to comply withinternational agreements.The other “Human Rights Sanctions

Act,” H.R. 4649, introduced by Ros-Lehti-nen, is very similar to S. 3022 and H.R.4647—except it does not include the provi-sions authorizing presidential waivers andexceptions to comply with internationalagreements. It has gained 31 co-sponsors,and now has 43, including Ros-Lehtinen.

While Four New Anti-Iran Measures Are Introduced…On March 10, pro-Israel PAC darling Rep.Mark Kirk (R-IL), with 15 co-sponsors, in-troduced H.R. 4807, which would amend

CongressWatchCongressWatch

With Few Exceptions, Obedient CongressContinues to Do AIPAC’s BiddingBy Shirl McArthur

Shirl McArthur is a retired U.S. foreign ser-vice officer living in the Washington, DC area.

mcarthur_25-26_Congress Watch 5/13/10 2:53 PM


the Iran Sanctions Act of 1996 (ISA) to re-quire that the General Accountability Of-fice publish monthly a list of “potentialISA violators.” On March 20, Ros-Lehti-nen, with 29 co-sponsors, introduced H.R.4896 “to authorize the president to utilizethe Proliferation Security Initiative and allother measures for the purpose of inter-dicting the import into or export from Iranby the government of Iran or any othercountry, entity, or person of all items, ma-terials, equipment, goods and technologyuseful for any nuclear, biological, chemical,missile, or conventional arms program.”A new resolution is H.Res. 1181, intro-

duced on March 12 by Rep. Thaddeus Mc-Cotter (R-MI), with 12 co-sponsors. Itwould call on the U.N. General Assembly“to reject the Islamic Republic of Iran’s bidto join the United Nations Human RightsCouncil.” Another new resolution isH.Con.Res. 256, introduced by Rep. JamesHimes (D-CT), with seven co-sponsors, onMarch 22. It would express the “sense ofCongress that any official within the gov-ernment of Iran at the level of deputy min-ister or higher or officer within the IranianRevolutionary Guard is presumptively in-eligible for a travel visa” to the U.S.

But Positive Measures Languish.Of the relatively positive measures previ-ously described, only H.R. 4303, the“Stand with the Iranian People Act,” in-troduced in December by Rep. Keith Elli-son (D-MN), has made any progress. Itwould impose restrictions against Iran’shuman rights abusers, prohibit federal pro-curement contracts with persons who pro-vide censorship or surveillance technologyto the government of Iran, and authorizeU.S. nonprofit organizations to provide hu-manitarian and people-to-people assistanceto the Iranian people. It has gained threeco-sponsors and now has six, including El-lison. But H.R. 4301, the “Iran Digital Em-powerment Act,” introduced in Decemberby Rep. Jim Moran (D-VA), which wouldenhance the ability of the Iranian people toaccess the Internet and communicationsservices, still has 11 co-sponsors, includingMoran. And S. 3008, introduced in Febru-ary by Sen. John Cornyn (R-TX), “to es-tablish a program to support a transition toa freely-elected, open democracy in Iran,”still has 21 co-sponsors, including Cornyn.

McGovern Introduces a NewAfghanistan Troop Withdrawal BillOn April 14 Rep. James McGovern (D-MA)introduced H.R. 5015 to require that thepresident “submit to Congress a plan forthe safe, orderly, and expeditious rede-

ployment of U.S. Armed Forces fromAfghanistan, including military and secu-rity-related contractors, together with atimetable for the completion of that rede-ployment and information regarding vari-ables that could alter that timetable” notlater than Jan. 1, 2011, or 90 days after theenactment of the bill, whichever is earlier.The bill also includes recommendations oncontractor oversight. It has 33 co-sponsors,including McGovern.Regarding Yemen, there has been no

movement on S. Res. 400, introduced inJanuary by Sen. John Kerry (D-MA),which would request the Obama adminis-tration to prepare a joint, comprehensivestrategy to address instability in Yemen. Itis still on the Senate calendar, after beingreported out of the Foreign Affairs Com-mittee, and still has six co-sponsors, in-cluding Kerry.

More Resolutions to Support Israel,Recognize Its 62nd AnniversaryOn April 13 Rep. Scott Garrett (R-NJ) in-troduced H.Res. 1241 “supporting theright of Israel to defend itself against ter-rorists and the Israeli construction of newsecurity fences along the border of Egypt.”It has 38 co-sponsors, including Garrett.Also on April 13, Ros-Lehtinen intro-

duced H.Con.Res. 260 “recognizing the62nd anniversary of the independence ofthe State of Israel, and reaffirming un-equivocal support for the alliance andfriendship between the U.S. and Israel.” Asa poke in the eye to the Obama administra-tion, the “whereas” clauses include pro-Is-rael quotes from Obama, Biden and Clin-ton, including a June 2008 Obama state-ment that “Jerusalem will remain the cap-ital of Israel and it must remain undi-vided.” The measure has 137 co-sponsors,including Ros-Lehtinen.Interestingly, while previously such res-

olutions congratulating Israel on its exis-tence have routinely been brought to theHouse floor and passed nearly unani-mously, this year that didn’t happen. In-stead it was referred to the House ForeignAffairs committee, and Israel’s April 20 an-niversary passed without any action on theresolution, although on April 21 a largeherd of Israel’s congressional groupiesspoke on the House and Senate floors con-gratulating the Jewish state.

Yet Another Jerusalem ResolutionWhile the previously described H.R. 3412and S.2737, which would strip the presi-dential waiver authority from theJerusalem Embassy Act of 1995 and re-quire the U.S. Embassy in Israel to be es-

tablished in Jerusalem, have made noprogress, that didn’t stop Rep. Doug Lam-born (R-CO) from trying a different ap-proach. On March 18 he introduced thenon-binding H.Res. 1191 reaffirming “thatJerusalem is and should continue to be theundivided capital of the State of Israel”and calling upon the president to fully im-plement the Jerusalem Embassy Act andimmediately begin to relocate the U.S. Em-bassy to Jerusalem. It has 22 co-sponsors,including Lamborn. ❑

In accusing Syria of delivering advancedweapons to Hezbollah, a second Israeli mo-tive could be to sabotage any U.S.-Syrianrapprochement. The U.S. Senate has been de-bating whether to confirm the appointmentof Robert Ford as American ambassador toDamascus—the first in five years. Pro-Is-raeli senators have tried to delay or cancelthe ambassador’s appointment, objectingthat it would reward Syria’s “bad behavior.”In beating the war drums, a third Israeli

aim would seem to be to disrupt theTehran-Damascus-Hezbollah axis, whichIsrael sees as a challenge to its strategichegemony over the region. It is evident tomost observers that neither Iran norSyria—still less Hezbollah—would con-sider attacking Israel, as they are wellaware that the Israeli response would bedevastating. But they do want to be strongenough to dissuade Israel from attackingthem. That is called deterrence. And that,in Israeli eyes, is where the threat fromthem lies. Israel does not want any of its neighbors

to be in a position to defend itself. That iswhy it has made such a fuss over the al-leged delivery of missiles to Hezbollah. Itwants to be able to hit, but never to be hitback. Israel’s concern is that its 60-year mili-

tary dominance over the Arabs may becoming to an end. Saudi Arabia and theGulf states have acquired considerablequantities of modern armaments. Hezbol-lah has acquired an arsenal of rocketswhich provides it with a certain deterrentcapability. And Iran’s rise as a regionalpower threatens to restrict Israel’s freedomof action.It would, therefore, not be wholly sur-

prising if some Israeli hawks dream of awar which, like the 1967 war, would re-store Israel’s hegemony for the foreseeablefuture, and allow the Greater Israel projectto proceed unchecked. ❑

Rumors of War…Continued from page 22

mcarthur_25-26_Congress Watch 5/13/10 12:48 PM

Congressman Brian Baird (D-WA) en-tered politics in 1998 for the same rea-

son he went into the field of clinical psy-chology: to answer the call to service.“Constitutional democratic republics don’twork unless people are willing to step for-ward and serve,” he told the WashingtonReport on April 29. “I felt I had somethingto offer and had disagreements with the in-cumbent.”

This past December, however, Baird an-nounced that he will not run for re-election.“I’m retiring in order to spend more timewith my two five-year-old boys and mywife,” he explained. “It’s been tough flyingout to the West Coast almost every weekendand keeping in touch with my constituentsin a large geographical district.”

Baird is confident he would have beenre-elected this fall. But, he noted, “Even ifmy re-election had been guaranteed I’d stillhave had to raise $1.5 to $2 million for mycampaign and spend time away from myfamily—time I couldn’t get back.”

Baird first became interested in the Mid-dle East as a junior in high school, when hejoined a Model U.N. representing Kuwaitduring the first oil embargo. He contactedthe Embassy of Kuwait and began learningabout the Middle East from the perspectiveof other countries.

Middle East issues are of interest in anycampaign, Baird acknowledged, especiallyat the federal level. “People raise the issuethe minute you start running for office,” hesaid. “You’ve got the AIPAC [American Is-rael Public Affairs Committee] perspective,and people in my district [including RachelCorrie’s family] are also very concernedabout peace and justice issues and thehuman rights of Palestinians.”

In February 2009, a month after Israel’sthree-week Operation Cast Lead, Repre-sentatives Baird and Keith Ellison (D-MN)visited Gaza. Baird said his most unforget-table memory is the utter destruction ofthe American International School, whosemotto was “leadership through peace andunderstanding.” “Here was an institutiondedicated to educating the leaders of to-morrow with progressive values, usingEnglish-language materials,” he said, “and

this beautiful facility had been pancaked,irreparably destroyed through no fault ofanyone in the institution by weapons madeand sold by the United States. It was verytroubling.”

Baird and Ellison interviewed the prin-cipal, and were struck by “the grief of thisman, who lost an employee, the watchman,and had witnessed the destruction of hisentire life’s work. I’ve watched a video ofthis interview, available on my Web site,more than 20 times and I still tear up whenI see it.”

Baird dug out of the rubble a yearbooklike one found in any American highschool—full of bright, shiny faces with as-pirations for the future. He also found awrinkled and rain-damaged scholasticbook—a teachers’ edition about baseball.“I’m an avid baseball player and fan,” he

revealed. “I happened to open it up to astory about Jackie Robinson with a stickynote saying ‘what about this paragraphteaches the meaning of the word preju-dice?’ It was astonishing,” he recalled.“How could I find that book in that build-ing in that place and open it up? When ev-idence of prejudice was right there beforeme as graphically as it possibly could be.”

Baird has traveled to Gaza three times—“if I go two more times I get a toaster,” hejoked. He has also visited East Jerusalemand communities in the West Bank, in-cluding Bethlehem. He visited Sderot, Is-rael, which borders Gaza, as well. “It’s im-portant to tell that part of the story, too,”he emphasized. “It’s unacceptable to shootrockets at civilians.”

In Gaza, Baird has toured Al Quds Hos-


Although Leaving Office, Rep. Brian BairdVows to Continue to Fight for JusticeBy Delinda C. Hanley

On a February 2009 trip to Gaza, a month after Israel ended its brutal 22-day assault, Rep.Brian Baird uncovers a yearbook in the rubble of the American International School.

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


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On April 5, 2010, the Common Councilof Albany, New York voted 10-0 in

favor of a resolution calling for the JusticeDepartment to appoint a special prosecutorto review the cases of Muslims entrappedin terrorism-related cases (see box on facingpage). Albany thus became the first city inthe U.S. to challenge the federal govern-ment’s unjust pre-emptive prosecution pro-gram, which has entrapped, framed, andsent hundreds of innocent Muslims to jailfor long prison sentences.

Before its historic vote, the CommonCouncil heard from almost two dozenspeakers, including mothers and childrenfrom cases like the Newburgh 4 and theFort Dix 5, about the suffering of Muslimfamilies and communities ripped apart bythese pre-emptive prosecutions. Twelve-year-old Lejla Duka told the Council thatshe was the oldest of four children, andthat her father and uncles who worked in

the family roofing business had all beensentenced to life imprisonment in an elabo-rate sting. “They were set up. This case is alie,” she said. “Really, please, we need allthe help we can get.” Some Council mem-bers were moved to tears and expressedshock at what the federal government wasdoing to Muslims. A video of the emotionaland often eloquent meeting is available at<www.projectsalam.org/rally.html>.

What Is Pre-emptive Prosecution?The FBI’s “pre-emptive prosecution” pro-gram grew out of the hysteria following9/11 and drew inspiration from then-VicePresident Dick Cheney’s “1 Percent Doc-trine”: if there’s a 1 percent chance that aperson might engage in terrorism in the fu-ture, the government must pre-empt it nowby convicting the person of some con-trived crime. Pre-emptive prosecutionstrips away the protections of the Bill ofRights on the theory that it’s better formany innocent people to be incarceratedthan to allow even one potential terroristto remain free. The April 5 testimony aboutthe suffering of many Muslim families

showed why pre-emptive prosecution is il-legal, unjust, and cruel.

Typically, pre-emptive prosecutions startwith governmental suspicion about one ormore Muslims based on secret surveillance;on associations of Muslims with others whoare suspicious; or on tips. The governmentthen concocts a plan to incarcerate the sus-picious Muslim on some pretext to preventa possible crime in the future. If no exist-ing violation can be used as a pretext to in-carcerate the target, an agent provocateurmay be assigned to entrap or frame the sus-picious person. Often before a pre-emptiveprosecution trial, the government gives thejudge secret evidence from its illegal sur-veillance program that the defense is not al-lowed to see, in order to create prejudiceand get favorable rulings from the judge.Secret evidence is thus a critical part ofmost pre-emptive prosecutions.

In all prosecutions, the government hasa legal and ethical obligation to do justice(not merely seek a conviction), to providea fair trial (not a prosecution knowinglybased on false evidence or arguments), andto provide pre-trial disclosure of all infor-mation which indicates that the defendantmight be innocent or which might assistthe defense (“exculpatory” information).Such information discovered during a clas-sified surveillance operation must still beprovided to the defense, or the governmentmust drop the charges. The defendant maynot be penalized because the exculpatoryinformation is classified. Because so manypre-emptive prosecutions are based onclassified information, the issue of disclo-sure of classified exculpatory informationis always critical in such cases.

Aside from classified exculpatory mater-ial, any information indicating that thecharge was a pretext, or that a defendantwas deliberately entrapped or framed by thegovernment, would also constitute exculpa-tory information which, under law, must bedisclosed to the defense. All pre-emptiveprosecutions raise the possibility that the de-fendants were entrapped or framed to “pre-empt” the possibility of a crime later on. Ob-viously the prosecutor cannot be trusted toturn over exculpatory information showingthat the case being brought is, in fact, a fakeand a pretext. Only an independent review


New York State Capital Takes StandAgainst Pre-emptive Prosecution of MuslimsBy Stephen Downs, Esq.

Members of Albany’s Muslim Solidarity Committee and citizen-representatives from severalarea peace, justice, and civil liberties organizations march to City Hall April 5, 2010, when theCommon Council approved a resolution calling for the Justice Department to investigate theconvictions of “pre-emptively prosecuted” Muslims.

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Stephen Downs, retired chief attorney withthe New York Commission on Judicial Con-duct, is a founder of Project SALAM (Sup-port and Legal Advocacy for Muslims).

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of the case can establish this.The Albany resolution was inspired in

part by a July 10, 2009 report by Inspec-tor General Glenn Fine of the U.S. Depart-ment of Justice about secret surveillanceprograms. The report found that therewere no procedures for locating or provid-ing exculpatory information to defendantsin criminal cases arising out of such sur-veillance. It recommended that the JusticeDepartment “carefully consider whether itmust re-examine past cases [italics added] tosee whether potentially discoverable butundisclosed [exculpatory information] wascollected under the [surveillance pro-grams], and take appropriate steps to en-sure that it has complied with its discoveryobligations in such cases” (p. 19).

The Justice Department never imple-mented these recommendations or at-tempted to re-examine any past cases.

The Aref Case Example Albany was confronted with a classic pre-emptive prosecution in 2004 when a local

imam, Yassin Aref, and a member of hismosque, Mohammed Hossain, were ar-rested by the FBI and charged with terror-ist-related crimes (see Sept./Oct. 2007Washington Report, p. 19). The men sup-posedly laundered money from the sale ofa missile that would be used to assassinatethe Pakistani ambassador to the U.N. (TheFBI acknowledged that Hossain was not aterrorist threat, but they wanted to usehim to get to their real target, Aref.) Malik,an agent provocateur, first entrapped Hos-sain by offering to loan him a significantamount of money supposedly made byselling a missile to terrorists. Then Arefwas drawn in to gratuitously witness theloan.

The government generated such fear andhysteria against the two men that even thegovernor of New York pronounced at anews conference that “terrorists are livingamong us.” However, the entire plot wasactually an FBI “sting” engineered byMalik to pre-emptively convict Aref be-cause the government found his “ideol-

ogy” suspicious. The government claimed,for example, that a poem written by Arefin Syria 10 years earlier showed his terror-ist ideology because it used the word jihad(struggle), even though the poem wasabout the struggle to overthrow SaddamHussain and thus agreed with U.S. policyat the time.

There was little evidence that Aref wastold––or understood––anything about themissile plot. The government’s evidencewas so weak that Aref was acquitted bythe jury of all the charges prior to his lastconversation with Malik on June 10, 2004.In this last conversation, Malik used a codeword, “chaudry,” for “missile”––but thegovernment failed to produce any evidencethat Aref knew the meaning of this codeword, and so he could not have under-stood the conversation or anything aboutthe plot. Nevertheless, the jury convictedAref for the counts associated with this lastconversation, and he was thus successfullyframed for a crime he didn’t commit andindeed didn’t even know about. Both Aref


WHEREAS, the Declaration of Independence of the UnitedStates and the United States Constitution and the Bill ofRights are the cornerstone of our democracy; and

WHEREAS, since 9/11 some Muslims in the United States havebeen targeted by the U.S. government for increased scrutiny,surveillance and prosecution; and

WHEREAS, the United States government created a warrant-less electronic surveillance program which obtained secretclassified information on Americans, apparently in violation ofvarious laws including the Foreign Intelligence SurveillanceAct, and the First and Fourth Amendments to the U.S. Con-stitution; and

WHEREAS, the Department of Justice and the FBI created aprogram called “pre-emptive prosecution” in which Muslimswho are not involved in criminal activity are targeted andprosecuted based on “secret evidence,” often derived fromwarrantless electronic surveillance; and

WHEREAS, there is a substantial probability that the activitiesand programs of the U.S. government which target a reli-gious minority in such a manner violate their civil rights asAmericans; and

WHEREAS, in 2003 the Albany Common Council voted unani-mously to object to the PATRIOT Act because of the dangersthat this act posed to the civil rights and liberties of all Ameri-cans; and

WHEREAS, in 2009 the Albany Common Council voted to sup-port immigrant rights in the City of Albany so that immigrantfamilies would not live in constant fear of repression, jail, ordeportation; and

WHEREAS, because of excessive secrecy by the U.S. govern-ment about its warrantless eavesdropping and pre-emptiveprosecution programs, substantial doubt remains as towhether hundreds of Muslims were pre-emptively prose-cuted, and guilty of crimes, and whether the defendants re-ceived their civil rights guaranteed under the U.S. Constitu-

tion, including the right to receive exculpatory informationand a fair trial; and

WHEREAS, after Senator Ted Stevens was convicted of bribery,the Justice Department did an independent assessment ofhow his case was prosecuted, determined that exculpatoryinformation had been withheld by prosecutors, and dismissedthe case; and

WHEREAS, the Inspector General of the Department of Jus-tice, in a July 10, 2009 report on U.S. surveillance programs,recommended “that Department of Justice carefully considerwhether it must re-examine past [terrorism] cases to seewhether potentially discoverable but undisclosed Rule 16 orBrady material was collected under the President’s Surveil-lance Program, and take appropriate steps to ensure that ithas complied with its discovery obligations in such cases” (re-port p. 19).

NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED, that the CommonCouncil of the City of Albany requests that the U.S. Depart-ment of Justice implement the recommendation of its own In-spector General, and establish an independent panel within theDepartment of Justice, similar to what was done in the Stevenscase, and to what was recommended by the Inspector Gen-eral, to review all of the convictions of Muslims who were“pre-emptively prosecuted” to determine if these defendantswere properly given exculpatory information and other rightsof discovery to which defendants in criminal prosecutions areentitled, and whether these prosecutions in all ways met thehigh standards of truth, openness, fairness, and justice that areembodied in the U.S. Constitution and the Bill of Rights.

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that the Common Council of theCity of Albany requests that the Clerk of this Council for-ward copies of this resolution to United States SenatorsKirsten Gillibrand and Charles Schumer and United StatesRepresentative Paul Tonko

Resolution Urging the U.S. Department of Justice to Review the Convictions of Muslims Who Were “Pre-emptively Prosecuted” to Ensure Their Fair Treatment Under the U.S. Constitution and Bill of Rights

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and Hossain were sentenced to 15 years inprison, leaving two wives and a total of 10young children behind. Project SALAMhas since filed an amicus brief (available at<www.projectsalam.org>) with the courtabout the obvious frame-up in Aref’s case.

At a post-sentencing press conference onMarch 8, 2007, the government prosecu-tors gave this classic description of “pre-emptive prosecution”:

“Did he [Aref] actually engage in terror-ist acts? Well, we didn’t have the evidenceof that, but he had the ideology…Our in-vestigation was concerned with what hewas going to do here, and in order to pre-empt anything else we decided to take thesteps that we did take.”

The FBI also said that it was afraid toshow Aref a (dummy) missile, which hewould have immediately recognized assomething illegal: “If Aref saw the missile,”an FBI agent stated, “he may have beenspooked”––meaning Aref might have recog-nized that he was being involved in illegalactivity and withdrawn, thus ruining theFBI’s frame-up (see “It took patience to setthe trap in terror sting” by Brendan Lyonsin the Oct. 12, 2006 Albany Times Union).

Pre-emptive Prosecutions Across U.S. This pattern of framing or entrapping in-nocent Muslims supposedly to prevent an-other terrorist attack has been repeated allacross America. For example:

• The Newburgh 4 were entrapped bythe same agent provocateur—Malik—whoframed Aref; he promised large sums ofmoney, up to $25,000, to gain help in con-ducting a terrorist attack, and eventuallywas able to ensnare four recent converts toIslam: men who were homeless, addicted todrugs, or had mental problems.

• The Fort Dix 5 were framed by twoagents provocateurs after a store clerk

thought that a home video made by mem-bers of a vacationing Muslim family speak-ing Arabic and shooting guns at a riflerange was a terrorist cell in training. Thefive young men in their 20s, some withwives and children, were sentenced to lifein prison plus 30 years.

• Syed Fahad Hashmi was charged withterrorism for allowing a friend to leave a bagof clothes in his apartment for a week; theclothes eventually found their way to an al-Qaeda official, although not throughHashmi. After being kept in strict solitaryconfinement in Manhattan for almost threeyears, awaiting trial under conditions soharsh that it amounts to torture (see thisissue’s “Other Voices” supplement), Hashmipleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy inreturn for a maximum prison sentence of 15years—as opposed to a possible 70 years.

• Ghassan Elashi, founder of the HolyLand Foundation, the largest Muslim char-ity in America, was sentenced to 65 yearsin jail after the government claimed thathis non-terrorist charitable works in Pales-tine had enhanced the prestige of Hamas,the de facto government of Palestine at thattime, and so constituted material supportfor a terrorist organization.

• Sami Al-Arian, a university professorand outspoken advocate for Palestinianrights, also was charged with giving mate-rial support to Hamas through his speeches.Although the government could not get ajury to convict him, he finally agreed toplead guilty to a minor charge in order toget out of jail and leave the U.S. Then thegovernment broke its promise and broughtnew charges against him in order to keephim locked up. After serving still more timein prison, he has been living under housearrest for nearly two years.

• Physician Rafil Dhafir, founder of acharity called Help the Needy that sent hu-

manitarian aid to Iraqis impoverished bythe U.N. embargo in the 1990s, could notbe charged with enhancing the prestige ofa terrorist organization because no terror-ist organizations were permitted to existunder the tyrannical rule of Saddam Hus-sain. Instead, the government framed Dr.Dhafir for Medicaid fraud and for violatingthe embargo against Iraq.

The Justice Department now claims over390 terrorist convictions in the U.S.––many,if not most of them, phony “pre-emptive”prosecutions—and the list continues to in-crease. Each of these cases represents fami-lies destroyed and mothers left to raiseyoung children without spouses and with-out adequate support. Each fake prosecutionresults in an innocent Muslim man incarcer-ated, often in special “Muslim” prisonsknown as Communication ManagementUnits (CMUs) that harshly restrict communi-cation with families and the outside worldfar beyond what ordinary prisoners endure(see May/June 2007 Washington Report, p.12). On March 30, with the help of the Cen-ter for Constitutional Rights, Yassin Aref andsix other plaintiffs sued the U.S. governmentto close down the CMUs as illegal (see box;the text of the lawsuit is available at<www.ccrjustice.org/cmu>).

As its own inspector general recom-mended, the Justice Department must es-tablish an independent prosecutor to re-view all the Muslim terrorism cases to de-termine if the defendants received discov-ery, justice, and a fair trial. This is what theAlbany Common Council resolution callsfor. It is the first government entity to callfor a re-examination of these cases basedon law, not on fear. Other communitiesmust pass similar resolutions to pressurethe Justice Department into restoring therule of law that pre-emptive prosecutionhas stolen from our justice system. ❑


In 2006, the Federal Bureau of Prisons (BOP or “Bureau”) se-cretly created the Communications Management Unit (CMU),a prison unit designed to isolate and segregate certain prisonersin the federal prison system from the rest of the BOP popula-tion. Currently, there are two CMUs, one located in TerreHaute, Indiana and the other in Marion, Illinois. The CMUshouse between 60 and 70 prisoners in total, and over two-thirds of the CMU population is Muslim, even though Muslimsrepresent only 6 percent of the general federal prison popula-tion.

Unlike other BOP prisoners, individuals detained in the CMUare completely banned from any physical contact with visitingfamily members and friends, and other types of communicationare severely limited, including interactions with other prisoners

and phone calls with friends and family members.Individuals detained in the CMU receive no explanation for

their transfer to the unit or for the extraordinary communica-tions restrictions to which they are subjected. Upon designationto the unit, there is no meaningful review or appeal processthat allows CMU prisoners to be transferred back to the gen-eral population. Many CMU prisoners have neither significantdisciplinary records nor any communications-related infrac-tions. However, bias, political scapegoating, religious profilingand racism keep them locked inside these special units. The Bu-reau’s purpose and process for designating federal prisoners tothe CMU remain undisclosed.

—Center for Constitutional Rights

CMUs: The Federal Prison System’s Experiment in Social Isolation

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The first week in May saw a media stormin Israel when the Hebrew tabloid

Yediot Ahronot broke the news that, whilehe was an appeals court judge in apartheidSouth Africa, Richard Goldstone was insome way linked to rejecting the appeals of28 death sentences. Alan Dershowitz once wrote

a book called Chutzpah (notavailable from the AET BookClub), and in his response tothe allegations he and Israel’sodious Foreign Minister Avig-dor Lieberman personified it,jumping up and down in right-eous glee that Goldstone hadbeen proven unfit to sit injudgment on a democratic statelike Israel. Some of the usualsuspects went even further indeep psychoanalytic studies ofwhy Goldstone was expiatinghis deep guilt by beating up onIsrael and thus currying favorwith the U.N. Human RightsCouncil.At no point did any of this

newly principled mob raiseany new evidence to rebut orrefute the generally irrefutableGoldstone Report. Indeed, thefervor of their ad hominem at-tacks suggests that they can’tfind any. Even by the usual hypocriti-

cal standards of Israel and itssupporters, this is chutzpah onso many levels, one hardlyknows where to begin. For astart, however, althoughLieberman promptly circulatedthe news to Israeli embassies across theworld, it was the newspaper that dug itup—probably inspired by the same SouthAfrican Zionists who tried to stop Gold-stone from attending his grandson’s barmitzvah.So why had Israel’s famed secret services

not done a background check on Gold-stone and unearthed this earlier? Could itbe because they regarded him—as indeed

he regarded himself—as a friend of Israel,and as such to be excused a few execu-tions? Or could it be that wiser heads in the Is-

raeli Foreign Ministry had not wanted tostir up memories of Israeli’s vital role in

supplying the apartheid regime, its biggestcustomer, with weaponry? Its collusion inbuying yellowcake from South Africa, andtheir mutual assistance in developing nu-clear weapons and means of delivery? Thesole purpose of the Boer Bomb, after all,was to kill untold millions of blackAfricans if the white redoubt ever was se-riously threatened. Or maybe they did notwant to remind people of years in whichsanctions were violated by blood dia-monds from South Africa being exportedand processed in Israel? While many South African Jews took an

active part in the anti-apartheid struggle,they tended not to include strong Zionistsand pro-Israel supporters. Judge Gold-stone, by contrast, was embraced by Nel-son Mandela and Desmond Tutu. So whowould you rather have validating your

anti-apartheid credentials:Mandela or Lieberman? Tutuor Dershowitz?Indeed, hearing the chorus

of “gotcha!” and “Told youso!” from American pro-Israeltypes reminds me of the con-versation I had with RabbiArthur Herzberg about theLobby that dare not let youspeak its name. Most Ameri-can Jews and American blacksopposed apartheid, of course.How, I asked Herzberg, hadthe issue of the South Africa-Israel connection never been amatter of public discourse,even among liberals in theU.S.? He paused, and compli-mented me on my acuity, be-fore telling me that the Jewishcaucus and the CongressionalBlack caucus leaderships hadessentially agreed on a pact. Inreturn for the CBC not raisingthe issue, they were assured offull support from the Jewishcaucus for their domesticagenda.Goldstone does not need

any ethical validation frompeople who still supportapartheid in Israel and the oc-cupied territories.

Human Rights Hypocrisy Hypocrisy is always a good theme for a col-umn, so let’s move to the northern tip ofthe African continent from the U.N. Secu-rity Council—where we had the France ofSarkozy fighting tooth and nail to keep ahuman rights monitoring clause out of thecurrent resolution to extend the mandateof MINURSO in Western Sahara, even inthe face of calls from its European allieslike the UK and Spain.U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon

weighed in that he “remains very con-cerned about alleged violations of human

Hypocrisy on the March—From the U.S.And Israel to France and Morocco By Ian Williams

Ahmed Bujari, representative of the Western Sahara’s Polisario Front,speaks to reporters on April 20, 2010, following the Security Council decisionto extend the mandate of the MINURSO peacekeeping force by one year.

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Ian Williams is a free-lance journalist basedat the United Nations and has a blog at<www.deadlinepundit.blogspot.com>.


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rights” and that “his Personal Envoy,Christopher Ross, and the Secretariat willcontinue to work to promote the humanrights of Sahrawis.” The U.S. faced firmly inboth directions and claimed that it is“deeply concerned about the allegations ofhuman rights abuses by the parties.” How-ever, reports from within the Council sug-gest that Washington’s concern did not runso deep as pressuring France—which wasotherwise almost totally isolated—frombacking Morocco. The UK, Mexico,Uganda, Austria, Brazil, Spain and Nigeriaall favored a monitoring exercise. Russia,China and other countries with human

rights issues seemed to have sat out this bat-tle, which is almost a shame, since if theyhad joined with Paris it might have led toeven more public ignominy for the latter. There is, of course, only one reason Mo-

rocco and its French patron do not want toinclude a human rights monitoring ma-chinery in the Western Sahara peacekeep-ing mission—the only one in the worldwithout one. It is the same reason Israel re-fuses to mount a credible investigation intoOperation Cast Lead: because they knowwhat any such mission will find. There was a minor success in the resolu-

tion—920, for the record—the preamble of

which read, “Recognizing that the consol-idation of the status quo is not acceptablein the long term.” But, of course, it did notanswer the question so familiar andequally unanswered on resolutions aboutthe other scofflaw state at the opposite endof the Mediterranean: “So what are yougoing to do about it?”The answer, of course, is to call for ne-

gotiations with no preconditions—whichin the case of both the Sahrawis and thePalestinians implies abandoning their legalrights to self-determination and their oc-cupied territories.

Nukes, Nukes, Who’s Got the Nukes?And, while hypocrisy is under discussion,the visit of Iranian President MahmoudAhmedinejad to New York for the reviewconference of the Non-Proliferation Treatywas not a bad example. It is worth record-ing that his human rights record is de-plorable, that he may have stolen the lastelection and, even if he didn’t, he certainlyacted as if that was what he was doing. Onthe nuclear issue, however, he almost cer-tainly is speaking for the majority of Irani-ans. While some might long for the goodold days when the GOP, Israel and Iran col-luded to arm the Contras, Iran’s presidenthas now, of course, become a pariah in theU.S.—and not, one might add, for hishuman rights record.In fact the Iranian president called the

possession of nuclear arms “disgusting andshameful,” and added, “Even more shame-ful is the threat to use such weapons.”But while Iran was in the pillory for

standing there and renouncing any at-tempts to build nuclear weapons, therewas the stunning sound of silence regard-ing North Korea, whose human rightsrecord makes Iran seem a civic paradise,not to mention Pakistan, India and, ofcourse, Israel—all of whom actually dohave nuclear weapons.There does seem to be some movement,

however. The Permanent Five, includingthe U.S., expressed support for a nuclear-free Middle East. Once again this is greetedwith surprising silence—perhaps becausefor the pro-Israel camp to vent its custom-ary indignation against the Obama admin-istration’s allegedly anti-Israeli stancewould involve publicly admitting thatpeace-loving, defenseless Israel actuallyhas nuclear weapons. And then we complete the circle, since

there is strong evidence that Israel’s nu-clear arsenal was built up with help fromapartheid South Africa. Go fulminate, AlanDershowitz. ❑


Advertisement

williams_31-32_United Nations Report 5/13/10 12:51 PM

No Worries for NetanyahuTo The International Herald Tribune, March30, 2010Many observers say that the U.S. Con-

gress has never been as divided as it istoday, but almost all Democrats and Re-publicans agree on limitless support forIsrael. So long as that remains a fact, Israel will

keep building its settlements—worry-free. This is bad news for peace in the Middle

East and the ‘’war on terrorism.’’ Panos Kakaviatos, Strasbourg, France

Palestinian NonviolenceTo The New York Times, April 9, 2010“Palestinians Try a Less Violent Path to

Resistance” seems to propagate the notionthat the Palestinian struggle has been onlyviolent. Just because the media choose toignore the long history of Palestinian non-violent resistance does not mean it hasn’talways existed.Saying that “nonviolence has never

caught on here” does a great disservice tothe many Palestinians who have been killedsince the early 1900s while nonviolently re-sisting injustices and ignores the Palestini-ans, Israelis and others who have actednonviolently for years.Israel has increased harassment of non-

violent protesters in the occupied WestBank and East Jerusalem with nighttimeraids and arrests of both leaders and par-ticipants, including children. Thesepeople, and those who came before them,deserve to be acknowledged and sup-ported, not erased from history.Edith Garwood, Concord, NC

Wishes on Israel’s BirthdayTo The New York Times, April 20, 2010Your article about what Israelis felt

during their Independence Day does notseem to quote any Israeli Arabs. Or do theynot count, even though they make uproughly 20 percent of the population?Maybe the mood will brighten when

everyone over there can celebrate Palestin-ian Independence Day.Robert Haufrecht, New York, NY

Israel and the Peace ProcessTo the Los Angeles Times, March 25, 2010The government of Israel is just that—a

government. It is not the nation itself or theJewish people, any more than the federal

government in Washington is the same asthe American people. And like any gov-ernment, Israel’s can be corrupt, incompe-tent and blind to the best interests of itsown people.Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clin-

ton is right to criticize the Israeli govern-ment, and Israel ignores her criticism at itsown risk. Many American Jews are tired ofthe endless wars in the region and want atwo-state solution and peace. Large num-bers of Israelis feel the same way, and manyof them have voted with their feet, as evi-denced by the hundreds of thousands of Is-raelis who have emigrated to the U.S. andother countries.If Israel doesn’t take some positive steps

on its own toward a two-state solution, itwill continue to exist in a state of siege thatwill damage its economy even more than ithas been damaged already. Stanton J. Price, Glendale, CA

Israel, U.S. and the WorldTo The International Herald Tribune, April7, 2010Roger Cohen is correct that we are wit-

nessing a shift to the good in U.S.-Israel re-lations. For many years the realist wing ofthe foreign policy elite in the United States(Brent Scowcroft, Zbigniew Brzezinski andothers) has argued that there is a link be-tween the recruitment of terrorists and afestering Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Now,with the recent statement by Gen. DavidPetraeus to the Senate Armed ServicesCommittee, we see that American militaryleaders also see that link. Between these two groups it is clear that

the United States can no longer accept thestatus quo in Israel-Palestine. It is time forthe United States to stop rewarding Israeliactions that undercut negotiations. A goodplace to start is in the U.N. Security Coun-cil, where the United States should stopusing its veto to shield Israel from the con-sequences of its actions. Jeff Warner, La Habra Heights, CA

Israel’s Security ProblemTo the Los Angeles Times, April 22, 2010I’ll make a suggestion: While bombing

Iran might halt its nuclear program, a sim-pler way to ensure that Iran does not attackIsrael is to tear down the checkpoints andsecurity wall, allow Palestinians the rightof return and integrate them fully as citi-

zens of Israel. Ahmadinejad would thenhave a hard time justifying destruction ofthe “Zionist entity.”What about it, Mr. Morris? Are you will-

ing to try peace rather than war to solveyour security problem?Sarah S. Forth, Los Angeles, CA

No Complaints for DiplomacyTo The Washington Post, May 7, 2010Jackson Diehl got it exactly backward. If

it had not been for President Obama’s clar-ity and firmness (Diehl calls it “bullying”)with Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Ne-tanyahu on the settlement issue, GeorgeMitchell and Richard C. Holbrooke wouldnot have been able to achieve, through“quiet diplomacy,” agreement on holdingproximity talks. Mr. Obama’s disagreementwith Mr. Netanyahu was not “pointless,”as Mr. Diehl stated but, rather, exactly tothe point. Settlements have always been theprimary issue. Regarding Afghan President Hamid

Karzai, the situation is similar. Quiet diplo-macy clearly had not stemmed Mr. Karzai’srhetoric and, indeed, actions. PresidentObama’s personal intervention had theright effect. It made what Mr. Diehl calls a“changed” approach possible. In both cases, Mr. Obama’s firm ap-

proach, taken in coordination with theState Department, had positive results. Mr.Diehl should applaud, not complain. Robert Huesmann, Bethesda, MD

Afghanistan’s GovernmentTo The New York Times, May 2, 2010‘’Mr. Karzai Might Even Agree’’ correctly

stresses the importance of fostering ‘’com-petent local governance’’ in Afghanistan.But it must be understood that this does notmean to establish the kind of governmentWesterners imagine: the rule of law, honestcivil servants, no cronyism and so on. Thisis simply a bridge too far. What we can get is the kind of gover-

nance Chicago (and New York City) had,say, a hundred years ago: local leaders (callthem aldermen or tribal chiefs) who settledisputes in line with local norms and tra-ditions; provide a social network in returnfor loyalty; and favor their cadres and rel-atives but also take care of all others. The problem is largely with the ‘’na-

tional’’ government, which is, in effect,dominated (especially the Afghan army) by

Compiled by Kate Hilmy and Andrew BlakelyOther People’s MailOther People’s Mail


opm_33-34_Other People's Mail 5/13/10 12:51 PM


tribesmen other than the Pashtuns, and it isthe Pashtuns who are the main supportersof the Taliban. Also, often the representa-tives of the national government have nei-ther local roots nor affiliations and henceare much more exploitative than the locals. Finally, the notion that we can buy the

loyalties of the Pashtuns by granting themgoodies is utterly uninformed. The Talibanare their relatives, tribe members and co-be-lievers. The Pashtuns will take our handoutsand here and there return a favor, but theirbasic commitment will not waver. Amitai Etzioni, Washington, DC

Obama and AfghanistanTo The New York Times, May 5, 2010Contrary to your editorial “The Way

Out,” I don’t believe that President Obamamade a convincing case last December forsending more troops to Afghanistan. Far from it. No matter what the presi-

dent does or does not do, his record isforever tarnished by his sending thou-sands of soldiers to be destroyed physi-cally, mentally or both for a political pur-pose in a war that cannot be won. Arthur Laurents, director and play-

wright, New York, NY

How Safe Are We?To the Los Angeles Times, May 7, 2010There is no doubt that as long as we are

over there bombing and killing, they willfind a way to bomb us over here.Common sense would dictate that after

all these years of war in Afghanistan, wewould get that message. It’s time for our cit-izens to yell loud and clear: “Enough!”Gabriella Kolias, Placentia, CA

Times Square Bomb SuspectTo The New York Times,May 4, 2010I condemn the recent terrorist plot to

bomb Times Square and am relieved thatthere were no casualties. It is good to seethat ordinary citizens and law enforcementagencies combined to prevent a tragedy.I am a Muslim of Pakistani origin, and it

angers and pains me to see that the suspect,Faisal Shahzad, is Pakistani (though a nat-uralized American citizen).Attempts to spread terror do great harm

to the image of Pakistan and Islam. If thebombing attempt had been successful,what could have been achieved by killinginnocent people from all across the worldwho crowd Times Square?I want to praise Mayor Michael R. Bloom -

berg, who said after Mr. Shahzad’s arrestthat no backlash should be tolerated againstPakistanis or Muslims and spoke about the

majority of peace-loving American citizensof Pakistani origin. These were the kind ofsoothing words needed at this juncture.Pakistan has sacrificed more people in

the fight against terrorists and extremiststhan most nations in the aftermath of theSept. 11 tragedy. The Pakistani army, intel-ligence agencies and many ordinary citi-zens have played a crucial role. We need towin the battle of hearts and minds in theIslamic world. That is the best way tocounter terrorists and extremists.Raza Khan, Melbourne, Australia

Nothing “Apparent” in“Massacre”To The Toronto Star, April 8, 2010This Associated Press story about a video

showing 12 Iraqis killed in what justifiablycould be called a “gunship massacre” con-tains some odd wording, and it matters. The lead paragraph refers to “the appar-

ent” killing of two Reuters employees by U.S.Apache helicopter crews. The word “appar-ent” will be puzzling to anyone who viewsthe video on the Star’s Web site. Declared“authentic” by the U.S. military accordingto the Star in a news item the day before, thevideo shows dramatically and conclusivelythe bloody destruction of the 12 people, in-

cluding the two Reuters employees. In the fourth paragraph, AP refers to

“the family of the Reuters photographerkilled in the air strike.” That’s an improve-ment in straightforwardness concerning aphotographer only “apparently” killedthree paragraphs earlier. But the report continues: “They [the

family] burst into tears as they saw whatappeared to be the crews of the helicopterskill their son.” Now their son once again isonly apparently killed. There are times when words such as “ap-

parently” and “allegedly” are highly ap-propriate. When they are not, as in thiscase, they confuse, at best. This Lazarus-like verbiage should have been caught andcorrected by the Star’s editors.Barrie Zwicker, Toronto, Canada

For Iraqis, Syria is a HavenTo The Washington Post, April 6, 2010The March 30 editorial “What the Iraqis

are building” praised Iraq’s recent electionand favorably compared Iraq’s politicalsystem with that of its neighbors. The editorial maligned Syria as an al-

leged hereditary fiefdom, but Syria wasmore of a haven for the dispossessed of Iraqthan Iraq’s so-called democracy. I’ll buy into the new Iraqi system of

democracy when the hundreds of thou-sands of Iraqis living in Syria vote withtheir feet and return to Iraq. Until then weshould remember that Syria is more secu-lar than Iraq. In Iraq, democracy is being used as an

instrument of majority rule without mi-nority protection. Unchecked, this is a formof systemic injustice that is worse thandespotism. Ayman Hakki, Washington, DC

French Ban on Full Veil To The New York Times, May 7, 2010I’m not sure if Jean-François Copé is

aware that in the United States we have aholiday where people of different ages andfaiths come out and visit their neighbors,often wearing masks that fully cover theirfaces, and they seem to have no troublegetting along and communicating andbeing fully active members of society.As for saying that the niqab is a poten-

tial security threat, people in the UnitedStates have made similar statementsagainst baggy pants, saying they can hideguns. Like their French counterparts,such people’s supposed concern for thepublic good masks their cultural preju-dices and insensitivities.Fares Alhassen, San Francisco, CA ❑

WRITE OR TELEPHONE THOSE WORKING FOR YOU INWASHINGTON.President Barack ObamaThe White House1600 Pennsylvania Ave., N.W.Washington, DC 20500(202) 456-1414

White House Comment Line: (202) 456-1111Fax: (202) 456-2461

Secretary of State Hillary ClintonDepartment of StateWashington, DC 20520

State Department Public Information Line:(202) 647-6575

Any SenatorU.S. SenateWashington, DC 20510(202) 224-3121

Any RepresentativeU.S. House of RepresentativesWashington, DC 20515(202) 225-3121

E-MAIL CONGRESS AND THEWHITE HOUSE E-mail Congress: visit the Web site<www.congress.org> for contact information.

E-mail President Obama:<[email protected]>

E-mail Vice President Joe Biden:<[email protected]>

opm_33-34_Other People's Mail 5/13/10 12:51 PM


National

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THE WORLD LOOKS AT THE MIDDLE EAST THE WORLD LOOKS AT THE MIDDLE EAST

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“Western policy towards this part of theworld has been a total failure, in my view. Ithas not been based on dialogue, understand-ing, supporting civil society and empoweringpeople, but rather it’s been based on support-ing authoritarian systems as long as the oilkeeps pumping.

“If you bet on individuals, instead of thepeople, you are going to fail. And Western pol-icy so far has been to bet on individuals, indi-viduals who are not supported by their peopleand who are being discredited every day.”

—Former IAEA Director-General andpotential Egyptian presidential candidateMohammed ElBaradei, in his first English-language interview since returning toCairo in February (The Guardian, March31, 2010)

Dr. Mohammed ElBaradei is quicklybecoming the Middle East’s most

prominent progressive voice. Candidly and

calmly articulating beliefs long held by av-erage citizens, he does so not from a far-away think tank in the United States or Eu-rope, but from the heart of the Arab world.

Defying the Egyptian government’s banon non-state-sanctioned public gatherings,ElBaradei is attracting increasingly largecrowds as he takes his message of reform toCairo’s streets and, most recently, to theNile Delta. Decrying the West’s support forthe region’s authoritarian regimes in themidst of Egyptian President HosniMubarak’s security services is also nosmall undertaking, but ElBaradei has doneit with poise and courage.

As Egypt gears up for its 2011 presiden-tial election, ElBaradei has called on fellowcountrymen to join his newly establishedNational Front for Change. He also askedthem to add their names to a petition call-ing for reforms that would, for example,overturn constitutional roadblocks erectedby Mubarak curtailing the ability of inde-pendents like himself from running. ElBa-radei has yet to announce whether he willstand as a candidate in the upcoming bal-lot, however.

In his first public appearance outsideCairo near the provincial capital of Man-soura, he said to a crowd of 1,500 support-ers, “You are the owners of this country.Whatever our belief or religion is, everyone of us has a piece of this country andhas the right to lead a decent life...it doesnot make sense that until now 40 percentof the people are below [the] poverty lineand 30 percent are illiterate. Social justiceis almost non-existent in Egypt, and thegap between the rich and poor is widen-ing...”

Emphasizing that basic constitutional re-forms are the key to political change inEgypt (such as lifting Emergency Law,which prohibits exactly the type of gath-ering at which he spoke), ElBaradei suc-cinctly stated his mission: “We seek peace-ful reform...we seek constitutional amend-ments and free and fair elections. TheEgyptian citizen has the right to choose hispresident.”

As the opening quote illustrates, ElBa-radei clearly identifies why U.S. and Euro-pean Middle East policy has failed. Al-though neoconservatives have hijacked thenarrative of bringing democracy to the re-gion by ending the rule of repressiveregimes, what makes ElBaradei different isthat he actually understands the “Arabstreet” and has tapped into its deep, rever-berating feelings:

“I see increasing radicalization in thisarea of the world, and I understand thereason. People feel repressed by their owngovernments, they feel unfairly treated bythe outside world, they wake up in themorning and who do they see—they seepeople being shot and killed, all Muslimsfrom Afghanistan, Iraq, Somalia, Sudan,Darfur.”

Unlike the “neocons,” ElBaradei appre-ciates that if people were politically em-powered, they would have little in com-mon with the self-styled, pro-Israel “liber-ators” of the Middle East.

During the 2008-2009 Israeli invasion ofGaza—in which Egyptians were preventedfrom demonstrating, raising money, oreven blogging in support of besiegedGazans—if the Arab masses were not muf-fled into silence by governments that felttheir best interests lie in siding with theU.S., the line of people rushing to Gaza’s


A New Wind Blows in EgyptBy Rannie Amiri

Egyptian Nobel Peace laureate Mohamed ElBaradei (c), former head of the InternationalAtomic Energy Agency, is greeted by supporters as he visits the Nile Delta town of Mansurato campaign for political reforms, April 2, 2010.

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Rannie Amiri is an independent Middle Eastcommentator. This article was first posted on<www.counterpunch.com>, April 9, 2010.Reprinted with permission.

amiri_36-37 5/13/10 3:43 PM

aid would have extended from Morocco toIraq.

With a reputation as an even-handed,fair-minded diplomat working solidly inhis favor, ElBaradei has the ability to dra-matically alter the trajectory of MiddleEast politics. Speaking forcefully and com-pellingly against an entrenched and self-perpetuating political system, if successful,what he does for Egypt will resonatethroughout the Arab world.

For this reason, and notwithstanding thepolitical system rigged against him, all theregion’s authoritarian rulers hope he willfail in his quest to galvanize the Egyptianmasses into action, for fear their own rulewill be jeopardized.

“The state may be a centralized powerbut the people are stronger,” ElBaradeisaid.

As the new wind brought by ElBaradeiblows across Egypt’s political landscape,the outcome of the 2011 election will de-termine if his truism becomes reality. ❑

pital, a mental health clinic, UNRWA fooddistribution centers, and a water treatmentfacility. He said he was shocked to see amajor industrial zone outside Gaza Citythat Israel had completely obliter-ated—after all combat had ended and thearea was secured. Despite the fact thatthere were no snipers or rockets, Israelused bombs and bulldozers to level build-ings. Baird met with Ohio-trained Palestin-ian professionals who’d watched all theirinvestments flattened.

“One factory had made menacingitems—biscuits and ice cream for children.Bulldozers pushed a brand-new U.S.-made$140,000 Caterpillar generator off the roofand flattened it. That evening we went toIsrael,” he recounted, “and asked ‘why didyou do it? Why destroy civilian infrastruc-ture? It’s illegal and not in Israel’s best in-terests.’ Their answer was ‘Gaza is Hamas-stan.’ They felt it was utterly justified sim-ply by saying that.”

Baird and Ellison visited an UNRWAschool where students were using theUNRWA curriculum and studying humanrights. “It’s ironic that in the United Stateswe hear all the kids in the Middle East gettheir education at Western-hating madras-sas,” he noted, “but these UNRWA schoolsare progressive. The irony of ironies is theyare learning about international humanrights, including the Holocaust.

“I sat in a room with 11- or 12-year-oldyoung ladies with bright sparkling faces,articulate, sharp, self-confident. They hadwonderful aspirations—they wanted to bedoctors, lawyers, teachers and scientists. Iwish my colleagues in Congress, especiallythe women, could see these young girlswith their aspirations and then ask them-selves if they still feel good about votingfor resolutions condoning the bombing ofthose very same girls.

“I wish my colleagues could go and seethe things I’ve seen and meet the peopleI’ve met,” he said. “I think it would have aprofound impact. But of course they don’t.They could. They woefully choose not to.And, frankly, our friends the Israelis don’tmake it easy.”

Asked if he’d continue to be a voice forpeace after he retires from Congress, the54-year-old Baird replied, “I’m absolutelycommitted to it. First of all, it’s a matter ofjustice. The standard explanation for whyone should care about this is ‘if we don’twork to change conditions on the groundpeople will become desperate and desper-ate people will become terrorists and ter-rorists will hit us.’ That’s a legitimate butself-interested explanation. My explana-tion is different. When you meet Palestini-ans you discover these are really extraordi-narily talented, skilled, reasonable andprogressive people. They deserve justiceand freedom just like anyone else.

“It is righting the injustice and indigni-ties they suffer that is my primary motiva-tion, but this issue also has profound na-tional security and geopolitical conse-quences for the entire region. Whereveryou go, this issue stands out as an exampleof the inconsistency of American policywith American values.”

Baird recommended three critical actionsvoters should take to help elect leaderswho care about this issue: “Ask members ofCongress to go to the region, and not justtake the traditional AIPAC trip. They needto go to Jerusalem to meet people like Rev.Mitri Raheb [pastor of the EvangelicalChristmas Lutheran Church] and otherpeace activists. They should go to Jenin,see the wall, the checkpoints and cross-ings, see what they mean on a daily basis.Not just see one side.

“While they’re in Israel they shouldmeet with Israeli human rights groups andjournalists,” he added. “There is more free-dom of speech in Israel than there is in theU.S. Congress—and members of Congressneed to hear that speech. They need tomeet many people with different perspec-tives, not just hear one side.

“Second,” Baird continued, “there is areal need for financial participation. It’s im-portant to send letters, visit and talk tomembers of Congress about how you feel,but it’s also important to write the check,volunteer in the campaign. Let the mem-ber of Congress know why you’re doing it.Speaking out as I and others have done hassubstantial financial consequences in termsof funding political campaigns. It can cost$100,000-$200,000 or more in contribu-tions, and can easily bring five times thatamount to one’s opponent. There’s a needof some balance to redress that.

“Finally,” the Washington Democrat said,“members of Congress get elected by voters,and many citizens don’t have access to in-formation about these issues. Write letters tothe editor, gather information, reach out tochurch groups and social organizations.Most Americans would be shocked andtroubled if they knew where their tax dol-lars have gone. Insist that candidates forCongress know. Vigorously, respectfully askquestions, ask members of Congress to studythis issue in an open-minded way. Otherlobby organizations do it. If only one side isheard, that’s the side that gets support.”

Baird related one final story before hehad to leave for a vote on the House floor.“Dr. Tawfiq Nasser, director of AugustaVictoria, the main cancer hospital inJerusalem, told me about a 7-year-old childin Gaza with a brain tumor. After manyweeks the Israelis gave permission for thechild to travel to East Jerusalem. His par-ents were denied permission to accompanyhim—not because of any record of crimi-nal or terrorist activity, but because theywere of a certain age group that is not al-lowed to leave Gaza. The Israelis basicallysaid, ‘Your child, who may be dying ofcancer, can leave, but you can’t go withhim—but you can send, in this case, an in-firm grandparent.

“I ask my friends in Congress, and theaverage American, how would you feel if,through no fault of your own, your entirecommunity was surrounded by a militaryblockade and a physical wall and the peo-ple who did that to you could decide thatyour child can die or go through painful orlife-threatening surgery without you.Someone else has made that determination.What would that do to you?

“I found that profoundly troubling. Ourpolicy aids and abets that. Our policies aidand abet the confiscation of Palestinianproperty and the expansion of Israeli set-tlements,” Baird concluded. “It’s inhuman,unjust—and it’s a threat to our national se-curity.” ❑


Rep. Brian Baird…Continued from page 27

amiri_36-37 5/13/10 3:43 PM


Since its independence, Malaysia hasheld a position strongly critical of Is-

rael and supportive of Palestinian rights.Media coverage of the Palestine conflictebbs and flows with its international im-pact, but tends to focus on Israeli violenceand gives a highly sympathetic account ofthe Palestinians. Because there is not mucheffort to analyze Israeli politics or societyin depth, Israel generally appears two-di-mensional and rather undifferentiatedlybad. Malay Muslims, in particular, feelstrongly about the issue—and, although inprivate non-Muslims may not be particu-larly interested, those in the political arenagenerally go along with Muslim sentiment.In this environment, any association of a

politician with Israel would be very dam-aging, and therefore when oppositionleader Anwar Ibrahim accused the govern-ment of having associations with Israel, heknew he was stirring up a hornet’s nest.

Prime Minister Najib Razak has beenseeking to rally support around the conceptof 1Malaysia, which stresses the unity of thecountry’s diverse peoples. It is presented asa non-partisan idea, but the opposition seesit as a means to rally electoral support to thegoverning Barisan Nasional coalition, usingthe banner of patriotism. For its part, thegovernment presents itself as simultane-ously upholding Malay rights and trying topreserve tolerance and coexistence amongMalays, Chinese and Indians.Speaking in the Malaysian parliament in

March, Anwar claimed that the 1Malaysiaidea was derived from that of One Israel,the name of the electoral alliance underwhich Ehud Barak campaigned in 1999.The similarity is superficial, however. OneIsrael was not promoted as a concept forthe nation as a whole, but for an electoralcoalition. It was Barak’s attempt to rallysupport to an Israeli Labor party whose po-litical support was dwindling; he hoped itcould gain votes by downplaying the“Labor” name, with its socialist associa-tions, and play to national sentiments as a

non-class, non-ideological en-tity.Anwar claimed that Israel

was given access to channelsfor influencing Malaysianpolicies through APCO World-wide, a consultancy hired bythe Malaysian government.The company worked for theIsraeli government, he said,and had helped to create the1Malaysia concept. APCOWorldwide promptly issued astatement denying both claimsand saying that Prime Minis-ter Najib had spoken aboutthe 1Malaysia concept beforethe company was hired by thegovernment.The Malaysian government

was embarassed by the revela-tion that it had paid APCO 77million ringgit ($24 million) forits services, but was unapolo-getic about hiring the com-pany, claiming that the firmwas playing a key role in help-ing Malaysia to build strongerties with the U.S.

In an April 17 article entitled “NajibWalking a Tightrope on U.S. Ties,” StraitsTimes correspondent Leslie Lopez noted:“Besides, Malaysia had little choice as

Jewish-American firms were among themost effective in lobbying the UnitedStates government,” Datuk Nazri Aziz, theminister in the Prime Minister’s Depart-ment, argued earlier this week.“‘In the U.S., there is a lobby culture...So

if we want to lobby for something in theU.S. administration, do you think we cansucceed if we want to use an Islamic com-pany”’ he added.”Nazri’s statement to reporters that the

government was trying “to make up for 28years of not-so-good foreign policies underthe reign of the two former prime minis-ters” produced an angry rejoinder fromformer prime minister Dr. Mahathir Mo-hamad, the main target of that barb. Thereis no love lost between the two: in Decem-ber, Nazri labelled Mahathir’s blog “bloodyracist” for the attitudes it expressed towardnon-Malays. Anwar’s claims against APCO seem to

John Gee is a free-lance journalist based inSoutheast Asia, and the author of UnequalConflict: The Palestinians and Israel.

Malaysian Opposition Leader Anwar Ibrahim Plays the Israel CardBy John Gee

Malaysian opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim dons his coat as he makes his way to a Kuala Lumpur court-room, May 10, 2010, as his trial on sodomy charges resumed after a long delay. Anwar says the allega-tions were trumped up in an effort to end his political career and neutralize the threat he poses to the rul-ing Barisan Nasional coalition.

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rest on very flimsy evidence. Headquar-tered in Washington, DC, APCO World-wide has offices in Tel Aviv, but also inDubai. Some of its employees are support-ive of Israel—but it is not obvious that itdiffers from other U.S. companies in thisrespect.

APCO founder Margery Kraus sits on theboard of the Teuza Fund, an Israel-basedtechnology venture, where one of her col-leagues is Moshe Arens, a former Israeliminister of defense, minister of foreign af-fairs and ambassador to Washington. An-other is Dr. Zvi Meiri, awarded two IsraelDefense Prizes for his role in developingmajor weapons systems for Israel. Theseare the sort of personalities who hold postsin many Israeli technology companies,given the purchasing power and interest ofthe military in high-tech weaponry andsystems with military applications.

This does not prove very much, how-ever. Kraus doesn’t have a track record ofshowing a special interest in Israel, and herother business associations are with non-Israeli companies. In fact, both her ownand APCO’s past suggest an interest inmaking money without being too choosyabout business associates. Notoriously, inthe 1990s APCO advised the American to-bacco company Philip Morris in its effortsto counter the message that “smoking isbad for your health.” It is seen by thosewho seek its services as having a particu-lar aptitude for lobbying on sensitive po-litical issues.

In time, no doubt, it will become knownhow APCO Worldwide is earning its ring-gits.

Even after the APCO allegations, Anwarstill had one more accusation to makeabout Israeli links, saying he had policedocuments showing that two Israeli formermilitary intelligence officers entered theMalaysian federal police headquarters in2008 and had access to the police commu-nication system. They were said to workfor a technology company registered inSingapore but with a parent company inIsrael. A company hired by the police toupgrade its computer system was reportedto have subcontracted work to a companythat employed the two Israelis. Anwarnamed the company as Asiasoft. Again, thegovernment denied the charges.

While Anwar’s claims did arouse publicinterest, there was also a fair amount ofskepticism about why he was making themat this time—following as they did a seriesof defections from his Parti KeadilanRakyat (PKR) to the government, and justahead of a key parliamentary by-electionto fill a seat previously held by the PKR. ❑


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gee_38-39_Islam and the Near East in the Far East 5/13/10 1:57 PM

Following an April 2 prayer service heldat the Van Ness Holiday Inn, San Fran-

cisco Police Chief George Gascón apolo-gized to members of the Bay Area Muslimand Arab community for comments he hadmade the previous week implying thatYemenis and Afghans in San Franciscoposed a terrorist threat to the city.“I am very sorry that I offended you,

that I offended the Afghan community, aswell as other Middle Eastern and Muslimcommunities; that was never my intent,”the chief averred. “The San Francisco Po-lice Department is committed to the safetyof your community and I have the utmostrespect for the Yemeni and Afghan com-munities.”Responding with cheers and applause,

the majority of the audience of some 2,000was pleased with his remarks, although afew did not feel the chief’s response wasadequate. At a March 24 meeting with cityofficials and others regarding earthquakesafety and a seismic retrofit bond, Gascónhad commented that the Hall of Justicewas susceptible not just to an earthquake,but to an Oklahoma City-style explosion

by members of SanFrancisco’s MiddleEastern community—specifically those ofAfghan and Yemeniorigin—parking andblowing up a van out-side the building.More than 20 organizations, including

the Arab American Grocers Association,Arab Film Festival, Arab Cultural andCommunity Center, Arab Resource and Or-ganizing Center, Asian Law Caucus andCouncil on American-Islamic Relations(CAIR), demanded an immediate apology,and two days later the chief met with Hon-orary Consul of Yemen Mansoor Ismaeland Arab-American community leaders toexpress his regrets.Presenting a copy of the Qur’an to

Gascón at the April 2 event, Consul Ismaelaccepted the police chief’s apology. “Welook forward to working together to makeSan Francisco a safer place for all commu-nities,” he told the large crowd seated onthe floor of the room, many taking photosand videos with their cell phones.Adel Syed, civil rights coordinator for

CAIR’s Sacramento chapter, extended aninvitation to Gascón to attend a town hall

meeting to address community members’concerns. “We are very grateful to thechief for coming here today, but we un-derstand that this is just the beginning,rather than the end,” he said. “The dia-logue starts here.”

Sonoma, Aswan Children Create ArtTo Save the EnvironmentThe Sonoma-Aswan Sister City (SASC)Committee of the Sonoma Sister Cities As-sociation held its first meeting of 2010 atthe Sonoma Community Center on March15. Egyptian Consul Heba Zaki from theSan Francisco-based consulate was thekeynote speaker, and delighted the audi-ence with her talk on her country’s culture.Festive gatherings of friends and family

are an integral part of Egyptian culture,she told her audience, as are vibrant

dance, music and art, and soccer—or foot-ball, as it is called almost everywhere out-side the U.S.While many women work andsupport their families, she noted, manyalso choose to stay home and take care oftheir children fulltime. Like many youngpeople around the world, however, theyounger generation of Egyptians has be-come “slaves to their cell phones and lap-top computers,” Zaki lamented. “We some-times feel that the younger generation isbecoming distant from the classical oldfamilies.” And, like Americans, Egyptiansare concerned about the environment, par-ticularly pollution and how it affects watersources. “We share the same concerns overglobal warning with everyone,” she said.Arlene Sukolsky, chair of the SASC sub-

committee on arts/culture/tourism, andGeorgeMcKale, chair of the education sub-committee, discussed “Our BeautifulWater,” their art project for children de-

Northern CaliforniaChronicle

Northern CaliforniaChronicle

San Francisco Police Chief Apologizes forOffensive Comments on Afghans, YemenisBy Elaine Pasquini


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

ABOVE: Honorary Consul of Yemen Mansoor Ismael (r) introduces SanFrancisco Police Chief George Gascón (c), standing next to ShaykhQaid, the religious leader at Masjid Tawheed. INSET: A large audi-ence listens to the police chief’s apology.

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signed to raise awareness of the importanceof water in children’s lives and of their re-sponsibility to preserve and improve thequality and sustainability of the water intheir communities. McKale implementedthis project with the Sonoma Boys andGirls Club and displayed examples of theirdrawings. “Today’s children, as tomorrow’sleaders, will be those responsible for pro-tecting and conserving the planet’s re-sources,” he pointed out.

Sukolksy, who launched the project inAswan, described her experience meetingwith Dr. Osama Abdel-Maguid, director ofthe Nubian Museum, and children fromthe English Language School of Aswanwho participated in the project. After pro-viding the students with art supplies, sheasked them to make drawings on the sub-ject of water conservation and how theysee and understand the importance ofmajor water sources in their lives. “Thechildren enthusiastically agreed to partici-pate,” she exclaimed. “They were so ex-cited they immediately began drawing be-fore I stopped talking.”

While showing digital images of theEgyptian students’ drawings, Sukolskyread their short descriptions accompany-ing their artwork. “I think the next warwill be the water war,” one child wrote.Another penned: “Please save me by pro-tecting the water.”

Palestine Children’s Relief FundBenefitOn Nov. 8, 2006, the Israeli military shelledAbdallah Al-Athamna’s family home inBeit Hanoun, killing 18 members of hisfamily, including his mother and twoyounger sisters, and severing part of hisright leg. Four years later the young Gazanis receiving medical treatment at Shriners

Children’s Hospital in Los An-geles, including being fit-ted—for the third time—witha prosthetic leg. The firstsurgery, performed in Oaklandin 2007 to fit Abdallah with anartificial leg, and the second,performed in Dubai in 2009,were both unsuccessful.

The spunky youngster, now11 years old, was the honoredguest at the second annualfund-raising dinner benefitingthe Palestine Children’s ReliefFund (PCRF), the organizationthat paid for his transportationfrom Palestine to the U.S. andarranged for his free medicaltreatment.

Nadiah Mshasha and RimaQaru co-hosted the April 18

dinner at the Sunnyvale restaurant Dish-dash, owned and operated by Mshashaand her husband, Emad Ibrahim.

Qaru discussed the PCRF’s efforts to pro-vide free medical care for children in Pales-tine, Iraq and refugee camps in Lebanon,and other projects, including the WomenEmpowerment Project, summer camps forchildren in Gaza, the WestBank and Lebanon, and pro-jects providing childrenwith eyeglasses and wheel-chairs. Encouraging audi-ence members to get in-

volved, the longtime PCRF supporter com-mented, “Being a host family for a childgives the child a warm feeling of not beingalone, especially with the horrible situationin Gaza. Even if a child returns home, theystay in contact with their host family andknow there are people who care aboutthem.”

Unexpectedly overwhelmed with shy-ness, Abdallah declined to give his pre-pared words, letting Fatima Rasheed, hishost mother in 2007, thank the audienceon his behalf.

The audience also viewed a short videoabout Mariam Al-Shafei of Beit Lahia,Gaza, whom PCRF brought to the Bay Areafor ophthalmic care provided by ocularistRaymond Rendon. Miriam was criticallyinjured and lost an eye from shrapnel firedfrom an Israeli tank into her home on Jan.4, 2009.The teenager received a prostheticeye and returned to Gaza last month.

Following in her mother’s footsteps,Shireen Qaru is also working with thePCRF chapter in Northern California andtalked about one of her favorite PCRF pro-grams, “Sponsoring a Child.” “This pro-gram allows individuals to make a hugeimpact on a child’s life,” she said. An indi-

vidual can make a one-yearcommitment to provide $50monthly to a child whoneeds special medication ormedical treatment.

PCRF is not supported bygovernment grants or foun-dations, but relies on dona-tions from individuals. Read-ers wishing to help may sendtax-deductible donations toPCRF, P.O. Box 1926, Kent,OH 44240. For more infor-mation, call (330) 678-2645,e-mail <[email protected]> orvisit <www.pcrf.net>. ❑

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Egyptian consul Heba Zaki speaks at a meeting of theSonoma-Aswan Sister City Association.

RIGHT: Abdallah Al-Ath-amna, 11, traveled from LosAngeles, where he is receiv-ing medical treatment pro-vided by the PCRF, to at-tend its benefit dinner in

Sunnyvale. BELOW (l-r):Emad Ibrahim, Nadiah

Mshasha and Rima Qaru.

pasquini_40-41:Northern California Chronicle 5/12/10 9:20 PM

Just arriving after a 24-hour flight fromGaza—rerouted to avoidash clouds from Iceland’svolcano—John Ging, direc-tor of UNRWA’s Gaza opera-tions, delivered a dynamickeynote address atKinderUSA’s annual fund-raiser April 17 in OrangeCounty.The Irish diplomat shares

an admirable distinctionwith Justice Richard Gold-stone and U.N. Special Rap-porteur on PalestinianRights Richard Falk ofbeing on Israel’s most de-spised list. As he managedto survive the deluge of Is-raeli missile attacks on Gazaduring the winter of 2008-09, Ging dispatched impas-sioned reports of Israel’srelentless assault on Gaza’sdefenseless civilian popula-tion.Ging’s exclusive appearance for the

KinderUSA benefit was a thank you to thecharitable organization’s unflagging med-ical and food assistance to beleagueredGazan families.“Inhumane, illegal and insane” were the

adjectives Ging used to describe the worldturning a blind eye on Israel’s 22-dayblitzkreig on Gaza and ongoing blockade ofall but the barest necessities into thecoastal strip.“We don’t even have soup kitchens for

the most destitute,” the U.N. official stated,noting that one million of Gaza’s 1.5 mil-lion residents are refugees from what isnow Israel. “Eighty percent of Gazans arefood dependent,” Ging continued. “Thismeans 300,000 are totally destitute and800,000 are totally dependent on foodhandouts. We can’t offer three squaremeals daily, but only staples which fail tomeet the basic caloric intake.”He went on to remark that “Gazans

aren’t dying on a daily basis, but their sub-sistence existence shortens lives. Health

care is on its knees, dialysis machines areout of action, there is no rehabilitation ofthe infrastructure.”The man-made humanitarian disaster

means that 90 percent of Gaza’s water isundrinkable and must be treated in thehome. Israel purposely bombed sewageplants, so 60 million liters of sewage noware pumped daily into the Mediterranean.More than 208,000 children attend

Gaza’s 226 UNRWA schools, Ging said,where “We teach these students that eventhough illegal acts are being perpetratedon them, this doesn’t justify violent acts ontheir part.” He then thanked KinderUSAfor its assistance in providing badlyneeded recreation programs for childrenthis past summer.“My concern is over the contradictory

narratives and the contradictory statistics,”he added. “I tell the world to come to Gazaand see the facts. This misery must be ad-dressed. Despite the unrelenting oppres-sion that grows worse daily, Gazans prac-tice a stoicism that makes them reject giv-ing up.”Despite the fact that the Geneva Con-

ventions define collective punishment as il-

legal, he emphasized, noth-ing is being done to protectthe rights of Palestinianrefugees who were driveninto Gaza 62 years ago.“Israel replaced its settle-

ments in Gaza with theblockades,” he declared.At the close of his

speech, Ging commented tothe Washington Report:“History will prove thePalestinians have beensteadfast as a beacon of re-silience—despite their direcircumstances, they’ve re-tained their humanity.”

Rebuilding AllianceTriple-HeaderThe Rebuilding Allianceoutdid itself at its annualPeacemakers Awards din-ner April 24 when it hon-ored U.N. Special Rappor-teur Dr. Richard Falk,Cindy and Craig Corrie,

and Rep. Brian Baird (D-WA). More than300 guests gathered at the Red RockChateau in Silverado, CA for an Arab ban-quet hosted by Nabhan and Yola Simaan.In accepting his award, Professor Falk

noted that it is a sad commentary whenone is commended for being courageous instanding up for justice in the Middle East.Before touching upon three new develop-ments affecting the region, the educatorquoted the late U.S. Secretary of State JohnFoster Dulles, who complained about hisdisappointment that “Arabs and Jewscouldn’t sit down together like good Chris-tians.”The first new development, Falk said, is

a greater awareness on the part of Wash-ington that its unconditional support of Is-rael is endangering the lives of U.S. troopsin Iraq and Afghanistan.“This concept is reinforced by military

leaders who emphasize the urgency offinding a solution to the Palestinian/Israeliimpasse,” he said.A more troublesome development, ac-

cording to Falk, is that it’s no longer clear ifa two-state solution is possible. A de factoone state currently exists, with half the

Southern CaliforniaChronicle

Southern CaliforniaChronicle

JohnGingHeadlines KinderUSAProgram,Corries, Richard Falk at Rebuilding AllianceBy Pat and Samir Twair

Featured at KinderUSA’s April 17 program were (l-r) Dr. Laila al-Marayati,keynote speaker John Ging and Dr. Jess Ghanam.

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population living under anapartheid situation.Thirdly, he stressed, the

Palestinians have shifted theirtactics to nonviolence, so thattheir struggle is being wagedsymbolically on a globalscale.“The Boycott, Divest, Sanc-

tion movement has spreaddramatically since Israel’s Op-eration Cast Lead,” he ob-served. “By relying on softpower, the Palestinians haveseized the moral highground.”Closing with a comparison

to the VietnamWar, Falk saidU.S. military supremacy wasirrelevant in a power strug-gle with a people seekingself-determination. ”Wemust recognize this is ourstruggle,” he insisted. “Wesupply the arms (to Israel)and it’s our responsibilityto demand justice (for thePalestinians).”In accepting the Peace-

maker award on behalf ofRepresentative Baird, CraigCorrie explained howdeeply his congressmanwas affected upon hearingof the death of the Corries’daughter Rachel. She wascrushed to death in April2003 by an Israeli bull-dozer intent on demolish-ing a Palestinian home inRafah in the Gaza Strip.“We may not have al-

ways agreed with Congressman Baird onhis views of Israel,” Corrie said, “but he al-ways did right about Rachel.” This meantenabling the Corries to speak to Congressand urge that a full investigation be madeinto the circumstances of her murder.In February 2009, following Israel’s 22-

day assault on Gaza, Rep. Baird made threetrips there, inviting other legislators toview Israel’s systematic devastation of thearea. He subsequently publicly denouncedIsrael’s actions during “Operation CastLead.”Unfortunately, after seeing the light on

U.S. foreign policy in the Middle East,Baird has decided not to seek re-election tothe congressional seat he’s held since 1998.Let’s hope his successor will be as enlight-ened as the current incumbent.Cindy Corrie then discussed the first

phase of the couple’s civil suit in a Haifadistrict court probing the circumstancesleading to Rachel’s death (see p. 51).The achievements of Rebuilding Al-

liance since it was founded six years agowere outlined by its executive director,Donna Baranski-Walker. It built a three-story kindergarten in al-Aqaba village inArea C of the West Bank. When Israel is-sued demolition orders for the village, theorganization succeeded in having the U.S.Embassy stop the bulldozers. Representa-tives of 15 embassies have since visited thevillage.The alliance hopes to build a birthing

center and provide the first ambulance forArea C. It is working inWashington, DC toinvoke the Leahy Law to safeguard play-grounds it builds in Palestine, and plans toconstruct a community center in Rafah. For

more information, visit<www.rebuilding al-liance.org>.

Winograd for CongressFund-RaiserCalifornia’s June 8 primaryelection will feature the firstcontest between an AIPACGoliath — Jane Harman —and a progressive David—Marcy Winograd—for Cali-fornia’s 36th CongressionalDemocratic seat (see May/June 2010 Washington Re-port, p. 24).Among the many con-

stituents who appreciateWinograd’s call for an end ofIsrael’s military occupationof the West Bank and itsblockade of Gaza are Lilyand Karim Karam, whoopened their Palos VerdesEstates home for a March27 fund-raiser for Wino-grad.In 2006, while Harman

was praising the U.S. inva-sion of Iraq, Winogradchallenged the 16-year in-cumbent and won 38 per-cent of the vote. There’s agood chance she can defeatHarman in the June pri-mary if peace advocatesand voters seeking achange in the educationsystem and a shift frommilitary expenditures to agreen economy come out tosupport her.

They and other concerned Americanscan learn more by visiting <www.Winograd4Congress.com>. ❑


TOP: Rebuilding Alliance award recipients (l-r) Dr. Richard Falk, Cindyand Craig Corrie. ABOVE: Congressional candidate Marcy Winograd (c)with hosts Lily and Karim Karam.

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(Advertisement)

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In an April 13 talk at Columbia Univer-sity, Bill Fletcher, Jr., the executive edi-tor of BlackCommentator.com and a seniorscholar with the Institute for Policy Stud-ies, placed the issue of Israeli apartheid inhistorical context. With the 1973 Conven-tion Against the Crime of Apartheid, henoted, the U.N. generalized the concept ofapartheid beyond South Africa to compriseany system of racial injustice, racial dis-crimination, and racial segregation. Butwhat is “racial,” Fletcher asked, and is it ap-propriate in the Palestinian context? Yes, heexplained, because race is not a biological,genetic concept. Rather, according toFletcher, it is a socio-political construct thatbegan centuries ago, with the British in Ire-land, as the delineation between a settlerand an indigenous population.Fletcher maintained that all major settler

states—such as the U.S., South Africa andIsrael—share certain traits. They havequasi-religious foundation myths, as op-posed to the indigenous, “who never hear

from God that they are supposed to move.”They believe the land was sparsely popu-lated when they landed, after which “allthose black people arrived.” Or they be-lieve the indigenous don’t deserve the landbecause they don’t make good use of it.Thus, removing them might be morallychallenging, but is worth it for the sake ofprogress. Because of these shared assump-tions and similar histories, Fletcher argued,settler states have an inherent sympathy forIsrael.Settlers assume themselves to be superior

to the barbaric indigenes, he elaborated,giving the settlers the right to use violencein “self-defense,” whereas any form of in-digenous resistance is demonized. “Thepoorest settler can stomp on the richest in-digene,” Fletcher explained. As an exam-ple, he recalled being encouraged to learnof the Black Panther movement of Israelisof Arab descent—only to learn that theywere radically anti-Palestinian.Palestinians have had many Mahatma

Gandhis andMartin Luther Kings, Fletcherasserted, but the Western media portraythem as terrorists. It is important to re-member, he added, that when Gandhi andKing were active, they were consideredtroublemakers rather than paragons of so-cial justice.A question from aworried audiencemem-

ber—how will Palestinians treat Jews whochoose to remain in any future Palestinianstate?—caused Fletcher to recall whiteSouth African fears: “Will blacks drivewhites into the ocean?” But both theAfricanNational Congress and the Palestinian liber-ation struggles are against racist systems, notagainst whites or Jews, he responded.Fletcher concluded by stating that the taskof Americans in solidarity with Palestiniansis to make military aid to Israel an issue,since Israel does not need to be more milita-rized, and to “flip the script”—meaning toconvince the public that Palestinians andArabs are human beings.

Norman Finkelstein on theAftermath of the Gaza InvasionSpeaking to a standing-room-only audienceat New York University (NYU) on April 19,Dr. Norman Finkelstein gave an inspiringtalk on “The Aftermath of the Gaza Inva-sion.” Fifteen months after the assault, he

pointed out, Operation Cast Lead remainsan issue; Israel cannot evade the ghost ofGaza. In describing the run-up to the of-fensive, Finkelstein chose to begin withHamas’ January 2006 legislative victory inPalestinian legislative elections. Israel’s re-

sponse to the free and fair elections, backedby the U.S., was to impose economic sanc-tions against the people of Gaza. Fivemonths later, Finkelstein continued, whenHamas foiled a coup by Israel, the U.S., andsomemembers of the Palestinian Authority,Israel’s response, again backed by the U.S.,was to tighten the blockade. Finkelsteinquoted former U.N. High Commissioner forHuman Rights Mary Robinson, who wroteafter a visit to Gaza, but before Israel’s at-tack, that the Palestinians’ “whole civiliza-tion has been destroyed. I’m not exaggerat-ing. It’s almost unbelievable that the worlddoesn’t care while this is happening.”In June 2008 Egypt brokered a cease-fire

that placed obligations on both sides: onHamas to stop the rockets, and on Israel togradually lift the blockade. Even accordingto Israeli sources, Finkelstein noted, Hamaswas careful to maintain the cease-fire—but

New York City andTri-StateNews

New York City andTri-StateNews

Bill Fletcher, Jr. Discusses Settler States andThe Palestinian GandhiBy Jane Adas

Bill Fletcher, Jr.

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Jane Adas is a free-lance writer based in theNew York City metropolitan area.

Dr. Norman Finkelstein at NYU.

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adas_44-46:New York City and Tri-State News 5/12/10 9:25 PM

Israel reneged on easing theblockade. The cease-fire wasbroken on Nov. 4, 2008,with Israeli airstrikes on andincursion into Gaza. Hamasleader Khaled Meshal saidabout the siege, “Our mod-est, homemade rockets are amessage to the world,”which Finkelstein inter-preted as, “SOS—we aredying.”Although the media and

even a Human RightsWatchreport referred to the “Gazawar,” Finkelstein cited an Is-raeli military analyst’s report that not a sin-gle battle was fought during the 22 days ofOperation Cast Lead. The Israeli air forceflew 3,000 combat missions without a sin-gle plane being the least damaged. In testi-monies to Breaking the Silence, soldier aftersoldier said they didn’t see a single Arab,and that nothing moved except livestock.Several of them referred to Israel’s “insaneuse of fire power.” One soldier likened theoperation to a play-station computer game,another to “an infantile little kid with amagnifying glass looking at ants, burningthem.” Finkelstein admitted to doing this asa child, but said he was never so delusionalas to think he was at war with the ants. Thekill ratio was 100 Gazan combatants to oneIsraeli soldier, and 400 non-combatants toone Israeli civilian. There was no “Gazawar,” Finkelstein deduced; it was a slaugh-ter.The Goldstone Report, commissioned by

the U.N. Human Rights Commission, con-cluded that Israel deliberately used dispro-portionate force designed to punish, hu-miliate, and terrify Gaza’s civilian popula-tion. Israeli President Shimon Peres reactedby calling Richard Goldstone “a smallman”; Israel’s ambassador to the U.S.,American-born-and-raised Michael Oren,said Justice Goldstone was worse than Iran-ian President Mahmoud Ahmandinejad;Harvard professor Alan Dershowitz ac-cused him of being evil, an absolute traitor.“Why the hysteria?” Finkelstein asked—

after five reports from Human RightsWatch, two from Amnesty Internationaland others from United Nations, Israeli,and Palestinian human rights groups allcame to similar conclusions. Goldstone, aSouth African Jewish Zionist who becamea human rights lawyer because of the NaziHolocaust, “neutralized all the usual Zionistweapons,” Finkelstein concluded. Israelisand their supporters panicked becauseGoldstone, forced to choose between his

liberal values and defending Israel, optedto uphold the rule of law.The only rational reason to be involved

in this issue, Finkelstein said, is that peopleare suffering. The goal is not to score pointsand not to vanquish, but to end the conflictso everyone has human dignity intact andrestored. This, he asserted, can only be ac-complished by applying and enforcingbasic principles of international law.

Tax-exempt Donations to IsraeliSettlements, U.S. Military Aid to IsraelIsrael’s special relationship with the UnitedStates gives it many perquisites in spite ofbehavior our government penalizes in othercountries. Two campaigns are underway toexpose specific examples of such doublestandards. For people who understand thatcontinuing these policies harms not onlyPalestinians, but Israelis and Americans aswell, both campaigns provide opportuni-ties to become involved.Jewish Voice for Peace (JVP) and the

American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Com-mittee (ADC) have joined forces to chal-

lenge the tax-exempt statusof U.S. organizations thatsend donations to Israelisettlements in the occupiedterritories—where all suchsettlements are illegal underinternational law. In NewYork on March 24, JVP Na-tional Director RebeccaVilkomerson moderated adiscussion of the tax projectwith ADC legal adviserAbed Ayoub and AdamHorowitz of Mondoweiss.In investigating the Cen-

tral Fund for Israel, a NewYork-based non-profit foundation that hasraised millions of tax-exempt dollars in theU.S. to support Israel’s settler movement,Horowitz discovered that the organization’saddress was theMarcus Fabrics store on 6thAve. inManhattan. Proprietors Arthur andHadassahMarcus, along with their son Jay,who lives in the Efrat settlement near Beth-lehem, divide their time between fabricsand the fund.Some of the recipients of the Central

Fund’s charitable donations are organiza-tions such as Amitz, Magen Yehuda, andUri Karzen Security, which provide equip-ment and training for “early responseteams”—a euphemism, Horowitz ex-plained, for settler security militias. If thesewere Muslim organizations, Washingtonwould freeze their assets and shut themdown, as it did with the Holy Land Foun-dation. Central Fund also channels dona-tions to the Guardians of Yesha, an organi-zation that trains “rapid response teams”throughout the West Bank and has a no-Arab policy, a violation of U.S. federal lawstipulating that organizations granted501(c)(3) non-profit status, allowing dona-tions to be tax-deductible, may not in anyway discriminate by race. Another CentralFund recipient is the Od Yosef ChaiShechem yeshiva in Yitzhar settlement.Rabbi Yitzhak Shapira, head of the yeshiva,recently wrote a book in which he deemedit permissible to kill non-Jewish babies be-cause they will grow into evil people liketheir parents.The Central Fund for Israel is but one of

dozens of such organizations. The Brook-lyn-based Hebron Fund, for example, re-cently held a controversial fund-raiser inthe New YorkMets’ baseball stadium. Someof the biggest U.S. supporters, Ayoubnoted, are Christian organizations, such asthe Colorado-based Christian Friends of Is-raeli Communities that has an “adopt-a-set-tlement” program. These organizations’


TOP: Adam Horowitz (l) and Abed Ayoub.ABOVE: Josh Ruebner.

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tax-exempt status, he added, has cost theU.S. government millions in lost revenue,even while every administration has calledfor a settlement freeze and stipulated thatU.S. aid funds may not be used in the oc-cupied territories.

The goal of the campaign is twofold,Ayoub explained: to make the issue public,and to bring it to Congress as a tax issue,rather than a foreign policy or political one,making it harder to ignore. The ADC is fil-ing complaints about deceptive fund-rais-ing with the Internal Revenue Service,which it hopes will lead to further investi-gation and audits. The most pressing neednow, Ayoub said, is more research, and“the ADC needs help.” To that end, it hasprepared a guide sheet for “Researchingand filing complaints about tax-exempt or-ganizations that support Israeli settle-ments.” To get involved, contact Ayoub at<[email protected]>.

“Can We Afford Military Aid to Israel?”asked Josh Ruebner, national advocacy di-rector of the U.S. Campaign to End the Is-raeli Occupation, at Columbia Universityon April 5. From 1949 to 2007, the U.S. gave$101 billion in military aid to Israel, henoted, with another $30 billion slotted for

2008-2017. Ruebner listed some of the U.S.weapons and delivery systems provided toand used by Israel: F-16s, Apache heli-copter gunships, APCs and tanks, Tow andHellfire missiles, Bunker Busters, naval lit-toral combat ships, M825 155mm smokeprojectiles, A1155 white phosphorus-pro-ducing shells made in Pine Bluff, AR, and,in a $77 million deal with Boeing, a newweapon: GBU-39, a small-diameter bombthat apparently produces shock waves thatdestroy internal organs. All of thesewreaked havoc on Palestinian civilians inGaza during Israel’s Operation Cast Lead as-sault just over a year ago.

Not only does U.S. military aid to Israeltarnish the image the U.S. would like toproject of itself as a promoter of humanrights in the world, Ruebner continued,but it is contrary to our own laws govern-ing arms transfers. According to the ArmsExport Control Act (PL 80-829), U.S.-sup-plied weapons may be used only for inter-nal security or legitimate self-defense. Thiswould not include external military occu-pations or illegitimate blockades, hepointed out. The Foreign Assistance Act(PL 97-195) forbids aid to the governmentof any country with a consistent pattern of

gross violations of human rights—a de-scription that, even according to the U.S.State Department’s own human rights re-ports, applies to Israel. The Leahy Law, at-tached since 1997 to all Foreign OperationsAppropriations Acts, also stipulates that nofunds may be provided to any unit of secu-rity forces that has committed gross viola-tions of human rights.

None of the Obama administration’sgoals—halting settlement expansion, end-ing the blockade on Gaza, and achieving ajust and lasting peace—are possible, Rueb-ner asserted, as long as the U.S. continuesto provide massive military aid to Israel. Heconcluded that every appropriation is atrade-off reflecting value judgments. Phos-phorus bombs or affordable housing? F-16sor community health centers? BunkerBusters or job training programs?

The U.S. Campaign has established an in-teractive Web site, <www.aidtoIsrael.com>,where one can see exactly how much one’sstate and congressional district contributesto Israel’s lethal arsenal. Armed with that in-formation, Americans can make a strongcase to their representatives and senators forreducing the amount of U.S. military aid toIsrael. ❑


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The new buzzword in the world of pro-Israel activism is “delegitimization.”

This term, used to describe an array of crit-icisms of Israel and its policies, such as thecontinuing construction of settlements inoccupied territories, has become a majorrallying point for established Jewish orga-nizations.

Supporters of this emerging strategypoint to the campaign to boycott, divestfrom and sanction (BDS) Israel as a markerdistinguishing “delegitimizers” from gen-uine critics.

“The delegitimization and BDS move-ment is nationally coordinated, and it re-quires a national response,” said WilliamDaroff, vice president for public policy ofthe Jewish Federations of North America.“We need to move forward as a communityto counter this cancerous growth.”

In fact, the campaign against “delegit-imization” is an effort to ignore the factthat criticism of Israel is based on specificpolicies of the Israeli government, whichincreasingly are at odds with both interna-tional law and U.S. interests in the MiddleEast. “To be frank, the ‘delegitimization’issue is a fraud,” declares historian TonyJudt, director of New York University’s Re-marque Institute. “I know no one in theprofessional world of political commentary,however angry about Israel’s behavior,who thinks that the country has no rightto exist...‘Delegitimization’ is just anotherway to invoke anti-Semitism as a silencer,but sounds better because it’s less ex-ploitative of emotional pain.”

The very idea of “delegitimization”came from a report issued by the Reut In-stitute, an Israeli think tank, entitled “TheDelegitimization Challenge.” According tothis report—which is now the basis for theactivism by American Jewish groups—themain global threat facing Israel is not Iran-ian military nuclear capability or Palestin-ian terrorism, but the international cam-paign in the West, including on American

campuses, aimed at boycotting Israelthrough divestment and sanctions. In re-sponse, the Israeli government has notonly mobilized American Jewish groups onits behalf but has initiated a campaign toturn every Israeli into a traveling public re-lations officer, with the Information andDiaspora Ministry issuing pamphlets topassengers on Israeli airlines, coachingthem on how to counter the alleged anti-Israel campaign.

“I think it is puerile,” Prof. ShlomoAvineri told The New York Times. “Some ofthe information is ridiculous, and behindit I find a Bolshevik mentality—to makeevery citizen an unpaid civil servant forthe policy of the government. There isnever any intimation that some of ourproblems have to do with actual policies.”

The fact is, of course, that it is Israel’spolicies which have led to its increasingisolation, not only in the world, but amongthe majority of American Jews as well.While Jewish organizations speak of “dele-gitimization,” and are highly critical of the

policies of the Obama administration, theyare hardly representative of American Jew-ish opinion.

In March, in the aftermath of the im-passe exposed during Vice President JoeBiden’s visit to Israel (see May/June 2010Washington Report, p. 10), J Street commis-sioned a poll of American Jews and theirviews on the Middle East conflict, includ-ing America’s role in resolving the conflict.We learn that American Jews, by a 4-1 mar-gin (82 percent-18 percent) support Wash-ington playing an active role in helping theparties to resolve the conflict; and by a 63percent to 37 percent margin, those whosupport American activism say they wouldcontinue their support even “if it means theU.S. exerting pressure on Israel to make thecompromises necessary to achieve peace.”

To charge that the mounting criticism ofIsrael is part of a campaign of “delegit-imization” is to ignore reality.

Nevertheless, American Jewish opinionis sharply divided. At AIPAC’s annualmeeting in Washington, DC, reported The

“Delegitimization” of Israel: The New Buzz-word of Pro-Israel ActivismBy Allan C. Brownfeld

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Israel andJudaismIsrael andJudaism

Pro-Palestinian activists in Paris demonstrate against the opening of the Ben-Gurion es-planade, named after Israel’s first prime minister, at its April 15 dedication by Paris MayorBertrand Delanoe and visiting Israeli President Shimon Peres.

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Washington Post’s Dana Milbank on March23, “The crowd got...raucous when Ne-tanyahu...took a shot at the Obama admin-istration. ‘Jerusalem is not a settlement—it’s our capital,’ he said. The unrepentantprime minister nodded, waved andthanked the crowd for the extended ap-plause...The audience was rather less en-thusiastic as Hillary Clinton defended hercriticism of Israel...It remained quiet as shecalled for a settlement ‘based on the ‘67lines with agreed swaps of territory’...Inthe audience, the majority just sat andstared at their old friend.”

In contrast, the new Jewish lobbyinggroup J Street urged the administration to“turn this crisis into an opportunity forprogress on two states” by addressing theneed to establish a border between Israeland the future Palestinian state. “Bold Amer-ican leadership is needed now to turn thiscrisis into a real opportunity to end the Is-raeli-Palestinian conflict,” declared J Street.

According to Newsweek, one recentstudy found that only 54 percent of non-Orthodox Jews under 35 are “comfortablewith the idea of a Jewish state” (as com-pared with more than 80 percent of thoseover 65). “If you want examples of the shiftin sentiment,” wrote columnist Jacob Weis-berg in the magazine’s March 29, 2010issue, “read just about any Jewish colum-nist for a major newspaper. Thomas Fried-man of The New York Times spent lastweek arguing that Biden underreacted toIsrael’s announcement about the new hous-ing units in East Jerusalem, comparing Is-rael’s policies to drunken driving. RichardCohen of The Washington Post is writing abook that argues that the founding of Israel

was a well-intentioned mistake. One mightfill a book with the possible explanationsfor rising liberal—and, in particular, Jew-ish liberal—qualms about Israel. But it hasto start with Israel’s occupation of Arablands and its settlements policy—Decadesof harsh occupation have made dispos-sessed Palestinians, the majority of whomhave long favored a two-state solution, thesympathetic victims in the conflict.”

In Weisberg’s view, “Revisionist Zion-ism—the biblically based claim that Israelhas a right to the territories—has wroughttremendous damage to Israel’s moral stand-ing. Encouraging religious and political ex-tremists to settle in those territories set awedge between Israel and its liberal sup-porters, who see annexation as both im-practical and immoral...American liberalsare an external part of Israel’s conscience,and when it disdains them, it becomes aharder and more isolated place.”

A New MantraIn the face of all of this, it is unusual to seethe word “delegitimization” being used asa new mantra to discount the widespreadcriticism of very specific Israeli policiesand actions. In an open letter to PresidentObama from Ronald Lauder, president ofthe World Jewish Congress, published as afull page advertisement in the April 15Washington Post, it is stated that, “Jewsaround the world are concerned today...We are concerned that the Jewish state isbeing isolated and delegitimized.”

Around the world, Israel’s defenders, ig-noring the very legitimate criticisms of Is-raeli policies which are widespread, par-ticularly within the Jewish community it-

self, repeatedly use the Israeli-coined termof “delegitimization.”

South African Jewish leaders, for exam-ple, initially threatened disruptions to theMay bar mitzvah ceremony of the grand-son of Judge Richard Goldstone if the au-thor of the Goldstone Report and currentlyvisiting professor at Georgetown Univer-sity Law Center were to attend. Mooney-een Castle, chairwoman of the SouthAfrican Zionist Federation’s Western CapeCouncil, said that the anger at Goldstonewas so great that it would “result in an al-most certain barrage of protestors” on theday of the ceremony. Using the officiallyapproved language, Warren Goldstein, thechief rabbi of South Africa, stated that theU.N. has an “anti-Israel agenda,” and theinvestigation of war crimes in Gaza was“merely a cover for a political strategy ofdelegitimizing Israel.”

Goldstone’s friends rushed to his de-fense. Justice Arthur Chaskalson, whoserved with him on South Africa’s Consti-tutional Court, said the threats “reveal alevel of bigotry and intolerance meant toshut down any diversity of opinion.”

The charge of “delegitimization,” it isclear, is simply a well-coordinated cam-paign to avoid a real discussion of the Is-raeli policies which have led to a rift withthe U.S. and are contrary to any movementtoward real place. Just as the repeatedcharge of “anti-Semitism” has failed to si-lence critics, so will the robotic use of theterm “delegitimization.” The stakes are toohigh—for the U.S., for the Palestinians, forthe real best interests of Israel—to permitany such effort to stifle free and open dis-cussion to succeed. ❑


Dear Judge Goldstone,As rabbis from diverse traditions and locations, we want to

extend our warmest mazel tov to you as an elder in our com-munity upon the bar mitzvah of your grandson. Bar and BatMitzvah is a call to conscience, a call to be responsible for thewelfare of others, a call to fulfill the covenant of peace and jus-tice articulated in our tradition.

As rabbis, we note the religious implications of the report youauthored. We are reminded of Shimon Ben Gamliel’s quote,“The world stands on three things: justice, truth, and peace as itsays ‘Execute the judgment of truth, and justice and peace will beestablished in your gates’ (Zekharya 8:16).” We affirm the truthof the report that bears your name.

We are deeply saddened by the controversy that has grownup around the issuing of the report. We affirm your findings andbelieve you set up an impeccable standard that provides strongevidence that Israel engaged in war crimes during the assault onGaza that reveal a pattern of continuous and systematic assaultagainst Palestinian people and land that has very little to do withIsrael’s claim of security. Your report made clear the intentional

targeting of civilian infrastructures such as hospitals, schools,agricultural properties, water and sewage treatment centersand civilians themselves with deadly weapons that are illegalwhen used in civilian centers.

This is the ugly truth that is so hard for many Jewish peopleto face. Anyone who spends a day in Palestinian territories seesthis truth immediately.

Judge Goldstone, we want to offer you our deepest thanksfor upholding the principles of justice, compassion and truththat are the heart of Jewish religion and without which ourclaims to Jewishness are empty of meaning. We regret that yourfindings have led to controversy and caused you not to feel wel-come at your own grandson’s Bar Mitzvah. We believe your re-port is a clarion call to Israel and the Jewish people to awakenfrom the slumber of denial and return to the path of peace.

Rabbinic Letter to Judge Richard Goldstone

Rabbi Everett GendlerRabbi Lynn GottliebRabbi Brant RosenRabbi Brian Walt

Rabbi Haim BeliakRabbi Michael LernerRabbi Arthur Waskowand 23 others

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U.N. Ambassador RiceAddressesAAI’s 25thAnniversary PartyAmbassador Susan Rice, U.S. permanentrepresentative to the United Nations, gavethe keynote address at the Kahlil Gibran“Spirit of Humanity” Awards Gala inWashington, DC on April 21, 2010. Mem-bers of Congress, foreign dignitaries andother distinguished guests marked theArab American Institute’s (AAI) 25th an-niversary, and honored four individualsand one corporation for their work pro-moting inclusion, cultural understandingand cooperation across ethnic, racial andreligious lines“Let there be no doubt: President

Obama and all of us in his administrationare determined to reach a comprehensivepeace in the Middle East—central towhich is a two-state solution,” Rice stated.While highlighting other issues of strate-gic importance, Ambassador Rice identi-fied the Arab-Israeli conflict, Lebanon andIraq as issues “high on our agenda.” Refer-ring to the Palestinian-Israeli conflict, sheechoed the comments of President Obama,General Petraeus and Secretary of StateClinton in noting that resolving the con-flict was a “vital U.S. interest.”“We don’t accept the legitimacy of con-

tinued settlement activities,” she declared,and called for a halt to Israel’s evictionsand demolition of Palestinian homes.Ambassador Rice described as “unfor-

gettable” her visit to a United Nations Re-lief and Works Agency (UNRWA) schoolfor Palestinian refugees last year and meet-ing with students there. “They told oftheir desire to contribute, to build their na-tion, and to serve,” she recalled. “Those

girls, like my daughter and like childreneverywhere, should have the freedom todream without limits and should only belimited by their abilities.” AmbassadorRice concluded by asserting that “Tomor-row need not look like yesterday.”This year’s recipients of AAI’s Kahlil Ji-

bran awards included Mayor RichardDaley of Chicago (“a world-class mayor of aworld-class city”), who was recognized forhis role in promoting Sister City relation-ships in the Arab world and the strong re-lationship he maintains with his city’s vi-brant Arab-American community. “Chi-cago was founded by immigrants whobuilt the city with their hands and brains,”Daley said. “This city understands culturaldiversity.” The mayor called for schools toemphasize language training in order to at-tract global job opportunities.United Arab Emirates business-

man and philanthropist Juma AlMajid was prevented from travelingto the U.S. to accept his award dueto airline delays caused by volcanicash. Accepting the award on his be-half, UAE Ambassador Yousef AlOtaiba explained that Al Majid be-lieves that education is the corner-stone of civilized society. AAI hon-ored him for his cultural contribu-tions, including building a refer-ence library, research institute, aschool and college to increase accessto education in his country.The Corporation for National and

Community Service (CNCS) was rec-ognized for its support of commu-nity service programs like Ameri-Corps, Senior Corps, Learn andServe America, and Arab Commu-nity Center for Economic and SocialServices (ACCESS), which now

serves Arab communi-ties in 11 states.After accepting her

award, Syrian-Ameri-can Judge Rosemary Barkettsaid Arabs brought a sense offamily to the United States.Barkett, who has served for 16years in the Eleventh CircuitCourt of Appeals, said themelting pot is not a good anal-ogy for America. Here peopleare allowed to be different,she said: “Diversity is ourbadge and banner.”Another Syrian-American,

Abdulrahman Zeitoun, washonored for his heroic workafter Hurricane Katrina. Best-

selling author Dave Eggers spent threeyears writing about Abdulrahman and hiswife Kathy’s tragic but uplifting experi-ence in the aftermath of the storm. Afterlistening to Dr. James Zogby’s eloquentpraise of this admirable couple and Eggers’book Zeitoun (available from the AET BookClub), this writer read it. It’s my new fa-vorite, and I believe it should be in everyhome, classroom and library. The Zeitounsand the other awardees challenge everyone of us to be the best we can be.

—Delinda C. Hanley

ArabAmericanHeritageMonthCelebratedMontgomery County, MD kicked off its an-nual Arab American Heritage Month witha March 31 dinner reception at the Execu-

tive Office Building in Rockville honoringArab Americans. Speakers at the eventwere Montgomery County Executive IsiahLeggett, Mazan Basrawi, counsel to the as-sistant attorney general for civil rights atthe U.S. Department of Justice, and ZeinaSeikaly of Georgetown University’s Centerof Contemporary Arab Studies.Throughout the month of April,

Rockville Community College held a com-munity dialogue series and film screenings.Gaithersburg Mayor Sidney Katz issued aproclamation during an April 5 City Coun-cil meeting recognizing the Arab-Americancommunity and celebrating its achieve-


Arab American Heritage Day organizer SamiraHussein (l) with designer Nime Jamal, whose fash-ion show featured her own “Nime’s Creations,” astunning collection of evening and bridal gowns.Jamal’s elegant woman’s pancho created from a kef-fiyeh (inset) was soon sold out.

(L-r) Dr. James Zogby, and Hurricane Katrina/war on ter-rorism survivors Abdulrahman and Kathy Zeitoun.

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ments and contributions to the fabric ofGaithersburg society.Arab Americans and others enjoyed a

free festival on April 11 hosted by theGaithersburg’s Multicultural Affairs Com-mittee and by Arab Americans of Mont-gomery County, MD. The theme for thisyear’s fair was “In Unity, We Build a Car-ing Community,” and featured poetry read-ings, arts and crafts, dance and music,Middle Eastern food, cultural exhibits,vendors, and henna painting and calligra-phy booths. Mayor Katz told Gaithersburgconstituents, “Diversity is truly our great-est strength,” before gamely dancing thedebke with Arab Americans and theirfriends. A fashion show by New York de-signer Nime Jamal, who creates dresses forMiss USA and Miss Teen USA, and whooriginally is from Jericho, Palestine, alsocreated quite a stir.For more information on Gaithersburg’s

multicultural outreach initiatives pleasecontact the Gaithersburg Community Ser-vices Division at (301) 258-6395 or visit<www.gaithersburgmd.gov>.


Craig and Cindy Corrie Meetwith Supporters in IowaCraig and Cindy Corrie met withfamily members and supporters inIowa City on April 20 to discuss theprogress of the family’s civil lawsuitagainst the state of Israel for the un-lawful killing of their daughter,Rachel, in Rafah, Gaza, in March2003. The 23-year-old Americanpeace activist from Olympia, WAwas crushed to death by an IsraeliCaterpillar D9 bulldozer during anonviolent International SolidarityMovement (ISM) direct action toprotect the home of a Palestinian

family from demolition.“We went in March of this year to Israel

for the civil trial in Rachel’s case,” CindyCorrie said. “We arrived on March 6. Thetrial was in the Haifa District Court. Wewere there until March 29. Craig was thelast to testify on our side of things. He tes-tified on March 24.“[On] March 16, which was the seventh

anniversary of Rachel’s killing, we were inRamallah when a street was named forRachel, which I have to say was more mov-ing to me than I had anticipated,” Corrieadded.Describing the family’s preparations for

the 18-day visit to Israel and the trial as“immense,” she said the couple was ac-companied by their daughter, Sarah, andseveral members of the legal team.“We thought the whole thing would un-

fold during this period in March,” Corrieexplained, “but about a week before weleft we got word from our attorney that thejudge had granted a motion by the state ofIsrael to allow the government to name itswitnesses and submit its affidavits 30 daysafter our last witness testified.”Corrie said the family was shocked by the

ruling, which differs from American legalpractice, and considered appealing the de-cision, but attorneys advised against

it—reasoning that, although the decisionwas unconventional, an appeal would betime-consuming and probably unsuccessful.Time has been an issue in the legal ac-

tion from the outset. The family is seekingthe “thorough, credible, and transparentinvestigation” that then-Prime MinisterAriel Sharon promised then-PresidentGeorge Bush shortly after Rachel’s death.Corrie noted that high-level State Depart-

ment officials have said, written, and testi-fied before members of Congress that the Is-raeli investigation of Rachel’s killing has notbeen thorough, credible, or transparent.Corrie said she feels that the family’s

legal team—which has brought to light ir-regularities in the Israeli investigation ofthe killing, and in the autopsy performedby Dr. Yehuda Hiss—is doing a good job.A press release issued by the Rachel Cor-

rie Foundation reported that an Israeli mil-itary police investigator testified onMarch22 that his interview of a military reservist,Edward Valermov, who was in the bull-dozer, was interrupted by an officer of theunit involved in Rachel’s killing.According to an April 7 article in

Britain’s Independent, “At 18:12 reserveColonel Baruch Kirhatu entered the roomand informed the witness that he shouldnot convey anything and should not writeanything and this at the order of the gen-eral of southern command,” according toan affidavit submitted in evidence.The statement appears to implicate Is-

rael’s Gaza commander at the time, Major-General Doron Almog, in an attempt to ob-struct the official investigation of RachelCorrie’s death. The military police investi-gator testified that he considered the ac-tions an intervention into the investigation.Almog, who has since retired from mili-

tary service, has denied that he attemptedto interfere with the investigation, whichwould be a criminal act under Israeli law.Craig Corrie described the alleged inter-

vention that halted Valermov’s tes-timony during the investigation as“outrageous,” according to The In-dependent.In Iowa City, Craig Corrie ex-

plained that, under pressure, thefamily agreed to an autopsy on theconditions that it not be per-formed by a military doctor andthat a representative of the U.S.government be present.In testimony on March 14, Hiss,

former head of the Israel ForensicInstitute, admitted that he had vio-lated an Israeli court order requir-ing that an official from the U.S.


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Embassy be present during theautopsy, and disclosed for thefirst time that he had kept tissuesfrom Rachel’s body without in-forming the family. In the past,Hiss has been the subject of legalaction brought by Israeli familiesto whomhe failed to return bodyparts and tissue samples.“It’s all very disturbing,” said

Cindy Corrie. “They kept tis-sues from almost every organ inRachel’s body without tellingus...So now we are in a processof trying to bring whatever re-mains are in Israel back to theUnited States.”Corrie noted that the court-

room in Haifa was filled with local and in-ternational reporters and human rights ob-servers. Also attending the trial were threerepresentatives of the U.S. Embassy, in-cluding Consul General Andrew Parker.During the trial, the Corrie family met

with Parker and senior members of VicePresident Joseph Biden’s staff in Jerusalem.Biden’s adviser on national security,Antony Blinken, reconfirmed the U.S. gov-ernment’s position that there has not beena thorough, credible, and transparent in-vestigation, and reiterated the U.S. govern-ment’s endorsement of the family’s pursuitof justice for Rachel through the Israelicourt system, said Corrie.Craig Corrie noted that several ISM

members who witnessed Rachel’s killing,and whom the family called as witnesses incourt, had been banned by the Israeli gov-ernment from traveling to Israel. At the re-quest of the U.S. Embassy, and probably inpart because of press coverage in Israel, thegovernment relented and allowed the ISMmembers to travel to Israel for the trial.“There was a concerted effort to help us

in Israel...There was a lot of media atten-tion in Israel, which was really helpful,”Corrie said.This reporter asked Corrie if he felt the

court would make a good faith effort to getat the truth. “I think the court in Israel iscapable of rendering justice in this case,”he replied.The trial is tentatively scheduled to re-

sume in September. —Michael Gillespie

Celebrating Syrian Culture, AncientAnd ModernMore than 400 guests—members of theSyrian-American community, congress-

men, including Reps. Dennis Kucinich (D-OH) and Brian Baird (D-WA), administra-tion officials, former and current diplo-mats, academics and journalists—attendedan April 23 event at the Library of Con-gress celebrating Syrian culture, history,architecture, music and food, as well as thenation’s 64th National Day.In their welcoming remarks Mary-Jane

Deeb, chief of the African andMiddle EastDivision of the Library of Congress, andLibrarian of Congress Dr. James Billingtonhighlighted Syria’s rich 4,000-year history,and invited guests to look at one of theMiddle East’s first printed books, as well asa Bible printed in Aleppo in 1706.Ambassador of the Syrian Arab Repub-

lic Imad Moustapha proudly introducedhis wife, Dr. Rafif Moustapha—“the dy-namo behind this event.” Dr. Nasser Rab-bat, professor of Islamic architecture at theMassachusetts Institute of Technology,gave a glorious illustrated lecture on the ar-chitecture of Syria, including Palmyra,considered one of the Middle East’s mostimportant cities in the 1stcentury AD, and the Um-mayad Mosque in Damascus,one of the oldest and largestmosques in the world. Profes-sor Rabbat emphasized that,throughout the country’s his-tory, Syrian builders havesynthesized past and contem-porary traditions to create aunique hybrid architecture ofits very own.Classical clarinetist and

composer Kinan Azmeh, oneof Syria’s rising stars, per-formed with Dima Orsho, aSyrian soprano singer andmusician, and their friends.First they performed the old-

est song ever written: thewords and music for a hymn tothe moon god’s wife from a claytablet dating back to 1400 B.C.Later, Azmeh “moved along3,000 years” to a song he’dwritten after his first Thanks-giving in the United States,which blends jazz and orientalrhythms. He dedicated hishaunting song “Airport” to allthe people he’s met in the thirdlane of the airport—not thelanes for citizens and visitors,but the one reserved for Arabsor Muslims waiting endlesslyfor special interviews in backrooms in order to enter the

United States.The audience gave a standing ovation

after the evening performances—for thetalented Syrian speakers and musicians aswell as their country, which is too oftencriticized instead of celebrated in Wash-ington, DC. —Delinda C. Hanley

Hugh Pope Discusses MideastPolitics, New MemoirLongtime foreign correspondent HughPope, currently director of the Turkey/Cyprus Project at the International CrisisGroup, discussed his new memoir, Diningwith al-Qaeda, at an April 23 event hostedby the New America Foundation, Interna-tional Crisis Group, and Foreign PolicyMagazine. Pope, who has spent morethan three decades in the Middle East asa traveler, journalist and student of Ara-bic, Persian and Turkish languages, saidone of the most important things he haslearned is that the Middle East is not amonolithic “Islamic World.” With intel-ligence and wit, the British journalist

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fielded difficult questions concerning on-going political changes in the region.

Clearly, war correspondence in the Mid-dle East is not for the faint of heart. Pope’sperilous assignments included reportingon the Lebanese civil war and the U.S. oc-cupation of Iraq. Even as a polyglot, he en-countered difficulty in finding re-liable and safe sources in a regiondominated by autocratic, media-sensitive regimes and a sometimeshostile Arab street.

The author of Dining with al-Qaeda really did dine with a mem-ber of al-Qaeda soon after the 9/11attacks on the United States. Atthe time a foreign correspondentfor The Wall Street Journal, Popemet in Riyadh with a young mili-tant who’d worked in Afghanistanand had helped prepare many ofthe hijackers for their deadly mis-sion.

In addition to dangerous as-signments, Pope said he’s facededitorial room intrigues as a resultof pressure by powerful pro-Israellobbying groups and a media-sensitiveBush administration.

“Most journalists are honest,” Popesaid, “and what you read in the newspa-per is mostly right, but it is not thewhole story. You do have to search forother sources of information to compareand think about what you are hearingand take a variety of points of view.”

Expressing optimism about the chang-ing narrative surrounding Israel and Pales-tine, Pope noted that several mainstreammedia outlets have reported issues thatwould have been wholly taboo during histenure as a Wall Street Journal foreign cor-respondent. Likewise—citing the exampleof Turkey and the power of the Internet onyoung people in the Middle East—heseemed cautiously hopeful about the grad-ual prospects for media, social, and politi-cal freedoms in Ba’athist Syria, and withthe prospect of elections in a post-Mubarak Egypt.

As for his swashbuckling style of foreignjournalism, Pope—with his characteristicsmile—joked that a life like his wouldprobably be unrealistic in the future, giventhe dangers, costs, and demise of tradi-tional reporting, but praised the potentialof Twitter and bloggers as tools for futurejournalists.

Pope’s memoir is available from the AETBook Club for only $19. To order, call (202)939-6050 ext. 2 or visit <www.middleeastbooks.com>. —Adam Chamy

EllenO’Grady Exhibit: “WhatHamSaw:Drawings fromPalestine”

Visitors had lots of questions for artistEllen O’Grady on the opening night of herexhibit of watercolor paintings, whichwere on display from April 9 to May 7 at

the Jerusalem Fund Gallery in Washing-ton, DC. For one thing, why was the ex-hibit titled, “What Ham Saw: Drawingsfrom Palestine”? Ham was one of Noah’ssons who saw his father naked and in asorry drunken state, O’Grady explained.He told his brothers what he’d seen, andwhen Noah awoke he was furious with hisson, and cursed Ham and his descendants.

What Ham Saw is also the name of O’-Grady’s upcoming book. If it’s anythinglike her last, Outside The Ark: An Artist’sJourney in Occupied Palestine, readers cananticipate both a captivating story and anartistic treasure. O’Grady said she tried tocapture the lives and voices of people who,like Ham, are willing to speak out and ex-pose their leaders and injustice.

O’Grady’s paintings expose everyday in-justice in intimate detail; people in occu-pied Palestine coping with walls, check-points and searches. Her paintings for thisbook are much more detailed than the last,she said, because “I put pressure on my-self. There is so much to tell. This is a qui-eter, more prayerful book. I filled in lovewith every detail, caressing every piece,every horrible scene. Even something sohorrible is beautiful. It’s Palestine.”

She sat at a corner in Hebron, an inter-national observer making sure childrenreached their school unaccosted. Shepainted soldiers, checking any Palestinianwho walked by, but never Jewish settlers.Settler children who terrorized Palestinians

were immune. There are different rules forPalestinians, settlers and internationals, O’-Grady noted: “It’s like a gameboard: See asettler, go back two paces. Settlers setting aPalestinian home on fire or cutting downan orchard, go back to the beginning andstart all over again.”

O’Grady, who lives in Durham,North Carolina, majored in theol-ogy in college. After graduatingshe spent from 1989, during thefirst intifada, to 1996 teaching artteachers and children in occupiedPalestine and Israel. She returnedin 2002 to teach and work as anInternational Solidarity Move-ment (ISM) volunteer and paintedthe pictures featured in her firstbook, which were on display atO’Grady’s previous JerusalemFund Gallery exhibit in 2006.Outside The Ark takes the readeralong on an unforgettable journeyfrom O’Grady’s childhood SundaySchool class to the streets andhomes of her friends, children inthe occupied West Bank.

“The drawings from What Ham Saw ref-erence my trip to Palestine and Israel inApril of 2008,” O’Grady said. “I returned tothe Middle East with the goal of creating anillustrated book in which the stories aboutthe Palestinian-Israeli conflict were told byPalestinians, Israelis, and internationalswho are living and responding to it. Eachof those I talked with—including a poet,teacher, student, peacemaker and soldier—offered a thoughtful perspective on theconflict, and each have at least one thing incommon: a creative response to their in-tense desire to see an end to occupation.”

Outside The Ark is currently available for$20 from the AET Book Club (see p. 67);What Ham Saw will be available spring2011. —Delinda C. Hanley

IslamicArt in theCappella Palatina inPalermoThe largest cycle of paintings known tosurvive from the medieval Islamic worlddecorate the ceiling of the CappellaPalatina (Palatine Chapel) in Palermo, Sicily.Jeremy Johns, professor of art and archae-ology of the Islamic Mediterranean and di-rector of the University of Oxford’s KhaliliResearch Centre (KRC), visited the FreerGallery in Washington, DC on April 13 todiscuss this unique site.

The Cappella Palatina is a prime exampleof hybrid artistic traditions with its Normanarchitecture, Byzantine mosaics, and Islamicpaintings. Located within the Palace of the


Ellen O’Grady in front of her painting “Hebron (PalestinianHome).”

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Normans, it was built for Roger II, the firstking of Norman Sicily, soon after his coro-nation on Christmas Day 1130 C.E. The ceil-ing decorations are the work of Muslimpainters brought from Cairo.As Professor Johns put it, these master-

pieces are “puzzles of intent and interpre-tation.” Debate continues on issues includ-ing the extent of cultural fusion suggestedby these works, perceptions of identityamong Arab Christian communities in theIslamic Mediterranean, and characterizingthese decorations as Fatimid art. Johns ex-pressed confidence that the Cairo artistswere stimulated by the aesthetic environ-ment of Sicily, and challenged to place

their art in a settingwith different

traditions and the physical scale of aceiling more than 100 feet tall.Although the paintings have been

around for almost a thousand years, ittook the untimely death of fashion de-signer Alexander McQueen in Febru-ary 2010 to introduce these rarely seenworks to millions of new viewers. TheBritish paper The Guardian carried apicture of models wrapped in a redand gold mantle embellished with animage of lions and camels. Their faceslook like exact replicas of the creaturesin one of the 12th century ceilingpaintings. —Anne O’Rourke

Break the Silence Mural ProjectThe Rachel Corrie Foundation andBreak the Silence Mural Project un-veiled the Olympia-Rafah SolidarityMural on May 8 at Labor Templebuilding, in downtown Olympia, WA.The mural (below) tells a tale of two

cities linked through tragedy: Olympia,WA,where Rachel Corrie grew up and attendedEvergreen State College, and Rafah, GazaStrip, Palestine, where she was killed in2003—crushed by an Israeli army Caterpil-lar. It is also the tale of people working to-gether for a better world. Themural featuresan enormous olive tree with more than 150leaves representing issues of environmentaljustice, racism, colonialism, rights of indige-nous peoples, and anti-war movements.The mural uses technology to include

artists from Palestine who are forbidden totravel. Viewers can use a cell phone to calland listen to the creator of each leaf talkabout its meaning and theme. For more in-formation visit <www.olympiarafahmural.org> —Delinda C. Hanley

Keynote Speech by Islamic ScholarTariq RamadanThey waited for years and drove for milesto hear him speak. On April 27 Muslimsand non-Muslims from near and far at-tended the Minaret of Freedom’s annualfund-raiser dinner at the Marriott Resi-dence Inn in Bethesda, MD, where Prof.Tariq Ramadan, professor of contemporaryIslamic studies at Oxford University andpresident of the Brussels-based Europeanthink tank EuropeanMuslim Network, ad-dressed the question, “Is Liberty an Is-lamic Value?”“I follow him on Facebook,” Zahra Hus-

sein, a Moroccan American who lives inWaldorf, MD, told theWashington Report.“He speaks to me about what matters. Notabout whether I wear a headscarf or not.He speaks about what is important in Islamand how I can practice my religion in mycountry—America.”Ramadan’s message makes sense: Islam

and democracy are not in conflict; indeed,he argues, they complement each other. Byopening up an intellectual and spiritual di-alogue, Ramadan helps young Europeanand American Muslims discuss Islam innon-Islamic nations.Before introducing the keynote speaker,

Minaret of Freedom Institute presidentImad-ad-Dean Ahmad, Ph.D., vice presi-dent Aly Ramadan Abuzaa’kouk, and trea-surer Shahid N. Shah spoke about the im-portant work the think tank accomplisheson a shoestring budget.The Swiss-born Ramadan, son of an

Egyptian exile, and grandson of thefounder of the Muslim Brotherhood, is per-sona non grata in Tunisia, Egypt, SaudiArabia, Libya and Syria because of his

criticism of those governments. In-

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The Cappella Palatina in Palermo, Sicily.

Muslim-American Activism


deed, until Secretary of State Hillary Clin-ton lifted his visa restriction in January hehad been banned from traveling to theUnited States for the past six years, pre-vented from taking up a professorship atthe University of Notre Dame. Evidently,Professor Ramadan spent a lot of thattime writing: his most recent booksinclude What I Believe; Islam, TheWest and the Challenges of Modernity;Western Muslims and the Future ofIslam; and Radical Reform: IslamicEthics and Liberation.Ramadan leapt from one idea to

another, mesmerizing his audience:“The essence of Islam is built onhuman freedom and dignity...Weenjoy freedom of expression in theWest much more than inMuslim-ma-jority countries...We need laws andrules to protect our freedoms...Noone can impose on a woman to weara headscarf or to take it off...By defi-nition someone who is ignorant isnot free. Preventing knowledge is prevent-ing freedom....Spirituality is a liberatingprocess...”Ramadan discussed the rights of immi-

grants: In Israel, he noted, if you comefrom theWest you have immediate citizen-ship; if, however, you’re Arab in Israel,you’re a second-class citizen all your life. Insome Arab countries, immigrants don’t getcitizenship even after living there 20 to 30years—they’re always foreigners, Ramadanobserved. “There’s a lack of critical think-ing on this subject,” he explained.According to some Western experts, re-

ligious extremism results from the lack offreedom inMuslim-majority states. Profes-sor Ramadan pointed out, however, thatthe London terrorist attacks were plannedby people born and raised in London—but who had no sense of belonging. Some-

one who is smart, with a job,socially integrated, who par-ticipates in his community,and is educated about Islamdoesn’t become an extremist,Ramadan emphasized. Hecalled for a “new ‘we,’ basedon a sense of belonging...Weneed Islamic scholars trainedhere,” he concluded, “whoknow the language and psy-chology of the West and liveamong us.”


President Hosts Summiton EntrepreneurshipIn his June 4, 2009 speech at

Egypt’s Cairo University, President BarackObama called for “a new beginning be-tween the United States and Muslimsaround the world.” During that speechObama made a promise: “I will host a Sum-mit on Entrepreneurship this year to iden-

tify howwe can deepen ties between busi-ness leaders, foundations and social entre-preneurs in the United States and Muslimcommunities around the world.”On April 26 and 27, 2010, more than 250

entrepreneurs frommore than 40 countrieson five continents came to that promisedsummit, held inWashington, DC.Many, in-cluding Reem Bsaiso, CEO of World Linksin Amman, Jordan, participated in six daysof non-stop events, before and after thetwo-day summit. At a Capitol Hill eventBsaiso attended on April 29, co-hosted byAmerica-Mideast Educational and TrainingServices (AMIDEAST) and the Cisco Entre-preneur Institute, AMIDEAST’s president,Ambassador Theodore Kattouf, said that, tohis knowledge, no U.S. president and sec-retary of state have each addressed a singlesummit twice!

The American mainstream media mostlyignored the summit, but it was attendedby media outlets from around the worldwhich featured stories about the role en-trepreneurship can play in addressingcommon challenges and building partner-ships.More than 150 business leaders attended

an April 30 luncheon at the Ritz-CarltonHotel co-hosted by the National U.S.-ArabChamber of Commerce (NUSACC) and theAmerican Lebanese Chamber of Commerce(AmCham Lebanon). NUSACC presidentand CEO David Hamod introduced some ofthe delegates, who briefly described theirwork.Lebanon’s Ambassador to the United

States Antoine Chedid told guests that hiscountry has weathered the recent eco-nomic storm. “Lebanon, like the legendaryphoenix, has emerged from the ashes andis steadily regaining its former vitality,” hedeclared. “The private sector has played anactive role in this process, especially the

banking system, which has proved tobe safe and sound.”Lorraine Hariton, the U.S. State De-

partment’s special representative forcommercial and business affairs, gavethe keynote speech at the luncheon.“The message I want to convey is thatour focus on entrepreneurship ismeant to stimulate the kind of eco-nomic growth and prosperity thatwill contribute to the demand forU.S. products and services, economicprosperity for our partners, and sta-bility for the world,” she said. “TheMiddle East/North Africa (MENA) re-gion has enormous potential, and welook forward to working together toreach that potential.”

Salim Zeenni, president of AmChamLebanon, provided some impressive fig-ures. “Lebanon is experiencing excep-tional economic growth,” he noted. At atime when most economies shrank as a re-sult of the worldwide recession, the econ-omy in Lebanon grew 8.5 percent in 2008and about 9 percent in 2009, according toLebanon’s Central Bank. Lebanon also isincreasingly seen as one of the region’smost reliable safe havens for investment.According to the Ministry of Tourism, 1.9million tourists visited Lebanon, shatter-ing the 1974 (pre-civil war) record of 1.4million tourists.American exports to the MENA region

are expected to rebound to nearly $75 bil-lion this year, up from $63 billion in2009—representing an increase of almost20 percent over last year.


(L-r) Prof. Tariq Ramadan, Aly Ramadan Abuzaa’kouk,Dr. Imad-ad-Dean Ahmad, Dr. Essam Omeish andAshraf Nubani, Esq.

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(L-r) Lorraine Hariton, David Hamod and Salim Zeennidiscussed the role played by MENA entrepreneurs.

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In his remarks at the summit,President Obama stated,“Throughout history, the markethas been the most powerfulforce the world has ever knownfor creating opportunity andlifting people out of poverty...Entrepreneurship is an areawhere we can learn from eachother; where America can shareour experience as a society thatempowers the inventor and theinnovator; where men andwomen can take a chance on adream.” —Delinda C. Hanley

Michael Posner Speaks to MuslimAmericansMichael Posner, assistant secretary of statefor the Bureau of Democracy, HumanRights and Labor, spoke at the CarnegieEndowment for International Peace, inWashington, DC at an April 12 event spon-sored by the American Muslim Alliance(AMA) Foundation. Prior to joining theState Department on Sept. 23, 2009, Posnerhad worked in the international humanrights movement for nearly 30 years, andwas founding executive director of HumanRights First. Nihad Awad, director of theCouncil on American-Islamic Relations(CAIR), AMA founder Dr. Agha Saeed, andJumanaMusa, policy director of the RightsWorking Group, joined in the discussion.Posner began by stating that President

Barack Obama is engaging with the worldin a different manner than his predecessor,emphasizing active, full, principled partic-ipation. Rather than forcing change fromthe outside, Posner stressed, the ObamaState Department is working to “reinforceagents of change“ from within countries,empowering women and encouragingNGOs working on freedom of speech,transparency, and rule of law.The universal standards advocated by

the State Department apply to every coun-try, including our own, Posner added. Onhis second day in office, President Obamabegan to address abuses that had occurredduring President Bush’s global war againstterror. The United States, along with everygovernment, is now required to submit areport card on its own civil and humanrights record to the United Nations in Sep-tember.“As a democracy we are a work in

progress,” Posner admitted. While the U.S.has strong, admirable institutions and a vi-brant community, there is room for im-provement in racial, religious, ethnic andhuman rights at home. There is still dis-

crimination in immigration, the prison sys-tem and daily life, and those problems cutdeeply, Posner warned.“It is incumbent on the United States to

hold every government to a single stan-dard,” including Israel and Palestine, saidPosner. He proceeded to lose his audience,however, by defending U.S. criticism of theGoldstone Report, saying it paid “dispro-portionate attention to Israel,” with only15 of 575 pages devoted to criticizingHamas. Posner agreed that both partiesmust seriously review the report’s allega-tions against them, establish accountabilityand try to resolve the conflict.Questions and statements from the

mostly Muslim audience grew quiteheated, especially when the subject of pro-filing came up. One listener declared that26 percent of Americans don’t believe thatal-Qaeda is responsible for the attacks onSept. 11, 2001. Another apologized to Pos-ner, “Be patient with us. We’ve had eightyears of frustration.”Posner replied, “I can’t begin to appreci-

ate how difficult it has been. I feel it in theroom. I feel it when I speak to others.” TheState Department official said he hoped the“politics of fear” would end, when peo-ple’s worst instincts are no longer rein-forced every day, 24/7, on TV, in news andfilms. It is not helpful, he added, to lumptogether conspiracy plots with real issuesthat are genuinely wrong in the UnitedStates, especially when addressing some-one like him, who is sympathetic.


Independent Media in the MiddleEast: Challenges and OpportunitiesOn April 8 the Center for AmericanProgress (CAP) and Internews co-hosted anevent addressing the state of independent

media in the Middle East. Thetalk, which took place at theCAP headquarters in Washing-ton, DC, featured Nabil AlKhatib, executive editor for AlArabiya news channel based inDubai Media City and partlyowned by the Saudi broadcasterMiddle East Broadcasting Center(MBC).Al Khatib noted that indepen-

dent media in the Middle Easthas experienced rapid growth inthe past 20 years. When he firstentered the field as an employeeof MBC TV, he recalled, virtually

no one in the Arab world had access tosatellite equipment or was aware of indige-nous independent media outlets. Now, hesaid, “19 years later, we are talking abouta region where we have 600 stations beingbroadcast via satellite.” This profusion ofadvanced communications technology isapparent to any visitor to the region, whois constantly bombarded by the ubiquityof satellite dishes and cellular telephones.The Al Arabiya editor went on to pre-

dict that the presence of independentmedia is likely to increase in the future.“There is a huge desire for informationamong the population in Arab countriesnowadays like never before,” Al Khatib ex-plained. Despite the rapid technologicaladvances and the robust demand for infor-mation in the region, however, access oftenlags behind. “People realize that there is alarge flow of information, but they do notalways have access to it,” he lamented.In addition to the problem of access, Al

Khatib expressed concern regarding theexcessive power wielded by Arab govern-ments and their involvement in the mediasphere. Citing a lack of protections codifiedin Arab legal systems as particularly trou-blesome, he cautioned, “There is an ab-sence of laws in most Arab countries thatwould facilitate free media, and if they arethere, there is an issue of the rule of law.”Other causes for concern are finances

and sponsorship, according to Al Khatib.While there is sufficient infrastructure forand interest in free media in the region, hesaid, many stations provide content biasestoward their financiers rather than remain-ing objective. Al Khatib cited the mediacoverage of the recent Iraqi election as anillustration of this phenomenon. Not oneof the Iraqi channels gave wide-rangingcoverage of the election proceedings, hesaid. Rather, the Iraqi channels only airednews relating to the parties in their regionthat sponsored them. Consequently, Al


(L-r) Nihad Awad, Agha Saeed, Michael Posner and JumanaMusa engaged in a sometimes heated discussion.

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Waging Peace


Khatib said, “Iraqis turned overwhelm-ingly to Al Arabiya” so that they might“listen to different voices on one channel.”Al Khatib elaborated on his criticism of

Arab governments, noting that access todata on government programs and policiesis too tightly regulated. The limited avail-ability or complete lack of data makes itvirtually impossible for opposition move-ments and independent critics to make co-gent arguments, he pointed out: “The civilsociety organizations and the political par-ties, especially the opposition, would talkabout dissatisfaction of policies, but wouldnever be able to make an argument thatwould convince people about where thingsare lacking.”Government-owned media and propa-

ganda are also challenging issues for jour-nalists like Al Khatib. The only regional so-lutions to these problems, he suggested,are the pan-Arab stations such as Al Ara-biya and the better-known Al Jazeera, andnascent citizen journalist movements. Forthe pan-Arab stations to be an effectivecounterweight to government-based mediaapparatus, he argued, they must have avery strong and integrated presence in allcountries where they operate.Citizen journalists and bloggers need as-

sistance, Al Khatib added, as “a gap re-mains between the demand for informationand the expertise of indi-viduals.” He and Al Ara-biya are teaming up withInternews, an interna-tional non-profit organi-zation which empowerslocal media worldwide,on a project intended toencourage the sustainablegrowth of free media inthe Middle East and toempower citizen journal-ists by making themmore

professional and credible.—Andrew Blakely

Ambassadors’ Round-table: The ObamaAdministration, Arab-Israeli PeaceOn April 12 the WoodrowWilson Center convened apanel of distinguishedMiddle East specialists,moderated by AaronDavid Miller, to discussthe state and future of thepeace process. The pan-elists, four former U.S. am-bassadors and one consul

general, all spent considerable portions oftheir careers in the region.Daniel C. Kurtzer, ambassador to Israel

from 2001 to 2004, opened the discussionwith an assessment of President BarackObama’s political capital. Criticism ofObama, he noted, is largely an “inside-the-Beltway” phenomenon. Obama still has“superstar” status abroad, which wouldsurely help him in any initiative to advanceMiddle East peace.Ambassador Kurtzer was keen, however,

to highlight Obama’s initial mistakes overthe past 15 months, particularly the ab-sence of a clearly articulated American pol-icy and a smart strategy for its implemen-tation. The “mini-crisis” between the U.S.and Israel, according to Kurtzer, has high-lighted the glaring lack of such a policy.“Negotiations are part of a strategy,” he ac-knowledged, “but if that’s the only ele-ment of strategy, then we are missing outon a number of other factors that need tobe taken into account,” he noted.Kurtzer also suggested that the Obama

administration make an effort to “bring theArab world into efforts more ambitiously.”Citing the potentially far-reaching, but asyet unaddressed, Arab Peace Initiative as apotential source of dialogue, he also em-phasized the importance of engaging thePalestinian refugee and Israeli settler pop-

ulations in dialogue, as “these groups willplay a considerable role in determining thesuccess of any agreement.”Frank Wisner, ambassador to Egypt

from 1986 to 1991, explained that the Is-raeli-Palestinian conflict carries a uniquesignificance among Egyptians. “There isno issue in Egypt that has quite the impor-tance as the Palestinian-Israeli issue,” hesaid—but also noted that Cairo will neverallow the issue to overwhelm Egyptian na-tional interests. As a result, Wisner argued,“Egypt must—and the consensus is quitebroad—maintain peace with Israel.”Egypt’s self-interested approach to the

situation is also evident in its handling ofthe Gaza situation. Concerned aboutnascent extremist tendencies, the govern-ment “remains deeply, deeply distrustfulof Hamas” fearing the pressures it mightexert on domestic Egyptian politics. Nev-ertheless, because Egypt views itself as the“great nation of the Arab world…[it] mustbe front and center in carrying the Pales-tinian cause forward [and] to lose controlof that would undermine Egypt’s positionas she sees herself,” Wisner explained.He concluded by agreeing with Ambas-

sador Kurtzer that the Obama administra-tion must be more active in defining anAmerican policy. “There needs to be at thisstage in our relationships with the region,a clear articulation of American views,” hestressed. The administration, he added,should do more to convince the Arabworld that it knows how to translate its de-sire for peace into action.Edward “Skip” Gnehm, ambassador to

Jordan from 2001 to 2004, highlighted thevital importance of the Israeli-Palestinianconflict to Jordan as well. This is becausethe state’s survival is at stake, Gnehm ex-plained, and why King Abdullah stronglybelieves in maintaining the peace treatywith Israel. “The treaty with Israel recog-nizes the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan,”Gnehm pointed out, thus affirming theJordanian character of the state and re-moving concern that a Palestinian state al-

ready exists within Jor-dan.It is for this same rea-

son, Gnehm continued,that Amman has such aninterest in resolving theconflict. A comprehensiveIsraeli-Palestinian peacethat establishes a Palestin-ian state would solve “theissue of Jordan more em-phatically than the treaty[with Israel].” Indeed, the


Nabil Al Khatib (l), executive editor of Al Arabiya, andHoward Schneider, former Jerusalem bureau chief for theWashington Post, discuss the opportunities for independentmedia in a region eager for information.

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(L-r) Ambassadors Frank Wisner, Theodore Kattouf, Daniel Kurtzer, modera-tor Aaron David Miller, Ambassador Edward “Skip” Gnehm and Consul Gen-eral Jacob Wallace.

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lasting protection of Jordan’s borders andsovereignty is, to a degree, dependent on aresolution.Furthermore, Gnehm noted, Jordan’s

proximity to theWest Bank and Jerusalem,along with the fact that 60 percent of Jor-danians have origins in Palestine, result ina strong bond between the two lands andthe two peoples.Questioning notions about Arab willing-

ness to pursue peace, he described as “afalse conclusion” the idea that the Arabstreet does not wish to see peace. To thecontrary, Gnehm suggested, there is in-deed “a mood in the Arab street for peace,”and President Obama should “capitalize onit.” Gnehm concluded by confirming theremarks of his colleagues regarding the ab-sence of a U.S. policy, noting the “need fora policy and the need for enunciation.”“It’s clear we are at a very uncertain mo-

ment now in the Middle East,” Jacob Wal-lace, consul general in Jerusalem from 2005to 2009, noted soberly. However, heviewed the highly publicized crisis in rela-tions between the U.S. and Israel as not somuch a crisis between the countries as acrisis in restarting the negotiation process.While the situation may be bad,Wallace

went on to note, there are certain positivedevelopments that ought to be highlighted.He praised the Palestinians’ “sustained andserious” efforts in the West Bank, particu-larly those set in motion by PrimeMinisterSalam Fayyad, intended to improve secu-rity and economic conditions. The relativecalm and stability in the West Bank, Wal-lace said, should provide a helpful contextfor the resumption of negotiations. Hewarned, however, that the prolonged ab-sence of talks similarly had the potential todestabilize theWest Bank, leading to an in-crease in violence and unrest.Unlike his fellow panelists, Wallace sug-

gested that “the Obama administrationstarted off on theright note.” Whilethe past 15 monthshave been “rough,”he acknowledged, itwas “correct of theadministration tofocus on the issue ofsettlements and todeal with it in a seri-ous way.” Wallacealso was in favor ofproximity (indirect)talks as a strategy forrestarting negotia-tions between theparties. Citing the

failed Camp David talks, he warned that“high risk summitry is something we needto think about very carefully.”In the opinion of Theodore Kattouf, am-

bassador to Syria from 2001 to 2003, “anIsraeli-Syrian peace treaty, brokered by theU.S., should be far easier to reach than anIsraeli-Palestinian agreement.” The charac-teristics of such an agreement are wellknown, he pointed out, and would includea return of all occupied Syrian territory inexchange for normalized relations betweenthe parties and increased Syrian flexibilityon “several issues vital to Israel’s politicaland security needs.”Kattouf criticized as too extreme the at-

tempts by some past administrations to iso-late and humiliate the Syrian regime, andthe exaggeration by others of Damascus’sense of importance and centrality to theregion. “A middle course between thosetwo extremes is needed,” he maintained.Finally, Ambassador Kattouf warned of

ignoring the Syrians in favor of pursuingonly the Israeli-Palestinian issue. “If Syriais shunted aside for negotiations with thePalestinians,” he cautioned, Damascus“will continue to play the spoiler role—and it will play it very effectively.” In thisregard, Kattouf emphasized the linkage be-tween the two tracks that the Syriansfavor: pursuing U.S.-mediated peace nego-tiations with Israel, from which Syriawould regain the entirety of the Golan,and normalization of relations with Wash-ington. In order to be realized, the ambas-sador concluded, the two goals cannot beseparated. —Andrew Blakely

Activists UrgeRep. Barbara Lee toEndMilitaryAid to IsraelCalling for an end to U.S. aid to Israel, ac-tivists rallied outside the Oakland office ofBarbara Lee on April 8 while the Democra-tic representative of California’s ninth con-

gressional district was home for a two-week recess. Members of the ProgressiveDemocrats East Bay (PDEB) Free PalestineAction Coalition organized the protest tourge Lee—a member of the House State,Foreign Operations Subcommittee that ap-propriates military aid to Israel—to voteagainst military aid to the Jewish state thatillegally occupies Palestinian land and com-mits human rights abuses against Palestini-ans on a daily basis. During Israel’s 22-dayattack on Gaza in December 2008 and Jan-uary 2009, its military committed warcrimes—as detailed in Judge Richard Gold-stone’s report for the U.N. Human RightsCouncil—using U.S. weaponry, includingwhite phosphorus artillery shells, 500-pound bombs and Hellfire missiles.PDEB co-chairs Zaigham Kabir and Phil

Abraham met with Lee’s representativeSaundra Andrews to give her 30 postcardssigned by passersby which urged Congressto stop military aid to Israel and redirectspending to domestic needs. Andrews saidLee was “receptive to their cause,” but didnot directly answer why the congress-woman votes to give military aid to Israel.Members of the Ecumenical Peace Insti-

tute, Women in Black and other peacegroups were also present at the rally. Thegroups have been holding a weekly protestat noon every Thursday for many yearsoutside the Federal Building against theongoing wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.

—Elaine Pasquini

BobKrause Speaks inAmes, IowaDemocratic U.S. Senate candidate BobKrause of Fairfield, Iowa spoke in Ames onApril 17 at a backyard barbecue hosted byJohn and Betsy Mayfield.“I think that we need to get out of

Afghanistan immediately,” Krause said tothe applause of some 50 supporters. “I’m aretired military officer, and I have studied

this,” he explained.“It’s not a cut-and-run kind of thing. It’sthe fact that we aredoing more to hurtour national securityby being inAfghanistan than wewould if we got out.“The cost to this

country last year was$172 billion. That’sthe size of the pro-posed phase twostimulus. That’s a lotof money that wecould be spending


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Outside Rep. Barbara Lee’s Oakland office on April 8, protesters urge the congresswomanto stop aid to Israel and redirect spending to domestic needs.


here, and our safety as a nation would ac-tually improve if we did that,” he main-tained.The former state representative and re-

gional Department of Transportation rep-resentative during the Carter administra-tion emphasized economic and educationissues during his presentation, but after-ward spoke to this reporter about MiddleEast foreign policy issues.The Israel-Palestine conflict is fueling

hostility in the region and needs to be de-fused, the candidate said. “The Obama ad-ministration is taking some positive stepsto realize a solid two-state solution, whichis critical to success. I was pleased whenVice President Biden [said] Israel needs todefine those boundaries in conjunctionwith the international community so youdo have two sustainable states,” Krauseadded.Speaking positively about former Presi-

dent Jimmy Carter’s role in Middle Eastpeacemaking, he explained, “Jimmy Carteris a man I’ve admired all my life.“ [Carter]was a visionary on the Camp David Ac-cords. Everybody was startled when hewas able to accomplish it. They thought hewas a madman when he tried it, and thenit happened, and the disappointment of hisopponents was palpable when it occurred.But it was probably the best thing that’shappened in the Middle East in the last 30years,” said Krause.Asked about the possibility of another

breakthrough like the Camp David ac-cords, Krause responded positively and of-fered two observations.“I think a big question mark out there

that’s causing a lot of friction is Iran,” henoted. “It would be a mistake for either theUnited States or Israel to unilaterally attackIran. That would cause more problemsthan we can even imagine today, and it

might not even solve the nuclear problemthat we are trying to get through,” Krausewarned.“Ultimately, GeorgeMitchell is doing the

groundwork and defining the parameters,”he continued, “but at some point the pres-ident will have to enter into the negotia-tions aggressively. Bill Clinton waited untilthe last minute, and that was a mistake.…If you look at what Carter did, yes, he wasvisible at the end that summer, but therehad been a lot of [diplomacy] leading up tothat, when he brought those two leaderstogether and accomplished what a lot ofpeople at the time viewed as a near mira-cle.”On April 19 Krause was endorsed by the

Veterans’ Alliance for Security and Democ-racy, or VetPac, a national political actioncommittee that works to elect veterans topublic office. —Michael Gillespie

Tax Day Protesters Defy Wind, Rain inDes MoinesFour long-time Iowa activists defied the el-ements on April 15 to protestWashington’s

use of their tax dollars to fund wars.“We’ve been doing this for 20 years ormore, just to point out to people what a lotof their tax money goes to,” explainedSherry Hutchison, standing under an um-brella in the rain on the sidewalk in frontof the main U.S. Post Office in Des Moines,IA.“It goes to fund things like the war in

Iraq and the war in Afghanistan,” she con-tinued. “They’re cutting back on humanservices, and schools, and they’re notfunding jobs the way that they should.”“We’re spending far too many of our tax

dollars on war in Iraq and Afghanistan,”agreed Eloise Cranke, holding the umbrellashe shared with her friend. “Our nationalpriorities are completely skewed and needto be changed.”“It’s just ridiculous that we are spending

all this money for war, and people aregoing along with it, it seems,” added JaneMagers, struggling to hold a pole attachedto one end of a banner buffeted by a stiffwind. “You don’t see too many people re-fusing to pay their taxes. We know a fewpeople who do. I’m not one right now, be-cause I don’t make enough money to paytaxes, but I used to,” she said.“I’m sorry that we haven’t done any bet-

ter at getting the war budget down evenwith President Obama,” Magers said. “It’sjust the same. We’re spending $7.3 billiona month just in Iraq.”Magers said she is concerned that the

U.S. economy will suffer and fall behindcountries that are not wasting money onforeign wars. “I just spoke to somebodyfrom Germany who was visiting,” she elab-orated. “[The German government] pays$400 per month for each child…You know,we could do things like that if we weren’tpaying for wars around the world.”“This protest is something the Women’s


Democratic U.S. Senate candidate Bob Krause of Fairfield, IA.

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Sherry Hutchison, Eloise Cranke, Jane Magers and Kathleen McQuillen protested war fund-ing in front of the main Post Office in Des Moines on April 15.

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International League for Peace and Free-dom has been doing for a lot of years,”noted fellow tax day protester KathleenMcQuillen, Iowa program coordinator forthe American Friends Service Committee.“Our main message is to ask, ‘How do

you define security?’ Having health care isa matter of security. Having homes thatyou’re secure in and that you’re not goingto lose to foreclosure, that’s security. Hav-ing jobs, jobs that allow you to feed yourfamily, that’s security. But all of our atten-tion on security is going to wars overseas,”she stated, “so we’re calling for a redirec-tion of our funding to support our familiesat home.” —Michael Gillespie

ArmeniansObserve 95thGenocideDateAn estimated quarter of a million Armen-ian Americans live in Los AngelesCounty—and it seemed like every one ofthem took part in April 23 and 24 obser-vances to commemorate the 1915 Armen-ian genocide that claimed the lives of morethan 1.2 million Armenians in Ottoman-ruled Turkey.The biggest and noisiest event took

place on April 24, when hundreds gath-ered in Hollywood’s Little Armenia for theannual march to the Turkish Consulate onWilshire Boulevard. There, amidst protestsigns, activists demanded that the Turkishgovernment acknowledge the mass killingsand forced death march of 95 years ago.Caravans of honking cars draped in

bunting in the red, blue and orange colorsof the Armenian flag filled the streets ofLos Angeles. A somber ceremony took

place at the Armenian MartyrsMonument, where Los AngelesMayor Antonio Villaraigosa spoke.On April 23 in Glendale, where

one in every four residents is an Ar-menian American, a Genocide Com-memoration was staged in the AlexTheater. Hollywood producerRobert A. Papazian was the keynotespeaker. The Glendale Philharmonicperformed under the baton ofMikael Avetisyan with featurednumbers by Ruben Harutyunyanon the dudak and vocalists NarineOjakhian and Arno Babadjanian.Members of the Armenian DramaticAlliance recited oral histories inthree parts, entitled “March,” “De-portation” and “A Life in a NewWorld.”Glendale students participated in

a 30-hour fast. Another group ofArmenian youths walked 15 milesin the desert outside Lancaster inmemory of their forebears who diedin the forced march from Turkey toDeir ez-Zor, Syria.

—Pat McDonnell Twair

PalmSunday Peace ParadeMore than 150 interdenominational propo-nents of peace gathered March 23 at Mes-siah Lutheran Church in Pasadena for theireighth annual Palm Sunday peace parade.After a rousing drumming prelude and in-troduction by the Rev. Bert Newton, thecolorful procession walked one and a halfmiles to the city’s popular shopping mall,Paseo Colorado.

Drumming and guitar music drew largecrowds to hear a litany “For the Healing ofthe Nations.” Colorful banners calling foran end to torture and to bring U.S. troopshome impressed the message of peace uponpassersby. —Pat McDonnell Twair

AnthropologyConference atUCLAThe Center for Near Eastern Studies hosteda two-day conference at UCLA on April 1and 2 to review new contributions of col-laborative research of ethnographicmethodologies in the field of anthropologyof the Middle East and North Africa.Dr. Barbara Aswad chaired an opening

panel entitled “Studies of Identity, mem-ory and Conflict.” Sondra Hale of UCLAexplored conflicts in Sudan with herpaper, entitled “TheMemoryWork of An-thropologists: Gendered Studies of Con-flicts and the ‘Heroic Life’ in MENA.”Steven Rousso-Schindler of California

State University Long Beach presented ex-cerpts from his paper, “National Narrativesas Theoretical Intervention in Middle EastAnthropology: How Jewish-Israeli StoriesAbout Demography can Narrate the NationIn or Out of Being.”“The Mashreq Unbound: Modernism

and the Discovery of America by theTurks” was the title of a paper by CamilaPastor de Maria y Campos about MaroniteChristians in Latin America.Seteney Shami of the Social Science Re-

60 JULY 2010

Priests lead Armenian Genocide Remembrance procession in Hollywood's Little Armenia toan April 24 demonstration in front of the Turkish Consulate in Los Angeles.

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Palm Sunday peace activists Donnie Heyn-Lamb (l)and Rev. Bert Newton at Pasadena’s Paseo Col-orado.

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search Council and Swedish Collegium forAdvanced Study discussed “Identity andDifference in the Middle East and NorthAfrica.”For taped proceedings of the conference,

visit <www.international.ucla.edu/cnes>.—Pat McDonnell Twair

Palestinian Flag Flies AtopArgentina’s AconcaguaI decided to carry a Palestinian flag to thetop of Cerro Aconcagua, South America’shighest peak, and hoist it on the summit inJanuary 2010 as a way of expressing soli-darity with the Palestinian quest for state-hood. I wanted to climb Aconcagua, 22,841feet (6,962 meters), located in the dry,desert region of northwestern Argentina.While not considered a technical climb,Aconcagua stands as the highest mountainoutside Asia’s famous Himalaya range andattracts climbing parties fromall over the world, especiallythose whose goal is to reacheach of the seven continentalsummits. Climbers spend frombetween two and four weekson the mountain carryingbackpack loads weighing up to65 pounds while contendingwith extremely high elevation.Similar to what I had under-

taken five years earlier on Mt.McKinley in Alaska, (seeSept./Oct. 2005 WashingtonReport, p. 66), I wanted tocarry the Palestinian flag to thetop. In 1988, I spent part of mycollege freshman year studyingreligion in Jerusalem and laterlearned Arabic and completed

a master’s degree inMiddle Eastern historyat Harvard University. After living amongPalestinians I, too, have yearned for Pales-tinians to live free from occupation, in astate of their own.Unfortunately, uncertainty as to the real-

ization of this dream confronts the averagePalestinian on a daily basis. Palestiniansspend hours waiting in the hot sun, coldrain and all kinds of weather wondering ifIsraeli soldiers will allow them to passthrough ubiquitous military checkpoints toget to work or school, visit family members,get to a hospital, farm their land or simplyshop for food.Uncertainty was a recurring theme

throughout my expedition to Aconcagua.Despite a measurable ascent of nearly10,000 vertical feet from base camp to sum-mit, many other uncertainties remained.Temperatures varied wildly, ranging from

95 degrees (Fahrenheit) in the Vacas Valleyapproach to below zero on the summit.The wind’s fierce gales could destroy tentsat high camp, stymie progress, and subjectunprotected skin to frostbite. Several expe-ditions were forced to retreat from highcamp as their tents were shredded by suchgusts. Surprisingly, Aconcagua demandedas many clothing layers as much coldermountains such asMt.McKinley in Alaska.Another uncertainty I faced on

Aconcagua was not knowing howmy bodywould acclimatize at elevations approach-ing 23,000 ft. (7,000 meters). Failure to ad-just would sap a climber’s strength and puthis expedition, and potentially his life, atrisk.While the uncertainties I faced on

Aconcagua pale in comparison to those ofordinary Palestinians, thinking about thechallenges and uncertainties they routinelyface transformed an otherwise selfish climbinto a poignant experience that helped mebetter appreciate—if only in a small way—the way Palestinians live today.This Palestinian flag has now graced the

highest points of North and South Amer-ica, and over the next few years I intend toclimb the high points of all seven conti-nental peaks while carrying this flag withme to the summit. I am hopeful that an in-dependent Palestinian state will become acertainty in the not-too-distant future.

—Dan Pingree

Ramallah Friends Meeting HouseCelebrates Its CentennialThe Sandy Spring, MD Friends MeetingHouse, in the suburbs of Washington, DC,hosted a celebration on April 10 of the 100-year-old Ramallah Friends Meeting Housein Palestine half a world away. Looking

around the full house, orga-nizers said they “took a leapof faith” when they plannedthe celebration, wondering ifanyone would come. JohnSalzberg welcomed guests andBette Hoover asked for a showof hands of people who hadvisited the Ramallah MeetingHouse at some time in theirlife. Hands shot up frommanypews and faces glowed withmemories.Quakers from the U.S. took

a leap of faith in 1867, whenthey first traveled to Ramallahand built a school for girls in1869 and boys in 1905. TheRamallah Meeting House wasdedicated in 1910. Jean Zaru,


Dan Pingree (l) and Ryan, an American student who offered to helphold up the Palestinian flag at the summit of Aconcagua.

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Middle East Anthropology panelists (l-r) Stephen Rousso-Schindler, Camila Pastor de Mariay Campos, Sondra Hale and Seteney Shami, with chair Barbara Aswad.


who was born in Ramallah to a Quakerfamily in 1940, and has been the presidingclerk of the Ramallah Friends Meeting forover 17 years, sent a video message. Au-thor of Occupied with Nonviolence: A Pales-tinian Woman Speaks (available from theAET Book Club), Zaru is founding memberand vice-chair of Sabeel, an ecumenicalPalestine Liberation Theology Center inJerusalem. Her son, Saleem, spoke aboutgrowing up in the Ramallah Meeting, andlearning important life lessons while hepicked up trash every week.Arlene Kelly described filming children

excited on the first day of school in Ramal-lah, during the second intifada. She laterfilmed their return to school after a longcurfew during which schools were closed.“The children came back flat, quiet, afraidto leave their parents.” One spunky 11thgrade girl asked her whatshe thought of suicidebombers. “I had no pat an-swer for a people strugglingwith violence when theyasked ‘what would you doif you were us?’ I don’tknow.” Americans don’tface armed soldiers and set-tlers, Kelly acknowledged.“We adults are failing thechildren in Palestine...Weare called to be faithful, pre-sent, be there, make a spacewhere people can be to-gether, open to possibilities,open to the spirit.”Landrum Bolling of

Mercy Corps Internationalshared his memories of the

Meeting House on his first visit in 1958and on later visits, as Ramallah grew andthe building became not only an historiclandmark but a vibrant cultural center. Herecalled Peter Yarrow (of the folk groupPeter, Paul and Mary), who visited IsraeliandWest Bank schools to teach respect foreach other, putting on a concert for theschool.Jim Fine, clerk of the new Friends Inter-

national Center in Ramallah (FICR), de-scribed the Ramallah celebrations he’d re-cently attended, and the center itself,where people of every faith (including Is-raelis, who are forbidden by their govern-ment to visit) come together to talk, per-form and connect.A delicious Middle Eastern meal, pre-

pared by Nuha Haddad, was followed by asuperb music performance by gifted Pales-

tinian singer and composer Huda Asfourand Brian Falkowski playing the oud andkannoum. —Delinda C. Hanley

Update From U.S. Central CommandU.S. Central Command head Gen. David Pe-traeus described the challenges the U.S.faces in the region under his watch at theWoodrow Wilson Center in Washington,DC on April 13, in a discussion moderatedby the center’s chairman of the board,Ambassador Joseph Gildenhorn. The Cen-tral Command (CENTCOM) area includes20 central Asian and Gulf states, fromEgypt in the west to Pakistan in the east,from Kazakhstan in the north to Yemenand the waters off Somalia in the south.“It takes a network to confront a net-

work,” Gen. Petraeus said during his Pow-erPoint update on CENTCOM strategies, ashe emphasized the complexity of issuesand U.S. responses.Responding to Ambassador Gildenhorn’s

question about deadlock in the Arab-Is-raeli peace process and its effect on his areaof command, Petraeus first acknowledgedthat the lack of progress in resolving theArab-Israeli conflict does very much shapethe environment in which he operates.Even moderate leaders say “insufficientprogress toward comprehensive peace” istheir biggest concern, he noted, althoughIran may be edging it out.Petraeus went on to say that he’d like to

clear up some inaccuracies that surfaced inthe blogosphere which “mischaracterized”his remarks after Vice President Joe Biden’srecent trip to Jerusalem. The general saidhe did not request, nor would he wish for,the addition of Israel and Palestine (part ofthe European Command) to his area ofcommand. Nor did he say that Israel’s set-

tlements policy put U.S. sol-diers at risk.Ambassador Gildenhorn

asked what effect recent vi-olence surrounding elec-tions in Iraq will have onthe plans for withdrawal ofU.S. troops. Noting that thewithdrawal is on scheduledespite recent attacks, Pe-traeus put the violence incontext with a graph thatshowed a significant declinein bloodshed in Iraq. Heemphasized the U.S. willmove into an “advise andassist” role in Iraq as 96,000“boots on the ground”draw down to 50,000 in Au-gust. U.S. forces will not

Palestinian musician, singer and composer Huda Asfour.

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Ambassador Joseph Gildenhorn (l) and Gen. David Petraeus.

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conduct unilateral combat missions unlessthere is an eminent threat, he said.

The legacy we leave in Iraq may not bedemocracy, Petraues added, but at least it’sa representative government—whereaswhen we leave Afghanistan the best wemay hope for is some sort of functioninggovernment.

Petraeus said he recognized the chal-lenges that still remain and the need for theU.S. to serve the people and help host na-tions to do the same. People say, “if youcan put a man on the moon, why can’t youturn on the electricity in Mosul? Peoplewill only tolerate us if they see there willbe a brighter future for their families,” Pe-traeus said. “No one welcomes foreignforces on their land.”

Regarding Afghanistan, Petraeus recog-nized that the U.S. could not simply “kill orcapture [its] way out of an industrial-strength insurgency.” Afghans, he said,need to be “part of the solution instead ofa continuing part of the problem.” He alsosuggested that the Kabul government has arole to play in integrating the country’spopulation, and that “inclusivity andtransparency are what needs to take place.”

As the conversation moved from Iraqand Afghanistan to other countries in theregion and broader topics of U.S. strategy,Petraeus reiterated the need to take a com-prehensive approach to problem-solving inthe area. In regard to combating terrorismin particular, Petraeus said that the “ap-propriate intellectual approach is that of acomprehensive, whole-of-governmentscounterinsurgency campaign.”

Congresswoman Jane Harman (D-CA)asked Petraeus whether he has the re-sources to focus on such a large area. Thegeneral expressed confidence that he didhave enough resources and again empha-sized the need and current effort to workwith partners in the area rather than act-ing unilaterally. “You can’t get stuck in themode of your nose against the glass fo-

cused on one country or one area, sub-re-gion, and lose sight of the broader regionalpicture,” he said. “We focus on the globalnetworks.” —Delinda C. Hanley

Poll Documents ChangingPerceptions of Israeli-PalestinianConflictOn March 25 the Washington, DC-basedNewAmerica Foundation hosted a panel todiscuss a poll on American perceptions ofthe Israeli-Palestinian conflict commis-sioned by the Arab American Institute(AAI). Zogby International polled 2,471Americans between March 17 and 19,2010, after Israel’s “insulting” treatment ofVice President Joe Biden. John Zogby pre-sented the poll’s findings, as AAI PresidentDr. James Zogby, the Middle East TaskForce’s Amjad Atallah, and former directorof Israel Policy ForumM.J. Rosenberg pro-vided analysis of the poll results. SteveClemons moderated the discussion.

Just one week after Gen. David Petraeusre-emphasized the centrality to U.S. na-tional security interests of resolving the Is-raeli-Arab conflict, the Zogby poll showedsignificant American support for theObama administration’s policies. WhileAmericans still support Israel, the pollfound, a great majority view the continuedlack of resolution to the conflict to beharmful to U.S. interests. A plurality ofthose questioned oppose Israeli settlementconstruction and believe it weakens Amer-ican leverage and credibility in the world.Reflecting a trend characterizing almostevery domestic issue, there is an increasingpartisan divide, with Democrats over-whelmingly more favorable to the presi-dent’s policies and efforts to end the con-flict.

Pollster John Zogby also compared therecent poll with one conducted last year.In 2009, he noted, 71 percent of Americanshad a favorable view of Israelis, with only21 percent rating them unfavorably. In

2010, the favorable/unfavorable ratingshave shifted to 65 percent/29 percent. Ac-cording to Zogby, this is largely due to asignificant drop among Democrats, whonow hold a 42 percent favorable, 49 per-cent unfavorable view of Israelis. IsraeliPrime Minister Netanyahu’s rating amongDemocrats is an even worse 20 percent fa-vorable to 63 percent negative.

American attitudes toward Palestiniansand President Mahmoud Abbas also havedeclined, Zogby said. In 2009 Palestinianswere viewed favorably by 25 percent of thepublic, and unfavorably by 66 percent.Today the favorable/unfavorable ratio is 21percent to 73 percent, and Abbas is nowseen favorably by only 14 percent of Amer-icans. Panelists agreed that Israelis and theU.S. mainstream press are aggressivelytelling the Israeli side of the story, whilePalestinians and the U.S. mainstreammediaare failing to express the Arab side.

According to the poll, there is a deeppartisan divide, with two-thirds of De-mocrats opposed to Israeli policies com-pared to two-thirds of Republicans sup-porting whatever Israel does. The pro-Is-rael bent of the Republican side is largelydue to the preponderance of Christian fun-damentalists, while the Democratic side ismade up of young voters, women and mi-norities (African Americans, Hispanics andAsians, who together form about one-thirdof the U.S. electorate) who, according toJohn Zogby, have a broader view of inter-national issues.

The panelists agreed that activists needto take note of the one-third of thosepolled who have no clear view on anyArab-Israeli issues. “The bottom line isthat this poll presents a challenge to engageand inform a public that is deeply con-cerned, but not yet certain how to respondto the continuing Israeli-Palestinian con-flict. It is a challenge that must be met,”Jim Zogby concluded. For more informa-tion on the poll or to watch the presenta-tion visit <www.newamerica.net>.


Keffiyeh: From Resistance Symbol toRetail Item?Ted Swedenburg, a professor of anthropol-ogy at the University of Arkansas, gave anillustrated talk on the “Keffiyeh: From Re-sistance Symbol to Retail Item?” at thePalestine Center in Washington, DC onApril 8. Swedenburg, a member of the ed-itorial committee of the quarterly MiddleEast Report, teaches courses on the MiddleEast, race and ethnicity, gender and pub-lic culture.


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(L-r) M.J. Rosenberg, Amjad Atallah, Dr. James Zogby and John Zogby.


Swedenburg said he first became fasci-nated by the Palestinian keffiyeh, the tradi-tional black and white head-covering,when he was researching his 2003 book,Memories of Revolt: The 1936-1939 Rebel-lion and the Palestinian National Past(available from the AET Book Club). Usingphotos at the Palestine Center, he de-scribed the transformation of the keffiyeh,long a symbol of Palestinian nationalismand resistance, into a popular fashiontrend available at major retail outlets.Rural peasants and Bedouin wore the

keffiyehwhile upper class Palestinians worethe fez or tarbush, Swedenburg noted, buthis talk focused on the history of the kef-fiyeh in the United States—or “keffiyehspottings.” The keffiyeh is now ubiquitous,yet many of those who wear it may notknow the meaning and symbolism behindthis checkered cloth.Swedenburg discussed the hipster kef-

fiyeh (one of the stereotypical signs of thesupposedly absurd, poseur hipster), thesolidarity keffiyeh (worn by activists sym-pathetic to the Palestinian cause), designerkeffiyehs (in every color and style), and the“tough guy” keffiyeh.Matt Damon, he noted, wears it in the

“Green Zone” “U.S. military-style”—as ascarf, kept inside the jacket—as does JohnTravolta playing an FBI agent in “FromParis with Love.” DenzelWashingtonwearsone as he plays a wanderer through a post-apocalypse U.S. in “The Book of Eli.”Peace activists never really took advan-

tage of the keffiyeh fad, Swedenburg ar-gued, but conservatives did get steamedup when Howard Dean wore a keffiyeh inJanuary 2004 and JohnMcCain’s daughter

Megan wore hers during his 2008 presi-dential campaign. Then there was thestorm in the coffeepot when conservativefar-right commentator Michelle Malkin ac-cused all-American talk-show host/TVfood queen Rachael Ray of wearing thesymbol “of murderous Palestinian jihad” ina Dunkin’ Donuts ad, which subsequentlywas pulled, in May 2008.Urban Outfitters first carried the “anti-

war woven scarf” in January 2007, but bywinter 2009 had renamed it a ”houndstoothscarf.” By 2008 the keffiyeh became aprovocative fashion trend, and London de-signer John Galliano’s sported keffiyeh de-signs even found their way into formalwear. Bill Cunningham’s wonderful series ofstreet-fashion photos published in the Sun-dayNew York Times Style section on Feb. 7,

2010 featured a young artsy middle classprofessional wearing a keffiyeh as scarf.Swedenburg advised peace activists to

stop complaining about people who wear akeffiyehwithout a clue as to its symbolism.“Use the moment to educate,” he urged.“There are lots of opportunities and lots ofbenefits, new ways to wear a keffiyeh andpromote the cause.”For more information or to watch a

video of the presentation visit <www.thejerusalemfund.org>, or search Sweden-burg’s blog <swedenburg.blogspot.com>to see photos of keffiyehs on actors, modelsand ordinary people around the world. Tobuy a Palestinian-made keffiyeh of yourown, visit the AET Book Club at <www.middleeastbooks.com>.



Prof. Ted Swedenburg, wearing his favoritetie, gave a history of the keffiyeh.

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Activists display the Palestinian flag outside San Francisco City Hall beneath theIsraeli flag on Mayor Gavin Newsom’s balcony. The Israeli flag was raised tocommemorate Israel’s “Independence Day,” the date on which the Israeli Knessetdeclared Israel a nation in 1948. An aide to the mayor told the activists the Pales-tinian flag could be raised on the balcony only if there was a Palestinian consulate inSan Francisco.

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A Conversation With the JordanianAmbassadorHis Royal Highness Prince Zeid Ra’ad ZeidAl-Hussein, ambassador of the HashemiteKingdom of Jordan to the United States,addressed a capacity crowd at the RonaldReagan Building and International TradeCenter in Washington, DC on March 31.The ambassador’s talk was part of the Na-tional Council on U.S.-Arab Relations’ con-versation series.Ambassador Al-Hussein began

on a cautionary note, remarkingon the difficult and multifacetedstate of his country’s region.“[The] string of crises thatstretches from the Mediterraneanto South Asia has begun to windinto a knot so complex and sochallenging,” he said, that effortsto address and solve these re-gional problems have been eitherineffectual or insufficient: “ourcollective will has not brought usto a defining point.”Nevertheless, Ambassador Al-

Hussein highlighted several re-cent positive developments in theMiddle East. He pointed to thesuccessful formation of theLebanese government, the ballot-ing process in Iraq, and improvedrelations between the U.S. and Syria as rea-sons for optimism in an otherwise uncer-tain Middle East. The ambassador alsopraised the consistency and resolve of theArab states in their support for the ArabPeace Initiative, which was reconfirmed atthe most recent Arab League Summit inSirte, Libya.Ambassador Al-Hussein framed his

praise, however, in the context of a seriouscritique of the historical patterns whichhave dictated Arab and Israeli actions since1967. “How we [Arabs and Israelis alike]have responded to this conflict,” helamented, “presents a rather sorry pictureof ourselves.” Prince Zeid noted, in partic-ular, the economic cost of the prolongedconflict, citing a 2009 report by India’sStrategic Foresight Group which estimatedthe cost of the past 20 years of conflict to

be $12 trillion. “It can be argued,” hestated, “that we are a burden unto our-selves and a burden unto the rest of theplanet.”The continued intransigence on both

sides of the conflict and the long list of“lost opportunities” led the ambassador toquestion whether the region genuinely isdeserving of a peace. “Can we claim a rightto peace when one considers that large seg-ments of one population is so ready to be-

little the colossal crime that was the Holo-caust, while on the other side there exists alarge group of people who cannot yet graspthe effect of an occupation and the degra-dation of another people?” he asked.His blunt critique even extended to the

failure of Arabs and Israelis to engage on is-

sues not pertaining to the Middle East.“One can make the argument,” Ambas-sador Al-Hussein continued, “that also weare a non-player when it comes to the largerdiscussions occupying the internationalcommunity.” During the last 60 years, hepointed out, there has not been a single ini-tiative proposed by either the Arabs or theIsraelis concerning an issue separate fromthe Middle East. “We as a region are reallya sorry bunch,” he said, “and perhaps if

graded would clearly deserve abig ‘F’ from that perspective.”Prince Zeid concluded his re-

marks by emphasizing the pre-carious and dire situation inJerusalem. The holy city of thethree Abrahamic faiths is, heworried, “a constant threat to theinternational community.” Withviolent confrontation between Is-raeli military personnel andPalestinians and continued build-ing of Israeli settlements in ArabEast Jerusalem on the rise, thepotential for something to go“terribly awry” is far too greatfor comfort. Moreover, the am-bassador worried that if settle-ment activity in the city is notbrought to an immediate halt,the conflict will arrive in a

“state of terminal crisis” in which facts onthe ground will prohibit any possibility fora peace agreement between the Palestiniansand the Israelis. “Acting decisively andseizing the moment now,” he insisted, isthe only option to ensure a future peace.

—Andrew Blakely


Jordanian Ambassador Prince Zeid Ra’ad Zeid Al-Hussein.

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(L-r) Syrian Ambassador Imad Moustapha,Ambassador Robert Keeley, Louise Keeleyand Rafif Al-Sayed Moustapha at the SyrianArab Republic’s National Day celebration onApril 15 at the Mandarin Oriental Hotel inWashington, DC.

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BooksYemen: Dancing on the HeadsOf SnakesBy Victoria Clark, Yale University Press,2010, paperback, 328 pp. List: $20; AET:$13.50.

Reviewed by Adam Chamy

Mo s t o f t h eworld views Yem -en as a small coun-try in a remote andirrelevant corner ofthe Middle East. inher new work,Yemen: Dancing ont h e H e a d s o fSnakes, journalistVictoria Clark over-turns this misper-

ception, illuminating a Yemen both histori-cally significant and increasingly present ininternational headlines. Part history, part travelogue, Clark’s book

weaves an intricate narrative from the 16thcentury to the present, based on theauthor’s extensive research and encounterswith the entire spectrum of Yemeni society:from Shi’i to Sufi, Islamist jihadis to Marx-ists, tribesmen to former al-Qaeda opera-tives. Each footnote and character in hernarrative helps to further reveal a Yemen

that is rich in cultural history, fiercely isola-tionist, and historically divided.From its sapping of Ottoman military

strength in the late 19th century to thedisproportionate role of Yemeni nationalsin the Arab mujahideen during the fight-ing to evict Soviet troops from Af ghan -istan, Clark uncovers the hidden central-ity of Yemen in the history of the MiddleEast. Particularly fascinating is the discus-sion of Gamal Abdel Nasser’s mid-1960smisadventure in combatting insurgents inNorth Yemen, resulting in the loss of20,000 troops and ultimately crippling hismilitary force. Clark describes it as Egypt’s“Vietnam” and alludes to Yemen being amajor factor in Egypt’s ultimate defeat inthe Six-day War. A bit too prone to overly detailed histor-

ical analysis, Clark is at her best in describ-ing the modern concerns of Yemenisthrough the characters she meets on herjourney. From a former al-Qaeda bodyguardturned taxi-driver to a pompous merchant-cum-tribal elder, Clark portrays a nation ofingenious opportunists who change identi-

ties according to the shifting sands ofpower. Through these absorbing personal en-

counters, Clark shows how modern Yemenis less a unified nation than a disparatecollection of tribes and competing inter-ests arbitrated by the surprisingly cleverpresident-for-life Ali Abdullah Salih, whoremains in power by “dancing on theheads of snakes”—appeasing and manip-ulating the varied tribes and interests tokeep his enemies at bay and his country(somewhat) stable. However, Clark warns that Salih’s quick-

stepping may be coming to an end. As theArab world’s poorest state, Yemen’s stabilitydepends on financially pacifying its citizensthrough oil profits, handouts, and interna-tional aid. Economists warn of the country’simpending collapse—with water set to runout by 2015, oil by 2011, and governmentsalaries somewhere in the coming decade.Worse, given recent U.S. military dronestrikes against al-Qaeda in the ArabianPeninsula and Yemen’s strategic position nearthe oil rich Gulf, Clark cautions that Yemencould become the next Afghan istan—orworse, a completely failed state like Somalia.Add two secessionist movements to the

mix and the growing ire of foreign govern-ments at Salih’s rule, and Clark makes a con-vincing case. Describing Yemen as a tickingtime-bomb, delicate to tackle but critical todiffuse—lest it erupt in violence its neigh-bors and Western benefactors are ill-equipped to handle. ❑Adam Chamy is director of the AET Book Club.


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Book Deal Alert! Want to read a swash-buckling memoir of a man shipwreckedoff the coast of Yemen in the 1970s? Pur-chase Motoring with Mohammed: Journeysto Yemen and the Red Sea by Eric Hansenwith Victoria Clark’s Yemen: Dancing onthe Heads of Snakes—a $40 retailvalue—for only $23.50 plus shipping!

book_review_66_Book Review 5/13/10 12:55 PM

AET Book Club Catalog

Outside the Ark: AnArtist’s Journey in Occu-pied Palestine by Ellen O'-Grady, 55 Books, 2005, hard-back, 48 pp. List: $25 AET:$20. It sometimes takes art tohumanize struggles desensi-tized by polemics and politics.Artist Ellen O’Grady paintsand writes a heartbreaking,creatively illustrated story based on her observations of in-justice, tragedy, and hope in occupied Palestine. The perfectvolume for anyone interested in Palestinian activism or po-litical art and narrative. Mention this ad and O’Grady’s bookand Our Eyes, a photographic exploration of refugee campsby the children of the Lajee Center in Bethlehem, (a $42value) for only $36! Give the set to your library.

The Punishment of Gaza byGideon Levy, Verso, 2010, paper-back, 160 pp. List: $15.95; AET:$11. Learn the true story of Israel’s2008-09 assault on Gaza and itshorrific effects from Haaretz colum-nist Gideon Levy’s compelling newbook. From ordinary Gazans copingunder the injustice of the Israeliblockade to the ambivalent stanceof the international community, Levy omits no detail. Levyhas won countless awards for his defense of human rights,but also has faced intense criticism at home, where hewas labeled a security risk by a former cabinet minister.Want to learn more about the historical struggles Gazahas faced? Buy Levy’s book with Life at the Crossroads: AHistory of Gaza (a $39.95 value) for only $28!

Veiled Voices by BrigidMaher, Typecast Films, DVD,2009, 59 minutes, English &Arabic with English subtitles.List: $24.99 AET: $20. Threepersonal stories of influentialMuslim female leaders andtheir families in Lebanon,Egypt and Syria. Filmed overthe course of two years, thefilm provides insight into howMuslim women are redefiningthemselves through Islam by using it as a powerfultransformative force for social justice and change. In-terested in Muslim women’s rights? Buy this DVDalong with Elizabeth Fernea’s acclaimed book In Searchof Islamic Feminism (a $41 value) for only $28.50!

My Father Was A FreedomFighter by Ramzy Baroud,Pluto Press, 2010, paperback,320 pp. List: $18; AET: $12.50.This touching memoir by ac-claimed author and journalistRamzy Baroud (Searching forJenin, The Second PalestinianIntifada) following the dailylives of Palestinians from Ot-toman times to today is cen-tered around the story ofBaroud’s own father and hissearch for a free, just, and democratic Palestine. Com-pelling and not to be missed. Mention this ad and get thisbook and Searching for Jenin for only $23.50 (a savings ofmore than $13)!

Translating Libya: The Mod-ern Libyan Short Story editedby Ethan Chorin, Saqi Press,2008, paperback, 238 pp. List:$19.95; AET: $15.50. This uniquework comes through the lensesof 16 Libyan short story writersand one American diplomat. Trac-ing the influence of the ancientRomans, Italian occupation, andthe current influx of foreignworkers from Africa and furtherafield, the stories in this volume open a window intomodern Libya—a rapidly urbanizing country with rich oilreserves, renewed relations with the West and a nascenttourist industry. Purchase this with the film “Lion of theDesert,” following Qaddafi's fight against Italian colo-nialism (a $45 retail value) for only $32.50!

American Radical: the Tri-als of Norman Finkelsteinby David Ridgen and NicolasRossier, Typecast Films, DVD,2010, 88 minutes, English. List:$24.99; AET: $20. Probing doc-umentary of controversialscholar Norman Finkelstein—called a self-hating Jew bysome and a revolutionary byothers. This cinema verité doc-umentary follows Finkelstein’slectures and book signingsacross the country. Perfect forFinkelstein critics and supporters alike. Buy this DVD withFinkelstein’s book Beyond Chutzpah: On the Misuse ofAnti-Semitism and the Abuse of History (a $48 value) foronly $33.50!

Beware of Small States:Lebanon, Battleground ofthe Middle East by David Hirst,Nation Books, 2010, hardback,496 pp. List: $29.95; AET: $20.Hirst unravels Lebanon’s history,exploring its devastating relation-ship with Israel and other playersin the region. A nation smallerthan the size of Connecticut,Lebanon has served as the battle-ground for some of the mostbloody conflicts in the modern Middle East. In clear, con-cise language, Hirst provides a powerful guide to Lebanonand its role in the Middle East’s fast-evolving political envi-ronment. Pair this with Hirst’s authoritative account on Is-rael-Palestine, The Gun and the Olive Branch, (a $48 value)for only $35!

Jewish Terrorism in Israel byAmi Pedahuzur and Arie Perliger,Columbia University Press, 2009,hardback, 264 pp. List: $29.50;AET: $20. Bias-free and with noclear agenda, the authors ex-plore the backgrounds, socialnetworks and motives of terror-ism within Israel. Extensive inter-views, comparisons of Jewish ter-rorism to that of Muslim extrem-ists, and in-depth socio-politicalanalysis show that “religious terrorism is not a one-faithphenomenon.” Want information on the roots of Jewishextremism? Pair this with Israel Shahak’s groundbreakingJewish History, Jewish Religion: The Weight of Three Thou-sand Years (a $48.94 value) for only $34!

Dining with al-Qaeda: ThreeDecades Exploring the ManyWorlds of the Middle East byHugh Pope, Thomas Dunne Books,2010, hardback, 352 pp. List:$26.99; AET: $19. The former WallStreet Journal correspondent re-counts his career in the MiddleEast, from derring-do interviewswith militants to his first Lebanesecivil war assignments. Pope main-tains a humorous lucid style throughout, while nonethelesscriticizing American media, undue support for Israel andmisinformation about Islam in the West. For another takeon the Middle East pair this with Jeremy Salt’s The Unmak-ing of the Middle East (a $57 retail value) for only $36.50!


L i t e r a t u r e * M u s i c * F i l m * M o n o g r a p h s * M o r e

N ew S p r i n g 2 0 1 0

S h i p p i n g R a t e s

L i b ra r y p a c kage s (list value over $240) are available for$29 if donated to a library, or free if requested with a library’s paidsubscription or renewal. Call the Book Club at 800-368-5788 ext.2 to order. AET policy is to identify donors unless anonymity isspecifically requested.

U. S . S h i pp i ng R a t e s : add $5 for the first item and $2.50for each additional item. Canada & Mexico shipping charges:Please add $11 for the first item and $3 for each additional item.International shipping charges: Please add $13 for the firstitem and $3.50 for each additional item. We ship by USPS Priorityunless otherwise requested

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 accept ed. Please make checksand money orders out to “AET.”Contact the AET Book Club for complete shipping guidelines and options.

book_catalog_67_July 2010 5/13/10 12:58 PM


Upcoming Events

“Noble Jewels: North African Jewelryand Photography from the XavierGuerrand-Hermès Collection,” an exhi-bition featuring jewelry and historic pho-tographs from Algeria, Libya, Morocco,Egypt and Tunisia, remains on viewthrough Aug. 8 at the Arab American Na-tional Museum in Dearborn, MI. For moreinformation visit <www.arabamericanmuseum.org>.

The 2010 Palestine Investment Confer-encewill be held June 2 and 3 at the Con-vention Palace in Bethlehem, Palestineunder the patronage of President Mah-moud Abbas. This year’s theme is “Invest-ing in Palestine: Empowering Small andMedium Enterprises.” For more informa-tion visit <www.pic-palestine.ps>.

The 15th Annual Dearborn Arab Inter-national Festival will be held July 18-21in Dearborn, MI. The largest such festival,drawing more than 300,000 attendees, itfeatures performances and events fromthroughout the region. For more informa-tion visit <www.americanarab.com>.

Appointments

The American-Arab Anti-DiscriminationCommittee (ADC) has announced the ap-pointment of deputy executive directorNabil Mohammed as its new vice presi-dent. He joined ADC in 1998 as nationalorganizing director and has more than 25years of experience with various Arab-American community organizations. ADChas also announced that its new legal di-rector is Abed A. Ayoub. The ADC LegalDepartment offers pro bono services in dis-crimination, profiling, immigration or citi-zen-related cases, as well as other issues.For more information, visit <www.adc.org> or, to contact the Legal Department,e-mail <[email protected]>.

MarwanMuasher, former Jordanian for-eign minister and deputy prime minister,will join the Carnegie Endowment for In-ternational Peace to oversee the work ofthe Endowment’s Middle East program inWashington and its Middle East Center inBeirut. For more information about theCarnegie Endowment visit <www.carnegieendowment.org>.

Obituaries

Rabbi Moshe Hirsch, 86, a leader of Ne-turei Karta, the Orthodox Jewish group that

opposes the Zionist state of Israel, and alongtime adviser to the late Palestinianleader Yasser Arafat, diedMay 2 at his homein Jerusalem. The son-in-law of NetureiKarta founder Rabbi Aharon Katzenelbogen,he was born in Brooklyn in 1923 and re-ceived his rabbinical training at a Lakewood,NJ yeshiva. He emigrated to Israel but neverbecame an Israeli citizen. An adviser toPalestinian President Mahmoud Abbas wasquoted as saying, “We consider RabbiHirsch a part of the Palestinian people. He isone of the Palestinian Jewswhomwe give allrespect, and this is to confirm that our prob-lem is not with the Jews as a religion, it’swith Zionism.” Rabbi Hirsch is survived bythree children and a brother.

Sheikh Ahmed Bin Zayed Al-Nahyan,38, younger half-brother of United ArabEmirates’ ruler Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayedal-Nahyan and director of the Abu DhabiInvestment Authority, the world’s largestsovereign wealth fund, died in a March 26glider accident in Morocco. Ranked as the27th most powerful person in the world byForbes magazine, Sheikh Ahmed was themanaging director of the Abu Dhabi In-vestment Authority—whose assets are es-timated from $400 billion to $875 billion ormore. Its $7.5 billion cash investment inCitigroup in 2007 drew much attention.Known for his rather low-key persona,Sheikh Ahmed spoke out earlier this yearwarning of continuing weaknesses inglobal economic markets. Beyond his in-volvement in the Abu Dhabi InvestmentAuthority, Sheikh Ahmed was also knownfor his charitable activities, and served asboard chairman of the influential ZayedBin Sultan Al Nahyan Charitable and Hu-manitarian Foundation.

Nimet Abudabbeh, 98, died March 10 ofatrial fibrillation at her home in Washing-ton, DC. Born in Tulkarm, Palestine, sheand her husband, Naim Abudabbeh—a1928 graduate of the University of Califor-nia at Davis and the first horticultureexpert in the Middle East—fled theirhomeland during the Nakba and raisedtheir family in a series of countries, in-cluding Turkey, Lebanon and Libya. Oneof the first female Palestinian economists towork at the World Bank, she was an avidreciter of Arabic poetry. A friend describedher as “a great lady and one of thesmartest, wittiest, most elegant and cul-tured Arab women of her generation.” Herhusband died in a 1974 automobile acci-dent, and her younger daughter, Nural,

died of cancer in 1991. She is survived byher older daughter, Nuha, her son, Nedi,her grandson, Hayham Abdulhadi, threebrothers, two sisters, and an adopteddaughter, Rabiyeh Ercin of Istanbul.David Kimche, 82, the controversial

Mossad spy and former director general ofthe Israeli Foreign Ministry, died March 8of brain cancer in his home in Israel. Hewas best known for his involvement in theIran-Contra Affair and for the key role heplayed in the Lebanese Civil War. Emigrat-ing from Britain to Palestine in 1946,Kimche, with his reputation as an urbanesophisticate among a rougher militarycrowd, quickly rose through the espionageranks in the newly formed Israeli state. Heplayed a key role in creating allies for Israelamong periphery non-Arab groups in theregion—particularly Iran, Christian mi-nority groups, and the emerging states ofsub-Saharan Africa. By the 1970s he was akey deputy in the Mossad.

Outside of Tel Aviv, he earned a particu-larly sinister reputation due to his involve-ment in Operation Wrath of God—theseries of reprisals against the Palestiniansalleged to be complicit in the 1972MunichOlympics attacks. By the 1980s, Kimchehad been elevated to the ForeignMinistry,and was a key architect of Israel’s 1982 in-vasion of Lebanon. Utilizing his earlier es-tablished personal links with LebaneseChristian groups, he helped set the stagefor the Israeli backing of Phalangemilitias—which, under the watchful eye ofIsraeli troops, carried out the massacres atthe Sabra and Shatila Palestinian refugeecamps outside Beirut.

Kimche also was one of the key master-minds of the Iran-Contra affair, in whichhe drew upon his earlier Mossad ties withIranian arms dealers and contacts inPanama. After leaving the Foreign Min-istry in 1987, Kimche was known for hisincreasingly vocal public role in pushingfor a sustainable peace with Palestinians.He became deeply involved in such groupsas the International Alliance for Arab-Is-raeli Peace, known as the Copenhagengroup, and the Israeli Foreign AffairsCouncil. He protested against his country’sill treatment of its Arab citizens andstrongly criticized the policies of BinyaminNetanyahu and Ariel Sharon. Most re-cently, he signed onto a campaign callingfor Israeli withdrawal from the occupiedterritories and for open dialogue withHamas. ❑

Upcoming Events, Appointments &Obituaries —Compiled by Adam Chamy BulletinBoardBulletinBoard

bulletin_board_68.qxd:July 2010 Bulletin Board 5/12/10 9:30 PM

AET’s 2010 Choir of AngelsFollowing are individuals, organizations, companies and foundations whose help between Jan. 1, 2010 and May 7, 2010 ismaking possible activities of the tax-exempt AET Library Endowment (federal ID #52-1460362) and the American Educa-tional Trust, publisher of theWashington Report on Middle East Affairs.We are deeply honored by their confidence and pro-foundly grateful for their generosity.

HUMMERS($100 or more)Sami Abed, South Lyon, MIJeff Abood, Silver Lake, OHA.M. Al-Shadhan, Riyadh, Saudi ArabiaMohammad Alhatou, MD, Orangeburg, SCDr. Mohamad Alkhayat,Geneva, Switzerland

Arthur Alter, Goleta, CAHamid & Kim Alwan, Milwaukee, WIMichael Ameri, Calabasas, CADr. Nabih Ammari, Cleveland, OHDr. Robert Ashmore Jr., Mequon, WIKhaled Bachour, Farrell, PADonna Baer, Grand Junction, COJamil Barhoum, San Diego, CAStanton Barrett, Ipswich, MAAntoine Boghossian, Belmont, MAKaren Ray Bossmeyer, Louisville, KYAbbey Bourghei, Van Nuys, CACarole Brown, Branford, CTKatherine Bullock, Mississauga, CanadaWilliam Carey, Old Lyme, CTJohn Carley, Pointe-Claire, CanadaTed Chauviere, Austin, TXJean & Donald F. Clarke, Devon, PABasil Collins, Holland, MICarole Courey, Cataumet, MADavid D’Antonio, Amityville, NYTaher & Sheila Dahani, Alexandria, VAHon. John Gunther Dean, Paris, FranceAmbassador Francois M. Dickman,Laramie, WY

Robert & Tanis Diedrichs, Cedar Falls, IALee & Amelia Dinsmore, Elcho, WIDr. David Dunning, Lake Oswego, ORGloria El-Khouri, Scottsdale, AZKassem Elkhalil, Arlington, TXBarbara Erickson, Berkeley, CAM.R. Eucalyptus, Kansas City, MODr. Richard Falk, Santa Barbara, CAPaul & Lucille Findley, Jacksonville, ILDr. Ramzi Freij, Nottingham, UKDonald Frisco, Wilmington, DEJoseph & Angela Gauci, Whittier, CADr. Abdollah Gilani, W. Los Angeles, CACarl Greeley, Barefoot Bay, FLHerbert Greider, Dauphin, PADaniel Grunberg, Amsterdam,NetherlandsNabil Haddad, North Wales, PAErin K. Hankir, Ottawa, CanadaDelinda Hanley, Kensington, MDShirley Hannah, Argyle, NYKatharina Harlow, Pacific Grove, CADr. &Mrs. SammyHassan, Lake Oswego, ORJanice Hawwa, Gates Mills, OHSamir M. Hawwa, Prangins Vaud,Switzerland

Alan Heil, Alexandria, VA

Rich Hoban, Cleveland Heights, OHZaghloul Kadah, Los Gatos, CAIssa & Rose Kamar, Plano, TXElias Kawas, Madisonville, KYEugene Khorey, West Mifflin, PALafayette Kirban, Philadelphia, PADonald Kouri, Westmount, CanadaRaymond Joseph Kyriakos, Hatfield, PAMichael Ladah, Las Vegas, NVWilliam Lawand, Mount Royal, CanadaJoseph Louis, Los Gatos, CAJeanie Lucas, Thebarton, AustraliaAnthony Mabarak, Grosse Pointe Park, MIFarah Mahmood, Forsyth, ILRichard Makdisi & Lindsey Wheeler,Berkeley, CA

Eric Margolis, Ontario, CanadaJohn McGillion, Greenwich, CTBill McGrath, Northfield, MNCharles Murphy, Upper Falls, MDJacob Nammar, San Antonio, TXElaine Pasquini, Novato, CASam Rahman, Lincoln, CAMr. & Mrs. Duane Rames, Mesa, AZHoward A. Reed, W. Palm Beach, FLPaul Richards, Salem, ORNeil Richardson, Randolph, VTWilliam Rives, Siler City, NCDenis Sabourin, Dubai, UAEAnthony Saidy, Los Angeles, CADr. Ahmed M. Sakkal, Charleston, WVAsha Samad, New York, NYIrmgard Scherer, Fairfax, VAElizabeth Schiltz, Kokomo, INHenry Schubert, Damascus, ORKathy Sheridan, Mill Valley, CADavid Shibley, Santa Monica, CAGlenn Smith, Santa Rosa, CAMubadda Suidan, Atlanta, GAGregory Stefanatos, Flushing, NYMae Stephen, Palo Alto, CAMubadda Suidan, Atlanta, GAKristin Szremski, Plainfield, ILDr. Joseph Tamari, Chicago, ILDr. Yusuf Tamimi, Hilo, HICharles Thomas, La Conner, WACol. Lawrence Thompson, Arlington, VAMary Abusharr Trolan, Dallas, ORJane Voigt, Tucson, AZPaul Wagner, Bridgeville, PANabil Yakub, McLean, VADr. Robert Younes, Potomac, MDVivian Zelaya, Berkeley, CAHugh Ziada, Garden Grove, CAFred Zuercher, Spring Grove, PA

ACCOMPANISTS($250 or more)The Fidelity Charitable Gift Fund onbehalf of Ronald & Mary Forthofer,

Longmont, COA.R. Armin, Troy, MIMr.&Mrs.A.L. Cummings, OwingsMill,MDRichard Curtiss, Boynton Beach, FLMervat Eid, Henrietta, NYEugene Fitzpatrick, Wheat Ridge, CO*E. Patrick Flynn, Carmel, NYMichael Habermann, Hackettstown, NJSalman & Kate Hilmy, Silver Spring, MDFahd Jajeh, Lake Forest, ILBarbara LeClerq, Overland Park, KSJack Love, Escondido, CARachelle Marshall, Mill Valley, CAAlice Nashashibi, San Francisco, CAJohn Parry, Chapel Hill, NCFrank & Mary Regier, Strongsville, OHDr. Mohammad H. Said, Ephrata, WATheodore Shannon, Green Valley, AZMichel & Cathy Sultan, Eau Claire, WILinda Thain-Ali, Guneykoy, TurkeyCharles & Letitia Ufford, Princeton, NJJohn VanWagoner, McLean, VA

TENORS & CONTRALTOS($500 or more)Mohamed Alwan, Chestnut Ridge, NYGraf Herman Bender, North Palm Beach, FLRev. Rosemarie Carnarius, Tucson, AZShuja El-Asad, Amman, JordanDouglas A. Field, Kihei, HI**Evan & Leman Fotos, Istanbul, TurkeyGrace Guthrie, Falls Church, VABrigitte Jaensch, Carmichael, CATrini Marquez, Beach, NDRobert Norberg, Lake City, MNPatricia & Herbert Pratt, Cambridge, MAGay Schroeder, Boston, MACheryl Tatum, Cincinnati, OHDonn Trautman, Evanston, IL

BARITONES&MEZZOSOPRANOS ($1,000 ormore)A.J. & M.T. Amirana, Las Vegas, NVDr. & Mrs. Clyde Farris, West Linn, ORGary Richard Feulner, Dubai, UAEHassan Fouda, Berkeley, CALes Janka, Arlington, VAVincent & Louise Larsen, Billings, MT

CHOIRMASTERS($5,000 or more)Richard & Donna Curtiss,Chevy Chase, MD*

John & Henrietta Goelet, Meru, FranceAmbassador Andrew Killgore,Washington, DC

John McLaughlin, Gordonsville, VA

*In recognition of Rachelle Marshall**In memory of Rachel Corrie


angels_69:Angels List July 2010 5/12/10 9:32 PM

“These are some of the nicest dogswe’ve ever taken in,” said Commu-

nications Officer Elise Ledsinger. It was asentiment that was echoed throughout theWashington Animal Rescue League facil-ity. Juanishia Lee, an adoptions coordina-tor, was impressed. So was Gary Weitz-man, the organization’s president and CEO.“Especially when you think of every-

thing these dogs have gone through,” hesaid. First there was the fire, then they were

penned in the desert, andfinally they were shippedto the United States. “Itshows you just how incred-ible dogs can be.”When Kuwait’s only ani-

mal shelter in Safat was de-stroyed by an electrical fireon March 22, killing 39 an-imals, the Animal LeagueFriends of Kuwait wasfaced with a crisis: 60 dogswith no place to go. As atemporary expedient, theyhad to be crated or kept inthe greenhouse. Homes inKuwait were found fortwo-thirds of the dogs. TheHumane Society Interna-tional swung into actionand contacted the Wash-ington Animal RescueLeague about the remain-der.“Between 70-75 percent

of our animals come fromother shelters,” Weitzmansaid. Nonetheless, they hadnever accepted a shipmentfrom so far away. If theLeague had any reserva-tions, the Kuwaitis quicklyallayed them. “The people there made

it so easy,” he said. Theycarefully crated the dogs,after veterinarians hadthoroughly examinedthem. All dogs had papers(in English and Arabic) de-

claring them in good health and free of dis-ease. The long flights had to be postponedby the volcanic dust that hung over Eu-rope, so instead of one shipment, the dogswere sent in batches. In the end, the Wash-ington shelter will receive about 30 dogs.“These dogs are so sweet,” Weitzman re-

peated. “Even when they first arrived afterthe long flight, they were all sweet andfriendly.” They contrasted dramatically with other

dogs at the shelter that had been taken infrom Mississippi. Those animals had beentaken from a “dog hoarder” who had keptover 175 dogs in her trailer and on her

property. Those dogs had arrived hairlesswith mange and starving, their belliesswollen with parasites.“We are here for animals with no other

place to go,” Weitzman said. While theKuwaiti dogs have caused a flurry of mediaattention, next week the shelter expects ashipment of dogs from West Virginia.There has been a mixed reaction from

people who’ve asked the shelter, aren’tthere enough pets to deal with in your ownneighborhood? “We want people to knowthere was nowhere else for these animals togo,” Weitzman emphasized. “We specializein disaster rescues—we took dogs afterfloods in Cedar Rapids and New Orleans.” The Washington Animal Rescue League

is a handsome, well-considered facility witha 350-animal capacity. Natural light poursthrough skylights and through glass panelsover which runs a constant stream of water.The water softens the light and plays on theground. The soft movement of water andthe classical music help to keep the animalscalm—a striking contrast to the hystericalbarking common in most shelters.The cages are entirely glassed. Half the

floor of each cage is at ground level; theother half, which is heated, is one step up.There is a complete veterinary medicalcenter; care is provided at low or no costfor Washington, DC pets whose owners arein financial need. Its dedicated staff in-cludes medical staff, adoption coordina-tors, and behavioral specialists.The Washington Animal Rescue League

receives no government money—it is com-pletely funded by private donations, andgladly accepts financial assistance. Its Website, <www.warl.org>, offers several do-nation options.But for now, the shelter is focused on

one thing: finding some good people whowant some good dogs.“Some of these dogs, I’m sure, had been

attached to U.S. service members” wholater let them go when they were rede-ployed, Weitzman said. In a way, he added,the Kuwait rescue effort allows us to “makegood on our mistakes.”While Animal Friends League of Kuwait

has asked for nothing but loving homes fortheir dogs, readers can visit <www.animalfriendskuwait.org> to help rebuildKuwait’s only animal shelter. ❑


Kuwaiti Dogs Looking for Loving Homes inWashington, DCBy Michael Keating

A survivor of the fire that destroyed the Kuwaiti shelter showsEdward Wilson, animal caretaker at the Washington AnimalRescue League, that she knows the English words for “sit”and “cheese.”

PH

OTO

M. K

EA

TIN

G


Michael Keating is editor of The VietnamVeterans of America and occasional writerfor the Washington Report.

keating_70_Special Report 5/13/10 2:14 PM

The eternal olive tree, first cultivated in Palestine thousands of years ago,is a perfect metaphor for Palestinians today.

Even though Palestinians have been living under military occupation for almost 43 years,they continue to resist unjust violations to their human rights and civil liberties,

cruel demolitions of their homes, and systematic confiscation of their land.

However, just like this tree, Palestinians continue to be strong.Their roots run deep, even through the rubble of their current conditions.

Those of us who believe in justice, equality and the rule of lawmust do whatever we can to support Palestinians.

Visit our website to see how you can help UPA support Palestinians.

United Palestinian Appeal, Inc.

www.helpupa.com

upa_ad_c3:UPA Ad 3/30/10 11:56 AM Page c3

American Educational TrustThe Washington Report on

Middle East AffairsP.O. Box 53062

Washington, DC 20009

July 2010Vol. XXIX, No. 5

As rain approaches at nightfall, a young Afghan boy watches two other boys play soccer near ruins in the old part of Kabul,April 20, 2010. AFP PHOTO/MAURICIO LIMA

cover4:cover4 5/12/10 5:41 PM Page c4

washington report on middle east affairs july 2010

Documents

middle east peaceplan

delegitimization of

middle eastthe

new wind

israeli jail

state solution

israeli warplanesdrop

israeli prison cell