Patrick Seale (1930 - 2014): A Palestinian Saga: Tales of Families, Renowned Historian/Journalist, Lover of All Things Syrian... Generations, and Diaspora, by Priscilla Even the Assad Regime, by Tim Louthan, p. 12 Wathington, p. 28 AL JADID A Review & Record of Arab Culture and Arts COPYRIGHT AL JADID www.ALJADID.com VOL. 20, No. 71 (2016) Manufactured Expertise: Selling Out Arab News Audiences By Salam Kawakibi Arab Rejectionists Misuse Boycott Movement to Target Amin Maalouf By Jad Tabet Reckoning with Darkness: Looking Back on Algeria’s Dark Decade By Bobby Gulshan A Syrian Doctor Returns, Just ‘50 Feet’ from Home! By Lynne Rogers ‘Sun Imaging’: How Arab Photography Impacted the Modern World By Angele Ellis Diaspora Arab Women Writers: The Legacy of Shahrazad and Female Infanticide “The Dreams of the City” (1997) by Etab Hreib By Nada Ramadan Elnahla The Arab-Christian Predicament New Book Examines Middle East ‘Post Before and After the Rise of the Americana’: Twilight of U.S. Cultural Islamic State Influence By Elie Chalala By D.W. Aossey Essays & Features Arab Rejectionists Misuse Boycott Movement to Target Amin Maalouf BY JAD TABET e have recently witnessed a drama that would have Academy. However, no one has the right to falsely accuse Wbeen laughable, had the participants not been self- Maalouf of abetting the enemy or serving Zionist interests. anointed advocates of the intellectual vanguard. They have The new volunteer advocates have mastered the art of entrusted themselves with a holy mission: to establish a deterrent accusing others of treason. Those who gather under the banner against myriad conspiracies which aim to recognize the state of of the “Lebanese Committee of Boycotting Cultural and Israel and promote cultural normalization with the Jewish state. Academic Ties with Israel” use an approach that differs sharply This group has turned the world upside-down after an from the principles set out by the international movement of Israeli TV station conducted an interview with Amin Maalouf. boycott, founded in 2005. This movement (BDS) has attracted Seated inside the French Academy in Paris, Maalouf talked important global cultural figures such as the Reverend Desmond with i24 about how the Academy worked on developing the Tutu, Stephane Hessel, Henning Mankell, Naomi Klein, John encyclopedic lexicon and introducing new words into it. He also Berger, and Arundhati Roy. Significantly, BDS also attracted spoke elegantly about his latest the support of Israeli intellectuals book, “A Chair on the Banks of like Eyal Sevan, Yael Lerer, the Seine,” where he described and Michel Warschawski. the notable intellectuals who The international movement preceded him in occupying the basically aims to isolate Israel famed Academy seat, number as a racist state through the use 29, personalities like Baron de of boycott, divestment, and Montesquieu, Pierre Corneille, sanctions, a strategy similar to Ernest Renan, and Claude that used against Apartheid- Lévi-Strauss. era South Africa. It does not, None of those who have however, call for boycotting installed themselves as the individuals, nor does it call for policemen of this boycott boycotting Israeli media. Instead, complained about the substance it considers benefiting from of what Maalouf said, perhaps media platforms in order to give because they considered it an voice to the demand for justice indulgent triviality, beneath and confront the extremist and their consideration. This group racist tendencies in Israeli society. finds no value in literary or Those who practice the art of artistic production beyond accusation, with their nationalist its capacity for political ideologies, tend to look down incitement, and the display of on this “tepid” boycott. They slogans promoting the fight want to impose more radical against the nation’s enemies. forms of boycott, unconcerned Moreover, by basically ignoring with the potential for the the content of Maalouf’s words, increased international isolation the opposition, spearheaded of the Palestinian question, by this group, indicted him or the dangers of portraying for simply appearing on an Amin Maalouf by Mamoun Sakkal for Al Jadid the resistance as a fascist Israeli French TV program. and anti-Semitic movement. This evidently heinous crime amounts to capital treason, holding Can you justifiably accuse Desmond Tutu of betraying the Maalouf accountable before the law, stripping him of his Lebanese Palestinian people for his many interviews in Israeli media citizenship, and banning him from entering his homeland. where he compares Israel’s treatment of the Palestinians with Some might regret that Maalouf did not capitalize on the Apartheid system in South Africa? Do we also regard the occasion of his televised appearance to criticize Israeli Stephane Hessel as a traitor because of his long interview with violence against the Palestinians. It remains debatable Haaretz where he explained his support for the struggle of the how appropriate such a message would have been in the Palestinian people to rise against oppression, the kind of inhuman context of an interview primarily focused on the French Continued on page 7 2 www.ALJADID.com AL JADID Vol. 20, no. 71 Essays & Features Manufactured Expertise: Selling Out Arab News Audiences BY SALAM KAWAKIBI ince the onset of the “Arab Spring,” and through aggressiveness. The image of the winner and the loser becomes Sthe development of revolutionary phases, with their clear in these conversations: whoever has the louder voice and the violent consequences, Arab satellite TV stations, which greater skill in mocking their opponent will emerge as the victor. reach millions of viewers, persistently devoted themselves According to the old economic market doctrine, demand to broadcasting interviews with “analysts,” “academics,” and creates supply. On Arab satellite talk shows, this means a vast “experts” on the issues surrounding various national uprisings. market of loud-talking “specialists” in the Syrian conflict As events continued to unfold, the demand for these types who have just strolled into TV studios after practicing in other of guests increased, despite a structural supply shortage of arenas. Both Syrian regime representatives and supporters start serious and professional experts. Subsequently, some stations to psychologically manipulate their counterparts even before resorted to “manufacturing” their experts, inviting virtual taking the stage. The regime representatives, polished, and unknowns and bestowing upon them supreme titles in an professionally made up, face the opposition’s spokesperson attempt to artificially qualify them for their roles as news as if to impart to him the ability to facilitate his “return to the analysts without having to go through the vetting process homeland,” or they continue to make gestures that question his of reviewing their actual scientific or practical credentials. patriotism and nationality. Utilizing the Stasi method – according As a result, many true experts – including those knowledgeable to the horrific East German intelligence service – he succeeds in about the subject matter in question – simply refused to participate in the charade. Respect for the viewers and their intelligence, as well as the experts’ own self- respect, made them unwilling to be misrepresented. Other groups chose to strictly confine their TV appearances within the limits of their expertise, avoiding pretensions, or the temptation to make claims of knowledge in areas outside their specializations or practical experiences. Nonetheless, a majority of the guests did willingly plunge into the maze of spotlights, exploiting the qualitative and quantitative shortage of truly qualified experts. They emerged as “stars” of the screen, triumphing at the expense of the viewer, regardless of the simplicity of his understanding and the shallowness of his knowledge. The interviews varied from individual commentary on a specific event to confrontational conversations between two or more speakers. The moderator often actively stirred up the atmosphere, inducing shouting matches and raised voices in order to attract the largest number of thrill-seeking guests. aggravating the atmosphere, pushing the opposition debater to fall Arabic-language satellites distinguished themselves in producing into the trap of entrenching himself in a defensive position, and these types of talk shows, justifying the final product as a form of resorting to verbal violence which causes him to lose control over vigorous debate and diversity of opinion. Some of these programs his thought processes. On the opposite side, the loyalist guest, gained wide popularity with many viewers anxiously awaiting carefully trained, remains sufficiently calm when necessary, their broadcasts, like people lining up to watch a street fight. and adequately raises his voice when he becomes vindictive. As the Syrian slaughter continued unabated, these talk However, others, not just regime loyalists, find themselves show programs became profitable. Those searching for calm guilty of hollow speech. The “revolutionary” voice or opposition and deliberate analysis instead found guests engaged in shouting falls into the trap of populism, and an empty rhetoric devoid from matches punctuated with harsh, reckless words, and thoughtless meaning, often reverting to repetition of already-stated sentences gestures. Originally exclusive to Arab TV stations, this practice which they think, erroneously, will enable them to preserve their was soon