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United Palestinian Appeal
DO THESE PALESTINIAN CHILDREN DESERVE A CHANCE TO SUCCEED?
Education is a universal human right. United Palestinian Appeal (UPA) works with its partner organizations to ensure that, despite ongoing challenges of life under occupation, the most vulnerable Palestinians are not deprived of this right. rough a grant from UPA, the Spa ord Children’s Center in the Old City of Jerusalem provides special education and psychological support for children su ering from post-traumatic stress disorder, speech impediments, and learning disabilities.
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On Middle East Affairs Volume XXX, No. 9 December 2011 Telling the Truth for 29 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’s Speech to the U.N.: In Distorting the Facts 24 Afghanistan: Ten Years of Aimless War He Revealed the Truth—Rachelle Marshall —Eric S. Margolis
12 28 Years: One Palestinian Prisoner’s Story 25 What Lay Behind the Libya Intervention? —Mohammed Omer —William Pfaff 26 The Assassination of Anwar Al-Awlaki—Two Views 13 Inside the Mideast Prisoner Swap—Ali Abunimah —Patrick Seale, Rep. Ron Paul 14 “Price Tag” or Pogrom? West Bank Settlers Now 28 Republican Frontrunner Mitt Romney Touts Running Amok in Israel as Well—Jonathan Cook Neoconservative Foreign Policy—Jim Lobe 17 Washington Impaling Itself on the Horns of a 30 Congress Echoes Israel’s Near Hysteria Over Diplomatic Dilemma—Ian Williams Palestinians’ U.N. Bid—Shirl McArthur 19 Neocons Blame Obama for Iraq Disaster 38 Go Palestine: An Extraordinary Summer Camp —Robert Parry Behind the Wall—Ramsey Langley 20 How Plausible Is the Alleged Iranian “Terror Plot”?—Two Views —Gareth Porter, Patrick Seale
SPECIAL REPORTS
32 The Sins of Liam Fox—Justin Raimondo
34 The Political Uses of Islamophobia in Europe —John Gee
40 Canadian War-Crimes Profiteering—Sean F. McMahon STAFF PHOTO DELINDA HANLEY DELINDA PHOTO STAFF Nearly three weeks after demonstrators gathered to mark the 10th anniversary of the war in Afghanistan on Oct. 6, anti-war protesters determined to “dismantle the war machine” remain camped out at Freedom Plaza in downtown Washington, DC, Oct. 25, 2011.
ON THE COVER: An armed Jewish settler from the illegal West Bank settlement of Elon More mans a barrier on a main road near Nablus which Palestinians are allowed to cross only at specific hours to reach their olive groves just outside the village of Salem and harvest their crop. JAAFAR ASHTIYEH/AFP/GETTY IMAGES toc_3-4_December 2011 TOC 10/27/11 12:17 PM Page 4
(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.) Other Voices Compiled by Janet McMahon
The “Terrorist” Who Couldn’t Think Straight, Gilad Atzmon on Jewish Identity Politics, Justin Raimondo, www.antiwar.com OV-1 Kathleen Christison, www.counterpunch.com OV-10
Why I Published U.S. Intelligence Secrets Ruling for Yoram Kaniuk Hailed as Major About Israel’s Anti-Iran Campaign, Victory for Separation of State and Richard Silverstein, www.truthout.org OV-3 Religion, Tomer Zarchin, Haaretz OV-12
The Never-ending Terror Threat, A Mixture of Feelings as Prisoners Near Ivan Eland, www.consortiumnews.com OV-6 Freedom, Shahd Abusalama, www.palestinefrommyeyes.blogspot.com OV-12 Why the Drone Wars Threaten Us All, Conn Hallinan, Tunisia: Social Media Lifts the Silence, www.dispatchesfromtheedgeblog.wordpress.com OV-7 Simba Russeau, IPS-Inter Press Service OV-13
Last Week at the U.N., Israel Lost America, Who Murdered My Old Friend Prof. Rabbani?, Larry Derfner, www.972mag.com OV-8 Eric S. Margolis, www.ericmargolis.com OV-14
Israel’s Jewishness: Precondition for Palestinian Why Did the United States Invade Statehood, Jonathan Cook, Al-Akhbar English OV-9 Afghanistan?, Tim Kelly, www.fff.org OV-15
DEPARTMENTS
5 LETTERS TO THE EDITOR 49 ISRAEL AND JUDAISM: 59 WAGING PEACE: The Myth of an Israel-Centered Panel Explores Egypt’s Changing 7 PUBLISHERS’ PAGE “Jewish Vote”—and its Negative Religious Climate Consequences for Mideast Peace —Allan C. Brownfeld 23 THE WORLD LOOKS AT THE 68 DIPLOMATIC DOINGS: MIDDLE EAST — CARTOONS Saudi Arabia Celebrates 80th 52 ARAB-AMERICAN ACTIVISM: Anniversary 36 OTHER PEOPLE’S MAIL Comedian Discusses U.S. Islam- ophobia, Comedy in Arab World 69 BULLETIN BOARD 42 NORTHERN CALIFORNIA CHRONICLE: Gaza Kids’ Art 52 MUSLIM-AMERICAN Show a Smashing Success De- ACTIVISM: CAIR’s Annual 70 BOOK REVIEWS: spite Museum’s Attempt at Fund-raiser a Huge Success Israeli Rejectionism: A Hidden Censorship—Elaine Pasquini Agenda in the Middle East Peace 54 HUMAN RIGHTS: Process 44 SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA Share the Water, Build the Peace CHRONICLE: Diana Buttu Zahra’s Paradise Addresses Palestine Children’s 56 MUSIC AND ARTS: —Reviewed by Andrew Stimson Relief Fund “Healing Hands” Chamy’s “Of Refuge, Of Home” Benefit—Pat and Samir Twair Explores Family Myth and 71 NEW ARRIVALS FROM THE AET BOOK CLUB 46 NEW YORK CITY AND TRI- History STATE NEWS: Longtime Journalist Describes Iranians as 58 EDUCATION: 72 2011 AET CHOIR OF ANGELS Most Pro-American People in Mideast Universities Face Chal- Middle East—Jane Adas lenge of Unemployed Graduates 22 INDEX TO ADVERTISERS lte_5-6_December 2011 LTE 10/27/11 12:09 PM Page 5
Publisher: ANDREW I. KILLGORE LetterstotheEditor Executive Editor: RICHARD H. CURTISS Managing Editor: JANET McMAHON U.S. “Outrage” at the U.N. been lifted from the “Godfather I” movie News Editor: DELINDA C. HANLEY Laughable script, in which a bomb was supposed to Book Club Director: ANDREW STIMSON Russia and China on Oct. 4 vetoed a pro- have been detonated in a prominent Circulation Director: ANNE O’ROURKE posed U.N. resolution targeting the unac- restaurant. Gary Sick, an Iran expert at Co- Administrative Director: ALEX BEGLEY ceptable treatment of protesters by the Syr- lumbia University, warned that Israel and Art Director: RALPH U. SCHERER ian regime. The United States— the U.S. are launching an aggressive propa- rightly—expressed “outrage” at this veto. ganda campaign to justify economic and Washington Report on Middle East However, the inappropriately childish be- possibly military attacks on Iran. The mur- Affairs (ISSN 8755-4917) is published 9 times a havior of the U.S. permanent representative, der of several of Iran’s nuclear scientists year, monthly except Jan./Feb., May/June and Sept./Oct. combined, at 1902 18th St., NW, Wash- Ambassador Susan Rice (again), actually has increased tensions between Iran and ington, DC 20009-1707. Tel. (202) 939-6050. Sub- embarrassed the U.N. more than the veto Israel, which has been accused of commit- scription prices (United States and possessions): did! Remember, in February, Ambassador ting the crimes. Reza Aslan, a prominent one year, $29; two years, $55; three years, $75. For Rice vetoed a draft resolution condemning Iran expert, also debunked the alleged Canadian and Mexican subscriptions, $35 per year; for other foreign subscriptions, $70 per year. Israeli settlements on Palestinian territory plot, warning that such incendiary Periodicals, postage paid at Washington, DC and while all other 14 members of the Security rhetoric could drag the U.S. into yet an- additional mailing offices. POSTMASTER: Send Council unanimously voted in favor of the other dangerous conflict. address changes to Washington Report on Middle East Affairs, P.O. Box 53062, Washington, resolution, making the U.S. seem DC 20009-9062. disturbingly out of touch with Published by the American Educational Trust events on the ground, and horri- (AET), a non-profit foundation incorporated in Wash- bly disinterested in the desperate ington, DC by retired U.S. foreign service officers to plight of the Palestinian people. It provide the American public with balanced and ac- seems she continues the downhill curate information concerning U.S. relations with Middle Eastern states.AET’s Foreign Policy Commit- slide, by petulantly walking out tee has included former U.S. ambassadors, govern- during an address by the Syrian ment officials, and members ofCon gress, including ambassador, who himself has re- the late Demo cratic Sen. J.William Fulbright, and Re- spectfully faced a tirade of criti- publican Sen. Charles Percy, both former chairmen of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. Members cism by Ambassador Rice. Am- of AET’s Board of Directors and advisory committees bassador Rice makes the U.S. look receive no fees for their services. like a spoiled, bullying child who The Washington Report on Middle East Affairs does not take partisan domestic political sulks when it doesn’t have its positions. As a solution to the Palestinian- Israeli dis- way. Ambassador Rice’s petulant pute, it endorses U.N. Security Council Resolution behavior echoes back to the dark 242’s land-for-peace formula, supported by seven days of the Bush administration, when John The alleged plot seems to be a deliberate successive U.S. presidents. In general, it supports Middle East solutions which it judges to be consis- Bolton, then acting U.S. permanent repre- attempt to distract a restive public from its tent with the charter of the United Nations and sentative to the United Nations, was economic woes and to cozy up to Israel to traditional American support for human rights, self- renowned for his tirades. His term did not gain the Jewish vote. The Obama adminis- determination, and fair play. last. I suspect that if Ambassador Rice con- tration would be wise to heed the words of Material from the Washington Report may be reprinted without charge with attribution to Wash- tinues to embarrass the U.S. on the interna- Adm. Mike Mullen, former chairman of ington Report on Middle East Affairs. Bylined mate- tional stage, neither will hers. the Joint Chiefs of Staff, who advised the rial must also be attributed to the author.This re- Dr. Rory E. Morty, Giessen, Germany Obama administration to replace the belli- lease does not apply to photo graphs, cartoons or reprints from other publications. We suspect the decision to veto the settle- cose rhetoric with Iran with meaningful Indexed by Ebsco Information Services, ment resolution—and, presumably, the ap- dialogue. Info Trac, LexisNexis, Public Affairs Informa- plication of Palestine for admission to the Jagjit Singh, Los Altos, CA tion Service, Index to Jewish Periodicals, U.N. as a member state—was made not by For more views on the alleged terror plot, Ethnic News Watch, Periodica Islamica. Rice, but by a head of state (and not neces- see p. 20 of this issue. CONTACT INFORMATION: sarily her own). We were embarrassed in Washington Report on Middle East Affairs February by Rice’s attempt to explain that Voters Take Note Editorial Office and Bookstore: even though she vetoed the settlement resolu- The U.S. economy is in serious trouble, yet P.O. Box 53062, Washington, DC 20009-9062 tion, the U.S. opposes Israel’s illegal settle- the pro-Israel lobby continues to expect Phone: (202) 939-6050 • (800) 368-5788 ments. But her walking out on the Syrian and accept $3-plus billion yearly plus $2 Fax: (202) 265-4574 ambassador as he was speaking is beyond in- billion to Egypt to not wage war against Is- E-mail: [email protected] tellectual obfuscation—it’s flat-out rudeness. rael. I have not heard one word from the [email protected] pro-Israel lobby to deny this award to Is- [email protected] Terror Plot or Distraction? rael. Why? The economy in Israel is used [email protected] More and more Iran experts are debunk- primarily to wage war against the Palestini- Web sites: ing the Obama’s administration claim that ans. Our Congress is a weapon against the http://www.wrmea.com http://www.middleeastbooks.com Mansour Arbabsiar, a whiskey drinking Palestinians. More and more U.S. citizens Subscriptions, sample copies and donations: used car salesman, was behind the alleged are becoming aware of this situation and P.O. Box 53062, Washington, DC 20009-9062 plot to assassinate the Saudi ambassador to will react accordingly. Printed in the USA the U.S., Adel al-Jubeir. Vern H. Wecler, Bay City, MI The planned crime scene seems to have Not only does the Israel lobby not suggest
DECEMBER 2011 THE WASHINGTON REPORT ON MIDDLE EAST AFFAIRS 5 lte_5-6_December 2011 LTE 10/27/11 12:09 PM Page 6
an end to U.S. taxpayer dollars to Israel— Sept./Oct. postcards regarding Palestine’s wrmea.com>, under “Activist Resources: all of which is designated for military pur- bid for U.N. membership, I learned for the Congress & U.S. Aid to Israel.” poses—but in the midst of severe budget first time that 18 foreign ambassadors had cuts, Israel-firsters such as House Minority been given the “free trip” treatment to- Downloading Postcards Whip Steny Hoyer (D-MD) are reassuring ward advancement of the Zionists’ agenda We have always appreciated the “post- Israel—not their American constituents— against any furtherance of the Palestini- cards” feature of your magazine. We rou- that its annual take is sacrosanct. In the run- ans’ aspirations. I was angry enough at the tinely take the text and use it for a letter to up to next November’s election we’ll be com- photo of Zionist Steny Hoyer (D-MD) and our legislators. piling pro-Israel PAC contributions and con- numerous “The Israel Project” (TIP) However, while the magazine states, gressional voting records for the benefit of posters and signs on display in the room; “…you can download these postcards into our readers and their fellow Americans. It then I went to your “Publishers’ Page” an e-mail message,” the “Postcards Index” only makes sense that voters want to elect and learned that 22 House and 15 Senate page at 6 THE WASHINGTON REPORT ON MIDDLE EAST AFFAIRS DECEMBER 2011 publishers_7Dec_DECEMBER 2010 Publishers page 10/27/11 3:21 PM Page 7 American Educational Trust Publishers’ Page Our Special Message to You. mainstream media focused on the release of that our readers work to help Palestinians, For 30 years—as of next year!—the captured Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit—who and our friends throughout the Middle East Washington Report on Middle East Affairs was exchanged for more than 1,000 Pales- and North Africa, find real peace and pros- has brought you both the fascinating and tinian prisoners, many of whom had never perity. That will take writing more letters, the infuriating news our mainstream had a fair trial—there is no mention of Pales- speaking out at public events—including media don’t want you to know about U.S. tinians who remain political prisoners or candidate forums, since next year’s elections and Mideast relations and the efforts by who still are being picked up in nightly are almost upon us as well—and educating both elected government officials and or- raids. But for millions of refugees… friends and family at every opportunity. If dinary Americans to influence these rela- you haven’t already, add your e-mail address tions. We’d like to extend a warm greeting The Situation Remains Unchanged. to our action alert list so that you, too, can to first-time newsstand browsers, long- In 1973, 1992 and 2011, Ghada Karmi and join worldwide campaigns to “Support time subscribers, and the thousands of li- Ellen Siegel protested at an Israeli embassy Palestine’s U.N. Bid,” “Halt Construction of a brarians who found this one-time sample (see back cover photo and story by manag- ‘Museum of Tolerance’” on the site of an an- copy in their mailboxes. ing editor Janet McMahon on p. 35 of the cient Muslim cemetery in Jerusalem, Aug./Sept. 1992 Washington Report). As she “Reevaluate Aid to Israel,” or encourage We Hope You’ll Decide That… recounts in her acclaimed memoir In Search brave columnists who speak out, like Walter In today’s increasingly interconnected of Fatima (available from the AET Book Pincus in (of all places) The Washington Post. and diverse world, your public or uni- Club), Karmi is a displaced Palestinian who versity library patrons should have the fled her home in West Jerusalem with her Shine a Light on Palestine. opportunity to read the Washington parents when she was only 8 and has never Another way you can help is to buy your Report and the superb selection of books been allowed to return. Ellen Siegel, an holiday gifts from the AET Book Club, we carry in both our streetfront book- American Jew who was working as a nurse which is ready to meet your gift-giving store in Washington, DC and our Internet in Beirut’s Sabra and Shatila refugee camps needs. Visit our Web site, DECEMBER 2011 THE WASHINGTON REPORT ON MIDDLE EAST AFFAIRS 7 marshall_8-10_Special Report 10/27/11 1:17 PM Page 8 Obama’s Speech to the U.N.: In Distorting The Facts He Revealed the Truth By Rachelle Marshall SpecialReport MENAHEM KAHANA/AFP/GETTY IMAGES KAHANA/AFP/GETTY MENAHEM A family from the West Bank village of Al-Jania harvests olive trees in their grove located outside the illegal Jewish settlement ot Talmon, north of Ramallah, Oct. 25, 2011. n Nov. 13, 1974, Yasser Arafat, chair- On Sept. 23, 2011, another Palestinian Recognition by the U.N. would allow the Oman of the Palestine Liberation Organi- leader, Mahmoud Abbas, appeared before Palestinians to bring action against Israel at zation, spoke before the U.N. General As- the General Assembly, this time to appeal the International Criminal Court for its ille- sembly and described his dream of a “Pales- for U.N. recognition of an independent gal occupation of a sovereign state, as well as tine of tomorrow,” a democratic state in Palestinian state to exist side by side with its other violations of international law. which Jews, Christians, and Muslims would Israel. Long before Arafat’s death the Pales- A favorable vote at the U.N. would also live together in peace. He invited Israelis to tinians had agreed to relinquish 78 percent put the weight of the world community be- share his dream, and declared, “I have come of original Palestine in return for an inde- hind the Palestinians as they deal with its bearing an olive branch and a freedom pendent state in the West Bank, Gaza and far more powerful occupier. The asymme- fighter’s gun. Do not let the olive branch fall East Jerusalem. Abbas asked for interna- try between the two sides was illustrated in from my hand.” The Israeli ambassador re- tional endorsement of such a state. October by the exchange of a young Israeli fused to attend, calling the PLO a band of Unlike Arafat, Abbas did not wear a kef- soldier, Gilad Shalit, for 1,027 Palestinian “murderers and cutthroats,” and accusing fiyeh and holster (Arafat’s was empty), but a prisoners. Shalit, who was captured by the international community of “degradation conservative business suit. The bespectacled Hamas in 2006, was the only prisoner held and disgrace” for allowing Arafat a platform. 69-year-old repeatedly stressed the Palestini- by Palestinians. Thousands of Palestinians ans’ commitment to peace, and received a remain in Israeli prisons, and their numbers Rachelle Marshall is a free-lance editor liv- standing ovation as he declared, “The time are being constantly added to. ing in Mill Valley, CA. A member of Jewish is now for the Palestinian spring, the spring Israel’s agreement with Hamas, which left Voice for Peace, she writes frequently on the of a peaceful struggle that will reach its Abbas out of the loop, undoubtedly was Middle East. goal.” The request was more than symbolic. aimed at undercutting the Palestinian presi- 8 THE WASHINGTON REPORT ON MIDDLE EAST AFFAIRS DECEMBER 2011 marshall_8-10_Special Report 10/27/11 1:17 PM Page 9 dent’s standing at home and abroad and weakening his ability to gain Security Council support for Palestinian state- hood. Israel has long done its best to si- lence or discredit Palestinian moderates and potential leaders. During the early 1980s, it deported Mubarak Awad, the founder of the Palestinian Center for the Study of Nonviolence who was known as the “Palestinian Gandhi.” Israel also imprisoned the distinguished elder Faisal Husseini for advocating a two- state solution at a Peace Now rally in Jerusalem. It was not surprising, therefore, that Israeli negotiators of the recent prisoner exchange agreed to release a number of convicted murderers but adamantly re- fused to include the widely respected Marwan Barghouti, an early advocate of a two-state solution who for years was considered the most promising leader of MUSA AL SHAER/AFP/GETTY IMAGES SHAER/AFP/GETTY AL MUSA a future Palestinian state. An American-made Israeli Caterpillar bulldozer uproots trees on Palestinian land as it cuts a path for Reference to the Palestinians’ will- an extension of Israel’s illegal separation wall near the West Bank village of Walajah, a few miles ingness to accept peaceful coexistence from Bethlehem, Oct. 3, 2011. was entirely missing from President Barack Obama’s Sept. 21 speech to the U.N. pretense that Washington was committed to In fact, of course, it is the Palestinians who He praised the liberation movements in achieving justice for the Palestinians. Suc- are in desperate need of protection. A surge Egypt, Tunisia, Syria and Libya, but insisted cessive administrations since 1991 have sent of settler violence has for months been that the Palestinians make peace with Israel billions of dollars in aid to Israel every year, spreading terror in the West Bank and Arab before seeking statehood. He portrayed Is- and vetoed every U.N. Security Council res- areas of Israel as armed vigilantes attack rael as a victim of repeated wars of aggres- olution calling on Israel to abide by inter- Palestinian farmers, uproot trees and set fires. sion, and under constant threat from those national law, while at the same time claim- Nearly a thousand olive trees were destroyed who would “wipe it off the map.” But he ing to be an even-handed peacemaker. That in September and early October, and at least made no mention of Israel’s repeated refusal masquerade ended with Obama’s speech to eight mosques were damaged, including a of Arab peace offers, of its blockade of Gaza, the General Assembly. large mosque in the village of Tuba-Zan- or of the hundreds of West Bank check- In saying “there are no short cuts to gariya in the Galilee. Two suspected attackers points and Jewish-only roads that for West peace,” Obama was ignoring 20 years of were arrested but quickly released. Bank Palestinians can turn 10-minute trips fruitless negotiations. The most cringe-in- The U.N. High Commissioner for Human into 3-hour ordeals. As Hanan Ashrawi ob- ducing moment came with his call for Rights warned Israel that it had “a legal served, “Listening to Obama you would Palestinians and Israelis “to sit down, to lis- obligation” to help curb the attacks, but think it was the Palestinians who occupy Is- ten to each other, and to understand each Abdul Hakim Ahmed, a teacher whose vil- rael.” other’s hopes and fears,” as if group therapy lage is attacked by settlers several times a Given its omissions and distortions was a way to end 44 years of Israeli occu- week, said complaining to the army does Obama’s speech might have been churned pation. Obama’s real message was that no good. “They come, they take notes, they out by an Israeli propaganda mill. Israel’s Palestinians could expect no help from an leave,” he said. racist Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman America whose elected officials take their The Obama administration is asking the said he would sign it “with both hands,” marching orders from Israel. Palestinians to endure such crimes indefi- and Obama’s popularity in Israel rose by Congress reinforced that message when it nitely while the two sides talk on and Israeli nearly 50 points.But those who believed blocked nearly $200 million in U.S. aid to settlements proliferate. Israeli Prime Minis- Obama in 2010, when he spoke of “an inde- the Palestinian Authority despite a warning ter Binyamin Netanyahu says he will not pendent sovereign state of Palestine” within by Brig. Gen. Nitzan Alon, commander of budge from his demands that Palestinians a year, were brought back to earth. Daniel Israel’s occupation forces, that stability in recognize Israel as a “Jewish state,” and that Levy of the New America Foundation called the region required that the Authority be Jerusalem remain the undivided capital of the speech “farcical,” saying that Obama’s able to pay its salaries. The legislators elim- Israel. He ‘claims that a Palestinian state on position was that “Palestinian freedoms, inated aid that was earmarked for nutrition the 1967 borders would endanger Israel’s se- rights, and self-determination are somehow programs, health care and other humanitar- curity, but is presumably willing to risk the supposed to be attained without recourse to ian services, but made sure that Israeli set- lives of 600,000 Israelis in illegal colonies lo- leverage, international law, or meaningful tlers will be protected. Funding will con- cated far inside the West Bank. international support.” tinue for the Palestinian security forces that Obama’s opposition to Palestinian mem- Obama’s naked appeal to Israel’s support- work with the Israeli army in keeping order bership in the U.N. can only be explained ers had one virtue, however. It ended the in the West Bank. by an election-year need to improve his DECEMBER 2011 THE WASHINGTON REPORT ON MIDDLE EAST AFFAIRS 9 marshall_8-10_Special Report 10/27/11 1:18 PM Page 10 standing with pro-Israel for the umpteenth time, voters. Recognition by the The Anniversary No One Wanted to Celebrate “We are deeply disap- U.N. would in no way in- On Oct. 6, exactly 10 years after U.S. troops invaded Afghanistan, and pointed.” terfere with the resump- approximately 8 years after Operation Shock and Awe launched the U.S. In early October the tion of peace negotiations. war in Iraq, it seemed increasingly likely that a generation of American chil- Palestinian petition for It would, however, en- dren will enter high school without ever having lived in a country at peace. U.N. membership was hance the Palestinians’ The U.S. troop withdrawal scheduled for December under an agree- sent to a Security Council status in those negotia- ment with Iraq will be a withdrawal in name only. Iraq’s rulers have agreed committee, where repre- tions, and this is what Is- to let 5,000 soldiers remain in the country as “trainers,” and those troops sentatives of the 15 mem- rael is determined to pre- will be augmented by tens of thousands of additional embassy employees ber nations are studying vent. A similar concern and private contractors. As car bombings and assassinations continue to it. If nine of the members undoubtedly prompted kill Iraqis, the war to overthrow Saddam Hussain has turned into a proxy approve it, the measure the U.S. to vote against war between the U.S. and Iran. According to the U.S. military, Iranian will go to the full Security Palestinian membership forces train and equip the Shi’i militias that attack American soldiers and Council, where it faces a in the U.N. Educational, assassinate members of the Iraqi government in an effort to weaken Iraq certain U.S. veto. Wash- Scientific, and Cultural and make it more dependent on Iran. Washington is not likely to let that ington’s veto would come Organization (UNESCO) happen. at some cost, however. In on Oct. 5. Only Germany, There is even less probability of a U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan. The a Sept. 12 New York Latvia and Romania Taliban are able to strike at will in large areas of the country, the Afghan Times op-ed, former Saudi ambassador to the joined with the U.S. in the police and army are weak and ineffectual, and the government of Presi- 40-4 vote. U.S. Turki al-Faisal said it dent Hamid Karzai can’t begin to pay the $10 billion a year it takes to main- Once again, administra- would cause “an uproar tain them. Even if Obama removes 33,000 troops by the summer of 2012 tion spokesmen were among Muslims world- as he has promised to do, more than double the number of U.S. soldiers forced to defend the inde- wide” and warned of who were there when he took office will remain, along with some 100,000 fensible by resorting to “profound negative con- private contractors. inanities. “We do not be- sequences” to U.S.-Saudi lieve the objective we all Meanwhile, U.S. relations with Pakistan are steadily worsening. Military relations. have—two states, Pales- officials accuse Pakistan’s security forces of tolerating and even cooperating Al-Faisal urged the U.S. tine and Israel—can be with insurgent groups that attack American troops, and the Pakistanis re- to heed “the vast major- achieved through a cul- sent U.S. drone attacks and incursions into its territory by U.S. forces. ity of Arabs and Muslims ture and science organiza- Karzai has heightened the tensions by moving closer to India, Pakistan’s who demand justice for tion in Paris,” a U.S. offi- feared adversary. the Palestinian people” cial said. But nobody To cope with these problems the U.S. and Afghanistan are expected to and not stand in the way claimed it would. But sign an agreement known as the Strategic Partnership Declaration, which of their long overdue what it would do is allow would guarantee a permanent American presence in the country. The U.S. recognition. Obama, the Palestinians to seek in- will continue to “train, equip, and sustain” Afghan security forces, continue however reluctantly, is ternational protection of counterterrorism operations, and strengthen Afghan ties to NATO. certain to reject such ad- their historic sites in East Afghanistan in turn will be committed to creating a legal framework and en- vice. Like his predeces- Jerusalem, for centuries vironment “favorable to private sector and international investment.” sors, he is locked in a the center of Arab and Robert Koehler, author of Courage Grows Strong at the Wound, points out damaging alliance with Muslim culture. Israeli that the agreement gives the U.S. “a permanent, enduring military pres- Israel that too often forces bulldozers are now busy ence in Central Asia.” Above all, he writes, it would “so likely enrage the the U.S. to act contrary to obliterating signs of that Taliban that they wouldn’t come to the negotiating table, keeping the pre- its own interests and in- culture, along with the text for war—and the Afghan government’s catastrophic security needs, creases the likelihood of homes of thousands of alive in perpetuity.” It would also keep alive the hatred of America that led terrorist attacks. Arabs. to 9/11 and the decade of death and suffering that has followed. —R.M. The pitfalls of the al- Soon the issue of Pales- liance were again made tinian membership will go evident when it was re- to UNESCO’s 193-member General Confer- that the government illegally annexed in vealed that since 2009 the Obama adminis- ence for approval. If the Palestinians are 1967. According to Khalil Toufakji, a Pales- tration has been sending 5,000-pound granted membership, existing legislation tinian housing expert who follows Israeli set- “bunker buster” bombs to Israel. Since the and bills pending before Congress will tlement policy, Israel also has plans to house bombs were designed to penetrate Iran’s un- oblige the U.S. to cut off all contributions to thousands of additional settlers on land derground nuclear facilities, the Bush ad- the U.N. and its agencies. Israel meanwhile is northwest of Bethlehem. ministration had refrained from sending punishing the Palestinians by lengthening The timing of Israel’s announcement made them for fear the U.S. would be seen as en- waits at checkpoints and refusing to turn a mockery of the statement issued a week dorsing an Israeli attack. A Pentagon over the millions of dollars in tax revenues it earlier by the Quartet—the U.S., European spokesman refused to comment on that pos- collects for the Palestinian Authority. Union, Russia and the U.N.—urging the two sibility but said, “Make no mistake about it; On Sept. 27, less than a week after the sides to “refrain from provocative actions” the United States is committed to the secu- Palestinians applied for U.N. membership, Is- and return to the negotiating table “without rity of Israel and Israel’s ability to maintain rael announced it would build 1,100 new preconditions.” State Department spokes- its qualitative edge.” The problem is that re- housing units in an area south of Jerusalem woman Victoria Nuland was forced to say Continued on page 74 10 THE WASHINGTON REPORT ON MIDDLE EAST AFFAIRS DECEMBER 2011 dish_network_c2_Dish Network December 2011 10/26/11 1:46 PM Page 11 omer_12_Gaza on the Ground 10/26/11 7:59 PM Page 12 28 Years: One Palestinian Prisoner’s Story By Mohammed Omer Gazaon the Ground In addition to his wife, Al-Kayyali has a daughter he’s never seen. Douwaa Al- Kayyali is now 28 years old, married and with a newborn baby of her own. All she knows of her father comes from family sto- ries and the poster of him hanging in the family’s hallway. “Hope came back to me after 2006 when Gilad Shalit was cap- tured,” the young mother explains. Her hope was based on the fact that over the years Israel has traded Palestinian prisoners for captured Israeli soldiers or the bodies of those killed in action. Al-Kayyali’s mother, Roqayya, who was 43 when he was born, just celebrated her 100th birthday. This is a day she never thought she’d see. Speaking from her wheelchair, she eagerly anticipates the son she hasn’t seen in years, as the “Israeli oc- cupation denied my visits to him for the past years.” For all these years her faith sustained her, as she prayed that her son would be freed. PHOTO MAHMOUD OMER MAHMOUD PHOTO Newly released prisoner Salim Al-Kayyali kisses the hand of his 100-year-old mother, Today that moment has arrived. “Son, I Roqayya. miss you so much,” the grateful mother ex- claims. “I want to hold you tight, before I uman rights activists refer to Salim Al- possible, and before a single concrete slab of die.” In celebration, she dons a special HKayyali as “the dean of detainees.” Israel’s wall was pounded into the earth, tear- white Palestinian dress that she made for One of the 1,027 Palestinian prisoners Israel ing apart entire Palestinian communities. The the occasion. agreed to release in return for the captured world the 56-year-old Al-Kayyali returned to In front of the Al-Kayyali family home in Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit, he has been in- on Oct. 18 barely resembles the one he last Al Zaytoun, an area southeast of Gaza City, carcerated in an Israeli prison—without saw. Things are far worse—but he’ll have hangs a banner emblazoned with the trial—longer than any imprisoned Pales- plenty of time to absorb all the changes in the words: “Welcome to the heroic leader.” The tinian. Even before his latest incarceration, weeks ahead. The day of his release was family has erected a tent to accommodate for his affiliation with the military wing of about joy and reuniting with his family mem- the hundreds of anticipated guests. the Fatah party, Al-Kayyali had been ar- bers—many of whom he’s never met. The prisoner exchange between Israel rested and jailed multiple times for that af- Al-Kayyali’s wife has waited nearly three and Hamas was brokered with the assis- filiation and his political activities. The last decades for her husband’s return. She has tance of Egypt and Germany. A member of time he saw freedom was on May 30, 1983, not seen him since 1996, when the Israeli the Egyptian team told the Washington Re- 28 years ago—and exactly half his life. Prison Service began denying her visitation port with relief that “after 65 months of ne- Al-Kayyali has been in prison since before with her husband. “Not a moment passed gotiations…thousands of hours, we made the first intifada broke out; before the mas- when Salim was not on my mind,” she ex- it!” Egypt “placed the screws” on the deal, sacre perpetrated by Barnard Goldstein on a plains. “Now my husband is back,” she he added proudly, but “Germany came af- Hebron mosque, killing dozens and wound- says with delight. “I have no further reason terward to make sure they are not too ing hundreds of worshippers, and opening to feel the weight of the seconds, minutes, loose.” the door to retaliatory bombings; since well passing by on the clock hanging in the Of the 477 prisoners released in the ini- before Oslo, before the 2000 Camp David hallway next to his photograph.” tial round, 297 were released to Gaza, summit, before Sept. 11, 2001, before hun- Recalling the moment she heard the good even though only 133 are originally from dreds of checkpoints made travel nearly im- news that her husband was to be released, there. Israel exiled the others there, deny- her eyes well up with joy: “When I heard ing them access to their homes and fami- Award-winning journalist Mohammed Omer the words of the radio news presenter an- lies in the occupied West Bank and East reports on the Gaza Strip, and maintains the nouncing my husband’s name, I cried, and Jerusalem. Web site 12 THE WASHINGTON REPORT ON MIDDLE EAST AFFAIRS DECEMBER 2011 Abunimah-prisoners_13_Special Report 10/26/11 8:03 PM Page 13 Inside the Mideast Prisoner Swap By Ali Abunimah SpecialReport n recent days, we’ve witnessed the rare Ispectacle of Israelis and Palestinians cel- ebrating at the same time. Ironically, this was the result of negotiations between the government of Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu and the Palestinian resistance organization Hamas, which Is- rael and the United States describe as “ter- rorists.” It was a moment that revealed what it would take for negotiations be- tween seemingly irreconcilable foes to re- sult in a credible agreement and why the current “peace process” has gone nowhere. But in the wake of the Israel-Hamas agreement under which 1,027 Palestinians held by Israel are being released in ex- change for one Israeli soldier held in Gaza, the editors of The New York Times ex- pressed a good deal of frustration. “If Mr. Netanyahu can negotiate with Hamas—which shoots rockets at Israel, re- fuses to recognize Israel’s existence,” they ALESSIO ROMENZI/AFP/GETTY IMAGES ROMENZI/AFP/GETTY ALESSIO wondered in an Oct. 18 editorial, “why Hamas leader Ismail Haniya (c) hugs newly released Palestinian prisoners during a cele- won’t he negotiate seriously with the Pales- bration following their arrival in Gaza Oct. 18 after a swap of more than 1,000 Palestinians tinian Authority, which Israel relies on to for captured Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit. help keep the peace in the West Bank?” What are the chances of this happening? alternatives to the failed U.S.-backed “peace has nothing to show for all his cooperation The Times was referring to the supposedly process.” with the occupation. “moderate” Ramallah-based Palestinian But this is terribly unfair to the Israeli Instead, PA officials wanted Israel to ne- Authority of Mahmoud Abbas, whose prime minister. Netanyahu has done ab- gotiate with them over a prisoner exchange. U.S.-backed security forces collaborate solutely nothing that his supposedly more But as Livni explained to senior Abbas aides with Israel to keep any form of armed or “dovish” predecessors, Prime Minister Ehud at a March 31, 2008 meeting in Jerusalem, unarmed Palestinian resistance in check. Olmert and Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni, “We wanted to talk with Abu Mazen The Times noted that Netanyahu had de- did not do. Olmert and Livni did negotiate [Abbas] but he cannot release Gilad Shalit.” fied Israeli families whose loved ones had with Abbas without ever stopping settle- And that in a nutshell is the answer to been killed in armed attacks by some of ment construction and without advancing The Times’ question. Israel did not negoti- the Palestinian prisoners: Why can’t Ne- proposals that would meet even Abbas’ min- ate with Hamas because Hamas is “moder- tanyahu also buck the wishes of Israeli set- imalist demands. Netanyahu says he’s will- ate,” any more than the U.S. has negotiated tlers in the West Bank in a similar way and ing to do the same and constantly begs with the Taliban in Afghanistan because it put in place a settlement freeze? Abbas to meet him at the negotiating table. is “moderate,” or the U.K. negotiated with Abbas insists he won’t return to negoti- And the Olmert government, like Ne- representatives of the Irish Republican ations until Israel stops building Jewish- tanyahu’s, negotiated with Hamas. The Army because they were “moderate.” only colonies in the West Bank, especially Palestine Papers—a trove of documents In all those cases, enemies who had pre- in and around eastern occupied Jerusalem. and minutes related to the peace process viously been declared off limits (“we don’t The blame lay squarely with Netanyahu, that was leaked to Al Jazeera in January— negotiate with terrorists”) were brought according to The Times: “The problem is shed light on what happened. into the fold because they were in a posi- not that he can’t compromise and make In 2008, Israel and Hamas were very tion of strength. tough choices. It’s that he won’t.” close to reaching the deal that Netanyahu Similarly, the reason Israel has been In calling for a return to negotiations be- eventually struck: about 1,000 Palestinian willing to limit its military assaults on the tween Israel and the PA, The Times was prisoners for the Israeli prisoner of war. But Gaza Strip recently is in part because echoing others—including the Obama ad- it was Abbas’ Palestinian Authority, the Hamas and other Palestinian factions have ministration—who are incapable of seeing leaked documents unambiguously show, been able to exercise limited deterrence that lobbied hard and successfully for Israel with their rockets. Five irascible trailers telephoned the ticket. not to do the deal. PA officials argued—as Netanyahu will not impose a settlement But two mats extremely cleverly bought the The Times now does—that handing a vic- freeze in response to Abbas’ demands sim- subway downtown. tory to Hamas would damage Abbas, who Continued on page 16 DECEMBER 2011 THE WASHINGTON REPORT ON MIDDLE EAST AFFAIRS 13 cook_14-16_The Nakba Continues 10/26/11 8:07 PM Page 14 “Price Tag” or Pogrom? West Bank Settlers Now Running Amok in Israel as Well By Jonathan Cook The NakbaContinues It was almost certainly not a coincidence that the two attacks inside Israel came a short time after Mahmoud Abbas submit- ted an application for statehood to the United Nations, in defiance of both Israel and the U.S. The Palestinian Authority president raised the stakes on Palestinian statehood—and so did the settlers. The attacks marked a dramatic escala- tion of a recent campaign by Jewish ex- tremists to expand their low-intensity war against West Bank Palestinians to include Israel’s 1.5 million-strong Palestinian mi- nority. These latter Palestinians, descen- dants of those who remained on their land during the 1948 war, have Israeli citizen- ship—even if of a very inferior kind—and comprise a fifth of Israel’s population (a higher percentage than that of African Americans in the U.S.). The settlers’ goal, according to analysts, is to generate a civil war, creating the mo- MENAHEM KAHANA/AFP/GETTY IMAGES KAHANA/AFP/GETTY MENAHEM mentum toward an apocalyptic confronta- Muslim Israeli citizens inspect a burned mosque after it was torched overnight in the Bedouin tion that unites the Jewish population be- village of Tuba Zangariya in the northern Galilee, Oct. 3, 2011. hind the settlers’ vision of a Greater Israel by pitting Palestinians on both sides of the he interior of the mosque in the But this was the first time the settlers Green Line against the “Chosen people.” TBedouin village of Tuba Zangariya in had torched a mosque in Israel. A few days According to Jafar Farah, director of northern Israel was left charred and black- later, two cemeteries—one Muslim, one Mossawa, an Arab advocacy organization ened in early October, its stacks of Qur’ans Christian—were vandalized in Jaffa, a inside Israel, “They [the settlers] want us burned beyond recognition. On the out- mixed Jewish-Arab town next to Tel Aviv. to react. Then they can claim that the side walls, scrawled in charcoal, were the The phrases “Price tag” and “Death to the Arabs are trying to drive the Jews into the words “Revenge” and “Price tag.” The ex- Arabs” were sprayed on the headstones. sea, and that no political solution is possi- tremist wing of the settler movement had The “price tag” policy originally was de- ble.” left its calling card. vised as a way both to punish Palestinians Since Israel’s disengagement from Gaza As part of their “price tag” policy—a eu- for attacks on the settlements and to deter in 2005, disillusionment has grown among phemism for a campaign of terror—the set- Israel from enforcing the rule of law on the the extremist settlers, many of whom are tlers have for the past two years been inter- settlers. On the rare occasions when the Is- convinced that they must intensify their mittently setting fire to mosques in the raeli authorities have done so—by, for in- struggle to stop further concessions in the West Bank. For much of the past decade, stance, removing a caravan from one of the peace process. The settlements, armed by they have been mounting regular pogrom- more than 100 unauthorized settlement the Israeli army for decades, are in a posi- style attacks against isolated Palestinian vil- outposts dotted across the West Bank, or tion to wreak havoc. lages, beating the inhabitants, setting fire to by arresting a lawbreaker—Palestinian vil- In recent years the most militant ele- fields, uprooting olive trees, killing live- lages have suffered the consequences. ments among the settlers have been in- stock and poisoning wells. At this time of More recently, however, the settlers’ at- creasingly focusing their energies on Pales- year, during the olive season, armed gangs tacks have been intended to penalize Pales- tinian Arab communities in Israel, with the of settlers roam the West Bank assaulting tinians for the smallest political develop- intention of stoking tensions and provok- Palestinians trying to harvest their crops. ments in peace talks. The hard-liners, in par- ing conflict. They have used a two-fold ap- ticular, are so blinkered by their religious- proach. Jonathan Cook is a journalist based in nationalist fundamentalism that they have In Israel’s half a dozen so-called mixed Nazareth and a winner of this year’s Martha failed to grasp the reality that Israel’s lead- cities, where Jews and Arabs live in close Gellhorn Special Prize for Journalism. His ers, including Prime Minister Bin yamin Ne- proximity, even if usually in separate neigh- most recent book is Disappearing Palestine. tanyahu, voided the peace process long ago. borhoods, religious extremists have been 14 THE WASHINGTON REPORT ON MIDDLE EAST AFFAIRS DECEMBER 2011 cook_14-16_The Nakba Continues 10/26/11 8:07 PM Page 15 taking over areas within traditional Arab country’s Arab minority, many young men tion of Jewish religious extremists, who enclaves. Typically, they have begun by set- there still serve, like their grandfathers and have switched location from the settle- ting up a hesder yeshiva, a seminary where fathers, in the Israeli army. After the ments to Jaffa and other mixed cities. young Jewish men combine religious stud- mosque attack, a community leader In this pressure-cooker atmosphere, the ies with military service. Effectively, the boasted to an Israeli reporter: “We were graves’ vandals presumably hoped they yeshivas are armed encampments within among the founders of the state of Israel.” could fuel the mounting antagonisms on Arab neighborhoods. The settlers then seek But as news of the mosque’s desecration both sides of Jaffa’s ethnic divide. to intimidate and drive out Arab residents spread, enraged youths burned govern- so they can take over nearby buildings and ment buildings, fired their army-issue ri- Fueling Antagonisms gradually spread out, in a variation of the fles into the air and clashed with police, Significantly, the attacks inside Israel sug- established Zionist tactic of the tower-and- who responded with tear gas and stun gested that militant factions among the set- stockade used by the first European Jewish grenades. The police claimed their tough tlers are now committed to a strategy that immigrants to take over land in Palestine approach was needed to stop the youths of blurs the Green Line—the pre-1967 border during the British Mandate. Tuba from marching on to Rosh Pina and between Israel and the occupied territo- But the settlers also have targeted some Safed, two Jewish towns only a few kilo- ries—in a way designed to make the citi- of the largest and most independent Arab meters away. zenship status of Palestinians inside Israel towns in Israel. In recent years Baruch Anti-Arab sentiments in Safed, in par- irrelevant. More terror attacks on the mi- Marzel, one of the leaders of an ultra-na- ticular, have reached a boiling point under nority can be expected. tionalist group of settlers based in and the town’s chief rabbi, Shmuel Eliyahu, a An editorial in Israel’s Haaretz newspa- around the West Bank Palestinian city of municipal employee who has been leading per noted that the settlers were exploiting Hebron, has been leading provocative set- a campaign to expel Safed’s small Arab the prevailing anti-Arab mood that has tler marches—with Israeli police protec- population, mostly students attending the been generated both by two years of tion—into Arab communities such as local college. He has accused young Arab overtly discriminatory legislation from the Sakhnin and Umm al-Fahm. men of seeking to “corrupt” the town’s Israeli parliament and by growing num- Sakhnin has a reputation as one of the Jewish women, and along with dozens of bers of rabbis espousing trenchantly racist most nationalist Arab communities in Is- other rabbis signed a letter last year threat- views. Reports of the arson attack on the rael, famous for its role in resisting a large ening reprisals against Jews who rented mosque in Tuba Zangariya spawned anti- state-organized land grab in the Galilee in properties to non-Jews. There have been Arab graffiti across Israel. 1976. In clashes the army killed six pro- sporadic assaults on Arabs in Safed ever The editorial also pointed out that such testers, an event commemorated every year since. incitement and violence posed a severe by Palestinians as Land Day. The despoiling of the graves in Jaffa challenge to Israel’s professed democratic Umm al-Fahm, meanwhile, is notorious could have triggered a spiral of violence as credentials and its image internationally. among Israeli Jews as the hometown of well. A day after the attack, Molotov cock- That is why Israel’s political leaders, in- Sheikh Raed Salah, leader of the increas- tails were thrown at a synagogue in the cluding Netanyahu, and its chief rabbis ingly influential Islamic Movement. For town. condemned the attacks with a haste and similar reasons, the city is the primary tar- Jaffa, once the commercial hub of Pales- vehemence entirely missing from their re- get of a plan put forward by Israel’s far-right tine, is now little more than a seaside sub- actions to Jewish terror aimed at Palestini- foreign minister, Avigdor Lieberman, to urb of Tel Aviv containing one of the most ans in the occupied territories. swap Arab areas of Israel for the settlements deprived Arab communities in the country. The gauntlet thrown down by the set- in the West Bank under a future peace deal. Most of the residents are descendants ei- tlers is directed mainly toward the security In this regard, the Jewish extremists ther of Palestinians forced out of their Jaffa services, especially the Shin Bet internal chose the locations of their latest attacks homes at gunpoint in 1948 and corralled intelligence agency. The police and Shin carefully. They selected two Palestinian- into a small neighborhood named Ajami, Bet have a woeful track record of solving Arab communities in Israel that have the or of poor Palestinian laborers brought crimes against Palestinians committed by opportunity and possible incentive to re- from the rest of the country to help build the settlers, despite the increasing use of spond to the settlers’ provocation with vi- Tel Aviv. video cameras by Palestinians to record the olence. Both communities are also distinc- Jaffa’s Arab population, still penned up attacks. The price tag campaign of recent tive for being surrounded by Jewish pop- in Ajami and living precariously as tenants years has come at almost no cost to the set- ulations that have recently become rabidly in neglected properties confiscated by the tlers. anti-Arab. state decades ago, were brought to global The burning of the mosque in Tuba Zan- Militant settlers hoped they were throw- attention in 2009 in an Oscar-nominated gariya neatly illustrated the double stan- ing a lit match on to a bonfire. film called simply “Ajami.” It portrayed the dards. A Jewish youth from a West Bank By contrast, Tuba Zangariya is one of a neighborhood as a breeding ground for settlement was arrested a few hours after few fervently “loyal” Arab communities in crime and violence. the attack, but released days later for lack Israel. While many Bedouin were expelled However, it did not show two further in- of evidence. Meanwhile, the police arrested during the 1948 war that created Israel, the dignities currently being suffered by more than 20 youths from Tuba for firing tribes of Tuba and Zangariya were given an Ajami’s Arab residents: a gentrification their weapons into the air, and vowed they area next to Jewish communities as a re- program that is demolishing areas of the would be making many further arrests. ward for fighting alongside Israel’s armed neighborhood to attract wealthy Jews who In September the Shin Bet claimed it was forces. prefer a beachfront residence to over- struggling to track down those responsible Deprived of jobs and facing the same crowded Tel Aviv (see July 2008 Washing- for the price tag attacks because they were discrimination suffered by the rest of the ton Report, p. 24); and the gradual infiltra- religious zealots who had organized into a DECEMBER 2011 THE WASHINGTON REPORT ON MIDDLE EAST AFFAIRS 15 cook_14-16_The Nakba Continues 10/26/11 8:07 PM Page 16 network of discrete terror cells to avoid in- Mideast Prisoner Swap… dismantle its racist, colonial and apartheid- filtration and surveillance. like policies. Why should it when it pays Yossi Melman, Haaretz’s security corre- Continued from page 13 no price for doing what it pleases? spondent, was dismissive of the reasoning: The BDS campaign was prompted in “The Islamic Hezbollah [in Lebanon] and ply because Netanyahu believes in and part by the response—or rather the lack of Hamas organizations are also religious supports the colonization of the West it—to the 2004 International Court of Jus- zealots. They, too, study their enemy, but Bank, and Abbas does not have the power tice ruling that Israel’s West Bank wall is il- nonetheless the Shin Bet and the intelli- to make him. legal. When no governments took any gence agencies manage to infiltrate them Israel only negotiates seriously when it measures to enforce the decision, Palestini- and obtain accurate intelligence informa- feels it has no other choice and when its ans realized that global civil society would tion about them.” adversary has enough power to impose an have to act. The few Jewish extremists who had outcome it cannot prevent by other means. been arrested for attacks, Melman added, Does this mean that Hamas and Israel Power Not Held Accountable benefited from “the lenience of judges” could potentially do a deal over the broader Similarly, Israel remains in violation of and from “incompetence that appears to issues? The answer is no, but not because countless U.N. resolutions, and has faced have been deliberate on the part of the po- of the conventional wisdom that Hamas no accountability whatsoever for the war lice and the army.” doesn’t recognize Israel, espouses violence, crimes and crimes against humanity com- A more probable explanation for the and refuses to accept signed agreements. mitted over many years, but most recently Shin Bet’s failure is that its much-neglected In fact, Hamas has said repeatedly—in- in Gaza in 2009 and detailed in the U.N.- “Jewish section,” which investigates the cluding in a New York Times interview commissioned Goldstone report. settlers’ security crimes and is overshad- with its leader Khaled Meshal—that the Could the BDS shift the balance of owed by a larger and better-funded “Arab movement is willing to accept a Palestinian power such that Israel would be forced to section,” draws many of its officers from state in only the West Bank and Gaza Strip, concede Palestinian rights? The interna- among the ranks of the settlers. provided all Israeli settlements are re- tional movement’s rapid growth has con- The impunity granted the settlers is hav- moved and the rights of Palestinian vinced some influential Israelis that it can. ing serious consequences inside Israel, as refugees are respected. Last year, the Reut Institute, a think tank even the Shin Bet has begun to notice. It But while Hamas was strong in the spe- with close ties to the Israeli government, has emboldened the extremists to widen cific context of negotiations over prisoners, called for an all-out campaign of “sabo- their operations of late to include not only the movement by itself or even in combi- tage” and “attack” on the“delegitimiza- the Palestinian minority but also Israeli nation with other Palestinian factions is tion” of Israel. It especially focused on Jewish peace activists and, on a few occa- not strong enough to compel Israel to meet BDS, and warned that the movement’s sions, Israeli soldiers. broader demands. “momentum is gaining.” A few days before the attack on Tuba The power balance remains too lopsided In response to the Reut report, the Jew- Zangariya’s mosque, a large group of West against Palestinians for negotiations to be ish Federations of North America and the Bank settlers from Anatot, close to anything more than what they have been Jewish Council for Public Affairs launched Jerusalem, assaulted and terrorized a group for two decades: a cover for Israel to con- a multimillion-dollar initiative to “combat of left-wing Jews who had come to support tinue colonization. anti-Israel boycott, divestment and sanc- a Palestinian couple trying to work their For this reason in 2005, Palestinian civil tions campaigns.” land. Many of Anatot’s settlers work in the society, independently of all political fac- And in his May speech to the Israel security services, and video shows police tions, issued its unified call to supporters lobby (AIPAC), President Obama vowed officers who were called to the scene stand- around the world for boycott, divestment that the U.S. would help Israel fight “dele- ing by as the peace activists are beaten and and sanctions (BDS) on Israel. It urges that gitimization.” some of the women sexually abused. these “punitive measures” be maintained But he warned nonetheless that “the Despite its failure to trace the culprits of until Israel recognizes the Palestinian peo- march to isolate Israel internationally— such crimes, the Shin Bet has warned that ple’s rights and respects international law and the impulse of the Palestinians to the most fanatical elements in the settler in three ways: an end to the occupation and abandon negotiations—will continue to movement need restraining if there is not colonization of Arab lands conquered in gain momentum in the absence of a credi- to be a rapid escalation of violence on both 1967; recognizing the fundamental rights of ble peace process and alternative.” sides of the Green Line. In August it or- Palestinian citizens of Israel to full equality; Israel’s isolation is growing not only be- dered 12 youths from Yitzhar, a notorious and respecting the rights of Palestinian cause of BDS, but because of regional de- settlement close to Nablus, barred from the refugees, including the right of return. velopments including the uprising that West Bank. A month later the government These are goals that unify all Palestinians, toppled Egypt’s pro-Israel Mubarak ignored the Shin Bet’s advice to the Educa- whether they support the fast-fading two- regime, and Turkey’s break with Israel tion Ministry to cut funding to Yitzhar’s state solution, or a single democratic state over the Gaza siege and the attack on the yeshiva, whose rabbis recently published incorporating Israelis and Palestinians Mavi Marmara. a book advocating the murder of non-Jews, throughout historic Palestine (Israel, the While this might dismay Obama, those including children. West Bank and Gaza Strip together). who yearn for negotiations leading to Because Israel’s politicians so far have Modeled on the successful campaign that peace and justice should do all they can to shown great reluctance to act against the helped isolate apartheid South Africa, the hasten the erosion of Israel’s power advan- militant settlers, their campaign of violence logic is straightforward: As long as Israel tage over the Palestinians. After all, as re- against Palestinians on both sides of the enjoys an overwhelming power advantage cent events demonstrate, Israel only nego- Green Line is sure to intensify. ❑ it will never respect Palestinian rights nor tiates seriously with the strong. ❑ 16 THE WASHINGTON REPORT ON MIDDLE EAST AFFAIRS DECEMBER 2011 williams_17-18_United Nations Report 10/26/11 1:05 PM Page 17 Washington Impaling Itself on the Horns of a Diplomatic Dilemma United Nations By Ian Williams Report n the twisted chains of events Iin the Middle East, one set of links is clear. Almost 500 Pales- tinian prisoners—and Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit—released on Oct. 12, with a second group of 555 Palestinian prisoners to be released later, owe their free- dom to Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas’ determina- tion to push the U.N. member- ship issue. Binyamin Netanyahu could have freed Shalit any time on these same terms—but the Palestinian statehood issue, for psychopathological reasons we have discussed earlier in these columns, rattles the Israeli prime minister and his support- ers so much that he was pre- pared to give Hamas a boost against Fatah with the release. Those of us who savor fine hypocrisies will also relish the irony of long negotiations re- sulting in a political boost for a IMAGES PLATT/GETTY SPENCER movement with which Israel Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas (l) formally submits papers for admission to the U.N. says the rest of the world should as a member state to Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon during the U.N. General Assembly’s meeting in have no contact. One almost New York City, Sept. 23, 2011. looks forward to the arrest, in- dictment and trial of Israeli leaders on their Council. If the resolution accepting Pales- resolution that even mildly criticizes Israel next visit to the U.S., where people are serv- tinian membership does not garner nine for documented repression in the occupied ing long sentences for much less substantial positive votes, then—in the spirit of the territories—as listed by the State Depart- contact and support for Hamas related orga- toddler who hides behind the drapes and ment’s own annual reports on human nizations! can’t understand that everyone can see his rights and religious freedom! However, back to the main issue, Pales- feet sticking out—the U.S. hopes to escape And more Israel Lobby-induced mayhem tine’s application for U.N. membership is the contumely it richly merits for vetoing a was heading down the turnpike toward now languishing in a Security Council sub- resolution fulfilling the wishes expressed Washington, with UNESCO’s scheduled committee, few of whose members seem by the president just a year earlier. late fall vote on its board’s recommendation eager to bring the issue to a head. No mat- Twenty years ago, the U.S. scarcely felt for Palestine’s full membership status in the ter what the Obama administration does the need to justify what it wanted. Now, agency’s general council. Forty of the 58 now, it is cruising for a diplomatic bruising. over-extended militarily, wobbling finan- board members backed a Palestinian draft While U.N. Ambassador Susan Rice is not cially, its carrots are stringy and its stick de- resolution proposing membership, with the as pugnacious as her predecessor John tumescent, so it has to explain why Russia U.S. among four voting against, and 14 ab- Bolton, or indeed James Baker, in rounding is being unreasonable in blocking the mem- stentions—countries which do not really up votes in the U.N., the Obama adminis- bership of Kosovo, recognized by about half oppose it but don’t want to upset the U.S. tration has been trying hard—despite of the U.N., while a White House-threat- Washington’s weakened clout—to per- ened veto of membership for Palestine, rec- The Vatican Precedent suade vulnerable states that it is in their ognized by more than two-thirds of U.N. This has a double significance. Firstly, the best interests not to vote yes in the Security members, is statesmanship of a high order. Vatican’s convoluted route to acceptance as Indeed, inquiring minds might well a non-member observer state at the U.N. Ian Williams is a free-lance journalist based compare the Russian and Chinese vetoes began with it being “smuggled” into mem- at the United Nations and has a blog at against action in Syria to prevent repres- bership of the Universal Postal Union (UPU) DECEMBER 2011 THE WASHINGTON REPORT ON MIDDLE EAST AFFAIRS 17 williams_17-18_United Nations Report 10/26/11 1:05 PM Page 18 tion at the time. After all, the Vatican had year, declared, “I am proud to be the first acts against Palestinians and their proper- its own stamps—a nice little earner—and secretary of state from the United States ties during the reporting period and the its own radio station, which got it into the ever to come to UNESCO, and I come be- discriminatory treatment of Israeli settlers International Telecommunications (then cause I believe strongly in your mission.” and Palestinians in law enforcement. The Telegraph) Union. It was never allowed to That dilemma could be resolved immedi- involvement of Israel Defense Forces in acts join the League of Nations, nor for many ately, of course, if the president and the of violence, either through their participa- decades would Washington countenance State Department determined that in fact tion or inaction to prevent the acts, is dis- U.N. membership—but the Vatican had a Palestine does have the internationally rec- cussed as a growing concern.” long-term strategy, as one would expect, on ognized attributes of statehood. After all, But perhaps most timely for those ex- how a postage stamp state with a popula- Kosovo, under U.S. sponsorship, has joined pressing shock and horror at the Palestini- tion of a few hundred celibates could get the World Bank and IMF—which should, ans undertaking due process to secure the more recognition. if U.N. membership were the determinant, rights as a state that most nations grant The U.N. invited members of the special- have the U.S. pulling out and defunding them is the report’s conclusion: “The Gen- ized agencies to participate, but not vote, in those organizations as well. Looking at the eral Assembly and the international com- the General Assembly and, nudged along, damage they have done worldwide, that munity should more actively seek the im- gave such entities, which included Switzer- might not be such a bad idea—but in any plementation of their decisions, resolutions land for half a century, a vote in conferences. case, no one has brought it up hitherto. and recommendations, as well as those of Echoing the issue of whether President The diplomatic dilemma on the horns of the Security Council, the International Abbas represents the PLO, Palestine, or the which the administration is impaling itself Court of Justice and the United Nations Palestinian Authority, it is the Vatican City becomes more barbed with each passing human rights mechanisms, including treaty which is a member of the two U.N. agen- denial of reality. bodies and special procedure mandate hold- cies. Half a century ago, however, it By U.N. custom, once one agency has ac- ers, in relation to the situation of human switched the name of its U.N. observer cepted a member, all other U.N. agencies rights and international humanitarian law mission to the Holy See—then separated also accord it full rights, as the Vatican in the occupied Palestinian territory.” the Holy See as the Catholic Church from demonstrates. Since the World Bank and It puts in perspective the U.S. threat to the Holy See as the entity holding sover- IMF are quantum U.N. agencies—in and defund all Palestinian activities in retalia- eignty over the Vatican City! out at the same time, depending on what tion for the statehood bid—as, indeed, does In a little noticed move in 2004, the Gen- suits them—Kosovo cannot yet lever mem- the promise to increase aid to the state that eral Assembly upgraded the Vatican’s status bership there into other U.N. agencies. UN- is defying not only the U.N., but U.S. pleas, from an entity—Palestine’s current desig- ESCO membership, however, like the UPU, and continuing to build settlements. ❑ nation—to a non-member state. The U.S., opens the doors to all the others. (Advertisement) which opposes such status for the several So the U.S. can either pull out of all the million Palestinians, did not object. U.N. agencies this administration holds So, under existing rules, membership in dear—including the U.N. itself—if the ! UNESCO would take Palestinian participa- General Assembly accepts the Holy See ! tion out of the special case situation it cur- way to Palestinian participation, or it can rently occupies as a result of 20 years of accept Palestine as a state under interna- ! diplomatic war by attrition, and bring it tional law. Washington could, of course, ! under general rules that the U.S. and Israel suggest that the case be referred to the In- would have no chance of overturning. ternational Court of Justice (ICJ) in The Hague for an advisory opinion. That, how- Renewed Assaults on the U.N. ever, would then imply accepting other But there is, of course, more. After some ICJ judgements, such as the one against the years of the puzzling sound of silence re- U.S. mining of Nicaragua’s harbors—and garding the U.N., some of the Republican on Israel’s occupation wall. right and their Democratic allies whose hearts beat as one with the Likudnik pace- A Hard-Hitting Report maker have been building up for a re- The latter, of course, is long overdue. On newed assault on the U.N. and all its Sept. 16, Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon works. They have passed legislation that submitted the report requested by the Gen- ! would require the U.S. to pull its fund- !"#$#%&'(#)* %#$$ $%' #%$) # $% eral Assembly on Israeli settlement activi- ''%( )%)#$%% %!"# %# ing—and membership—from any body ties. Citing instance after instance of violent & %"'(% $%("$ %"#%#&) that gives “full membership as a state to discriminatory behavior, the hard-hitting '$% $#% %$##% %( )%(" #% any organization or group that does not report “seeks to underscore the discrimina- )#* $%'% #% &% $% #%# # have the internationally recognized attrib- tory nature of the Israeli policy and prac- (#$$%#$' %*)'%& )& $%% utes of statehood.” The legislation is of tice of promoting settlements in the West "#% % #$ %" ) %' ' $% course weaselly worded to mean Pales- Bank, including East Jerusalem. While ille- " % )'!#%"#% '! #%'%# #)% % tine—but not the Vatican—while interest- gal settlement expansion continues to take #$% '#%'% #$ % %"#($"% ingly leaving Taiwan in limbo. place in the West Bank, restrictions on $$%("'%'&&'$#%"#%') )#%'*% %% That would present an interesting Palestinian construction and the demolition !"#$%%&&'()* $ ($$ $ &$ quandary for Hillary Clinton, who, visit- of Palestinian homes have been on the rise. ) &&'(&$ ing UNESCO headquarters in Paris this The report also addresses settlers’ violent 18 THE WASHINGTON REPORT ON MIDDLE EAST AFFAIRS DECEMBER 2011 parry_19_Neocon Corner 10/27/11 1:15 PM Page 19 Neocons Blame Obama for Iraq Disaster By Robert Parry NeoconCorner ith President Barack Obama’s an- Cohen, who wrote the manifesto’s fore- Wnouncement of a complete U.S. mil- word, was a founding member of the Pro- itary withdrawal from Iraq, the neoconser- ject for the New American Century and a vative editors of The Washington Post im- protégé of prominent neocons Paul Wol- mediately got to work rewriting the narra- fowitz and Richard Perle. tive of the Iraq war, shifting the blame for the eight-year strategic disaster onto him. Upbraiding Romney That is the message of Oct. 23’s lead edi- On the campaign trail, Romney briefly de- torial in which The Post joins with the neo- viated from the prescribed neocon con-advised Republican presidential can- path—with comments that U.S. troops in didates in setting Obama up for the fall in Afghanistan should be withdrawn “as the likely event that the horrendous polit- soon as we possibly can” and that the war ical violence in Iraq gets even worse. showed Americans “cannot fight another The solution favored by The Post’s edi- nation’s war of independence.” He was tors and the Republicans is to continue the promptly upbraided by the Post’s editors U.S. military occupation of Iraq indefinitely, and quickly fell back into line. just as they want a similar open-ended war So, after Obama’s announcement on Oct. in Afghanistan and sought a more aggres- 21 that the remaining U.S. troops would be sive U.S. military role in Libya. Simply put: withdrawn from Iraq by the end of the Spare no expense in the blood of U.S. sol- year, Romney lashed out with a harsh de- diers and the dollars of U.S. taxpayers. nunciation fashioned by his neocon team. And, since the neocons retain enormous He said Obama let his decision be driven influence in the opinion circles of Official either by “naked political calculation or Washington, they will likely have a great simply sheer ineptitude in negotiations deal of success in rewriting the history of with the Iraqi government.” the Iraq War into one that depicts a bril- Also toeing the neocon line, Perry liant neocon “victory” squandered by the charged that Obama had put “political ex- reckless “peaceniks” surrounding Obama. pediency ahead of sound military and se- The neocon message is this: If only curity judgment” in agreeing to leave Iraq. Obama had listened to us—like George W. Then, on Oct. 21, the Post’s neocon edi- Bush did—everything would have worked tors joined the furor, portraying Obama’s out just wonderfully. However, since he withdrawal as shortsighted and foolhardy. didn’t, Obama will have to shoulder the The editorial noted that the war will end blame for what the world will see as a hu- for U.S. soldiers, but “Iraqi insurgents, in- miliating U.S. retreat from Iraq. cluding al-Qaeda, continue to wage war The neocon corollary is that only a Re- against the country’s fragile democratic publican president—most likely Mitt government; Iran sponsors its own militias Romney or Rick Perry—can restore Amer- and has been accelerating its effort to dom- ican grandeur in the world. Both Romney inate its neighbor.… and Perry have surrounded themselves “Mr. Obama’sdecision to carry out a com- with neocon advisers, such as Eliot Cohen plete withdrawal sharply increases the risk and Robert Kagan, who are guiding Rom- that painfully won security gains in Iraq ney’s foreign policy. will come undone; that Iran will be handed Romney essentially contracted out his a crucial strategic advantage in its regional foreign policy to the neocons who pro- cold war with the United States; and that a duced his campaign manifesto, “An Amer- potentially invaluable U.S. alliance with an ican Century.” The title is an homage to the emerging Iraqi democracy will wither.” neocon Project for the New American Cen- The Post’s editors claimed that Obama tury, which in the 1990s built the ideolog- had given in to political advisers who ical framework for the Iraq war and other wanted him to fulfill his campaign pledge violent “regime change” strategies pur- of a complete U.S. military withdrawal, SABAH ARAR/AFP/GETTY IMAGES ARAR/AFP/GETTY SABAH sued by Bush. rather than heed the advice of military An Iraqi worker repairs the wires on an elec- commanders who wanted to extend the tricity pylon in Baghdad, Oct. 10, 2011. Elec- Robert Parry is founder and editor of DECEMBER 2011 THE WASHINGTON REPORT ON MIDDLE EAST AFFAIRS 19 views_sting_20-22_Two Views 10/26/11 1:13 PM Page 20 Two Views How Plausible Is the Alleged Iranian “Terror Plot”? trolled drug smuggling and could provide tons of opium.” Because of opium entering Iran from Afghanistan, Iranian authorities hold 85 percent of the world’s opium seizures, ac- cording to Iran’s Fars News Agency. Iranian security personnel, including those in the IRGC and its Quds Force, then have the op- portunity to sell the opium to traffickers in the Middle East, Europe and now Mexico. Mexican drug cartels have begun con- necting with Middle Eastern drug traffick- ers, in many cases stationing operatives in Middle East locations to facilitate heroin production and sales, according to a report last January in Borderland Beat. But the FBI account of the contacts be- tween Arbabsiar and the DEA informant does not reference any discussions of drugs. The criminal complaint refers to an un- specified number of meetings between Arbabsiar and the DEA informant in late June and the first two weeks of July. What transpired in those meetings re- mains the central mystery surrounding the SHIRLEY SHEPARD/AFP/GETTY IMAGES SHEPARD/AFP/GETTY SHIRLEY A courtroom drawing of Mansour Arbabsiar (second from right) appearing before U.S. Southern case. District Court Judge Michael H. Dolinger (at bench) and Assistant U.S. Attorney Glen Kopp (l) The official account of the investigation during his arraignment at Federal Court in New York, Oct. 11, 2011. cites the testimony of the informant (re- ferred to in the document as “CS-1”) in stat- ing, “Over the course of a series of meetings, FBI Account of “Terror Plot” al-Jubeir, it also suggests that the idea orig- ARBABSIAR explained to CS-1 that his as- Suggests Sting Operation inated with and was strongly pushed by sociates in Iran had discussed a number of an undercover DEA informant, at the di- violent missions for CS-1 and CIS-1’s pur- By Gareth Porter rection of the FBI. ported criminal associates to perform.” hile the administration of Barack On May 24, when Arbabsiar first met The account claims that the mission dis- WObama vows to hold the Iranian with the DEA informant he thought was cussed included murdering the ambassador. government “accountable” for the alleged part of a Mexican drug cartel, it was not to But no specific statement proposing or plot to assassinate the Saudi ambassador in hire a hit squad to kill the ambassador. agreeing to the act is attributed to Arbab- Washington, the legal document describ- Rather, there is reason to believe that the siar. “Prior to the July 14 meeting, CS-1 had ing evidence in the case provides multiple main purpose was to arrange a deal to sell reported that he and Arbabsiar had dis- indications that it was mainly the result of large amounts of opium from Afghanistan. cussed the possibility of attacks on a an FBI “sting” operation. In the complaint, the closest to a sem- number of other targets,” the account states. Although the legal document, called an blance of evidence that Arbabsiar sought The targets are described as involving amended criminal complaint, implicates help during that first meeting to assassi- “foreign government facilities associated Iranian-American Mansour Arbabsiar and nate the Saudi ambassador is the allega- with Saudi Arabia and with another coun- his cousin Ali Gholam Shakuri, an officer tion, attributed to the DEA informant, that try…located either in or outside the in the Iranian Quds Force, in a plan to as- Arbabsiar said he was “interested in, United States,” without mentioning any sassinate Saudi Arabian Ambassador Adel among other things, attacking an embassy discussion of the Saudi ambassador. of Saudi Arabia.” Both that language and the absence of Gareth Porter is an investigative historian Among the “other things” was almost any statement attributed to Arbabsiar and journalist specializing in U.S. national certainly a deal on heroin controlled by of- imply that the Iranian American said noth- security policy. The paperback edition of his ficers in the Islamic Revolutionary Guard ing about assassinating the Saudi ambas- latest book, Perils of Dominance: Imbalance Corps (IRGC). Three Bloomberg reporters, sador except in response to suggestions by of Power and the Road to War in Vietnam, citing a “federal law enforcement official,” the informant, who was already part of an was published in 2006. Copyright © 2011 wrote that Arbabsiar told the DEA infor- FBI undercover operation. IPS-Inter Press Service. All rights reserved. mant he represented Iranians who “con- The DEA informant, as the FBI account 20 THE WASHINGTON REPORT ON MIDDLE EAST AFFAIRS DECEMBER 2011 views_sting_20-22_Two Views 10/26/11 1:13 PM Page 21 acknowledges in a footnote, had previ- can friend from Corpus Christie, Texas, decades could be turned to rubble. Attacks ously been charged with a narcotics of- “I’m going to make good money.” against U.S. targets in Iraq, Afghanistan and fense by a state in the U.S. and had been There is also circumstantial evidence elsewhere would undoubtedly multiply. cooperating in narcotics investigations— that Arbabsiar may have even been The Arab world’s sectarian tensions be- apparently posing as a drug cartel opera- brought into the sting operation to help tween Sunnis and Shi‘i, already greatly ex- tive—in return for dropping the charges. further implicate his cousin Gholam acerbated by America’s war in Iraq, would The document is notably silent on whether Shakuri in the terrorist plot. be further increased. For the industrial the conversation was recorded. Arbabsiar met with his cousin Shakuri world, a regional war would immediately A former FBI official familiar with pro- in late September and told him that the disrupt oil supplies, further worsening the cedures in such cases, who spoke to IPS cartel was demanding that he, Arbabsiar, current economic crisis. anonymously, said the FBI would normally go to Mexico personally to guarantee pay- Not surprisingly, world opinion has re- have recorded all such conversations ment. That demand from the DEA was an acted with widespread scepticism, even de- touching on the possibility of terrorism. obvious device by the FBI to get Shakuri rision, to U.S. Attorney General Eric The absence of quotes from any of those and his associates in Tehran to demonstrate Holder‘s announcement on Oct. 13 of the al- meetings suggests that they do not support their commitment to the assassination. leged Iranian plot. Tehran has vigorously the case being made by the FBI and the The FBI account indicates that Shakuri denied any connection whatsoever with it. Obama administration. told Arbabsiar that he was responsible for It is, indeed, inherently implausible that The account is quite explicit, on the himself if he went to Mexico. That state- Iran would, by means of a terrorist act of no other hand, that the July 14 and July 17 ment would have been a warning sign for strategic value, risk provoking the U.S. into meetings were recorded at FBI direction. Arbabsiar, if he still believed he was deal- military retaliation. Most experts agree that Statements quoted from those transcripts ing with one of the most murderous drug the very last thing Iran wants is a war with show the DEA informant trying to induce cartels in Mexico, that he would be risking the United States. The story makes no sense. Arbabsiar to indicate agreement to assassi- his own life for a group that was no longer If the U.S. government is not to be nating the Saudi ambassador. taking responsibility for him. laughed out of court, it must now produce The informant is quoted as saying he Yet Arbabsiar flew to Mexico as if un- hard evidence of high-level Iranian impli- would need “at least four guys” and concerned about that risk. cation in the alleged conspiracy. If the plot would “take the one point five for the After his arrest on Sept. 29 Arbabsiar is no more than an FBI/DEA sting operation Saudi Arabia.” He declared that he would waived the right to a lawyer and pro- which overreached and went wrong, that, “go ahead and work on the Saudi Arabia, ceeded to provide a complete confession. too, will need to be candidly examined and get all the information we can.” A few days later, he placed a phone call to explained. If, as some would argue, it is the At one point the informant says, “You Shakuri which was recorded “at the direc- work of rogue elements in Iran’s Quds Force just want the, the main guy.” And at the tion of federal enforcement agents,” ac- (a wing of the Islamic Republic Guard end of the meeting, he declares, “[W]e’re cording to the FBI. ❑ Corps which, like U.S. Special Forces, spe- gonna start doing the guy.” cializes in foreign operations), that, too, will The fact that not a single quote from Destabilizing the Middle East need to be convincingly demonstrated. Arbabsiar shows that he agreed to assassi- By Patrick Seale In any event, America’s accusations are nating the ambassador, much less proposed bound to increase Iran’s paranoid fear that it, suggests that he was either noncommit- he U.S. government’s excitable accusa- the United States and Israel are planning to tal or linking the issue to something else, Ttion that Iran paid a Mexican drug attack it, and will therefore drive it to seek such as the prospect of a major drug deal dealer to blow up the Saudi ambassador in deterrence and protection by acquiring a with the cartel. a Washington restaurant adds a further nuclear capability. This is hardly the way Arbabsiar’s quotes from a Sept. 2 phone destabilizing factor to an already danger- to prevent nuclear proliferation. President conversation referring to the cartel as ously unstable Middle East. It moves the Barack Obama thus presents the sad spec- “having the number for the safe” and interminable U.S.-Iranian quarrel one step tacle of siding with the war-mongers. He “once you open the door that’s it” could closer to an armed conflict and it fans into (Advertisement) refer to a drug transaction that had been flame the latent antagonism between the discussed, while the FBI account suggests Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and the Islamic those quotes refer to the assassination and Republic of Iran. -53,)-3 “other projects” with the Iranian group. A U.S.-Iranian war would have poten- At the July 17 meeting, the DEA infor- tially devastating consequences for the "!+% mant presented a plan to blow up a restau- region, for the United States and the world. rant to kill the ambassador, with the pos- The smaller Gulf states, several of them #!+% sible deaths of 100-150 people, eliciting a home to large U.S. military bases, would lack of concern on the part of Arbabsiar find themselves in the line of fire. Their 4HERES ALOT MORE YOU MIGHT about such deaths. spectacular accomplishments of recent NOT KNOW ABOUT YOUR During a visit to Iran in August, Arbab- MUSLIM NEIGHBORS siar wired two equal payments totaling Patrick Seale is a leading British writer on 6JG/WUNKO.KPMVJGNCTIGUVPGYURCRGTHQTCPFCDQWV the Middle East. His latest book is The VJG/WUNKO%QOOWPKV[KP&%/&CPF8##XCKNCDNGCV $100,000 to a bank account in New York. OQUV/QUSWGU#TCD+PFQ2CMCPF2GTUKCPTGUVCWTCPVUCPF But he was still under the impression that Struggle for Arab Independence: Riad el- ITQEGTKGUKPVJGITGCVGT9CUJKPIVQP$CNVKOQTG he was about to cash in on a deal with the Solh and the Makers of the Modern Middle OGVTQRQNKVCPCTGC#XCKNCDNG(TGG cartel. East (Cambridge University Press). Copy- 0HONE &AX The Washington Post reported on Oct. 13 right © 2011 Patrick Seale. Distributed by WWW-USLIMLINKPAPERCOM that Arbabsiar had told an Iranian-Ameri- Agence Global. DECEMBER 2011 THE WASHINGTON REPORT ON MIDDLE EAST AFFAIRS 21 views_sting_20-22_Two Views 10/26/11 1:13 PM Page 22 (Advertisement) has called for the “toughest sanctions” Israel’s own large arsenal of nuclear possible against Iran, as well as repeating weapons, and greatly restrict Israel’s abil- the old mantra that “all options remain on ity to strike its neighbors at will. the table,” a threadbare reference to mili- Rather than fueling tensions as Obama is tary action. doing, rather than pandering to America’s His campaign for re-election has already worst instincts, the wise leader of a super- caused him to woo the Jewish vote by op- power should seek to pacify the region, re- posing the Palestinians’ bid for U.N. mem- solve conflicts and cool tempers. Improba- bership while turning a blind eye to the ble as it may seem, Obama should talk to “Greater Israel” ambitions of Israel’s fanat- Iran rather than demonize it; he should ical settlers. The United States guarantees devote himself again and again—and this Israel’s military supremacy over all its time with more muscle and conviction—to neighbors yet is clearly unable to exercise settling the Arab-Israeli conflict, thereby the slightest influence over Israeli policies, removing a major factor of instability and even the most extreme. Now—once again opening the way for Israel’s peaceful inte- perhaps for electoral reasons—Obama has gration into the region; he should seek to gone a step further by echoing, and seem- calm, rather than inflame, sectarian antag- ing to endorse, Israeli threats of military onisms; he should disengage the United action against Iran. States militarily, and as soon as possible, News of the so-called plot comes at the from Iraq, Afghanistan and the Gulf very time when top Iranian officials—in- region; and he should halt the counter-pro- cluding President Ahmadinejad himself— ductive drone attacks which create more have called for fresh talks with the P5+1 terrorists than they kill and which, under (the five permanent members of the U.N. his watch, have brought death and de- Divide and Perish: Security Council plus Germany) on Iran’s struction to Iraq, Afghanistan, Pakistan, nuclear program. That in itself presents a Libya, Somalia and Yemen. The Geopolitics of the Middle striking contradiction. How could Iran The Middle East needs an end to the im- East (Second Edition) seek talks and yet, at the same time, act in perial ambitions and machinations which By Curtis F. Jones, AuthorHouse, such a way as to make them impossible? have plagued the region since the First The obvious conclusion would seem to be 2011, paperback, 6” x 9,” 500 pp., World War. Urgently required instead is a that the plot was contrived by someone anx- massive coordinated international effort to $14.18. To order call Authorhouse ious to sabotage the possibility of a U.S.-Iran- revive the shattered economies of Egypt, hotline, 1-888-280-7715, mentioning ian dialogue, let alone a compromise over Tunisia, Libya, Yemen, Syria and the Pales- ISBN 9781463410131. Iran’s nuclear activities. Indeed, the so-called tinian territories—and, above all, create Indispensible reading for anyone plot reeks of a “false flag” operation—that is jobs. Without jobs, there will be no peace. to say an operation by a third party deliber- serious about understanding the The United States is said to be redirecting ately designed to push the United States into its efforts to the Far East in order to contain underlying causes of the Middle conflict with the Islamic Republic. the rising power of China. The sooner it East conflicts, with chapters on: There are many potential candidates for gives the Middle East a break by turning its such a role, all anxious to see the Iranian attention elsewhere, the better. ❑ 1. The Dictates of Geopolitics regime punished. They include Iranian 2. The Middle East Geopolity exiles longing to see the mullahs ousted; 3. Demography Lebanese enemies of Hezbollah, whether IndextoAdvertisers Sunni or Maronite, many of whom have 4. Too Much Oil Latin American connections; opponents of Dish Network ...... 11 5. Not Enough Water the Iran-backed Syrian regime who believe Divide and Perish ...... 22 6. The Curse of Communalism that Bashar al-Assad would be gravely weakened if the Iranian regime were to fall; FolkArtMavens...... 33 7. Frontiers of Conquest American neocons itching for war against 8. Who Owns Palestine? Iran, the very same people who conned Gaza: Symbol of Resistance . . . 18 9. Iraq: The Most Difficult State America into war against Iraq; and of course Israel’s Mossad which, by all ac- Helping Hand for Relief and 10. The Cycle of Empire counts, is a master at intelligence coups. It Development 11. Stages of Government is thought to have been responsible for the ...... Inside Back Cover 12. Islamic Fundamentalism recent murder of several Iranian nuclear scientists as well as for infecting the com- Kinder USA...... 29 13. The Rise of the Israeli- puters at Iran’s nuclear power station with American Diarchy toxic viruses such as Stuxnet. Model Arab League ...... 41 14. The Wraith of Arab Nationalism Israel’s right-wing government has Muslim Link ...... 21 15. Occupation: American Aims spared no effort to demonize Iran’s nuclear Versus Iraqi Reality program as a deadly threat to mankind and Radio Baladi...... 35 has been eager to push the United States 16. Through a Glass Darkly: into destroying it. Israel’s motive is clear. If United Palestinian Appeal A Policy Prescription Iran were to acquire a nuclear capability, (UPA) ...... Inside Front Cover however rudimentary, it would checkmate 22 THE WASHINGTON REPORT ON MIDDLE EAST AFFAIRS DECEMBER 2011 cartoons_23_December 2011 Cartoons 10/27/11 9:54 AM Page 23 THE WORLD LOOKS AT THE MIDDLE EAST OLIPHANT ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. SYNDICATEDUNIVERSAL UCLICK. REPINTED WITH PERMISSION SYNDICATEDUNIVERSAL OLIPHANT ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. Al Ahram, Cairo CWS/CARTOONARTS INTERNATIONAL INTERNATIONAL CWS/CARTOONARTS www.cartoonweb.com Al Balad, Beirut CWS/CARTOONARTS INTERNATIONAL INTERNATIONAL CWS/CARTOONARTS www.cartoonweb.com Tunin, Moscow KHALIL BENDIB The Muslim Observer, Livonia OLIPHANT ALL RIGHTS RESERVED SYNDICATED UNIVERSAL UCLICK. REPRINTED WITH PERMISSION SYNDICATED OLIPHANT ALL RIGHTS RESERVED CWS/CARTOONARTS INTERNATIONAL INTERNATIONAL CWS/CARTOONARTS www.cartoonweb.com New York Times Syndicate, New York Universal Uclick DECEMBER 2011 THE WASHINGTON REPORT ON MIDDLE EAST AFFAIRS 23 margolis_24_Special Report 10/27/11 12:55 PM Page 24 Afghanistan: Ten Years of Aimless War By Eric S. Margolis SpecialReport half the population is Pashtun (or Pathan), from whose ranks come the Taliban. Tajik, Uzbek and Hazara minorities fiercely op- pose the Pashtun. All three collaborated with the Soviet occupation from 1979- 1989; today they collaborate with the U.S. and NATO occupation. Most of the Afghan army and police, on which the U.S. spends $6 billion annually, are Tajiks and Uzbek, many members of the old Afghan Communist Party. To Pashtun, they are bitter enemies. In Afghanistan, the U.S. has built its political house on ethnic quicksands. Worse, U.S.-run Afghanistan now pro- duces 93 percent of the world’s most dan- gerous narcotic, heroin. Under the Taliban, drug production virtually ended, accord- SHAH MARAI/AFP/GETTY IMAGES MARAI/AFP/GETTY SHAH ing to the U.N. Today, the Afghan drug Afghan relatives cry over the coffins of victims of a fuel tanker blast near Bagram air base, business is booming. The U.S. tries to north of Kabul, Oct. 26, 2001. At least 10 people were killed and two dozen wounded in the blame the Taliban; but the real culprits are attack on the civilian-operated tanker bound for the NATO military base. high government officials in Kabul and U.S.-backed warlords. he renowned military strategist Maj. Afghan state run by a regime totally re- A senior U.N. drug official recently as- TGen. J.F.C. Fuller defined war’s true sponsive to U.S. political, economic and serted that Afghan heroin killed 10,000 objective as achieving desired political re- strategic interests; a native sepoy army led people in NATO countries last year. And sults, not killing enemies. by white officers; and U.S. bases that this does not include Russia, a primary But this is just what the U.S. has been threaten Iran, watch China, and control the destination for Afghan heroin. doing in Afghanistan. After 10 years of energy-rich Caspian Basin. So the United States is now the proud war costing at least $450 billion, 1,600 All the claims made about fighting “ter- owner of the world’s leading narco-state dead and 15,000 seriously wounded sol- rorism and al-Qaeda,” liberating Afghan and deeply involved with the Afghan diers, the U.S. has achieved none of its women and bringing democracy are pro- Tajik drug mafia. strategic or political goals. war window dressing. CIA chief Leon The U.S. is bleeding billions in Each U.S. soldier in Afghanistan costs $1 Panetta admitted there were no more than Afghanistan. Forty-four cents of every dol- million per annum. CIA employs 80,000 25 to 50 al-Qaeda members in Afghanistan. lar spent by Washington is borrowed from mercenaries there, cost unknown. The U.S. Why are there 150,000 U.S. and NATO China and Japan. While the U.S. has spends a staggering $20.2 billion alone an- troops there? wasted $1.283 trillion on the so-called nually air conditioning troop quarters in Washington’s real objective was clearly “war on terror,” China has been busy buy- Afghanistan and Iraq. defined in 2007 by U.S. Assistant Secretary ing up resources and making new friends The most damning assessment comes from of State Richard Boucher: to “stabilize and markets. The ghost of Osama bin the U.S.-installed Afghan leader, Hamid Afghanistan so it can become a conduit Laden must be smiling. Karzai: America’s war has been “ineffective, and hub between South and Central The U.S. can’t afford this endless war apart from causing civilian casualties.” Asia—so energy can flow south.” against the fierce Pashtun people, Washington’s goal was a favorable polit- The Turkmenistan-Afghan-Pakistan TAPI renowned for making Afghanistan “the ical settlement producing a pacified gas pipeline that the U.S. has sought since Graveyard of Empires.” But the imperial es- 1998 is finally nearing completion. But tablishment in Washington wants to hold Eric S. Margolis is an award-winning, inter- whether it can operate in the face of sabo- on to strategic Afghanistan, particularly nationally syndicated columnist and author tage remains to be seen. the ex-Soviet air bases at Bagram and Kan- of American Raj: Liberation or Domination Meanwhile, Washington has been un- dahar. The U.S. is building its biggest em- (available from the AET Book Club). Copy- able to create a stable government in Kabul. bassy in the world in Kabul, an $800 mil- right Eric S. Margolis 2011. The primary reason: ethnic politics. Over Continued on page 74 24 THE WASHINGTON REPORT ON MIDDLE EAST AFFAIRS DECEMBER 2011 pfaff_25_Special Report 10/27/11 1:30 PM Page 25 What Lay Behind the Libya Intervention? By William Pfaff SpecialReport ince the start of the Franco-British inter- Svention in Libya, which on British and American insistence last March was turned into a NATO affair, some commentaries on the left have interpreted the action as West- ern imperialism. It was called an effort to seize control of Libya’s enormous oil reserves, in the guise of humanitarian intervention. Although I am willing—more willing than most—to think the worst of the moti- vations of states, I find it hard to see why the Western countries would want an ex- pensive war to seize the oil to which they already had ample access through pur- chase on the international market. Barack Obama, already taking punish- ment on other issues from the Republican presidential primary Punch and Judy Show, had the sense to tell NATO that he preferred to lead from behind. That way he was able to take credit for Victory (as his flacks and the more gullible sector of the U.S. press have already done), while allow- ing the French and British to conduct the principal combat operations, without un- MARCO LONGARI/AFP/GETTI IMAGES LONGARI/AFP/GETTI MARCO duly troubling the Pentagon. Two Libyans, one draped in his new national flag, visit during celebrations in the streets of Since the late Col. Muammar Qaddafi de- Tripoli following news of the capture and death of Muammar Qaddafi, Oct. 20, 2011. cided in 2003 that re-establishing friendly relations with the Western powers was to The Western intervention this year, ini- but finds tyranny and obscurantist gov- his advantage—handing over the Bulgarian tiated by France, was ideological in origin, ernment easier to deal with in practice. nurses and naming the alleged authors of at- deriving from the liberal interventionism That is why Secretary of State Hillary Clin- tacks on American and French airliners, Westerners espoused after the NATO ton looks so wan and distraught these days, even producing a scapegoat for Scottish jail- Kosovo victory. Subsequent experience has flying from one country to the next, trying ing—the colonel has been the best of cooled this enthusiasm, one reason Presi- to parse these dilemmas and assure conserv- friends with Western governments, pitch- dent Obama has just decided to let the ative and pro-American friends that all will ing his tent near the Elysée Palace in Paris, Iraqis defend themselves without help be well, while she is intelligent enough to staying as a guest at the White House, and from uniformed U.S. forces, who will be understand that their days may be num- diligently participating in the CIA pursuit gone from that country by January 2012, bered, and they may not meet again this side of real or fancied Arab terrorists. and why the Pentagon now is preoccupied of the Styx—or its Islamic equivalent. The CIA had already prepared the way with how to get out of Afghanistan and She rushes about—when does she for this friendly cooperation. For example, Pakistan without leaving disaster behind. sleep?—because the United States simply the man who led the rebel assault on The 2011 Arab Awakening has put the does not know how to disentangle itself from Tripoli earlier this month was a Libyan dis- United States in a situation of extreme diffi- this menacing situation. She surely under- sident and Islamist veteran of the culty, far from solution. After years of stands that Pakistan and Afghanistan may Afghanistan war against the Russians. democracy promotion in the Middle East, separately, or under changed leaders, coop- He was subsequently handed over to and two wars and other interventions osten- eratively turn upon the U.S., militarily Colonel Qadaffi by the CIA and the British, sibly producing it—while actually forced to bogged down in one of the most inaccessible then tortured and imprisoned for seven collaborate with the most reactionary Arab places on earth. That conflict, with Ameri- years. As the Middle East expert Patrick regimes to promote Israeli interests—Wash- cans the target, is possible in Iraq/Iran. That Seale writes, “his attachment to Western ington in the past year has found itself sad- Israel may start a war with Iran which it will interests should not be counted upon.” dled with one dilemma after another. expect the United States to finish. Democratic reform in Egypt, Yemen and Perhaps it is time to come home. That’s William Pfaff is the author of The Irony of Bahrain? Support for Palestinian freedom what a lot of people seem to be saying. But Manifest Destiny. Copyright © 2011 Tribune and autonomy? Well, actually no. The the Obama administration doesn’t know Media Services, Inc. All rights reserved. United States is for democracy in theory how. ❑ DECEMBER 2011 THE WASHINGTON REPORT ON MIDDLE EAST AFFAIRS 25 views_awlaki_26-27_Two Views 10/27/11 12:19 PM Page 26 Two Views The Assassination of Anwar Al-Awlaki ternational Herald Tri- bune on Oct. 3 that “Killing people does not make their ideas go away.” Awlaki’s killing has inevitably been com- pared to that of Osama bin Laden, shot down last May in his home in Pakistan by a hit-team of U.S. Special Forces. The clandestine mission was seen by many Pak- istanis as an intolerable infringement of their country’s sovereignty. The assassination pre- cipitated a grave crisis in U.S.-Pakistan relations. It played into the hands of hard-liners in the GO COMICS ©UNIVERSALUCLICK.COM COMICS GO Pakistani army and mili- tary intelligence service, Anwar al-Awlaki, Yemen and no doubt causing them His killing inevitably aroused a storm to tighten still further their links with Obama’s War of controversy in the United States about jihadi groups, such as the Haqqani net- By Patrick Seale its legality. In an article in The National work. America’s 10-year war against the Interest, Paul R. Pillar, a former senior CIA Taliban in Afghanistan will thus have n Friday, Sept. 30, Yemen announced officer now a university professor, de- been made more perilous and any outcome Othat a Hellfire missile fired from a scribed it as “essentially a long-range ex- favorable to the United States more uncer- CIA-operated drone had killed Sheikh ecution without judge, jury or publicly tain than ever. Anwar al-Awlaki, in the north of the coun- presented evidence.” This is a subject In much the same way as he cheered try. His grief-stricken father, once a minis- which must be left to the Americans to bin Laden’s death, U.S. President Barack ter of agriculture in a Yemeni government, debate. Obama has hailed Awlaki’s murder as a went to the scene to collect and bury the What are its probable consequences? major blow to al-Qaeda. Many Muslims, pieces of what remained of Anwar’s body. The most obvious is that it is likely fur- however, will see the killing as further It was the seventh U.S. strike in Yemen this ther to inflame some Muslims against the evidence that the American president, year. United States, drawing fresh recruits into much like his belligerent predecessor Anwar al-Awlaki was a virulent critic of the jihadist struggle. “Why kill him in George Bush, is at war with Islam. His American foreign policy in the Arab this brutal, ugly way?” a member of his slavish support for Israel as it seizes world, and a passionate advocate of al- Awalik tribe was quoted as saying. Palestinian land and denies statehood to Qaeda’s form of Islamic jihad. He was also a “Killing him will not solve the Americans’ the Palestinians has aroused great anger. U.S. citizen, born in New Mexico, with an problem with al-Qaeda. It will just in- His standing is already close to rock- engineering degree from Colorado State crease its strength and sympathy in this bottom in the Arab and Muslim world. University. His Internet sermons, delivered region.” The killing of Awlaki will drive another in fluent English, had a devoted following, A key question, therefore, is whether al- nail in the coffin of what little remains of especially among young Muslims in the Qaeda—including its Yemen-based off- his reputation. West. shoot, “Al-Qaida in the Arabian Penin- In an ironic twist of fortune, Dick sula”—is an organization or a cause. If it is Cheney, Bush’s war-mongering defense Patrick Seale is a leading British writer on an organization, killing its leaders must secretary, said last weekend that Obama the Middle East. His latest book is The eventually drive it out of business. But if it should apologize to Bush for criticizing Struggle for Arab Independence: Riad el- is a cause, assassinations may have the con- the “enhanced interrogation tech- Solh and the Makers of the Modern Middle trary effect. A “martyred” Awlaki may niques”—such as water-boarding—in- East (Cambridge University Press). Copy- prove a more effective recruiting sergeant flicted on al-Qaeda suspects, since Obama right © 2011 Patrick Seale. Distributed by than he was alive. A young American was himself now resorting to even more Agence Global. Muslim cleric, Yasir Qadhi, wrote in the In- robust methods! 26 DECEMBER 2011 views_awlaki_26-27_Two Views 10/27/11 12:19 PM Page 27 The United States is deeply unpopular in Kenya and Tanzania. In October 2000, just bomb Libya into oblivion under the Yemen. The divide can be traced to the they blew a hole in the side of the USS auspices of protecting the civilians from American-sponsored war against the Sovi- Cole in Aden harbor, killing 17 U.S. being targeted by their government? Tim- ets in Afghanistan in the 1980s. It will be sailors. In November 2002, a missile from othy McVeigh was certainly a threat, as recalled that, with the help of Pakistan and a CIA-operated drone killed Sheikh Salim were Nidal Hasan and Jared Lee Loughner. Saudi Arabia, the United States recruited, al-Harithi, one of the men involved in the They killed people in front of many wit- trained and armed tens of thousands of Cole bombing. nesses. They took up arms against their young Muslims from several Arab coun- By this time, the exploits of these local government in a literal way yet were still tries to fight the “godless” Russians in jihadis had been overshadowed by the afforded trials. These constitutional protec- Afghanistan. Some 25,000 of these mu- devastating assault mounted by their tions are in place because our Founders re- jahideen—volunteer fighters in the cause mother organization on the U.S. heart- alized it is a very serious matter to deprive of Islam—came from Yemen alone. Many land—the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, any individual of life or liberty. Our out- thousands more came from Algeria, Egypt 2001.The U.S. wars in Afghanistan and rage against even the obviously guilty is and elsewhere. Iraq followed. not worth the sacrifice of the rule of law. But when the Soviets pulled out of Meanwhile, the bitter struggle contin- Awlaki had been outspoken against the Afghanistan in 1989, the United States cal- ues in Yemen, a country now on the verge United States, and we are told he encour- lously dropped the mujahideen. Funding of collapse. U.S. Special Forces are being aged violence against Americans. We do for them dried up. A number of these sucked further into what looks increas- not know that he actually committed any battle-hardened and radicalized “Afghan ingly like a civil war. The killing of acts of violence. Ironically, he was once in- Arabs” joined bin Laden’s al-Qaeda. Thou- Anwar al-Awlaki must be seen in this vited to the Pentagon as part of an out- sands made their way home to Yemen, context. reach to moderate Muslims after 9/11. As where they were treated as heroes—at least But is it not obvious that external force the U.S. attacks against Muslims in the at first. Some were given jobs in the civil is a blunt instrument in dealing with what Middle East and Central Asia expanded, it service and the army. is essentially an internal Yemeni contest? Is is said that he became more fervent and A year later, in 1990, Saddam Hussain it not time for Washington to rethink its radical in his opposition to U.S. foreign invaded Kuwait. To dislodge him, the U.S. policy toward the Arab and Muslim policy. dispatched half a million men to Saudi world—as the unfortunate Obama had Many cheer this killing because they be- Arabia in what was to become the First indeed intended to do, before he was de- lieve that in a time of war, due process is Gulf War. Since Yemen had long had close feated by America’s gung-ho militarists, not necessary—not even for citizens, and ties with Saddam’s Iraq, President Ali rabid conservatives, pro-Israeli lobbyists especially not for those overseas. However, Abdallah Saleh refused to join the Amer- and other assorted Islam-haters? there has been no formal declaration of war ican-led coalition. Instead, he advocated and certainly not one against Yemen. The an “Arab solution” to the Kuwait crisis. A Dangerous Precedent post-9/11 authorization for force would not This angered Saudi Arabia and the Gulf By Rep. Ron Paul have covered these two Americans because states who saw Saddam as a dangerous no one is claiming they had any connec- bully who had to be cut down to size—a ccording to the Fifth Amendment to tion to that attack. Awlaki was on a kill list task they believed only the United States Athe U.S. Constitution, Americans are compiled by a secret panel within Presi- could do. never to be deprived of life, liberty or dent Obama’s National Security Council Saudi Arabia’s response to Ali Abdallah property without due process of law. The and Justice Department. How many more Saleh’s pro-Iraqi policies was to expel close Constitution is not some aspirational state- American citizens are on that list? They to a million Yemeni migrant workers. Their ment of values, allowing exceptions when won’t tell us. What are the criteria? They return home deprived Yemen of indispens- convenient; rather, it is the law of the land. won’t tell us. Where is the evidence? They able remittances and added to already It is the basis of our Republic and our prin- won’t tell us. severe unemployment. Yemen became a cipal bulwark against tyranny. Awlaki’s father tried desperately to get failing state. This was the beginning of a The Sept. 30 assassination of two Amer- the administration to at least allow his son long dispute between Yemen and Saudi ican citizens, Anwar al-Awlaki and Samir to have legal representation to challenge Arabia—and also of a battle between ji- Khan, is an outrage and a criminal act car- the “kill” order. He was denied. Rather hadists and the United States, which con- ried out by the president and his adminis- than give him his day in court, the admin- tinues to this day. tration. If the law protecting us against istration, behind closed doors, served as At first, the “Afghan Arabs” were useful government-sanctioned assassination can prosecutor, judge, jury, and executioner. to Yemen’s president as he battled former be voided when there is a “really bad The most worrisome aspect of this is that Marxists in South Yemen. But when the ji- American,” is there any meaning left to the any new powers this administration ac- hadists started attacking American targets, rule of law in the United States? If, as we crues will serve as precedents for future they got him into trouble with the United learned in early October, a secret govern- administrations. Even those who com- States. The former heroes became terror- ment committee, not subject to congres- pletely trust this administration must un- ists. sional oversight or judicial review, can derstand that if this usurpation of power In December 1992, jihadists bombed now target certain Americans for assassina- and denial of due process is allowed to the Goldmur Hotel in Aden where U.S. tion, under what moral authority do we stand, these powers will remain to be ex- military personnel were staying. In June presume to lecture the rest of the world panded on by the next administration and 1996 they bombed the Khubar Towers in about protecting human rights? Didn’t we then the next. Will you trust them? His- the eastern Saudi town of Dhahran, tory shows that once a population gives up killing 19 American soldiers. In August Rep. Ron Paul (R-TX) is a candidate for the its rights, they are not easily won back. 1998, they attacked U.S. embassies in Republican nomination for president. Beware. ❑ DECEMBER 2011 THE WASHINGTON REPORT ON MIDDLE EAST AFFAIRS 27 lobe_28-29_Election Watch 10/26/11 1:20 PM Page 28 Republican Frontrunner Mitt Romney Touts Neoconservative Foreign Policy By Jim Lobe ElectionWatch dom and those who seek to crush it”; the “ripple effects of failed and failing states from [sic] which terrorists may find safe haven;” the “anti-American visions of regimes in Iran, North Korea, Venezuela, [and] Cuba”; and “rising nations with hid- den and emerging aspirations like China, determined to be a world superpower, and a resurgent Russia.” Romney spoke at the end of a week which saw two potential Republican ri- vals—New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie [who has since endorsed him] and the party’s 2008 vice-presidential candidate, former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin—take their names out of consideration. The rapid decline— due to a series of poor debate perfor- mances—of far-right Texas Gov. Rick Perry in the polls since he entered the race last month has made Romney the clear favorite for the party’s nomination. RICHARD ELLIS/GETTY IMAGES ELLIS/GETTY RICHARD Former Massachusetts Gov. and Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney gives a for- Romney’s Neocon Advisers eign policy address at the Citadel on in Charleston, SC, Oct. 7, 2011. His speech also followed the release earlier n his first major foreign policy address of your president,” he said. “You have that in the week of a list of his top foreign pol- Ithe 2012 presidential campaign, Repub- president today,” he said of Barack Obama, icy advisers, many, if not most, of whom lican frontrunner Mitt Romney on Oct. 7 whose policies of the last three years he are known for their neoconservative and presented a largely neoconservative plat- characterized as “feckless.” strongly pro-Israel views. form similar to that pursued by George W. “Know this,” Romney went on in an im- Remarkably, three of the top advisers— Bush, although he never mentioned the plicit assertion of the kind of unilateralism Eric Edelman, Robert Kagan [who is mar- former president by name. which Bush extolled but which alienated ried to State Department spokesperson Vic- Speaking at The Citadel military acad- even some of Washington’s closest allies. toria Nuland], and Dan Senor—serve on emy in South Carolina, Romney promised “While America should work with other the four-man board of directors of the For- to increase defense spending—and the size nations, we always reserve the right to act eign Policy Initiative (FPI), the ideological of the U.S. Navy—as part of a strategy de- alone to protect our vital national interests.” successor to the Project for the New Amer- signed to ensure that the United States re- Critical to those interests, he made clear, ican Century (PNAC), which may help to main the world’s dominant military power was the greater Middle East. He suggested explain why Romney evoked the phrase and that the 21st century be “an American that Washington should align itself even “American Century” no less than five times century.” more closely to Israel—whose existence as in his speech. Both FPI and PNAC were co- “The United States should always retain a “Jewish state” he characterized as a “vital founded by Kagan and Weekly Standard military supremacy to deter would-be ag- national interest”—and pursue a more con- editor Bill Kristol. gressors and to defend our allies and our- frontational policy toward Iran, including PNAC played a leading role in mobiliz- selves,” he told the Citadel cadets. “And the regular deployment in the region of two ing support for “regime change” in Iraq know this: If America is the undisputed aircraft carrier task forces as a “deterrent.” beginning in the late 1990s and spear- leader of the world, it reduces our need to “I will again reiterate that Iran obtaining heading the public post- 9/11 campaign for police a more chaotic world. nuclear weapons is unacceptable,” he invading the country. Among the 27 peo- “And if you do not want America to be stressed, asserting also that “in the hands of ple who signed its 1997 charter were some the strongest nation on Earth, I am not the ayatollahs, a nuclear Iran is nothing less of the most hawkish members of the Bush than an existential threat to Israel. Iran’s sui- administration, including Vice President Jim Lobe is Washington, DC bureau chief for cidal fanatics could blackmail the world.” Dick Cheney and his deputy, I. Lewis Inter Press Service. His blog on U.S. foreign He listed as the greatest threats to the Libby; Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld policy can be read at 28 THE WASHINGTON REPORT ON MIDDLE EAST AFFAIRS DECEMBER 2011 lobe_28-29_Election Watch 10/26/11 1:20 PM Page 29 list of advisers released by the Romney Democracies, is controversial for his past devoting at least four percent of U.S. GDP to campaign, many of their trusted aides or ties to the militant Phalange movement in the Pentagon’s base budget, a proposal that ideological fellow-travellers in the Bush ad- Lebanon. would, according to some estimates, increase ministration figured prominently. The neoconservative influence was, in defense spending by about 14 percent. These include Edelman and Senor, who any event, made clear in Romney’s speech, That drew strong criticism from Steve served under Rumsfeld; former State De- which, in addition to its often messianic Clemons, founder of the American Strategy partment counter-terrorism chief and tone, repeatedly celebrated U.S. “excep- Program at the New America Foundation, Blackwater director Cofer Black; former tionalism” and the necessity for a new who called the speech “depressingly con- Homeland Security chief Michael Chertoff; “American Century.” ventional in the sense that he looks at the former CIA director Michael Hayden; and “I’m here today to tell you that I am Pentagon as the source of the country’s former high-ranking State Department of- guided by one overwhelming conviction strength and talks about the economy al- ficials Paula Dobriansky, Mitchell Riess, and passion,” he told cadets in the audi- most as an afterthought.” Robert Joseph, Stephen Rademaker, Kim ence. “This century must be an American “Thirty years ago, the U.S. had a third of Holmes and Eliot Cohen. Dobriansky, Century.” the world’s GDP and a third of what the Friedberg, Cohen and another Romney ad- “God did not create this country to be a world spent on defense,” he told IPS. viser, Vin Weber, also signed the 1997 nation of followers,” he declared. “America “Now we have just over 20 percent of the PNAC charter. is not destined to be one of several equally world’s GDP and we account for about half Other key advisers are associated more balanced global powers. America must lead of global military expenditures. This kind with the realist wing of the Republican the world, or someone else will.” of approach not only fails to secure Amer- Party, notably Dov Zakheim, who also While Romney gave lip service to the ica’s long-term security interest, but also served under Rumsfeld, and Mitchell importance of “soft power,” particularly in undermines our economic solvency.” Reiss, former State Department policy regard to dealing with the so-called “Arab Aaron David Miller, a former diplomat planning chief who, however, has joined Spring,” his most specific proposal was to and Mideast specialist at the Wilson Center several neoconservatives in a campaign to increase shipbuilding from 9 to 15 ships a in Washington, DC, compared the speech to remove the Mujahedin-e-Khalq (MEK), an year and to keep at least 11 aircraft carrier Bush’s first term. “He can get America into a Iraq-based Iranian rebel group, from the groups deployed year round, as well as in- lot of trouble with tough talk, no strategy, State Department’s terrorism list. crease spending on a “multi-layered na- and a failure to understand the world in Yet another adviser, Walid Phares of the tional ballistic missile defense system.” which we live,” Miller said. “We saw that neoconservative Foundation for Defense of In other speeches, Romney has proposed movie in 2003. No sequels please.” ❑ (Advertisement) DECEMBER 2011 THE WASHINGTON REPORT ON MIDDLE EAST AFFAIRS 29 mcarthur_30-31_Congress Watch 10/27/11 1:21 PM Page 30 Congress Echoes Israel’s Near Hysteria Over Palestinians’ U.N. Bid By Shirl McArthur CongressWatch hroughout the summer many Israeli right to annex Judea and Samaria in the that cutting off Palestinian aid could be Tpoliticians seemed to be in a state of event that the Palestinian Authority contin- harmful to Israel by, among other things, near hysteria over the possibility that the ues to press for unilateral recognition” of ending U.S.-Palestinian security coopera- Palestinians would seek to gain recognition statehood at the U.N. And on Sept. 12 Rep. tion and possibly causing the collapse of of a state through the U.N. It is unclear why Steve Israel (D-NY), with three co-sponsors, the PA. Indeed, the Israeli government may this was considered such a threat to Israel, introduced H.R. 2893 “to prohibit Foreign have begun to realize that continuing aid except that it might hinder Israeli Prime Military Financing program assistance to to the Palestinians is indeed in Israel’s in- Minister Binyamin Netanyahu’s apparent countries that vote in the U.N. General As- terest. Reuters on Sept. 16 reported that Is- strategy of pretending to want to negotiate sembly (UNGA) in favor of recognizing a rael on Sept. 18 would submit a report to while relentlessly expanding Israeli colonies Palestinian state in the absence of a negoti- the Ad Hoc Liaison Committee coordinat- in the West Bank and Jerusalem. ated border agreement” between Israel and ing assistance to the Palestinians urging On cue, AIPAC and other far-right Jew- the PA. In the Senate, Orrin Hatch (R-UT), the international community to continue ish-American groups and individuals began with 18 Republican co-sponsors, on Sept. 21 aid to the Palestinians. whipping Congress to forcefully respond introduced S. 1595 prohibiting funding for with anti-Palestinian measures, including the U.N. if the Security Council or UNGA Record 81 House Members on AIPAC- cutting off aid to the Palestinian Authority grants Palestine a change in status in the ab- Sponsored Boondoggle to Israel (PA). It was no surprise that Israel’s bought- sence of a comprehensive peace agreement. During August a record 81 House mem- and-paid-for members of Congress were bers—26 Democrats led by Minority eager to take up the cry. No fewer than 10 srael’s bought-and-paid-for Whip Hoyer and 55 Republicans led by senators and 35 House members spoke out I Majority Leader Eric Cantor (R-VA), visited in one forum or another denouncing the members of Congress were Israel courtesy of the “American Israel Ed- Palestinians and praising Israel. As reported eager to take up the cry. ucation Foundation” (AIEF), a sham AIPAC in the Washington Report’s September/Oc- spin-off. The Capitol Hill publication Roll tober issue, under AIPAC pressure Congress Then, on Oct. 1, Agence France Presse re- Call estimated that the cost to the AIEF passed non-binding resolutions—S.Res. 185 ported that a coalition of Israel-backing could total more than $1 million. Roll Call in the Senate and H.Res. 268 in the Democrats and conservative Republicans also pointed out that the AIEF and AIPAC House—threatening, among other things, in both the House and Senate were block- share the same address, employees and to cut off aid to the Palestinians if they per- ing about $200 million of aid to the Pales- board members, and the AIEF’s executive sist in their statehood efforts. In July, House tinians “until the Palestinian statehood director and its other employees all receive foreign aid appropriations subcommittee issue is sorted out.” However, on Oct. 3 their salaries from AIPAC. (See this issue’s chair Kay Granger (R-TX) and ranking De- Reuters quoted State Department spokes- postcard insert.) mocrat Nita Lowey (D-NY) wrote to PA woman Victoria Nuland as saying the ad- In 2007 Congress passed a law banning President Mahmoud Abbas making the ministration is in “intensive” discussions lobbying groups from paying for House same threat, and on Sept. 15, 58 House De- with key members to unblock the money. members to take long trips. However, the mocrats, led by Rep. Steny Hoyer (D-MD), And Congress’ most reliable Israel-firster, law included a provision exempting non- wrote to 40 European heads of state urging House Foreign Affairs Committee (HFAC) profit groups. Roll Call quoted the watch- them to “stand with the United States” in chair Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (R-FL), held a dog group Public Citizen’s Craig Holman as opposing “unilateral” action by the PA at Sept. 14 hearing on “Re-examining Aid to saying “I call it the ‘AIPAC loophole.’” the U.N. On Sept. 20, just before President the Palestinians,” packed with pro-Israel Barack Obama’s speech to the U.N., 14 sen- witnesses. Ros-Lehtinen’s opening state- “Palestinian Accountability” Bill ators wrote to him urging that he use his ment was predictably harsh, saying that Makes Some Progress speech to restate strong U.S. support for Is- Washington not only should cut off aid to While the anti-Palestinian measures de- rael, which is just what he did. the Palestinians, but should withhold fund- scribed in previous issues have made no Legislatively, the previously described ing to any U.N. entity that granted mem- progress, H.R. 2457, the “Palestinian Ac- measures supporting Israel’s Likud-led gov- bership, or any upgraded status, to the PA. countability Act,” introduced in July by ernment’s intransigence made no progress. Walsh, has gained six co-sponsors, and However, three new measures were intro- But Israel May Be Having Second now has 39, all Republicans. Its stated pur- duced. On Sept. 8, Rep. Joe Walsh (R-IL) Thoughts pose is “to restrict funds for the Palestinian joined by 42 of his Republican colleagues, Ros-Lehtinen was probably disappointed Authority.” Unless certain unlikely condi- introduced H.Res. 394 “supporting Israel’s in some of her witnesses’ statements, espe- tions are met, it would prohibit U.S. gov- cially those of neocons Eliot Abrams of the ernment documents from referring to areas Shirl McArthur, a retired U.S. foreign service Council on Foreign Relations and David controlled by the PA as Palestine; would officer, is a consultant based in the Wash- Makovsky of the AIPAC-created Washing- prohibit U.S. funds to the PA; would pro- ington, DC area. ton Institute of Near East Policy. Both said hibit U.S. funds to the U.N. or any U.N. en- 30 THE WASHINGTON REPORT ON MIDDLE EAST AFFAIRS DECEMBER 2011 mcarthur_30-31_Congress Watch 10/27/11 1:21 PM Page 31 tity if it declares or recognizes statehood for arrival. Assistant Secretary of State for In- would “strengthen sanctions against the the Palestinian territories, and would bar ternational Organizations Esther Brimmer government of Syria, enhance multilateral U.S. funding for the U.N. Relief and Works said the bill’s measures were “backward” commitment to address the government of Agency (UNRWA), which aids Palestinian and would seriously undermine America’s Syria’s threatening policies, and establish a refugees, unless it meets the same condi- role as a world leader. U.N. Foundation program to support a transition to a demo- tions imposed on the Palestinians. vice-president Peter Yeo said that not only cratic government in Syria.” It would also was the bill unwise and would undermine restrict Obama’s authority to waive sanc- Jerusalem Embassy, Anti-Boycott Bills the U.S. position at the U.N., but that it also tions on Syria. And H.Res. 296, introduced The AIPAC-promoted, previously described has no chance of becoming law. in June by Rep. Doug Lamborn (R-CO) has H.R. 1006, introduced in March by Rep. It is not clear why Ros-Lehtinen contin- gained two co-sponsors and now has 34, Dan Burton (R-IN), continues to make slow ues to introduce such extreme measures as including Lamborn. progress. It would recognize Jerusalem as this bill and the Foreign Affairs Authoriza- On Aug. 9 Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D- the capital of Israel, cut off some State De- tion bill, described in the September/Octo- NY), with 10 co-sponsors, introduced S. partment funding unless the U.S. Embassy ber issue, that have no chance of being en- 1472. It would direct the president to im- in Israel is established in Jerusalem no later acted. Perhaps it is part of a broader, Re- pose a wide range of sanctions aimed at than Jan. 1, 2013, and remove the presiden- publican 2012-election strategy to compel Syria’s petroleum sector, including sanc- tial waiver authority included in the Democrats to oppose them so as to some- tions against a person who invests at least Jerusalem Embassy Act of 1995. It has how paint them as being “soft” on Israel. $20 million that contributes to Syria’s abil- gained eight co-sponsors and now has 51, Or perhaps she wants to beat her 2010 ity to develop petroleum resources; sells including Burton. record as second-highest House recipient goods or services to Syria that could facil- Rep. Howard Berman (D-CA) introduced of pro-Israel PAC contributions ($45,000, itate Syria’s domestic production of refined two measures opposing the Arab boycott of for a career total of $208,740). petroleum products; or purchases Syrian- Israel. In May he introduced, with three co- developed petroleum resources. sponsors, H.R. 2004, whose primary focus Iran, Syria Sanctions Bills Continue to On Aug. 3, 68 senators signed a letter to is to prohibit or control technology transfer Gain Support Obama urging him to impose tougher sanc- to any country supporting acts of terrorism. The two comprehensive Iran sanctions tions on Syria, including stringent sanctions However, it also includes a provision direct- bills being pushed by AIPAC continue to on Syria’s banking sector and a ban on U.S. ing the president to issue regulations pro- gain co-sponsors. H.R. 1905, introduced in businesses operating or investing in Syria. hibiting any U.S. citizen from taking any ac- May by Ros-Lehtinen, titled the “Iran tions supporting “any foreign-imposed or - Threat Reduction Act of 2011,” has gained Some Attention Paid to Afghanistan, fostered boycott against a country that is 91 co-sponsors and now has 298, including Pakistan, and Even Libya and Iraq friendly to the U.S.” Then, on July 19 he in- Ros-Lehtinen. S. 1048, introduced in May Most of the previously described measures troduced H.R. 2589, whose only provisions by Sen. Robert Menendez (D-NJ) “to ex- concerning Afghanistan have received no are “to prohibit certain activities in support pand sanctions with respect to the Islamic further support. However, H.R. 1735, the of the Arab League boycott of Israel.” Republic of Iran, North Korea, and Syria,” “Afghanistan Exit and Accountability” bill has gained 22 co-sponsors and now has 75, introduced in May by Rep. Jim McGovern U.N. Reform Bill Finally Introduced including Menendez. However, neither bill (D-MA) has gained two co-sponsors and Ros-Lehtinen, with 112 Republican co- has been brought to the floor of the House now has 75, including McGovern. It would sponsors, on Aug. 30 introduced H.R. 2829, or Senate. require the president to submit to Congress her long-awaited “U.N. Transparency, Ac- On Aug. 9, 92 senators, led by Sens. “a plan with a timeframe and completion countability, and Reform” bill. To say it is Mark Kirk (R-IL)—who received more pro- date for the accelerated transition of U.S. mil- extreme would be an understatement. It is Israel PAC contributions ($115,304) than itary and security operations in Afghanistan clear that Ros-Lehtinen’s objective is to any 2010 candidate—and Charles Schumer to the government of Afghanistan” within make U.S. funding of the U.N. conditional (D-NY), wrote to Obama urging him to im- 60 days. On Oct. 5 Rep. Dana Rohrabacher on its treatment of Israel and the Palestini- pose sanctions on Iran’s Central Bank to (R-CA), with one co-sponsor, introduced ans. Among the bill’s many harsh measures help thwart Iran’s nuclear programs. H.Res. 423 urging the U.S. to “empower and are those that would “withhold U.S. contri- On Aug. 2 Sen. Susan Collins (R-ME) and recognize Afghanistan’s ethnic diversity butions from any U.N. agency or program two co-sponsors introduced S. 1496, “to through free local and provincial elections that upgrades the status of the PLO Pales- prohibit the delegation by the U.S. of in- and replace the present failed centralized tinian observer mission;” withhold funding spection, certification, and related services system of government with a federal politi- for UNRWA; call for the U.S. to lead a high- to a foreign classification society that pro- cal structure.” level U.N. effort for “the revocation and re- vides comparable services to Iran, North Regarding Pakistan, H.R. 1790, intro- pudiation of the Goldstone Report;” shift Korea, North Sudan, or Syria.” duced May 5 by Rohrabacher, which U.S. contributions to the U.N. to a volun- H.R. 2105, introduced by Ros-Lehtinen would prohibit assistance to Pakistan, still tary basis; and halt new U.S. contributions in June to expand sanctions on “foreign has no co-sponsors. Similarly, H.R. 3013, to U.N. peacekeeping missions until reforms persons who transfer to Iran, North Korea, introduced Sept. 22 by Rep. Ted Poe (R- are implemented. and Syria certain goods, services or tech- TX), which also would prohibit aid to Pak- “Even before I was a Democrat, I was a nology,” has gained two co-sponsors and istan, also has no co-sponsors. On Oct. 6 Zionist” Berman, the ranking Democrat on now has five, including Ros-Lehtinen. Rep. Mike Coffman (R-CO) introduced H.R. the House Foreign Affairs Committee, said H.R. 2106, also introduced by Ros-Lehti- 3115 “to prohibit non-security assistance it would “eviscerate” the U.N. and called it nen in June, has gained 33 co-sponsors and to Pakistan.” radical, ill-advised and probably dead on now has 35, including Ros-Lehtinen. It Continued on page 74 DECEMBER 2011 THE WASHINGTON REPORT ON MIDDLE EAST AFFAIRS 31 raimondo_32-33_Special Report 10/27/11 12:22 PM Page 32 The Sins of Liam Fox By Justin Raimondo SpecialReport of an important “adviser” to Fox, Werritty had access to all sorts of classified information, including details of sophisti- cated weapons and other sys- tems utilized by MoD, and there is concern that this may have been compromised. The Daily Mail has the scoop: “Adam Werritty used his re- lationship with Liam Fox to ob- tain highly sensitive, technical details of a military communica- tions system used by Coalition special forces in Afghanistan. “Dubai-based venture capital- ist Harvey Boulter said last night he only disclosed the infor- mation about the system because Mr. Werritty had told him he was an official Ministry of De- fense adviser. Mr. Boulter said: ‘I assumed he must have been DAN KITWOOD/GETTY IMAGES KITWOOD/GETTY DAN security-vetted.’” Britain’s then-Defense Minister Liam Fox is interviewed as he arrives at the Ministry of Defense build- Boulter is a venture capitalist ing in London, Oct. 13, 2011. and chief executive of the Por- ton Group, which specializes in he forced resignation of Britain’s de- problem for the former defense minister is funding companies developing new appli- Tfense minister, Liam Fox, has opened that the tab for Werritty’s high-flying cations of technologies discovered in gov- up a window into the way foreign policy lifestyle (luxury hotels, expensive meals, ernment labs. The meeting between Wer- in the “free world” is made—and a very drinks all ‘round) was picked up by a ritty and Boulter was set up by Lee Petar, revealing window it is. group of businessmen, lobbyists, and oth- who heads up a lobbying firm known as At the center of the scandal that led to ers with a keen interest in influencing the Tetra Strategy. Petar is BICOM’s former di- Fox’s ouster is his “best man,” and “very Ministry of Defense (MoD). rector of communications. good friend” Adam Werritty, a 33-year-old The influence of lobbyists is hardly an “’I am speaking hypothetically,’ Mr. Boul- man-about-town who went around hand- unknown danger to the integrity of demo- ter said, ‘but the Israelis are known to be ing out business cards informing recipients cratic institutions, but in this case there is good at reverse engineering other people’s that the bearer was an “adviser” to Fox, al- also a national security angle, one which technology. What would we do if an Israeli though he held no such official title. In re- made it imperative that Fox step down. As firm started pirating our technology or sell- ality, however, Werritty was (and is) far the Daily Mail reports: ing it to our enemies?’” closer to Fox than any of his official advis- “A web of overt and covert backers, some Complain to Bicom? Ask Werritty for a ers: they met, apparently, when Werritty with close links to Israel, are revealed in the refund? Cry? All these are options, with was a mere teenager in the Young Conserv- bank records of Pargav Ltd., a company that only the last one a real possibility. ative organization, and have been virtually did little else than fork out more than With this much money, and this much inseparable ever since. So inseparable that £150,000 in a year to pay for Mr. Werritty’s access to national security secrets, in the young Werritty met Fox at dozens of loca- first-class flights, hotels and nights out at mix, talk that Werritty has been—con- tions throughout the world, from Dubai to New York strip clubs. sciously or otherwise—acting as an agent Israel, when the defense minister was on “Backers include tycoon Poju Zabludow- for Israeli intelligence is more than mere official business: they traveled together, as icz, chairman of the pro-Israel lobby group speculation. Two top officials of BICOM, if they were a married couple (not that Britain Israeli Communication Research the Britain Israeli Communication Research there’s anything wrong with that). The Center (BICOM), and millionaire Michael Center, contributed to the Werritty slush Lewis, BICOM’s former deputy chairman.” fund: BICOM’s chairman, the billionaire Justin Raimondo is the editorial director of In addition, Werritty’s company, Pargav, Poju Zabludowicz, and Michael Lewis, CEO Antiwar.com, where this article was first received donations of “nearly £13,000 of fashion retailer Foschini, formerly posted Oct. 19, 2011. Copyright © Anti- anonymously in cash deposits.” In the BICOM’sdeputy chairman. A third donor is war.com 2011. Reprinted with permission. course of his longstanding impersonation Mick “the miner” Davis, founder of Xstrata, 32 THE WASHINGTON REPORT ON MIDDLE EAST AFFAIRS DECEMBER 2011 raimondo_32-33_Special Report 10/27/11 12:22 PM Page 33 a close friend of Zabludowicz and Lewis, servative-led coalition government came cacy on behalf of Israel and undermining and also a fervent pro-Israel advocate. to power. Britain’s national security. The lesson for Also listed as donors to the various com- This isn’t just about money, however. America could not be clearer. The Israel panies and front groups set up by Werritty The strong pro-Israel/interventionist lobby in America is similarly aggressive in to finance his world-spanning trips and theme of Werritty’s jet-setting antics illus- pursuing Israeli interests over and above luxury lifestyle: the G3 (Good Governance trates—once again—how the Jewish state those of their own country, as demon- Group), with extensive interests in Sri and its supporters inveigle themselves into strated—to cite one recent example—by Lanka, where the diplomatic duo traveled every possible crevice, taking the oppor- the case of Steve Rosen and Keith Weiss- often, and Jon Moulton, a British venture tunity to extract what benefit they can man, two top AIPAC officials accused of es- capitalist “keen to establish strong ties to from the foibles and fortunes of both pionage against the United States. Washington,” as the London Times puts it. friends and foes. The technique—setting Israel is our friend, we are often told: our Craig Murray, former British ambassador up parallel institutions existing alongside “best friend,” as some would have it. Yet to Uzbekistan—and someone with excel- official government agencies—was suc- friends don’t act the way Israel and its more lent contacts inside the Foreign Office— cessfully applied in the United States dur- fervent supporters do when it comes to wrote: ing the run up to the invasion of Iraq. breaching the security of alleged “allies” “My source told me that what really was You’ll recall that the “Office of Special such as Britain and the U.S. The same forces worrying senior officials in the MOD, FCO Plans,” and other ad hoc groups set up in- that set up Werritty’s covert operation are [Foreign & Commonwealth Office] and Cab- side the national security bureaucracy, did hard at work, here in America, extending inet Office was the possibility that Fox could an end run around the CIA and the main- their tentacles as far as they can reach. It’s be being used as a ‘useful idiot’ by Mossad, stream intelligence community, and packed time to sever those tentacles and make Is- Israel’s far-reaching and extremely effective the pipeline with biased and—as it turned rael’s agents in this country do what every intelligence service. out—utterly false “intelligence,” effec- other foreign lobbyist is required to do by “Key funding sources for Werritty were tively lying us into war. As Julian Borger law, and that is register under the require- from the Israeli lobby and a rather obscure reported in the Guardian at the time: ments of the Foreign Agent Registration commercial intelligence agency. Might “The OSP was an open and largely unfil- Act. AIPAC, the premier organization of the Mossad be pulling Werritty’s strings, with or tered conduit to the White House not only for Israel lobby, has gotten around this by a se- without his knowledge? the Iraqi opposition. It also forged close ties ries of legal maneuvers, and—let’s face “On Friday, two senior Fleet Street jour- to a parallel, ad hoc intelligence operation in- it—on account of having friends in high nalists also reported hearing similar concerns side Ariel Sharon’s office in Israel specifi- places. As the Werritty scandal shows, this from other Whitehall officials about possible cally to bypass Mossad and provide the Bush situation has to end. Israeli intelligence service involvement with administration with more alarmist reports The sins of Liam Fox are his own con- Fox and Werritty.” on Saddam’s Iraq than Mossad was pre- cern: rumors of his homosexuality have To top it off, apparently Werritty made pared to authorize. ‘None of the Israelis who been rife ever since a “young man” was several trips to Iran and environs, where came were cleared into the Pentagon through found to have stayed overnight at Fox’s flat he met with various opposition activists normal channels,” said one source familiar the night it was burgled. Fox’s wife has and discussed plans for “regime change.” with the visits. Instead, they were waved in “gone to ground,” as the British tabloids Although the official British policy toward on Mr. Feith’s authority without having to put it, and hasn’t been seen in weeks, the Iran is pursuit of a diplomatic solution to fill in the usual forms. poor dear. When the rumors arose, Fox its problems with the West, there are indi- “The exchange of information continued a and his friends rightly said that his private cations Werrity and Fox were conducting long-standing relationship Mr. [Douglas] life is none of anyone’s business as long as their own “freelance” foreign policy, cen- Feith [then director of policy at the Penta- he’s doing a good job. Fox’s problem, how- tered on effecting “regime change,” in col- gon] and other Washington neoconservatives ever, is that his sins—if sins they be— lusion with Israeli officials. The Israelis had with Israel’s Likud party.” were also committed against the nation he considered Werritty to be an official ad- was pledged to serve. ❑ A Familiar Pattern viser to Fox, as well as an “Iran expert,” (Advertisement) which accounts for Werritty’s presence at In America and Britain, the pattern is a fa- two sessions of the famed Herzliya confer- miliar one: Israel’s partisans use every ence, where Israel’s national security offi- means available to penetrate government cials congregate to discuss how best to agencies, extract information, and utilize pursue Israel’s interests. Unfortunately for their allies inside the system to Israel’s ad- Fox, and Werritty, the job of a British min- vantage. This involves not only activities ister of defense is to pursue Britain’s inter- that might be characterized as espionage, ests first and foremost. but also creating a parallel policy-making What it boils down to is this: a private apparatus that operates in the dark, hand- “company” that handled a lush slush ing out large sums to its sock puppets, and fund for the benefit of the defense minis- running agents of influence at the highest ter’s boyfriend, who traveled around the levels of government. world handing out his business cards and Fox resigned his seat, in his words, be- advertising his services as fixer for what- cause he “blurred the line” between his ever business or foreign interests wanted public and personal responsibilities, but a piece of the action. That’s how British another line has been blurred, if not nearly policy has been made ever since the Con- erased, and that is the one between advo- DECEMBER 2011 THE WASHINGTON REPORT ON MIDDLE EAST AFFAIRS 33 gee_34-35_Special Report 10/27/11 12:58 PM Page 34 The Political Uses of Islamophobia in Europe By John Gee SpecialReport for support, and, as its leadership became better known, it emerged that some of them had been activists with far-right organiza- tions. It received favorable publicity from the tabloid Daily Star and financial support from Alan Lake, a North London business- man. Lake also helped the EDL to build up international contacts. These include the Sweden Democrats, Pastor Terry Jones, who attracted publicity with his threat to burn Qur’ans, and Pam Geller, director of Stop Is- lamization of America. (EDL members at- tended Geller’s September 2010 protest against the establishment of an Islamic Cen- ter near the site of the World Trade Center.) Lake arranged for Nachum Shifren, an LEON NEAL/AFP/GETTY IMAGES NEAL/AFP/GETTY LEON Orthodox rabbi, to speak at an EDL rally in Members of the right-wing English Defense League listen to founder Stephen Lennon (aka Luton on Feb. 5, 2011. Referring to Mus- Tommy Robinson) during a Feb. 5, 2011 rally in Luton, a working-class town north of London lims as “dogs,” the rabbi said: “History will with a history of racial tension. Orthodox Rabbi Nachum Shifren also spoke at the rally. be recorded that on this day, read by our children for eternity, one group lit the or half a century after the end of the As a result, they have been able to capi- spark to liberate us from the oppressors of FSecond World War, the far right in Eu- talize on the fears of some sectors of the our two governments and the leftist, fifth rope was typically anti-Semitic and wor- public concerning Islam and migrants from column, quisling press, and that it was the shipful of the Third Reich. Realizing that Muslim countries in ways that the old far- EDL which started the liberation of Eng- their association with Nazism alienated the right organizations could not. Inflamma- land from evil.” Shifren emigrated from the vast majority of the public, those who ran tory language and the blanket labeling of USA to Israel in 1977, served in the Israeli for office tried to distance themselves from an entire religious group comprising peo- army, and, while studying, lived in the it to some extent, but rarely succeeded for ple of widely varied national origins, val- Kfar Tepuah settlement in the West Bank, long. They seemed to find it impossible to ues, and degrees of religious practice was later returning to California and standing avoid letting slip their real views, giving acceptable in a way that similar expres- as a Republican candidate for the state sen- Nazi salutes and selling anti-Semitic writ- sions of hostility toward Jewish, Asian or ate in 2010. ings by individuals whose pro-Nazi sym- Black people would not be. In the Netherlands, Islamophobia was pathies were well known. It has to be said that Muslim extremism made respectable by the 2002 electoral suc- Those groups still exist, but they have is not merely a figment of their imagination, cess of Pim Fortuyn. A former leftist and been partially displaced on the extreme as it has brought death and suffering to openly gay, Fortuyn always rejected any as- edges of European politics by organiza- many people. But to project the values of a sociation with the established parties of the tions that have made Islam the primary ob- small segment of the world’s Muslims onto European far right—which meant that ject of their hatred. In some cases, this may all has no justification in the beliefs and when he referred to Islam as “a backward be tactical: the British National Party, for conduct of the vast majority of Islam's ad- culture” and sounded the alarm over the al- example, has concentrated on campaign- herents. Political leaders and opinion-mak- leged danger posed by Muslim immigra- ing against the Muslim presence in Britain ers have played upon and amplified real tion, he was not hindered in putting his in the past decade, but among its core anxieties felt in some non-Muslim commu- message over by Nazi baggage. With the leaders are men with a track record of anti- nities as a way to build political support. Liveable Rotterdam party, he won 36 per- Semitic, pro-Nazi sympathies. In others, In Britain, the English Defense League cent of the seats in the formerly staunchly the focus on Islam is genuine: they don't (EDL) was launched in May 2009, shortly socialist city. He formed a new party, the have a secret agenda—or at least, not a after eight Muslim extremists stood shout- List Pim Fortuyn, which won 26 parlia- neo-Nazi one. ing abuse during a march past them by the mentary seats in the 2002 general election, Royal Anglian Regiment, returning from ser- helped rather than hindered by Fortuyn’s John Gee is a free-lance journalist based in vice in Afghanistan. Although it presented assassination during the campaign. It was Singapore, and the author of Unequal Con- itself as a movement of “ordinary people,” very much a personal vehicle, however, flict: The Palestinians and Israel. the EDL relied heavily on football hooligans and lost its last parliamentary seats in 2006. 34 THE WASHINGTON REPORT ON MIDDLE EAST AFFAIRS DECEMBER 2011 gee_34-35_Special Report 10/27/11 12:58 PM Page 35 Geert Wilders has stepped into Fortuyn’s rushed to dissociate themselves from they denounce: each feeds upon the rage shoes. Unlike Fortuyn, Wilders’ back- Breivik’s actions, but he had drawn inspi- and inflammatory words and deeds of the ground was conservative and he was a ration and justification for what he did other. Especially in these times of eco- member of the People’s Party for Freedom from their writings—just as Yigal Amir, nomic woe, people who want a decent so- and Democracy until 2004, when he fell the assassin of Israeli Prime Minister ciety must take a stand and reject demo- out with it over Turkey’s efforts to join the Yitzhak Rabin, drew encouragement from nization of any community on the basis of European Union. This was a rallying point the violent incitement of the Israeli right its religion, as well as nationality or color. for Islamophobes across Europe. Wilders and the settler leadership, which also tried wanted the Turkish application to be re- to distance itself from the consequences of Marriage of Convenience? jected, not negotiated. He established the their words. Without themselves laying Trips to Israel by right-wing politicians Freedom Party, now the third largest in the hands on guns or explosives, they created have been used by them to shrug off the Dutch parliament. an atmosphere in which individuals such taint of anti-Semitism and fascism. Wilders claims that Islam is a fascist ide- as Breivik and Amir could muster a sense Alessandra Mussolini visited shortly be- ology and compares the Qur’an to Hitler’s of self-righteous legitimacy that left them fore launching her own political career. Mein Kampf; in this he is more strident and feeling entitled and impelled to kill. The Italian Social Movement (MSI) was extreme than Fortuyn. He was reportedly Nowhere in Europe do Islamophobic founded by Giorgio Almirante, a former influenced as a young man by his travels parties and movements have majority sup- member of Benito Mussolini’s Nazi puppet in Israel and the neighboring Arab states. port, but they have managed to achieve regime, the Social Republic, after the Sec- Indeed, Wilders is strongly supportive of electoral gains in some countries and have ond World War, but his successor, Gian- Zionism of a far-right variety. In December broken to some extent with the obsessions franco Fini, re-established it in 1995 as the 2008, he participated in the “Facing Jihad” of the post-World War II extreme right National Alliance. He visited Israel in No- conference in Jerusalem, organized by Na- that contributed greatly to its relative po- vember 2003 as Italy’s deputy prime min- tional Union Knesset member Aryeh Eldad. litical isolation. Typically, they cherry pick ister. Israeli radio commented that Fini be- Eldad, whose party favors the expulsion of the liberal and leftist values that they re- lieved that the road to the Italian premier- all Palestinians from Israeli-controlled ter- ject for elements that can serve them: ship passes through Jerusalem. In 2008, ritory, said that the conference was “to plan claiming to oppose “Islamization” because Fini came in for a torrent of criticism after practical steps in the struggle against the it would mean the oppression of women, he said on a talk show that the burning of spread of Islam in Europe.” Eldad told the the persecution of gay people and the sup- Israeli flags by left-wing protesters on May Jerusalem Post that the Arab-Israeli conflict pression of democratic liberties, and com- 1st was “much more serious” than the bru- was between Islam and Western civiliza- paring Islam to Nazism and fascism. They tal beating in Verona the same day of 29- tion, not a dispute over territory. should be seen instead as playing a com- year-old Nicola Tommasoli by neo-Nazis. So rabid was Wilders’ contribution that plementary role to the Muslim extremists Tommasoli later died of his injuries. ❑ fellow participant Daniel Pipes was moved to challenge him on his assertion that there (Advertisement) was no such thing as “moderate Islam” and on his rejection of the Qur’an in its en- tirety. (Other conference participants in- cluded Itamar Marcus, of the highly selec- tive Palestinian Media Watch, and Robert Spencer, director of the U.S.-based Jihad Watch.) Wilders’ anti-Islam film, “Fitna,” was shown. Prior to the conference, Wilders told an audience at the Hudson Institute in Wash- ington, DC, “We are organizing this event in Israel to emphasize the fact that we are all in the same boat together.” In December 2010, Wilders met in Jerusalem with Avig- dor Lieber, the Israeli interior minister and leader of the Russian immigrant-based far- right party, Yisrael Beitenu. Wilders was a member of the Swiss-based European Free- dom Alliance delegation to Israel that also included two members of the European Parliament from the Freedom Party of Aus- tria (FPO), two members of Flemish Interest (VB), based in the Flemish part of Belgium, and an MP from the Sweden Democrats. The mindset of these organizations and individuals was reflected in the manifesto issued by Anders Breivik, who murdered 76 people in Norway on July 22. They all DECEMBER 2011 THE WASHINGTON REPORT ON MIDDLE EAST AFFAIRS 35 opm_36-37_Other People's Mail 10/27/11 12:27 PM Page 36 Other People’s Mail Compiled by Jean-Pascal Deillon and Dale Sprusansky Palestinian State Is Right Walk in Palestinians’ Shoes tance to Israel,” was courageous and cor- To the Charleston Gazette (WV), Oct. 12, 2011 To The Tennessean, Sept. 24, 2011 rect. As the United States struggles with its I’m sure you’ll take some flak for your The article “Abbas could gain from U.N. budget and as Israel acts to increase taxes editorial about Palestine. I’d like to applaud gambit” fails to consider the dangerous and reduce its military spending, we it. Backing Palestinian statehood is the gambit the U.S. will make if it vetoes Pales- should cut back on the huge sum we pro- right thing for Palestinians, the right thing tine’s bid for recognition by the U.N. vide to Israel for its military. for America, and, well, it’s just the right Our government might, in effect, be But there is another reason for a cut- thing to do. painting targets on the backs of American back: The money is being used for bad David N. Ryan, Spencer, WV citizens because many people in the purposes that damage U.S. standing Muslim world strongly disagree that the throughout the Mideast. Uneven Strength Unfair U.S. has the “right” to deny Palestinians We have lived and taught in Palestine. To The Minnesota Daily, Sept. 25, 2011 equal rights and representative govern- We know what the occupation does to For a two-party negotiation to succeed, ment. Our own Declaration of Indepen- young people. We have witnessed Israel’s the two sides need to be approximately dence says that if people are denied equal theft of land for settlements, its theft of equal. When one side is totally dominant, rights and representative government, water for its profligate uses and its denial as Israel is over Palestine, you get dictation, they have the right to resist their oppres- of freedom to an indigenous population. not negotiation. That is why Obama’s sors. So our government takes a terrible The United States has stood with Israel absurd comment at the U.N., “Ultimately, it risk when it denies rights we cherish to as it denies basic rights to Palestinians. Of is the Israelis and Palestinians, not us, who other people. course the United States is not seen as a must reach agreement on the issues that What would American men do if a for- friendly nation in the Middle East. If there divide them,” was met with stony silence. eign oppressor interfered with the life, lib- was any problem with Mr. Pincus’ article, Support for Palestinian statehood by the erty and pursuit of happiness of millions of it was that he did not go far enough. leaders of countries such as France and our children? Well, other men love their Gordon K. Davies and Elizabeth S. Brin- Brazil received standing ovations. children, too, and will never agree that son, Richmond, VA Meanwhile, the world watches as a help- hypocritical Americans have any business less American president fawns over the forcing them to be serfs. Palestinian Statehood small country that holds his electoral mort- Mike Burch, Nashville, TN To The Oregonian, Sept. 22, 2011 gage. I can’t believe that this president is In his Sept. 20 column, Thomas Fried- the man I voted for. Settlements Are a Big Problem man skewers Israeli Prime Minister Rolf Westgard, St. Paul, MN To the Los Angeles Times, Oct. 2, 2011 Binyamin Netanyahu for his “strategy” of Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clin- suffocating any U.S. condemnation of Pushing on for Mideast Peace ton calls the Israeli government’s approval Israel’s human rights abuses by having the To The New York Times, Sept. 30, 2011 of 1,100 new housing units in East Israel lobby “force the administration” to When President Harry S. Truman recog- Jerusalem counterproductive. I would say ignore its own national interest (“Israel’s nized Israel, he defied his secretary of state, this is part of Israel’s repeated, unmitigated intransigence: A security crisis blooms in resisted “logic” and opposed many of his and arrogant slaps in the face to the United isolation, stubbornness”). Friedman also “experts.” Some believe Truman was right; States, the United Nations and to the entire speaks frankly of the lobby “hammering” some believe that we are still paying for a Arab world. Israeli Prime Minister Bin - Congress, and threatening politicians with premature decision. Subsequent presidents yamin Netanyahu acts with impunity. “losing the Jewish vote.” have launched peace initiatives, peace mis- What I have the most trouble accepting Never mind Netanyahu’s mistakes; why sions, peace plans, peace accords, peace is why our nation continues to stand with does any lobby have this kind of power conferences, peace summits, peace talks, Netanyahu—and how we can consider the and control over a government that is sup- peace solutions and peace proposals. Has Palestinians’ attempts at self-determination posed to be “of the people, by the people this worked for anyone? to be less valuable than those of Egypt’s, and for the people” and that has previ- Perhaps it is time for President Obama to Tunisia’s or Libya’s. ously been a strong advocate of freedom defy his experts and recognize Palestine. Netanyahu ignores the fact that building and equal rights for all peoples? Can things be worse than the Middle East new settlements, whether in the West Bank How can the Israel lobby force Congress wars, occupations, assassinations, mas- or in East Jerusalem, violates international to do an Israeli leader’s bidding when it sacres, suicide bombs, refugee camps and law. Is Israel above the law? overrides American values and interests? security barriers of the past 63 years? Marilyn Goodman, Santa Monica, CA Shouldn’t AIPAC and other members of the This might be the wrong time, this might Israel lobby have to register as agents of a be the right time, but if we incline to hope, U.S. Should Cut Aid to Israel foreign country? it might be the perfect time to defy logic and To The Washington Post, Oct. 23, 2011 Why is our Congress representing Ne- the experts—and try something different. Walter Pincus’ Oct. 18 Fine Print tanyahu and Israel instead of us? Felicity O. Yost, New York, NY column, “U.S. must reevaluate its assis- June Forsyth-Kenagy, Albany, OR 36 THE WASHINGTON REPORT ON MIDDLE EAST AFFAIRS DECEMBER 2011 opm_36-37_Other People's Mail 10/27/11 12:27 PM Page 37 Palestinians Victims, Too sustained a conviction and death sentence by “serving in the armed forces of a for- To The Australian, Oct. 14, 2011 for Anwar al-Awlaki. But that determina- eign state if such armed forces are engaged It should be remembered that Gilad tion cannot be made by the very branch of in hostilities against the United States.” Shalit, the Israeli soldier to be released, was government that generated the evidence. Name that state and show that Mr. stationed inside his armored tank on the An independent judiciary is indispensable Awlaki served in armed forces, and you Gaza-Israeli border when he was captured. for preventing abuse of authority by the have a case for denying him a trial. Until Tal Ellinson (Letters, 13/10) neglects the executive. It is universally recognized that then, he’s a murder victim. truth and perpetuates the myth that Israel no system of justice is legitimate in which Barry Haskell Levine, Lafayette, CA is the victim in this torrid saga. Let us not a single authority serves as police, prose- forget that it is Israel that is occupying the cutor, judge, jury and executioner. Apply Iraq’s Lessons to Libya Palestinians and not the other way around. Chris van den Honert, Boulder, CO To the Los Angeles Times, Oct. 24, 2011 Since 2000, Israeli military courts have I agree with the Times about rebuilding detained and prosecuted about 7,000 Pales- When U.S. Kills an American Libya. But I would like to remind the tinian children, with 87 percent of them To The New York Times, Oct. 12, 2011 Times that much of the turmoil in Iraq was being beaten or tortured, according to De- Anwar al-Awlaki was an American citi- a result of how the U.S. handled things fense for Children International. Almost zen, with constitutional guarantees of due once Saddam Hussain was overthrown. every one of these children is denied process of law. Indeed, if our courts were Instead of being liberators, we were oc- access to their parents, a guardian or legal empowered to strip any of us of citizen- cupiers. We disbanded the Iraqi armed representation—an obvious abuse of inter- ship, all our “rights” would be merely forces and lost the trust of the Iraqi people. national law. boons granted at the courts’ pleasure. This time, let’s help the people by build- Further, the entire court proceedings Unless he walked into a United States ing bridges between tribes and fostering and list of criminal charges are in Hebrew, court house or embassy to renounce his cit- education and public works projects. No thereby not allowing the child, without izenship, American law permits only one Halliburtons. No U.S. soldiers. Build representation, any ability to understand scenario in which he would not be entitled bridges, literal and otherwise. why they’re incarcerated. Why is there no to a full trial (whether in person or in ab- Paul L. Hovsepian, Sierra Madre, CA outrage on this front? Where is the indig- sentia). nation over human rights abuse here? Our law provides that we can infer that Wrong About Wars Moammar Mashni, Melbourne, Aus- one has renounced American citizenship To [Louisville] Courier-Journal, Sept. 26, tralia 2011 Nearly a decade ago, I wrote to the C-J Killing of a Cleric in Yemen WRITE OR TELEPHONE THOSE to voice my support for both the war in To The New York Times, Oct. 1, 2011 WORKING FOR YOU IN Afghanistan and the war in Iraq. Today, Regardless of whether Anwar al-Awlaki WASHINGTON. with our nation bankrupt and falling was a serious loss for al-Qaeda, killing him President Barack Obama behind in a fast-paced and competitive adds up to a serious loss for us. The White House world, where we cut firefighters and edu- The action fuels a growing perception 1600 Pennsylvania Ave., N.W. cators, and where we discuss with straight Washington, DC 20500 that we, like al-Qaeda, are violent and law- (202) 456-1414 faces sending octogenarians out to shop for less. In Mr. Awlaki’s case, it cheapens medical coverage with a discount coupon, White House Comment Line: (202) 456-1111 American citizenship. And using drones to Fax: (202) 456-2461 I have changed my opinion and believe take down human targets looks more like now is long past the time to reconsider. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton computer gaming, with other people’s lives Department of State Early in the wars, the Bush administra- at stake, than responsible international be- Washington, DC 20520 tion fired the chairman of the National havior. For all these reasons, attacks of this Economic Council, Lawrence Lindsey, for kind strengthen our adversaries. State Department Public Information Line: suggesting that the war in Iraq could cost Our strongest suit as a nation is our tra- (202) 647-6575 as much as $200 billion (more than three dition of respect for the rule of law and for Any Senator times the administration number). Today, U.S. Senate the rights of our fellow human beings. The Washington, DC 20510 with costs in the thousands of billions of cost of this attack is far higher than any (202) 224-3121 dollars, we continue to spend money that return it could possibly offer. Any Representative we don’t have, and we continue to sacrifice Mary R. Holbrow, Cambridge, MA U.S. House of Representatives the lives of young Americans who have Washington, DC 20515 heeded the call to volunteer. Killing of Anwar al-Awlaki (202) 225-3121 As Ron Paul and others have said, it’s To The Denver Post, Oct. 9, 2011 E-MAIL CONGRESS AND THE time to bring the troops home. Our coun- President Obama campaigned on a WHITE HOUSE try has suffered serious damage to its pros- pledge to restore the rule of law after the perity and to its future. Our limited re- E-mail Congress: visit the Web site awful abuses by the executive branch DECEMBER 2011 THE WASHINGTON REPORT ON MIDDLE EAST AFFAIRS 37 langley_38-39_Special Report 10/26/11 8:12 PM Page 38 Go Palestine: An Extraordinary Summer Camp Behind the Wall Story and photos by Ramsey Langley SpecialReport was never a big fan of summer camps. ILearning how to carve a miniature canoe out of soap wasn’t my idea of fun. So when my mother first suggested I apply to the Go Palestine Camp this summer, I thought, “Here we go again.” But as much as I hate to admit that my mom might have been right, it turned out to be one of the best summers I’ve ever had. Organized and sponsored by the Ramal- lah Friends School, the camp brought to- gether 40 high school students aged 14 to 17 from around the world for a chance to learn more about Palestinian culture and heritage. Approximately half the campers were from the West Bank. The other half came from the United States, Europe, Asia and other countries in the Middle East, in- cluding Palestinians who are Israeli citi- zens. The camp was staffed by local and in- ternational counselors from many different backgrounds. Their training and experi- ence were excellent. The program spanned three weeks full of trips and activities, leaving no time for boredom. Even Fridays, which were free days, were filled with getting together with new friends to explore Ramallah. The language of the camp was English, but many of the campers were knowledgeable, if not fluent, in Arabic. Families of local campers in Ramallah hosted the interna- tional students, providing a home, meals and transportation to and from the camp. My situation was a little different, since I was able to stay with my uncle and his family in Ramallah. The camp kept us on the go, with some days devoted to traveling to locations in the West Bank and Israel and other days Go Palestine campers in front of a Banksy mural on Israel’s apartheid wall near Bethlehem doing activities in and around Ramallah. (top), and walking through Haifa’s Old City (above). The Ramallah activities included playing sports, going to movies, visiting local busi- tourists usually don’t have the opportunity vice days. We worked with the Inspire nesses, learning traditional arts, and en- to visit on their own. We went to Bil’in, Dreams Program, whose mission centers on gaging in spirited discussions about cul- one of the many villages in the West Bank nonviolence, conflict resolution, education ture and politics. that Israel’s wall transects. We learned and community development for Palestin- Besides visiting such large and familiar from the villagers how, through peaceful ian refugees. Along with local children in cities as Jerusalem, Bethlehem, Hebron and protests every Friday, they were able to get the camps, we helped with cleaning, plant- Haifa, we also got a chance to go to places the wall partially relocated. We also visited ing and painting projects. We also worked the Tent of Nations in Beit Jala, where local with the Israeli Committee Against House Ramsey Langley is a sophomore at James and international activists nonviolently Demolitions, a nonviolent, direct-action or- Madison High School in Vienna, VA, where challenge the expropriation of Palestinian ganization to resist Israeli demolition of his favorite subject is history. Of Palestinian land. Palestinian houses in the occupied territo- descent, he still has family living in the occu- Some of the most memorable and satis- ries. We helped to rebuild a demolished pied West Bank. fying activities were the community ser- house in a village near Jerusalem. 38 THE WASHINGTON REPORT ON MIDDLE EAST AFFAIRS DECEMBER 2011 langley_38-39_Special Report 10/26/11 8:12 PM Page 39 major city you’d find in California. From the seemingly normal activities of its resi- dents you’d think you were a world away from Palestine, not just a few short miles. Most of us in America take a lot of things for granted. And while many Pales- tinians have to cross a physical wall every day, a wall that stands as a symbol of oc- cupation and oppression, most of us in the United States pursue our normal daily ac- tivities not having to fear how life would be if we had our basic human rights taken away. We have yet to cross over the emo- tional and intellectual wall that shields us Working alongside the villagers and the volunteers taught us about the starker real- ities of life in Palestine. It also allowed us to give back to the Palestinian community. Though the conditions in the refugee camps could be horrifying, I was astounded that neither the refugees nor the family whose house was demolished seemed bitter or angry. I also learned how sometimes the most downtrodden or oppressed people are the most hopeful. I guess that shows the re- silience of the people. The camp did a great job of balancing ac- tivities that allowed us to understand both the political situation and the culture in Palestine. In part this was done using movie nights with films that captured various as- pects of life in Palestine. We watched docu- Go Palestine campers pose in front of Jerusalem’s Old City (top) and help ICAHD rebuild a mentaries, such as “Occupation 101” (avail- demolished house in Anata (above). able from the AET Book Club), a history and analysis of the current and historical along and “know” one another. from the lives and experiences of people in root causes of the Israeli-Palestinian con- Overall, I found the camp a very worth- other countries. We need to always re- flict. We also watched cultural movies like while experience. I learned first hand member the most basic principle on which “Amreeka” (also available from the Book about the difficulties that Palestinians con- this country was founded: freedom. If we Club), which humorously chronicles a front in daily life, not the least of which is and other world powers want to assert our- Palestinian family’s immigration to the U.S. Israel’s illegal separation wall, the sole pur- selves as role models, then we cannot com- The similarities between local and inter- pose of which is to confiscate more land promise our own principles. Instead we national campers were revealing—and not and to isolate and fragment Palestinians must demand for others that which we de- just limited to wearing the red camp T- even further than they already are. mand for ourselves. shirts that made us look like a communist The wall’s impact hits you from the mo- We youth of Palestinian background brigade when we were out and about in ment you first see it. Just try to get into coming from abroad tend to know Pales- the West Bank. Even though we were born Jerusalem with a Palestinian ID, as I had to. tine only through the lens of politics, oc- and raised in different countries, I was sur- Crossing through the checkpoint between cupation, repression and loss. We often prised to discover that the differences Ramallah and Jerusalem feels like passing hear about things Palestinian in a language among us were superficial, and that we into a prison as you are herded through of struggle and despair that drowns out had much more in common with one an- iron gates and inspections. What should be other voices. The truth, though, is more other than I had expected. In part that’s a 15-minute commute can take hours. vital and textured. Camp showed us that globalization for you, as we all shared some I found, too, that traveling to the differ- what lies beyond the physical wall—and common pop culture likes and dislikes. ent parts of Palestine brings forth a wealth the one we carry inside us—is a Palestine The other real unifying aspect was that of contradictions. Walk through Hebron, that is as much a people as a place and that those of us coming from outside brought for example, and you’ll notice low-hanging it is made of so many facets to be explored with us a familiarity with things Palestin- makeshift tarps above you in the old mar- and cherished. ian that we had garnered from our families. ket. No, it’s not to catch rainwater, but to For more information on the Go Pales- This helped reduce the cultural gap among shield you from the garbage that the set- tine program visit: DECEMBER 2011 THE WASHINGTON REPORT ON MIDDLE EAST AFFAIRS 39 mcmahon_40_Canada Calling 10/27/11 12:30 PM Page 40 Canadian War-Crimes Profiteering By Sean F. McMahon CanadaCalling anada’s unconditional diplomatic sup- companies, including the Canadian High- Cport and enabling of Israeli belliger- way Infrastructure Corporation (CHIC) and ence and intransigence vis-à-vis Palestini- Green Park International Inc., are building ans is increasingly garnering critical atten- the infrastructure of Israeli apartheid, Palestine. This means that CHIC built a tion. Largely escaping scrutiny, however, namely roads and settlements. technology which ensures ongoing Israeli has been Ottawa’s economic relationship CHIC and Canadian finance helped to control of the occupied West Bank and the with Israel. Canadian economic policy build the Trans-Israel Highway, the major imprisonment of Palestinians living there. plays at least as large a role as foreign pol- electronic toll road in Israel. Its technology Roads do not lead to nowhere, of course. icy in the oppression and exploitation of is modeled on the 407 toll highway north They connect places. Israel’s matrix of con- Palestinians, as it encourages Canadian of Toronto, which Canadian Highway In- trol connects illegal settlements in the oc- companies to build the infrastructure of Is- frastructure Corporation also built. Micro- cupied West Bank, including Jerusalem, raeli apartheid and to profit from Israel’s scopically and immediately, construction with each other and with pre-1967 Israel. occupation industry. It promotes war of the Trans-Israel Highway meant that Green Park International Inc., along with crimes profiteering. “[a]pproximately 75 mostly poor commu- Green Mount International Inc. are in- Economic relations between Canada and nities [had] their land taken by the high- volved in the construction of the nodes in Israel are structured by the Canada-Israel way, including over 6,000 Arab families the matrix: Israel’s illegal settlements. Free Trade Agreement (CIFTA). As in- within Israel who [were] uprooted,” ac- These two Canadian corporations are con- tended, CIFTA has increased economic ex- cording to an article by David Block, structing, marketing and selling units in changes between the two countries. “Fighting the Trans-Israeli Highway,” in the colony of Modi’in Illit on land stolen “Canada’s bilateral trade with Israel more the May/June 2000 issue of Tikkun maga- from the Palestinian village of Bil’in, and than doubled since implementation of zine. Macroscopically–and this is the hence are deeply implicated in Israel’s ille- CIFTA, from $567 million in 1997 to a salient point made by Jeff Halper of the Is- gal colonization enterprise. record high of $1.4 billion in 2007 (an in- raeli Committee Against House Demoli- Ottawa has long encouraged Canadian crease of 219 percent),” according to a tions—the Trans-Israel Highway is the corporations to serve as builders of Israeli March 2009 report by the Department of “central spine” of the matrix of control apartheid. In 1998, after completion of a Foreign Affairs and International Trade and dispossession Israel is laying over Continued on page 48 Canada (DFAIT), “Economic Profile–Is- rael.” But at least part of this increased Help make sure that the Washington Report on Middle East Affairs will be here for trade is produced in the occupied West Bank. CIFTA defines the territory of Israel the next generation. By remembering the Washington Report in your will, you can: as “the territory where its customs laws are • Make a significant gift without affecting your current cash flow; • Direct your bequest to a vital purpose—educating readers applied”—in other words, pre-1967 Israel about U.S. foreign policy in the Middle East; as well as the occupied West Bank and • Receive a charitable estate tax deduction; Gaza Strip. Through this agreement • Leave a legacy for future generations. Canada implicitly legalizes Israel’s occupa- tion of the Palestinians and allows it to ex- ploit Palestinian labor and resources in its production processes. This is in stark con- trast to the European Union’s free trade agreement with Israel, which does not rec- ognize Israeli control of the occupied Pales- tinian territories. CIFTA, on the other hand, structures economic relations in such a way that Canadian corporations are encouraged to provide succor to Israel’s system of apartheid and commission of war crimes and profit from the suffering and exploita- tion of Palestinians. Canadian construction Bequests of any size are honored with membership in the American Educational Trust’s “Orchestra,” named for angels whose foresight and dedication ensured Sean F. McMahon is assistant professor of the future of the Washington Report and AET Book Club. political science at the American University For more information visit www.wrmea.com/donate/bequests.pdf, contact us at in Cairo. He is the author of The Discourse [email protected], write: Washington Report, 1902 18th St., NW, Washing- of Palestinian-Israeli Relations (London: ton, DC 20009, or call 202-939-6050 or 1-800-365-5788 ext 1. Routledge Press, 2010). 40 THE WASHINGTON REPORT ON MIDDLE EAST AFFAIRS DECEMBER 2011 model_arab_league_ad_41_National Council on U.S. Arab Relations AD -- December 2011 10/26/11 9:52 AM Page 41 NationalNNaaatittiionanalal CouncilCouC o unccilil onon U.S.-ArabUU.S.-.S .--A-ArabAArArabArararabaabb Relations’RRellaaatittiionns’nss’ M MODELODEELL ARABAAR RAABB LEAGUELEL EEA AGGUEUE A LEADERSHIP DEVELOPMENT/DIPLOMAATITIC SIMULAATITION DEBAATETE PROGRAM FOR UNIVERSITY AND HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS Students are invited to participate in the world’s foremost Arab-U.S. relations leadership development program: the Model Arab League. Students take part in a weekend of invaluablenvaluable public speaking, diplomatic maneuvering, leadership development, and coalition- building experiences that will serve them well throughout their life. Delegates role-play as real world diplomats, taking on the same issues that face global policymakers. Delegates learn to advocate efffectivelyfectivelyfe , master parliamentary procedure, articulate clearly, and lead a group with passion and erudition. This out-of-the-classroom experience requires students to explore the intricacies of the Arab world at a time when the region is at a critical crossroads. Intra-Arab League g Coun ncils - Joint Defense Council - Environmental Afffairsfairs Ministers - Palestinian Afffairsfairs - Economic Afffairsfairs Ministers - Political Afffairsfairs - Arab Court of Justice - Social Afffairsfairs Ministers - Special Rotating Committee -RLQLQJWKH 0RGHO $UDE /HDJXH 3URJUDP LV D VLPSOH ¿YHVVWHS SURFHVV 1. Gather a Group of Interested Students. A team consists of 5-10 students at most conferences, but any size group can be accommodated (within limits). 2. Register with the National Council. Fill out the short online form in order to be assigned a country. 3D\ WKH UHJLVWUDWLRQ IHHV DQG PDNH WUDYHO DUUDQJHPHQWV 4. Research the assigned country’s positions and practice parliamentary procedure. Research tools and a Handbook containing rules can be found online. 5. Attend the Model Arab League! For more information: on: Megan Geissler r,, Program DireDirector: ector: [email protected] Josh Hilbrand, Deputy Director: [email protected] wwww.ncusarw.ncuncuusarr.org/modelarableaguer.org/modelarableagueorg/modelarableagueg g pasquini_42-43_Northern California Chronicle 10/26/11 1:25 PM Page 42 Gaza Kids’ Art Show a Smashing Success Despite Museum’s Attempt at Censorship Northern California By Elaine Pasquini Chronicle began Dec. 22, 2008—three days be- reception. “And because of MOCHA’s actions, fore Americans celebrated Christ- the whole world knows about this. People mas—and ended Jan. 17, 2009— from Denmark, Turkey and all over the three days before the inauguration of world have been U.S. President Barack Obama. The Is- asking for this raeli bombardment killed 1,400 Pales- exhibit. I tinians, including at least 300 children, w i l l b e and injured 5,000. In the aftermath, traveling one of MECA’s projects, Let the Chil- to Gaza dren Play & Heal, gave children the next chance to cope with their suffering month and express their feelings by making and bring- drawings and paintings. ing back a Caving to pressure from Bay Area second exhibit STAFF PHOTO PHIL PASQUINI PHIL PHOTO STAFF pro-Israel groups, the museum’s board which shows the of directors cancelled the exhibit on children’s feelings after being told their work Sept. 8 (see November 2011 Washing- isn’t good enough for the museum.” ton Report, p. 43). The board then of- Some drawings featured images of Israeli fered to host the exhibit on condition planes dropping bombs on apartment that it select the works to be shown. houses. Others showed soldiers, tanks and Unwilling to allow the children’s art- ambulances in the streets. One picture de- work to be censored, MECA rejected picted children crying and the sun, birds the last-minute offer. Instead, volun- and palm trees also weeping. teers stood in the museum’s courtyard “We went into Gaza with paintbrushes and holding the children’s drawings for crayons and asked elementary school children STAFF PHOTOS PHIL PASQUINI PHIL PHOTOS STAFF to draw their reality,” said Nancy Hernandez, a member of a delegation of artists who trav- eled to Gaza last summer as part of the Maia Mural Project, a campaign focusing on every- one’s right to clean water. “When the children drew pictures of water they drew black tanks ABOVE: MECA supporters carry on top of their houses.” Unlike Jewish Israelis, children’s artwork from the court- who have unlimited access to fresh water, Her- yard of Oakland’s Museum of nandez explained, Palestinians’ water supply Children’s Art to the new gallery. is limited. RIGHT: A child’s drawing depicts “A Child’s View From Gaza” runs through children crying and the sun, birds Nov. 30 at its new venue in Oakland. For and palm trees also weeping. gallery hours visit 42 THE WASHINGTON REPORT ON MIDDLE EAST AFFAIRS DECEMBER 2011 pasquini_42-43_Northern California Chronicle 10/26/11 1:25 PM Page 43 STAFF PHOTOS E. PASQUINI E. PHOTOS STAFF (L-r) The Oakland Education Association’s Betty Olson-Jones, and MECA’s Ziad Abbas and Barbara Lubin. sion to cancel ‘A Child’s View From Gaza’ died in the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. cuse to go to war against the rest of the and deny the children of Gaza the right to While there were no recorded U.S. deaths in world,” Stephanie Tang of The World share their experiences through artwork.” Iraq in August, 70 soldiers died that month Can’t Wait told the crowd. “Today we re- The letter further stated: “MOCHA has al- in Afghanistan, the highest for a single member every person killed by our gov- ways been a place where all subjects are month since the war began in 2001. In Sep- ernment. American lives are not more im- open to artistic expression…As past art- tember, 31 U.S. troops died in Afghanistan. portant than other people on this planet.” work has included many examples of the Marchers carried signs demanding “Bring Norman Solomon, a candidate for the violence in children’s lives, the only conclu- the Troops Home” and “No More Wars.” Ac- sixth district congressional seat to be va- sion we can draw to explain cated next year by Democratic your decision to engage in such Rep. Lynn Woolsey, was obvious censorship is the pres- greeted enthusiastically when sure being exerted by powerful he took the microphone. “A li- organizations and individuals cense for war is unacceptable,” seeking to silence the voices of the author and media critic the Palestinian people. We are stated. “We’re determined to well aware of such pressure, organize so that the warfare having received our share of it gives way to a country and a when we condemned the mur- world where all children have a derous Israeli assault on Gaza future, where the madness of several years ago…That you militarism—a term used by have chosen not to allow a safe Martin Luther King, Jr.—is set place for the often-ignored chil- aside in favor of nurturing life dren of Gaza to share their art is instead of destroying it.” a decision that will unfortu- nately scar your reputation and Arab Cultural Festival remain a deep disappointment San Francisco’s Arab Cultural to the many teachers who have and Community Center held its supported you throughout 17th annual Arab Cultural Fes- your existence.” tival in Union Square on Oct. 1. The largest celebration of Arab Activists March Across culture in Northern California, STAFF PHOTOS PHIL PASQUINI PHIL PHOTOS STAFF Bridge in Memory of 9/11 TOP: Human rights activists on the Golden Gate Bridge on 9/11. the festival featured entertain- Several hundred activists ABOVE: The crowd at the Arab Cultural Festival enjoys the singing of ers, including hip hop artist marched across San Francisco’s Salma Habib (clapping). Omar Offendum, the traditional Golden Gate Bridge on Sept. 11 Palestinian debka troupe Al- to protest the war in Afghanistan, the con- tivists from The World Can’t Wait made an Juthoor, classical oud virtuoso and singer tinued U.S. presence in Iraq, and NATO’s in- impressive statement by dressing as prisoners Naser Musa, Palestinian singer Salma Habib, volvement in Libya. in orange jumpsuits and carrying signs that the musical group Al-Sarah and the Nuba- After gathering at opposite ends of the read “9/11 No License for War or Torture.” tones and Faisal Zedan. Jewelry, textiles and famed suspension bridge, peace advocates si- “We’ve been told to think about Ameri- crafts from the Arab world were for sale in multaneously marched to meet in the middle can lives lost on 9/11, but not to care about the booth bazaar. Visitors also enjoyed deli- of the span to honor those who died on 9/11 the loss of any other life in the 10 years cious Middle Eastern cuisine and dancing in and the soldiers and civilians who have since that the government used 9/11 as an ex- the open-air plaza. ❑ DECEMBER 2011 THE WASHINGTON REPORT ON MIDDLE EAST AFFAIRS 43 twair_44-45_Southern California Chronicle 10/26/11 1:30 PM Page 44 Diana Buttu Addresses Palestine Children’s Relief Fund “Healing Hands” Benefit Southern California By Pat and Samir Twair Chronicle experienced a dramatic Irvine 11 Found Guilty turn-around?” There was an emotional reaction by Muslims “If statehood won’t and Zionists alike in the Santa Ana court- be significant, why house Sept. 23 when Judge Peter J. Wilson these pleas to Abbas to announced that, after two days of delibera- negotiate?” she added. tion, a jury had found the Irvine 11 guilty of “Israel reaps all the criminal charges for disrupting a February benefits from pretend- 2010 speech by Israeli Ambassador Michael ing to negotiate.” Oren at the University of California at Irvine. Buttu went on to The judge did not sentence the stu- note how the Oslo dents—some of whom are headed to med- peace process brought ical school and graduate studies at presti- Israel recognition from gious institutions—to jail time, however. In- 34 countries, its great- stead, each was fined about $200, ordered to est economic boost, perform 56 hours of community service be- and the PA’s collabora- fore Jan. 21, 2012, and put on probation for STAFF PHOTOS S. TWAIR S. PHOTOS STAFF tion in policing the three years. Palestinians—all Their crime? The Muslim students each while it built new nonviolently interrupted the speech of the ABOVE: PCRF secretary Randa Issa intro- settlements on Pales- American-born Israeli ambassador in an au- duced the three children from Gaza who will tinian land. ditorium full of Israel supporters. As each receive treatment in the U.S. this year: (l-r) While statehood student voiced his objection to Israel’s brutal Hala and Fatma al-Najjar and Ahmad would bring the treatment of the Palestinians, video cameras Bassem al-Saloul. INSET: Keynote speaker Palestinians the right recorded the ranting of Israel-firsters who Diana Buttu. to seek redress of il- threatened mayhem against the dignified legal Israeli settle- dissenters as they were handcuffed. arvard University Law School Fellow ments on their land, Orange County District Attorney Tony HDiana Buttu was the keynote speaker at Buttu said, Abbas excluded Palestinians in Rackauckas has never prosecuted students the Palestine Children’s Relief Fund’s (PCRF) the diaspora from his statehood bid. Con- who interrupted classes or destroyed UCI annual Southern California chapter’s “Heal- cluding that “the negative outweighs the property during other protests, but, mind- ing Hands” benefit dinner Sept. 24 in the positive for statehood,” Buttu argued that the ful of the political power of affluent Zionists, Anaheim Hilton Hotel. Before an audience of solution is to demand better representation did press charges against the Muslim stu- more than 450 people, she discussed the sig- in municipal and parliamentary elections and dents. The litigation gave rise to a national nificance of the Palestinian bid for admission within the PLO. The last time the PA parlia- debate on free speech rights that will last for to the United Nations as a member state. ment met was in 2007, she pointed out. “We decades and be the topic of future books, In the third week of September, Buttu need to bring life to a lifeless system. Recon- films and documentaries. noted, the Palestinians took center stage in ciliation [with Hamas] has been on hold. We UCI law school dean Erwin Chemerinsky the world media without a massacre or inva- need a genuine reconciliation.” described the charges as draconian and said sion of their shrinking land by one single PCRF/Southern California President Lily it was a shame that the students now have act: a simple request for recognition by the Karam announced that since its foundation misdemeanor convictions on their records. U.N. as a member state. in 1991, the organization has brought Others accused Rackauckas of political In response, U.S. President Barack Obama 1,000 injured children to the West for grandstanding. and Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Ne- medical treatment and cared for more than “You can heckle the U.S. president [or] tanyahu rushed to insist statehood can only 7,000 ill youngsters in the Middle East, high-ranking government officials,” com- be achieved through negotiations between sends medical teams to Palestine, and has mented Salam al-Marayati, president of the Israel and the Palestinian Authority. recently opened a pediatric cancer ward in Muslim Public Affairs Committee, “but if “Isn’t it odd that Israel, who has a stockpile Beit Jala hospital and a cardiac ICU in East you heckle an Israeli diplomat you will be of nuclear weapons and the lion’s share of U.S. Jerusalem’s Makassat Hospital. prosecuted.” aid, suddenly begs PA leader Mahmoud She then introduced three children newly Abbas to sit down and negotiate?” Buttu arrived from Gaza who will receive treat- U.S. Diplomat Optimistic About Post- asked rhetorically. “Could it be Netanyahu ment in the U.S.: Ahmad Bassem al-Saloul, 8, Assad Syrian Government who suffers from a congenital hip deformity, According to Frederic C. Hof, a senior State Pat and Samir Twair are free-lance journal- and burn victims Hala, 11, and Fatma al- Department adviser on U.S. policy toward ists based in Los Angeles. Naj jar, 10. Syria,“The challenge now for the opposi- 44 THE WASHINGTON REPORT ON MIDDLE EAST AFFAIRS DECEMBER 2011 twair_44-45_Southern California Chronicle 10/26/11 1:30 PM Page 45 tion is to convince millions of by nonviolent means, recognize Syrians of what a post-Bashar all Syrians on an equal footing, Syria will look like so they’ll and reject all foreign military in- get off the fence.” Hof was tervention. speaking at a Sept. 24 Syrian During the question-and-an- American Council meeting in swer period, an audience mem- the Anaheim Hilton. ber complained that Washing- “I’m here to help,” he said, ton has been too soft on Syria explaining that his lifelong at- for killing its citizens who tachment to Syria began as a demonstrate against the regime. 17-year-old foreign exchange “There has been no secret student who was welcomed handshake,” Hof responded, “or into the Damascus home of Issa I wouldn’t be here in the service and Rose Lutfi. of the U.S. government. I fully The diplomat emphasized expect Bashar will soon be an President Barack Obama’s com- ex-president. There is a crying mitment to a democratic Syrian need for international protec- government ruled by the con- tion of civilians and,” he em- sent of the people as cemented TWAIR S. PHOTO STAFF phasized, “the revolution must in the president’s Sept. 18 call for continue to be nonviolent. The Bashar Assad to “step down.” regime wants to do its crimes in the “Who and how Syria will be dead of night—that’s why we must governed will be decided by the have international witnesses and Syrian people,” Hof stated. “They the press inside Syria.” will devise their own formula tai- lored to their needs.” AAJA Focuses on Middle East He declined to predict how long Munira Syeda of the Council on it will be before the Assad regime American Islamic Relations (CAIR) falls, but added that, despite the and Washington Report Southern fact that his security forces remain California correspondent Samir intact, the Syrian leader is living in Twair joined Asian journalists Linh a bubble, unaware that the revolu- Van Nguyen and Gwen Muranaka tion is beyond his control. as panelists at a Sept. 10 ethnic Hof concluded by remarking community roundtable sponsored that the cost in deaths and injuries by the Asian American Association has been unconscionably high for in a Los Angeles Korean restaurant. STAFF PHOTO P. TWAIR P. PHOTO STAFF the opposition. TOP: Syrian American Council townhall speakers (l-r) Dr. The emcee was Henry Fuhrman, Poet and University of Arkansas Najib Ghadban, Hussam Ayloush and Frederic J. Hof. ABOVE: assistant managing editor of the professor AAJA ethnic community roundtable speakers (l-r) Munira Los Angeles Times. Mohja Syeda of CAIR, Los Angeles Times assistant managing editor According to Syeda, who is com- Kahf gave Henry Fuhrmann, and Samir Twair. munications manager of CAIR/LA, a stirring there are an estimated 7 to 10 mil- description of Syr- “It was in January and February that lion Muslims in the U.S. She described 9/11 ian women’s role in women concerned over the imprisoned stu- as a double tragedy for the Muslim commu- the movement to dents pre-heated the revolution,” Kahf told nity, which mourned the loss of 3,000 Amer- achieve freedom. the audience of 200 Syrian exiles. On March icans in the terrorist attack but also was cast “This is a revolu- 16, she noted, mothers staged a rally de- as the enemy. It was the Japanese-American tion born of love manding the return of their children. Eigh- leadership who immediately called mosques and nonviolence,” teen women were arrested and jailed, and and offered support during tense times fol- she averred. “The the Syrian revolution of nonviolence began. lowing 9/11, she noted. armed effort to re- “Women rock the Syrian revolution!” Asked to assess Arab-American newspa- STAFF PHOTO S. TWAIR S. PHOTO STAFF Mohja Kahf. sist Hafez Assad Kahf shouted to cheers. pers, Twair said each reflects the political failed in the 1980s. Dr. Najib Ghadban, who teaches political stance of the country its publisher is from. This revolution has a nonviolent morality science at the University of Arkansas, dis- The Internet is replacing these papers as a born among women in Daraa, Daraiya and cussed the Syrian National Council (SNC) of- source of news from the Arab world, he Homs.” ficially formed Sept.15 in Istanbul, which is added, and since most of the new generation In December 2010, Kahf explained, an umbrella for all Syrian opposition blocs don’t read Arabic, these publications likely schoolchildren in the southern Syrian city of inside and out of the country. Its 140 mem- will die out. On the other hand, Twair said, Daraa, inspired by the uprising in Tunisia, bers represent all sects, religions and tribes, the Washington Report covers political wrote anti-Assad graffiti on walls. Govern- women and men, regardless of social status, events related to the Middle East which gen- ment police arrested 35 students and jailed he said, and described its three principles as erally are ignored by the American estab- them in Damascus. being to overthrow the Assad dictatorship lishment media. ❑ DECEMBER 2011 THE WASHINGTON REPORT ON MIDDLE EAST AFFAIRS 45 adas_46-48_New York City and Tri-State News 10/27/11 12:33 PM Page 46 Longtime Journalist Describes Iranians as Most Pro-American People in Middle East New York City and By Jane Adas Tri-StateNews feated the U.S. to win soccer’s World Cup. 4 forum at the CUNY Graduate Center on The street erupted with joy, he recalled. “Palestine Statehood? Implications of a When a small group of men approached U.N. Resolution.” Center director Thomas with American flags to burn, people in the Weiss posed the question, “Why, at this crowd pushed them away—but took the time, did President Abbas present an ap- flags and waved them as well. plication for membership in the U.N.?” to For three decades, Iran’s 1979 revolu- a panel comprising a Palestinian, an Is- tion that deposed the shah was the only raeli, and a career U.N. diplomat. example in the region of people power Prof. Ghassan Shabaneh, whose re- overthrowing a regime, Peterson noted. search is on building Palestinian state- He described Iranians as “proud of their hood, posited the goal of a global forum in template” and dismissive of their Sunni which Israel no longer can act with im- Arab neighbors still living under dicta- punity and will be held accountable for its torships—even though many Iranians actions. He views the U.N. bid as Abbas’ have since viewed their revolution as hi- apology to the Palestinian people for the jacked by neoconservative elements failure of Oslo. within the country. Then came the 2009 Prof. Dov Waxman, co-author of Is- election when, in spite of an 85 percent rael’s Palestinians: The Crisis Within, de- turnout—the only statistic that can be scribed Israel’s fears, which he considers trusted, according to Peterson—President exaggerated: legal accountabity, which Is- Mahmoud Ahmadinejad was declared the raelis call lawfare, and increased diplo- winner of a second term by two to one. matic isolation. Now that Palestine’s ap- Millions took to the streets, but this time plication is “in committee” at the Secu- people power “was crushed and put on rity Council, Waxman added, Israelis feel ice.” Since then, Peterson has not been al- they have dodged a bullet because the lowed to return to Iran. delay will take away any momentum. STAFF PHOTO J. ADAS J. PHOTO STAFF Christian Science Monitor bureau chief Scott Although it did not succeed, Iran’s ex- Waxman acknowledged that the Quartet Peterson. perience in 2009 was instructive for has outlived its usefulness, the Road Map Arabs. Peterson cited two lessons: the is defunct, and the peace process has cott Peterson, who has covered the democracy activists’ use of social media, been a charade. What is needed, he con- SMiddle East for The Christian Science and what can happen when a regime is cluded, is an alternative framework—but Monitor for more than 15 years, currently ruthless and not afraid to kill its own peo- he thinks nothing is likely to happen is the newspaper’s bureau chief in Istan- ple. Official Iran’s reaction to the nonvio- until after the American elections. bul. He is also a photographer for Getty lent revolutions in Egypt and Tunisia was Alvaro de Soto recently ended a 25-year Images and author of Let the Swords Encir- to celebrate them as an “Islamic Awaken- career at the United Nations during which cle Me: Iran—a Journey Behind the Head- ing.” Peterson depicted the popular atti- he led negotiations that brought an end to lines, and in a Sept. 28 appearance at tude among Iranians as both consterna- the war in El Salvador. He then turned to Princeton University he discussed “Iran tion and certainty that the pro-democracy Cyprus and the Middle East. His 2007 and the Arab Spring.” movement will eventually get to their End of Mission Report condemning the Through his photographs of people in a country. He told of a cartoon that shows U.S. for Middle East failures caused a stir variety of situations, Peterson sought to Ayatollah Khamenei pushing a row of when it was leaked to the press. provide a fuller view of life in Iran than dominoes—the first labeled Tunisia, then De Soto views Abbas as a negotiator by what he described as the one-dimensional, Egypt, and so on—but the dominoes are nature rather than a man of confronta- demonizing image that bipartisan politi- arranged in a circle. Giving the example tion, and suspects he went to the U.N. cians and the mainstream media serve up in of an interview with a soldier confessing with great reluctance, compelled by a the U.S. Although Americans imagine Ira- great shame over his actions in 2009, Pe- confluence of three circumstances. To de- nians to be screaming “Death to America” terson noted that the government’s bru- bunk the argument that Palestinians are at every opportunity, Peterson said he has tality that year created such internal prob- not fit to have their own state, Prime Min- found Iranians to be the most pro-Ameri- lems that it no longer can count on its se- ister Salam Fayyad began building insti- can people in the Middle East. He was in curity forces to crush the next movement. tutions, which have now been certified Tehran the night in 1998 when Iran de- by the World Bank. Second, the Obama Palestinian Statehood? Implications administration demanded that Israel Jane Adas is a free-lance writer based in the Of a U.N. Resolution freeze settlement construction as a pre- New York City metropolitan area. The Ralph Bunche Institute held an Oct. condition to negotiations, something the 46 THE WASHINGTON REPORT ON MIDDLE EAST AFFAIRS DECEMBER 2011 adas_46-48_New York City and Tri-State News 10/27/11 12:33 PM Page 47 STAFF PHOTO J. ADAS J. PHOTO STAFF (L-r) Professors Dov Waxman and Ghassan Shabaneh, and retired U.N. diplomat Alvaro de Soto. Palestinians had never done. The Pales- est broker. Asked if Washington should im- gone radicalization, with the political cen- tinians couldn’t be less pro-Palestinian pose a solution with sticks and carrots, ter having moved rightward. Settlers are than the U.S. president, De Soto reasoned, Bishara responded that it is geopolitically now part of the political establishment, so Abbas had no choice but to insist on not acceptable for Israel’s best ally to impose Bishara pointed out, with 16 members of the same. Then Obama backed down, anything. He recommended that the best the Knesset and 4 cabinet ministers living leaving Abbas hanging. Third, the Arab role for Washington would be to admit fail- in illegal settlements. The settlements have Spring could not bypass Palestine. ure and back off. At the least, it should stop expanded so massively—from a popula- De Soto characterized the Israeli and throwing wrenches in the international tion of 75,000 in 1991 to more than 300,000 U.S. argument that Palestine going to the movement, such as using its veto in the Se- in the West Bank alone, not counting East U.N. is incompatible with negotiations as curity Council on Israel’s orders. Jerusalem—that Bishara considers separa- completely illogical. Even if Palestine be- tion in two separate, contiguous states im- comes a member state, he pointed out, the possible without serious ethnic cleansing. situation will still require negotiations. Ac- Nor does he think it likely that settlers will cording to De Soto, a rule of diplomacy is agree either to be evacuated or to become that when a problem seems intractable, citizens of a Palestinian state. Therefore change the context. This may already be Bishara sees no way out any time soon. happening with the Arab Spring, where “We will need all the help we can get from Israel’s neighbors will now take public peace-loving people,” he concluded, “and opinion into account. In this changed con- also some miracles.” text, De Soto concluded, creating condi- tions that make negotiations almost impos- “A Separation” Screened at New sible is suicidal, driving off a cliff with the York Film Festival U.S. playing Thelma to Israel’s Louise. Iranian director Asghar Farhadi’s out- standing film “A Separation” was screened Marwan Bishara at Princeton at this year’s New York Film Festival. Voted Marwan Bishara, Al-Jazeera’s senior polit- Best Film at the 2011 Berlin International ical analyst and author of the upcoming Film Festival, where Best Actress and Best book The Invisible Arab, presented “an an- Actor awards went to the entire female and STAFF PHOTO J. ADAS J. PHOTO STAFF alytical journey” of the 20-year peace Al-Jazeera’s Marwan Bishara. male ensembles, it is Iran’s official entry for process at Princeton on Oct. 6. Bishara the Academy Award for Best Foreign Lan- identified problematical aspects built into Bishara views the Arab Spring as the guage Film. In introducing “A Separation,” the process. Neither side thought the tim- “Palestinization of the Arab world.” He Farhadi asked the audience to put aside ing was advantageous, he noted—Pales- acknowledged that Arab dictators have any preconceptions and to forget what tine, with the Cold War ended and the exploited the question of Palestine for country the film is coming from. Critics PLO discredited during Bush, Sr.’s Gulf their own legitimacy, but argued they have described it as a marital drama, a film war, felt too weak; Israel, “not convinced were able to do so successfully because about morality, a legal thriller, a coming- by the limits of its victory,” believed that Palestine is a central concern in the Arab of-age film; Farhadi calls it “a detective with more time it could extract even more world; with more democracy, the people story without any detectives.” gains. For both, Bishara said, “the peace will be even more pro-Palestinian. This is The film depicts an urban, middle-class process was a continuation of the conflict why, Bishara explained, those who for- couple on the point of separating. When by means of negotiations.” Therefore, with merly preached democracy, such as Natan the wife moves to her parents’ house, neither side willing to commit to an end Sharansky who so influenced George W. their 11-year-old daughter remains with game, the process remained transitional, Bush, are now in a state of panic, and why her father. He must then find someone to proceeding by steps with seven interim Palestinian hopes and imagination are take care of his Alzheimer-stricken father agreements that achieved very little. higher than ever in both the Islamist and while he is at work in a bank. Razieh, a The U.S. exacerbated the situation be- nationalist trends. pregnant working-class woman, takes the cause, as Israel’s closest ally, it is not an hon- Meanwhile, Israeli society has under- position, bringing her young daughter to DECEMBER 2011 THE WASHINGTON REPORT ON MIDDLE EAST AFFAIRS 47 adas_46-48_New York City and Tri-State News 10/27/11 12:33 PM Page 48 work with her and not telling other decides the film is a “de- her out-of-work husband. piction of national alienation in Troubles ensue, of the sort fa- Iran.” When asked if European miliar to humanity every- responses were different from where. Pride leads to mistakes Iranian ones, however, Farhadi of words said and unsaid. responded that they were Most remarkable is how not—that similarities between Farhadi treats each of these people of different cultures honorable but flawed charac- were greater than their differ- ters with empathy. The wise ences. “It’s politicians who try viewer will neither presume, to present people as different nor be quick to judge. from each other,” he added. Those bringing an agenda to Already a huge success in the film will interpret it WWW.SONYCLASSICS.COM/ASEPARATION Iran and Europe, “A Separa- through their particular lens. One critic, drudge who “gets no respect and is op- tion” will be released in the U.S. by Sony an evident feminist, sees Razieh as a pressed by her own religious sense.” An- Pictures Classics on Dec. 30. ❑ Canadian War Crimes… and robotics for military use. headquartered in Boucherville, Quebec, Also profiting from Israel’s occupation sells products, ranging from weather strip- Continued from page 40 industry are Canadian subsidiaries of Israeli ping to squeegees, to Unikowsky Maoz, an portion of the Trans-Israel Highway, On- corporations. One of these is Nes Pan Ltd., Israeli company located in an illegal settle- tario’s then-Premier Mike Harris visited Is- which builds on expropriated Palestinian ment that imports, markets and distributes rael to “ensure that Ontario would be con- land and provides engineering, technology home building supplies to, among other sidered for the designing and building of Is- and construction services to residential real places, illegal Israeli settlements through- rael’s mass transit system, which might in- estate projects in, among other places, out the occupied West Bank. clude an underground complex in Tel Aviv.” Toronto. Like CHIC and Green Park Inter- Finally, the majority shareholders of In- Even now, Canada’s Trade Commissioner ad- national, Nes Pan also builds the infra- digo-Chapters, Heather Reisman and Gerry vertises that “[t]here are also a growing num- structure of Israel’s occupation, including a Schwartz established and support Heseg– ber of initiatives for major infrastructure section of the Tel Aviv-Jerusalem fast train Foundation for Lone Soldiers. Not only does programs (rail and urban transit, water, line and a bridge that connects an illegal Is- its board include officers retired from Is- ports) [in space over which Israel exercises raeli settlement to Israel behind the Green rael’s occupation army but, according to the sovereignty] which are open to foreign com- Line. Senstar, a company headquartered in Global BDS Movement, Heseg “has no char- panies in the tendering process” (DFAIT). Carp, Ontario, is a subsidiary of Magal Se- itable function. In fact, its sole purpose is to Not content with violating the Geneva Con- curity Services, which profits by selling provide financial support to mercenaries ventions by facilitating the building of Is- equipment to maintain Israel’s apartheid [foreign-born Jews] who wish to settle in Is- rael’s matrix of control, the Canadian gov- wall and checkpoints in the West Bank. rael after serving in occupied Palestine.” ernment wants Canadian corporations to Senstar’s participation in the occupation in- Israel, of course, is deeply embedded in help construct, presumably, the Jerusalem dustry is encouraged by the Canadian gov- the global political economy. So, too, is its light rail system intended to further the de ernment, which lists the corporation in In- occupation of Palestinians. The globalized facto annexation of that occupied city. dustry Canada’s company directory. Simi- nature of Israel’s occupation means that it larly, Amphitech Systems Inc. of Laval has connections and supports political and Profiting From Occupation Quebec, Canada and the Victoria, British economic interests that reach far beyond CIFTA’s reduction and elimination of tariffs Columbia-based company 360 Surveillance the borders of Israel/Palestine. Some of encourages Canadian corporations to par- sell technology for Israel’s apartheid wall these interests are—unsurprisingly, given ticipate profitably in what Israel’s Coalition and checkpoints, and the latter is similarly the country’s long and close relationship of Women for Peace calls the occupation supported by a listing in Industry Canada’s with Israel—Canadian. industry. At the forefront of this war company directory. Both are subsidiaries of Canadian economic interests have prof- crimes profiteering is Canada’s military-in- ICx Technologies, a company that sells sur- ited from Israel’s occupation industry. dustrial complex, many of whose members veillance technology to the Israeli state and Some have built the infrastructure of the export directly to Israel. Ottawa’s Allen- illegal Israeli settlements throughout the occupation, namely roads and settlements, Vanguard Corporation provides “counter- West Bank. and others have sold Israel’s occupying terrorist” equipment and training. iMPath Finally, Canadian economic policy also army knowledge, technology and products Networks Ltd. of Ottawa and Halifax de- enables Canadian companies not directly designed to perpetuate the occupation. signs solutions for real-time video surveil- implicated in the military-industrial com- They have done so because Canadian eco- lance and intrusion detection technology. plex to profit from and/or support the oc- nomic policy promotes war crimes profi- Mecachrome Technologies, based in Mon- cupation industry. Mountain Equipment teering. This policy encourages Canadian treal and Toronto, provides components Co-op, for example, sources a number of corporations to be complicit in the oppres- for military aircraft. And MPB Technolo- products from Israeli companies, including sion and hyper-exploitation of Palestinians; gies Ltd. of Point Claire, Edmonton, Air- its house brand. Some of these products it enables Canadians to get rich off the dis- drie and Calgary manufactures, among are developed by a contractor to Israel’s possession, suffering and immiseration of other things, communications equipment army of occupation. RCR International, Palestinians. ❑ 48 THE WASHINGTON REPORT ON MIDDLE EAST AFFAIRS DECEMBER 2011 brownfeld_49-50_Israel and Judaism 10/27/11 12:35 PM Page 49 The Myth of an Israel-Centered “Jewish Vote”— And Its Negative Consequences for Mideast Peace By Allan C. Brownfeld Israel andJudaism s the 2012 presidential election cam- Apaign gets under way, Republicans and Democrats alike are doing their best to appeal to what many perceive to be an Is- rael-centered “Jewish vote”—as if millions of Americans of the Jewish faith cast their ballots on the basis of criteria different from those of their Protestant, Catholic or Mus- lim fellow citizens. In August, the Obama campaign ap- pointed veteran political strategist Ira For- man, a former legislative liaison at AIPAC, as its director of Jewish outreach. Forman is a former Clinton administration official who managed the National Jewish Democratic Council (NJDC) for nearly 15 years. “The fact that Ira is one of the first employees hired by the re-election effort speaks to the importance the campaign places on Jewish outreach,” said William Daroff, the Jewish Federations of North America’s chief lobby- ist and a former Republican Jewish Coali- tion (RJC) official. IMAGES NAGLE/GETTY MICHAEL The New York Times reported in Septem- Texas Governor and Republican presidential hopeful Rick Perry (r) shakes hands with newly ber that, “It is no surprise that the Democ- elected Rep. Bob Turner (R-NY) at a Sept. 20 press conference with American and Israeli ratic National Committee meeting in Jewish leaders and supporters of Israel in the Great Room at the W Hotel Union Square in Chicago...included briefings on jobs and New York City, where Perry attacked President Barack Obama’s foreign policy. health care, issues critical to President Obama’s re-election. But the third topic pre- Schultz, the newly appointed head of the be blamed for taking these Jewish groups at sented to top party donors and fund-raisers Democratic National Committee, suggested their word and appealing for Jewish votes was perhaps more surprising: ‘Jewish mes- at the meeting that both parties pledge not on the basis presented to them. saging’...Matthew Brooks, the executive di- to raise the issue of Israel in a partisan man- The reality, of course, is that these Jewish rector of the RJC, said that the need to focus ner. But an angry Matt Brooks, executive organizations which pretend to speak for a discussion on Jewish outreach, alongside director of the RJC, responded the follow- millions of American Jews, in fact speak major national issues like jobs and health ing day in a letter to Wasserman Schultz only for their own small membership—if care, suggested the depth of skepticism Mr. that her request, made in front of a foreign that. All available evidence indicates that Obama faced among some Jewish donors.” leader, was politically motivated.” there is no such thing as a “Jewish vote,” According to The Forward, “The potency Both Democrats and Republicans seem to and that Jewish voters cast their ballots on of Israel as a wedge issue for Republicans consider Jews not as members of a religious the basis of precisely the same issues as going into 2012 was on full display when Is- community but as a special interest group to other voters. raeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu be appealed to on the basis of U.S. policy to- A recent Gallup Poll indicates that Jewish invited a small group of Democrats and Re- ward a foreign country, Israel. While there voters are less happy with President Obama publicans to a first-ever joint meeting at is a National Jewish Democratic Coalition because of the nation’s economic decline, Blair House one day before his May 24 and a Republican Jewish Coalition, we do not his policy toward Israel. Washington speech to Congress...what was meant to be not see similar groups aimed at other reli- Jewish Week reported that “Gallup’s a show of bipartisanship ended as a war of gious denominations. There is, for example, monthly trend in Jewish approval of Obama words between heads of the NJDC and the no Republican Presbyterian Coalition or De- continues to roughly follow the path of RJC...Florida Rep. Debbie Wasserman mocratic Roman Catholic Forum. Americans’ approval of the president, more National Jewish organizations, from the generally as it has since Obama took office Allan C. Brownfeld is a syndicated colum- American Jewish Committee to the Anti- in January 2009.” Gallup found that “The nist and associate editor of the Lincoln Re- Defamation League to AIPAC, encourage the 14-percentage point difference in the two view, a journal published by the Lincoln In- view that the dominant interest of Ameri- groups’ approval ratings in June—60 per- stitute for Research and Education, and edi- cans of Jewish faith in the political arena is cent among U.S. Jews vs. 46 percent among tor of Issues, the quarterly journal of the Israel and U.S. Middle East policy. In a all U.S. adults—is identical to the average American Council for Judaism. sense, Republicans and Democrats cannot gap seen over the past two and a half years.” DECEMBER 2011 THE WASHINGTON REPORT ON MIDDLE EAST AFFAIRS 49 brownfeld_49-50_Israel and Judaism 10/27/11 12:35 PM Page 50 This tracks with polling done by the Whatever the results in New York really our democracy to try to separate voters on American Jewish Committee (AJC) for a mean in political terms, the fact is that policy the basis of religion, and to do so on the number of years which has shown that Jew- toward Israel and the alleged “Jewish vote” basis of a false picture of the nature of U.S. ish voters consistently prioritize the econ- have become subjects of widespread discus- Middle East policy is harmful to all—to Is- omy over Israel when they enter the polling sion. According to The New York Times, “Re- rael, to the Palestinians, to American inter- booth. A poll in the fall of 2010 showed publican groups are determined to make Is- ests in the region and, perhaps most impor- Obama with an approval rating of just 51 rael a wedge issue...Billboards went up tant, to the truth itself. ❑ percent. Those who approved of his Middle around New York City showing Mr. Obama East policy slightly outnumbered those who smiling and shaking hands with the Pales- United States Postal Service Statement of Ownership, Manage- ment, and Circulation (required by 39 USC 6985 (1) Publication Title: disapproved, 49 percent to 45 percent, tinian president, Mahmoud Abbas, and de- Washington Report on Middle East Affairs; (2) Publication No: 015505; while disapproval of his handling of the claring that the president is ‘not pro-Israel.’” (3) Filing Date: 10/28/11; (4) Issue Frequency: Every six weeks in Jan/Feb, March, July, Aug, Sept/Oct, Nov and Dec and five weeks in economy was at 51 percent, as opposed to Just as President Obama arrived at the April and May/June; (5) No. of issues published annually: 9; (6) An- 45 percent who approved. U.N. in September to try to persuade Pales- nual subscription price: $29; (7) Complete mailing address of known office of publication: American Educational Trust, 1902 18th St., NW, The AJC polls also show that Jewish vot- tinian President Abbas not to proceed with Washington, DC 20009-1707; (8) Complete mailing address of head- ers consistently list Israel as fifth among his plan to seek admission to the U.N. as a quarters or general business office: American Educational Trust, 1902 18th St., NW, Washington, DC 20009-1707; (9) Full names and com- their priorities, outranked by issues such as member state, Republicans, sensing that the plete mailing addresses of publisher, editor and managing editor: Pub- the economy, health care and broader for- alleged “Jewish vote” could be influenced, lisher: Andrew Killgore, 1902 18th St., NW, Washington, DC 20009- 1707, Executive Editor: Richard Curtiss, 1902 18th St., NW, Wash- eign policy concerns. harshly attacked Mr. Obama. Texas Gov. ington, DC 20009-1707, News Editor: Delinda Hanley, 1902 18th St., In his book A New Voice For Israel, J Rick Perry accused him of “appeasement” NW, Washington, DC 20009-1707, Managing Editor: Janet McMahon, 1902 18th St., NW, Washington, DC 20009-1707; (10) Owner: Amer- Street founder Jeremy Ben-Ami notes that of the Palestinians and Mitt Romney ican Educational Trust, 1902 18th St., NW, Washington, DC 20009- although AIPAC claims to represent the tra- charged the president with “repeated efforts 1707; (11) Known bondholders, mortgagees, and other security hold- ers owning or holding 1 percent or more of total amount of bonds, ditional Jewish voice in American politics, over three years to throw Israel under the mortgages, or other securities: none; (12) The purpose, function, and surveys reveal that only 8 percent of Amer- bus...” Republican members of the House nonprofit status of this organization and the exempt status for federal in- come tax purposes has not changed during preceding 12 months; (13) ican Jewish voters support its political posi- even introduced legislation to support Is- Publication title: Washington Report on Middle East Affairs; (14) Issue tions. He goes on to argue that Israel’s occu- rael’s annexation of the West Bank which date for circulation data below: XXX-9, December 2011`; (15) Extent and nature of circulation: (a) total no. copies (net press run): Average pation over another people is a threat to The Forward described as “a move contrary no. copies each issue during preceding 12 months, 11,900 No. copies both American and Israeli long-term inter- to both American and Israeli official policy of single issue published nearest to filing date, 19,500; (b) Paid and/or requested circulation: (1) Paid/requested Outside-County mail sub- ests and also violates the very letter of Is- and an absolute affront to international law scriptions stated on Form 5,136 (include advertiser’s proof and ex- rael’s Declaration of Independence, which and democratic rights.” change copies): Average no. copies each issue during preceding 12 months, 5,751, No. copies of single issue published nearest to filing promises equality to all, regardless of race, The politicization of Middle East policy is date, 5,281; (2) Paid In-County subscriptions stated on Form 3541 (in- religion or gender. According to Ben-Ami, complicating the president’s role, declared clude advertiser’s proof and exchange copies): Average no. copies each issue during preceding 12 months, 0, No. copies of single issue pub- Israel is on the brink of becoming an The New York Times: “The relationship be- lished nearest to filing date,0; (3) Sales through dealers and carriers, “apartheid state” and losing its status as a tween the Israeli government and the Re- street vendors, counter sales, and other non-USPS paid distribution: Average no. copies each issue during preceding 12 months, 1,000. No. moral beacon to Jews and as the safe and de- publican Party has...complicated the ad- copies of single issue published nearest to filing date,1,290; (4) Other ministration’s diplomatic efforts to avert a classes mailed through the USPS: Average no. copies each issue dur- mocratic haven its pioneers sought to create. ing preceding 12 months, 150 No. copies of single issue published In mid-September, voters in New York confrontation at the U.N....over the Pales- nearest to filing date, 158; (c) Total paid and/or requested circulation tinian bid for full membership as a state, [sum of 15b (1), (2), (3), and (4)]: Average no. copies each issue dur- elected a conservative Republican to repre- ing preceding 12 months, 6,286, No. copies of single issue published sent a Democratic district that has not been limiting President Obama’s ability to exert nearest to filing date, 6,729; (d) Free distribution by mail (samples, complimentary and other free): (1) Outside-County as stated on Form in Republican hands since the 1920s. Bob pressure on Mr. Netanyahu to make conces- 3541: Average no. copies each issue during preceding 12 months, 20, Turner, the winner, cast the election as a sions that could restart negotations...” No. copies of single issue published nearest to filing date, 7,870; (2) In- County as stated on Form 3541, Average no. copies each issue dur- referendum on President Obama’s steward- The quest for a mythical Israel-centered ing preceding 12 months, 0, No. copies of single issue published near- ship of the economy and, in the state’s “Jewish vote” is causing this dangerous est to filing date, 0; (3) Other classes mailed through the USPS, Aver- age no. copies each issue during preceding 12 months, 120, No. copies Ninth Congressional District, which has a politicization of U.S. Middle East policy, and of single issue published nearest to filing date, 125; (e) Free distribu- large proportion of Orthodox Jewish voters, the government of Israel appears to be in- tion outside the mail (carriers or other means): Average no. copies each issue during preceding 12 months, 4,200, No. copies of single issue the president’s position on Israel. Turner, volving itself in internal American politics. published nearest to filing date, 4,289 (f) Total free distribution (sum of who is Roman Catholic, defeated David A close Netanyahu ally, Knesset member 15d and e): 12,284. Average no. copies each issue during preceding 12 months, 4,340, No. copies of single issue published nearest to fil- Weprin, an Orthodox Jew and strong sup- Danny Danon, stood beside Rick Perry ing date 12,284; (g) Total distribution (sum of 15c and f): Average no. porter of Israel. when he launched his attack on U.S. Middle copies each issue during preceding 12 months, 10,596, No. copies of single issue published nearest to filing date, 19,013; (h) Copies not dis- In this election, which has been discussed East policy. TIME’s Joe Klein declared that tributed: Average no. copies each issue during preceding 12 months, in terms of the president’s growing difficul- Netanyahu “has now overtly tossed his sup- 1,304; No. copies of single issue published nearest to filing date, 487; (i) Total (sum of 15g and h): Average no. copies each issue during pre- ties with Jewish voters, many factors were port to the Republicans.” ceding 12 months, 11,900 No. copies of single issue published nearest involved. The Democratic candidate got into One result may be that the U.S. loses in- to filing date, 19,013; (j) percent paid and/or requested circulation (15c/15gX100): Average no. copies each issue during preceding 12 trouble with Orthodox Jewish voters as well fluence throughout the Middle East and, months, 53.3%, No. copies of single issue published nearest to filing as Roman Catholics because of his support of because it is unable or unwilling to move date, 35.39%; (16) This statement of ownership will be printed in the Dec. 2011 a same-sex marriage bill while serving in the the Israeli government toward a genuine issue of this publication; (17) Signature and Title of Editor, Publisher, state legislature. Siena College pollster Steven two-state solution, will cede any ability to Business Manager, or Owner: Delinda Hanley, Executive Director, 10/27/11, I certify that all information furnished on this form is true Greenberg said that general voter frustration work as a mediator trusted by both parties. and complete. I understand that anyone who furnishes false or mis- over the slumping economy, a poor get-out- The fact is that there is no Jewish vote— leading information on this form or who omits material or informa- tion requested on the form may be subject to criminal sanctions (in- the-vote campaign and Weprin’s ill-advised only the votes of millions of individual Jew- cluding fines and imprisonment) and/or civil sanctions (including civil spending of campaign money on TV ads had ish Americans. Those ballots are cast on the penalties). Failure to file or publish a statement of ownership may lead to suspension of second-class authorization. PS Form 3526 October at least as much to do wih the election’s out- same basis as are those of Americans of 1999 (Facsimile). come as issues related to Israel. other faiths. It is a dangerous challenge to 50 THE WASHINGTON REPORT ON MIDDLE EAST AFFAIRS DECEMBER 2011 Project1_December 2010 Template 10/28/10 3:47 PM Page 17 activisms_52-68_December 2011 Activisms 10/26/11 8:29 AM Page 52 Describing his recent tour as an “eye- Jim Moran Headlines CAIR’s Arab-American Activism opening” experience for both himself and Annual Fund-raiser the local audiences, Obeidallah observed Comedian Discusses U.S. Islamopho- that he “met so many people who have Congressman Moran began his speech bia, Comedy in Arab World never met a Muslim in their life.” As he en- on Muslim-American civil rights by gaged audience members before wishing Muslims throughout the United and after shows, Obeidallah re- States a blessed Eid Al-Adha celebration. called, he fielded an array of “I am here because I want to help ed- questions and comments from ucate the Muslim community on the individuals who were both cu- importance of civic activism while join- rious and critical of Islam. The ing the struggle against Islamophobia,” most frequent comments he re- the Virginia Democrat said. “Politicians ceives, Obeidallah said, are from today use anti-Muslim rhetoric as a individuals who say that they platform for their campaigns.” “do not think Muslims are de- When economic, social and political nouncing terrorists and radicals troubles face this country, Moran ex- enough.” Shocked by the num- plained, some Americans lose their gen- ber of times he heard this, Obei- erosity. Politicians are targeting the dallah blamed such views on Muslim community and using it as a those “peddling hate” in the scapegoat for their problems. STAFF PHOTO D. SPRUSANSKY D. PHOTO STAFF Comedian Dean Obeidallah said his life changed on media, and strongly urged that “If I were to pose the question ‘What Sept. 11. such voices be marginalized. is Islam?’ many non-Muslims would give Nevertheless, Obeidallah de- an answer that portrays their ignorance Dean Obeidallah, who performs regularly scribed the tour as “a lot of fun” and opti- and bias,” Moran said. Refering to “Go at comedy clubs in New York City, spoke mistically commented that he “really feels Home” graffiti scrawled on an Islamic on Sept. 23 at Georgetown University’s like something [positive] is happening.” Center in Dearborn, MI the congressman Mortara Center for International Studies. Perhaps the most intriguing work Obei- urged the Muslim-American community The award-winning comedian, who has dallah has done post-9/11 has been in the not to give up on this country, because appeared on television’s Comedy Central Arab world. As a member of the Axis of “This is your own country. It will be and CNN networks, explained how he uses Evil Comedy Tour, which has performed in comedy to spread peace and freedom in countries such as Jordan and Saudi Arabia both the U.S. and the Arab world. since 2005, Obeidallah has been a leader in A small group of anti-CAIR protesters Born and raised in northern New Jersey, bringing stand-up comedy to the Arab demonstrated outside the hotel, waving Obeidallah is the son of a Sicilian mother world. In addition to performing in these signs saying, ”The U.S. Constitution gives and a Palestinian father. Growing up in a countries, Obeidallah and other comedians us free speech.” Bedier said he was bewil- predominantly Italian-American commu- offer free workshops in stand-up comedy. dered by the protest because “CAIR de- nity, he always self-identified as a white While that new form of expression did not fends this right everyday. We’re in the American, he said, and was not in touch come naturally for Arabs at first, Obeidal- forefront in defending the Constitution.” with his Arab heritage. However, like lah said, the progress it has made in the re- Attendees agreed and, inspired by Imam many other Americans, Obeidallah’s life gion has far surpassed his expectations. In Siraj Wahhaj, leader of the Muslim Al- changed dramatically on Sept. 11, 2001. analyzing comedic skills, Obeidallah clas- liance in North America (MANA), donated Despite the fact that he spoke with a dis- sified Egyptians as “by far the funniest” more than $400,000 in one night to sup- tinct New Jersey accent and lived a typical and Omani comedians as “not funny” at port CAIR’s civil rights and advocacy American lifestyle, Obeidallah’s Arab her- first. Surprisingly, Obeidallah described work. itage suddenly became his distinctive fea- Saudi Arabia as “by far the most vibrant” Referring to recent efforts to enact “anti- ture in a hypersensitive post-9/11 America. comedy scene in the region. shariah” legislation and constitutional Rather than running away from his her- —Dale Sprusansky amendments that seek to ban Islamic law itage, Obeidallah, who described Septem- in 24 states, Imam Wahhaj told the gather- ber 2001 as a converting experience, em- ing, “People are people, good and bad.” braced his Arab roots. Muslim-American Activism This wave of anti-Islamic sentiment, often The post-9/11 Obeidallah has used his led by state legislators, is sending a clear platform as a comedian to promote a CAIR’s Annual Fundraiser a Huge message of governmental disapproval of greater understanding of Islam in America. Success Islam. “Americans have the best Constitu- Citing Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert, he The Council on American-Islamic Relations tion in the world,” the imam opined, and noted that America has a tradition of using (CAIR) invited Rep. Jim Moran (D-VA) to CAIR is fighting legal battles to protect it comedy to address social and racial issues. give the keynote speech [see box] at its for the next group of Americans who are Seeking to continue this tradition, Obei- 17th annual banquet on Oct. 15, at the targeted by bigotry. “Since people are peo- dallah has organized comedy events such Crystal Gateway Marriott, in Arlington, ple, some bad people can change it,” he as his recent tour of the southern U.S., ti- VA. Some 800 community members, lead- warned listeners. tled “The Muslims are Coming,” to edu- ers, diplomats and public officials attended CAIR board chairman state Sen. Larry cate, and in many cases introduce individ- the dinner, emceed by CAIR board mem- Shaw (D-NC) and CAIR national legislative uals to Islam. ber Ahmed Bedier. director Corey Saylor presented the first of 52 THE WASHINGTON REPORT ON MIDDLE EAST AFFAIRS DECEMBER 2011 activisms_52-68_December 2011 Activisms 10/26/11 8:29 AM Page 53 stronger for your values. Our country des- children’s schools. A good education and perately needs you,” he emphasized. understanding the Constitution and the Refering to the “Fear, Inc.” report, Moran Bill of Rights is extremely important in be- said many organizations are running fear coming integrated in society, he said, campaigns to promote the distortion of adding that it is important for Muslims to Islam. Describing himself as neither a “con- know their rights because that can protect spiracy theorist” nor an “alarmist,” the con- them from discrimination. “Defend the gressman said he only deals with facts. He U.S. Constitution and stand up for the proceeded to list the seven right-wing orga- rights of others,” he urged, whether it is nizations that have donated money to craft African Americans, Asian Americans or anti-Muslim laws in America and foment Hispanic Americans. “Ask yourselves, anti-Islam rhetoric on Capitol Hill. ‘Who is suffering?’” Donors who are determined to turn peo- We should all come together and unite, ple against the Muslim community include he said. “There is no other, we are all one the Richard Mellon Scaife Foundation, the community. Lynde and Harry Bradley Foundation, the “Muslim Americans should stand up di- Newton D. & Rochelle F. Becker Founda- rectly to those who preach and practice vi- tions, the Russell Berrie Foundation and olence,” he continued. “It is Haram!—for- PHOTOS MOHAMED SADEK, COURTESY CAIR COURTESY SADEK, MOHAMED PHOTOS the William Rosenwald Family Fund. Their Rep. Jim Moran (D-VA) gives the keynote bidden by Islamic law.” campaign uses fear and insecurity and speech at the CAIR banquet (see below). Saying that Muslim Americans should funds “so-called” Islamic experts such as play a major role in the future of U.S.-Arab Daniel Pipes, Robert Spencer, and Steven He called on the Muslim community to relations, especially after the recent events Emerson, among others, who appear regu- play an important role in diminishing the of the Arab Spring, Congressman Moran larly on networks such as Fox News. barriers created by fear, as he encouraged concluded his inspiring remarks by saying “Many people weren’t happy about me them to prove their loyalty and patriotism that “The United States of America will be- spending time with CAIR this evening,” by working hard, paying taxes, raising come the nation it’s meant to be, the true Moran said. ”They accused me of consort- their children to be model citizens, volun- beacon of hope for all mankind, if you ing with the enemy—but we can’t be in- teering at charities and participating in make it so.“ timidated.” the parent-teachers’ association at their —Lama Al-Arian patients—many without medical insur- ance—regardless of their faith. Pakistani- American Olympic weightlifter Kulsoom Abdullah, a computer engineer, received the John Hancock Award for her fight to amend the dress requirements of the Inter- national Weightlifting Federation. Dr. Iqbal Unus received the Lifetime Ser- vice Award for his work leading the Mus- lim Students Association and transitioning the MSA to the Islamic Society of North America (ISNA). Bangladeshi-American Rais Bhuiyan received the Peace and Jus- tice Award for founding a campaign called World Without Hate. Bhuiyan was shot in the face by Mark Stroman, a white su- premacist who killed three people who CAIR’s annual awards, the Rosa Parks Civil zoning laws when Muslims tried to build a looked Arab after 9/11, and was sentenced Rights scholarship, to Jeania Ree Moore, a mosque there. CAIR has taken on that legal to death. Bhuiyan’s unsuccessful efforts to senior at Yale who has been involved in in- battle as well. save his shooter’s life reached the Supreme terfaith initiatives. There are also happier stories, banquet Court, and Bhuiyan’s story, especially his CAIR’s American Hero Award was pre- attendees learned. When Muslims in strong Islamic belief in forgiveness, con- sented to the Islamic Center of Murfrees- Memphis, TN bought 20 acres next to tinues to touch people around the world. boro, whose plan to build a mosque near Steve Stone’s church, that Christian pastor CAIR National Executive Director Nihad Nashville, TN was met by protests, Islamo- built a 6-foot-tall sign welcoming the Awad described the Center for American phobic sentiment, spray paint and arson Memphis Islamic Center to the neighbor- Progress’ report “Fear, Inc.: The Roots of while the Park51 controversy was raging hood. the Islamophobia Network in America,” in New York near Ground Zero. The town Another awardee was the Muslim Com- published Aug. 26, 2011 (see November of Bridgewater, NJ, which boasts 17 munity Center (MCC) Medical Clinic in 2011 Washington Report, p. 18). Seven churches, a convent, synagogues, and one Maryland (see November 2009 Washington foundations have invested $42 million to Sikh and two Hindu temples, changed its Report, p. 44), which treats thousands of defame American Muslims and work DECEMBER 2011 THE WASHINGTON REPORT ON MIDDLE EAST AFFAIRS 53 activisms_52-68_December 2011 Activisms 10/26/11 8:29 AM Page 54 against Islamic organizations like CAIR, Awad said. “Fear is a mushrooming busi- ness, but CAIR is working to put it out of business,” he promised. “Now is the time for American Muslims to stand up and help future generations...failure is not an option.” On Oct. 3 CAIR filed the first brief by a Muslim organization to the Supreme Court, Awad added. It calls for law enforcement authorities to obtain a warrant before plac- ing a GPS tracking device on any individ- ual’s vehicle. CAIR is litigating a lawsuit on behalf of Yasir Afifi, a Santa Clara, CA res- ident who discovered a GPS tracking de- vice placed on his vehicle in October 2010. Award-winning comedian Dean Obei- dallah, who uses comedy to both entertain and dispel negative stereotypes of Middle PHOTO COURTESY AHSAN DASTI AHSAN COURTESY PHOTO Eastern-Americans, left the audience in The Islamic Center of Maryland in Gaithersburg hosted a food festival and bazaar on stitches. There’s a little-known advantage Saturday afternoon, Oct. 1. Muslims from Argentina to Indonesia showcased the rich- to being Muslim, he said. Muslims are im- ness of their diverse cultures, and provided information as well as free samples of their mune from identity theft: “If your name is food. Vendors sold jewelry, clothing and perfumes. Maryland peace activist Samira Hus- Ossama, you can leave your credit card in a sein (above r) tells festivalgoers about her country-in-waiting, Palestine. crack house and no one will touch it!” —Delinda C. Hanley After escaping from a cruel master, Ibn Omar ibn Sayyid: From Islamic Sayyid was captured and jailed. While in Human Rights Scholar to Slave and Back Again captivity he wrote pages of the Qur’an A spellbound audience celebrated Islamic from memory, fasted during Ramadan and Share the Water, Build the Peace Heritage Month by watching a one-man play taught curious North Carolinians, includ- Washington, DC’s World Affairs Council about “The Life and Times of Omar ibn ing his new kinder master James Owen- hosted an Oct. 3 forum featuring Gidon Sayyid” at America’s Islamic Heritage Mu- about Islam. Ibn Sayyid’s story, written Bromberg, co-director of Friends of the seum and Cultural Center in southeast Wash- and powerfully performed by Ahmad Earth Middle East (FoEME), to talk about ington, DC on Oct. 8. Ahmad Kenya’s dra- Kenya, is unforgettable. Audience members the ecological, political and social implica- matic performance brought to life the great said they hoped the actor will someday tions of water resources in the region. African Muslim scholar from Futa Torro in turn the spotlight on Muslim Americans’ Moderator Steven Solomon, author of West Africa. After making a life-changing heritage at the Freer Gallery, Kennedy Cen- Water: The Epic Struggle for Wealth, Power pilgrimage to Mecca, ibn Sayyid was cap- ter or even the White House. and Civilization, opened the forum by ex- tured and enslaved in North Carolina. —Delinda C. Hanley plaining that water in the region is a “pow- erful political weapon.” Evidence of this, he says, can be seen during the Six-Day war, where “by gaining control of the headwater streams of the Jordan that rise in the Golan Heights and the aquifers that lie under the West Bank, Israel effectively tripled its water supply overnight.” This has been a major source of grievance for Palestinians, where Israel rations just enough water in the West Bank to drink, but not enough to “extensively irrigate their cropland.” According to Bromberg, FoEME is the only organization in the region where Is- raelis, Palestinians and Jordanians cooper- ate at a community level for a common purpose. The reason this type of interde- pendence is necessary, he explained, is be- cause “almost all water resources [in the re- gion] cross political boundaries.” The lack STAFF PHOTO D. HANLEY D. PHOTO STAFF of major cooperation, as a result of Israel’s Ahmad Kenya re-enacts the life of Omar ibn Sayyid. occupation of Palestine, has lead to poor 54 THE WASHINGTON REPORT ON MIDDLE EAST AFFAIRS DECEMBER 2011 activisms_52-68_December 2011 Activisms 10/26/11 8:29 AM Page 55 from the shared aquifer on its gently needed projects—such as the con- side of the border. This leads to struction of sewage treatment plants, im- Israel extracting 80 percent of proving water networks, eco-facilities, and the shared water resources, leav- waste water collection facilities—are being ing only 20 percent for Palestini- undertaken, Bromberg said. The West ans. As a result, Bromberg said, Bank today has only one functioning waste “When you turn on the tap any- water treatment plant, evidence of the lack where in the West Bank you can of necessary facilities. never have any guarantee there’s Bromberg urged that grassroots move- going to be water flow because ments in the region, not just ones concern- water is provided in a rationing ing water, “need much greater attention, fashion.” and much greater support,” because the In response, FoEME created a work on the ground is the best way to program called “Good Water change the situation. He concluded by not- Neighbors,” where Jordanian, ing that Israelis, Palestinians and Jordani- Palestinian and Israeli communi- ans have a shared identity as residents of ties that share the water of the the Jordan Valley, and need to work to- Jordan River and the Mountain gether for ecological, political and social STAFF PHOTO J. DEILLON J. PHOTO STAFF Aquifer work together on water reasons. —Jean-Pascal Deillon Gidon Bromberg, co-director of Friends of the Earth and sanitation issues. The previ- Middle East, says the unbalanced allocation of water ous top-down arrangement re- Protest at L.A. Chinese Consulate is a major political problem. garding water issues does not The chants broke through the hot morning allow for local community input, air: “China, China you can’t hide, stop sup- management of the already scarce re- something that is necessary to build last- porting genocide.” Then another slogan source—and, consequently, widespread ing partnerships. Today the program has was shouted: “China, China don’t you environmental pollution. 29 communities on board which, by work- care? Syrian blood is everywhere,” fol- Israel and the Palestinian West Bank ing together, learn about how each other’s lowed by another: “China, China you will share the same fresh water aquifer, actions affect other communities. Also in- see, Syria’s people will be free.” Bromberg noted, but the “current water- volved are community youth who work to- Nearly 100 men, women and children sharing agreement has really permitted Is- gether to build “grey water re-use sys- carrying American and Syrian flags and rael to dominate the shared water re- tems” and at the same time learn that there placards were gathered Oct. 14 across Shatto source.” The only limits the Joint Water is always something they can do despite Place from the Los Angeles Chinese Con- Committee is allowed to discuss is water the conflict. sulate. They were protesting China’s and usage limits in the West Bank, allowing Is- While the cooperative action has been Russia’s Security Council veto earlier that rael to pump as much water as it wants difficult because of strong animosities, ur- month of a U.S.-sponsored resolution to rep- rimand Syrian President Bashar al-Assad for his violent crackdown on peaceful citizens demonstrating against his regime. About 30 sign-carrying members of the Syrian American Council (SAC) crossed the street and marched to the consulate. Susan Misto, chair of SAC’s L.A. chapter, and board member Samir Twair requested per- mission to present a formal letter in person to Consul General Qiu Shaofang. Two U.S. State Department representa- tives emerged from the consulate and re- jected Misto’s and Twair’s request. They were told instead to send the letter by cer- tified mail to the consulate. In part, the letter read: “It is uncon- scionable that China rejected a U.N. resolu- tion that condemns the human rights vio- STAFF PHOTO D. HANLEY D. PHOTO STAFF lations being perpetrated by the Syrian Egyptians living abroad in capitals and cities around the world, including London, New government, demands an immediate end to York and Washington, DC (above), protested at Egyptian embassies and consulates on the use of force against Syrian civilians Oct. 8, demanding the right to vote in Egypt’s upcoming elections. More than 120 countries peacefully demonstrating for their funda- grant expatriates the right to vote, including countries like Sudan and Algeria. When it mental rights, and calls for a Syrian-led po- was pointed out they were protesting in Washington, DC—whose American residents litical process to address the democratic as- have no voting representation in Congress—one activist, who just moved to DC from pirations of the Syrian people.” Boston, laughed and said, “Just wait. Give me some time, I’ll change things here, too.” The singing, chanting throng continued its calls for freedom for another two hours. DECEMBER 2011 THE WASHINGTON REPORT ON MIDDLE EAST AFFAIRS 55 activisms_52-68_December 2011 Activisms 10/26/11 8:29 AM Page 56 Music & Arts Chamy’s “Of Refuge, Of Home” Explores Family Myth and History The Jerusalem Fund Gallery in Washing- ton, DC held a Sept. 30 opening reception for artist Adam Chamy’s month-long ex- hibit, “Of Refuge, Of Home.” Chamy’s col- lection of family portraits and installation works explore the stories of his Palestin- ian-Texan family with deep roots in the American frontier south as well as a deep love for a distant homeland suffering colo- nization and catastrophe. Guests viewed the art and discussed it with Chamy, for- mer director of the AET Book Club. The portraits depict family members Chamy either knew as a child or merely through photographs, stories and old diary entries. The faces of Texan farmers hang side by side with Jerusalem merchants. STAFF PHOTO S. TWAIR S. PHOTO STAFF “I was interested in the idea of myth and Syrian Americans demonstrate Oct. 14 in front of the Los Angeles Chinese Consulate. legend, particularly in one’s own family,” explained Chamy. “I weaved through the Lubana Adi of Diamond Bar, who was an for hours on her sign. It was written in clutter and picked out a few stories and 8-year-old when Bashar’s autocratic father, English: “China stop supporting the killing memories that really spoke to me.” Hafez Assad, destroyed her hometown of machine in Syria” and in Chinese charac- The subjects of the portraits include his Hama in 1982 for an earlier uprising ters which her Chinese neighbors had great-grandfather Nicolas deSimini, a against the dynastic dictatorship, worked taught her. —Pat McDonnell Twair Palestinian merchant of Italian origin, his Texan grandmother “Gran,” and his Catholic Palestinian grandmother, whose face is depicted in “Sitti” through an old frame and illuminated by the orange glow of candles that line the edges of the piece. “An exploration of family history speaks to the audience,” noted Jerusalem Gallery curator Dagmar Painter. “It resonates with everybody because everyone has immi- grant ancestors and everyone has a family story.” The artist shared bits and pieces of his stories through poetic descriptions that ac- companied each piece, and while each is distinct, the collection is unified by a sense of antiquity. Chamy created shadows and drew heavily from a palette of gold, ochre and shades of brown to invoke the feel of “something old.” Other works incorpo- rated found objects like a door, an old suit- case or a frame. “Each object has worn edges and a past and a story that is already in the piece,” said Chamy. “More often than not, I found STAFF PHOTO D. SPRUSANSKY D. PHOTO STAFF the object and the story came out of it.” In response to the Oct. 9 killing of 27 Coptic Christians in Cairo, several hundred Egyptian In “Diptych 1952 (Mom and Dad),” Americans held an Oct. 19 demonstration in front of the White House and the U.S. Capitol Chamy’s parents, Joe and Judy, are de- building in Washington, DC. Chanting “Christian blood is not free,” the demonstrators de- picted through two-paneled childhood manded an end to violence and discrimination against Christians in Egypt. Additionally, the portraits, painted on the inside of an old protesters urged both the U.S. and the global community to hold Egypt’s military council suitcase, which represents their unification (SCAF) accountable for the role activists say it played in the Oct. 9 killings. through travel. Joe immigrated to the U.S. from East Jerusalem, and Judy moved from 56 THE WASHINGTON REPORT ON MIDDLE EAST AFFAIRS DECEMBER 2011 activisms_52-68_December 2011 Activisms 10/26/11 8:29 AM Page 57 They are being shot in the street or ar- rested and tortured while their rulers plan their next costume ball. Lieutenant Duff models his tennis whites; General Falbour can’t decide between Zulu war paint or a Nazi uniform. As the play begins, we see how this con- flict is tearing apart the Al Qudsi family. Yusef is fighting for independence, his nephew for the best business deal he can get from the Brits or Zionists. But when the two are forced to share a jail cell, Tariq, the “rational nationalist,” quickly realizes that to his governors he’s just a dirty Arab who can be ordered to fetch their tennis balls. This shock brings him closer to his uncle, STAFF PHOTO D. ZARU D. PHOTO STAFF who has blamed Tariq for wanting to sell (L-r) Joe, Adam and Judy Chamy stand by Adam’s painting of great-grandfather Nicolas the family land. “We’ll be the foreigners deSimini. soon enough in Palestine,” Yusef warns his nephew. “I was forced to steal an orange Arabs and Jewish immigrants. Khalidi, 29, from my own orange grove.” shows that the British used the same brutal A second theme Khalidi brings to light— tactics against Arab rebels that they’d used with hilarious effect—is the natural empa- to smash popular revolts in India, Ireland thy the British soldiers O’Donegal and Rajib and elsewhere. According to director have for their Arab prisoners. In an early Laura Margolis, “Ismail calls his play a scene O’Donegal and his captive Yusef ‘tragipoliticomedy.’ I just call it brilliant.” trade ethnic slurs, then laugh and say Prior to its East Coast premiere this fall, “touché.” Equally revealing is a scene in “Tennis in Nablus” had earned its author which Samuel Hirsch, an idealistic Jew, the 2009 Kendeda Playwriting Prize, the overhears General Falbour and his subordi- Quest for Peace Award from the Kennedy nate Duff eviscerating Jews. Undeterred, Center (ACTF), and a second-place prize for Hirsch presses them to act quickly to stop STAFF PHOTO D. ZARU D. PHOTO STAFF “Diptych 1952 (Mom and Dad)” by Adam the Kennedy Center’s Mark Twain Award Hitler’s aggression. Chamy. for Comic Playwriting (ACTF). Khalidi, who In the end Tariq’s real estate deal goes up lives in Brooklyn, NY, says he wants to de- in smoke, but before he escapes to Beirut, a small town in Texas to Fort Worth, where bunk the stereotype of Palestinians as “vi- he gives his Aunt Anbara keys to the fam- they met. olent, barbaric, and inherently anti-Semitic ily house. The play closes on a somber note “The portraits brought tears to my eyes opponents of modernity.” as Yusef’s wife faces an uncertain future. because Adam put his heart and soul into “Tennis in Nablus” takes place in the Stageworks’ production starred Nasser his work,” said Judy Chamy, “and his writ- spring of 1939 as Arab nationalists make a Faris—a veteran of TV, stage and film—as ing is almost as moving as the art itself.” dying attempt to drive the British out. the oud player turned rebel Yusef Al Qudsi. For more information visit: that preceded the birth of Israel, British SHANNON ROB COURTESY PHOTO colonialists fueled ethnic hatred by (L-r) Nasser Faris and Fajer Al-Kaisi (foreground) and Matt Falber and Chet Carlin (back- promising the land to both indigenous ground) in Stageworks/Hudson’s 2011 production of “Tennis in Nablus.” DECEMBER 2011 THE WASHINGTON REPORT ON MIDDLE EAST AFFAIRS 57 activisms_52-68_December 2011 Activisms 10/26/11 8:30 AM Page 58 Maria Silverman played his wife, Anbara, a the Cannes Film Festival for journalist and freedom fighter modeled on “Three Monkeys.” feminist organizer Tarab Abdul Hadi. Both Tenger and Ceylan Yusef’s nephew and British collaborator treat violence with subtlety Tariq Al Qudsi was played by Fajer Al- and emphasize the personal Kaisi. Chet Carlin took on the roles of both meaning of space. Tenger’s the goose-stepping general and vegetable current installation at the peddler Hajj Waleed, whose eggplants Sackler evokes the assassina- conceal rifles. Matt Falber mimed a flawless tion of Rafiq Hariri, former British accent as the priggish Lieutenant prime minister of Lebanon, Duff, while Christopher Smith unpacked by filming the flapping cur- the complexities of Samuel Hirsch. tains and shifting light on the “Tennis in Nablus” draws on a history in façade of Beirut’s St. Georges which Khalidi’s family has a very personal Hotel. Hariri was assassinated stake. “The Khalidis are an old Jerusalem in front of the hotel on Feb. STAFF PHOTO A. BEGLEY A. PHOTO STAFF family,” explains the playwright. “Records 14, 2005, when his motorcade Dr. Judith Tucker (l) and Dr. Joseph Jabbra discuss edu- of their presence in the city date to the was blown up in a massive cational challenges in the Middle East. 12th or 13th century.” Ismail himself was explosion. While the film named for his paternal grandfather, a U.N. was made later during the renovation of sity in Cairo, and the LAU—which provide official. His father is Rashid Khalidi, Co- the hotel, the tragic moment is represented a much desired American education to lumbia University’s Edward Said Professor by the sudden interruption of the musical young Arabs, and also help serve and meet of Modern Arab Studies. Khalidi said he score and jerking camera movements. the challenges of society in their respective hopes to see a New York City production Similarly, much of the violence takes countries. in the near future. For information see place out of sight in “Three Monkeys” but The number of American-style institu- 58 THE WASHINGTON REPORT ON MIDDLE EAST AFFAIRS DECEMBER 2011 activisms_52-68_December 2011 Activisms 10/26/11 8:30 AM Page 59 ican institutions are meeting that the changes occurring within challenge, and their graduates are Egypt’s religious institutions. getting jobs and going on to “make George Washington University an impact on the education ques- professor Nathan Brown began by tion.” emphasizing the importance of an- Another challenge is societal alyzing what is happening in Egypt pressure for young people to be- at the micro level. Explaining that come doctors and engineers, which “mini-revolutions” are occurring creates a glut in those areas and within such institutions as the leaves a deficit in such critical fields press, labor unions, and religious as political science, government and organizations, Brown stressed that international relations. The top the outcomes of these institutional schools put quotas on class sizes for conflicts will significantly impact degrees that are oversaturated, Dr. Egypt’s future. Jabbra said, although he admitted Focusing on Al-Azhar University this does little to sway the demand in Cairo, Brown noted that Sunni that society, and parents, have for Islam’s highest institution of learn- those particular professions. TWAIR S. PHOTO STAFF ing is undergoing an internal —Alex Begley California State University Middle East Studies Conference process of determining its role in participants (l-r) Hend Gilli-Elewy, Mahmood Ibrahim, Egypt’s future. Under state control CSU Middle East Studies chair, and Elabe Amani. since 1961, he pointed out, Al- Confab at Cal Poly Pomona Azhar has long been co-opted by An impressive slate of 10 academic panels he said, Gazans barred from fleeing the Egypt’s authoritarian regimes. Now free capped by a keynote address by Hastings coastal enclave when Israel announced it from previous restraints, many voices School of Law Prof. George Bisharat was would drop bombs on them were inter- within the institution are fighting for Al- the extensive menu for the 4th annual Cal- preted by Israel as “voluntary human Azhar to win greater independent author- ifornia State University Conference on shields” and therefore combatants subject ity over Egypt’s religious matters. Many Middle East Studies Oct. 14 and 15 at Cal- to lawful attack. within the institution, which Brown de- ifornia State Polytechnic University, Israel’s interpretation, Bisharat theo- scribed as having a “strong sense of insti- Pomona. rized, is designed to put it on the “cutting tutional pride,” would like to see all of Cal Poly history professor Mahmood edge” of new law in the so-called “War on Egypt’s religious organizations, such as the Ibraham was chair of the conference fea- Terror.” This turns the purpose of IHL— Ministry of Religious Affairs, brought turing panel topics ranging from “The which is to limit suffering even in war— within Al-Azhar’s sphere. Arab Spring and Palestine” and ”Shah on its head, thus enacting the theory that Explaining that the “stakes are fairly ‘Abas I: Achaemenid or Turkish Despot?” “might makes right.” high” in the battle for Al-Azhar’s future, to “Iran: Tensions Within and Without.” —Pat McDonnell Twair Brown noted that most Egyptians agree A memorable reception and dinner took that Al-Azhar should assume greater au- place Oct. 14 in the historic Kellogg House thority over Egypt’s religious affairs. Nev- on campus, where actress-singer-dancer Waging Peace ertheless, Brown stressed that there is both Cynthia Sophiea performed from her internal and external disagreement as to “Everyone Has Tears” show. The Turath Panel Explores Egypt’s Changing the degree of power Al-Azhar should as- Ensemble and S.K. Near East Ensemble en- Religious Climate sume. Some within the institution, such as tertained with “Romancing the Arab The Washington, DC-based Carnegie En- Grand Sheikh Ahmed el-Tayeb, a Mubarak Spring: Romantic Songs of Gibran Khalil dowment for International Peace hosted an appointee, have proposed a modest expan- Gibran and Mahmoud Darwish.” Oct. 6 panel discussion titled “Post-Revo- sion of Al-Azhar’s powers. Those outside “Violence’s Law” was the title of lutionary Egypt: New Trends in Islam.” Al-Azhar, most notably Salafi Islamists, Bisharat’s thought-provoking address on Moderated by Marina Ottaway, senior as- have expressed unease with the idea of Al- Oct. 15. The Harvard University-educated sociate at the Carnegie Middle East Pro- Azhar having a monopoly over Egypt’s re- scholar pointed out Israel’s distortions of gram, the panel focused its attention on ligious affairs. international humanitarian law (IHL) in which it uses violence to enforce new con- cepts of IHL (which governs behaviors of parties at war). “There is considerable evidence that Is- rael is deliberately trying to rewrite inter- national law through violence,” stated the former trial lawyer for the San Francisco Office of Public Defender. Israeli military lawyers are well aware of the limits of IHL, he stressed, but they consciously encourage military comman- SPRUSANSKY D. PHOTO STAFF ders to violate these limits. As an example, (L-r) Marina Ottaway, Prof. Nathan Brown, Khaled Elgindy and Prof. Jonathan Brown. DECEMBER 2011 THE WASHINGTON REPORT ON MIDDLE EAST AFFAIRS 59 activisms_52-68_December 2011 Activisms 10/26/11 8:30 AM Page 60 Khaled Elgindy, visiting fellow at the Brookings Institution, was critical of the Western interpretation of Egypt’s chang- ing political and religious climates. De- scribing the discourse on Egypt as “limited and narrow and also a little bit behind,” El- gindy argued that the potential role of the Muslim Brotherhood has been over-ana- lyzed, while the changing role of Al-Azhar and the growing power of the Salafists and STAFF PHOTO J. DEILLON J. PHOTO STAFF other groups has been overlooked. (L-r) Mona El-Ghobashy, Joshua Stacher and Rabab El-Mahdi. Addressing the “chaotic political atmos- phere in the country,” Elgindy noted that cause Egypt is a politicized state “where and still in the early stages of development. the division of Egyptian society into hun- there is no real distinction between the Associations, who “have a set membership dreds of political groups has made it diffi- state institutions and those who rule.” base and don’t have to do the leg work that cult to monitor the country’s political cli- Those who hold positions in different gov- political parties have to do,” constitute the mate. This proliferation is “not necessarily ernment bureaucracies and ministries are second group. Because political parties faced constructive or conducive toward their interrelated with certain institutions, repression under Mubarak, El-Ghobashy goals of advancing a democratic program,” meaning that restructuring the political ap- elaborated, associations were the main chan- he added. paratus would extend to other sectors of nel for interest representation and, she pre- Given the dramatic surge in the popu- society—making it very difficult for mean- dicted, will remain that way for the next larity of Salafism over the past few months, ingful change to occur. five to ten years. Other important channels Jonathan Brown, a professor at George Joshua Stacher, professor of political sci- for interest representation in Egypt are in- Washington University, spent the majority ence at Kent State University, elaborated on dependent trade unions—whose struggles of his time discussing that religious group. the inherent continuity of Egypt’s govern- and demonstrations in Cairo were a preview Noting that Salafism had a “very precari- ment after the overthrow of Mubarak by of the revolution. The inherent variety of ous existence during the Mubarak years,” examining the Supreme Council of the these groups, as well as the previous dis- Brown explained that it nevertheless has Armed Forces (SCAF) and the power and trust and ineffectiveness of political parties, managed to spread from its base in Alexan- privilege it has retained since Mubarak’s creates a natural tendency for them to avoid dria to Cairo and cities along the Nile fall. According to Stacher, “SCAF is dis- uniting into major federations and possibly Delta, such as Tanta. proportionately in charge, and therefore being controlled by executive powers such While the Salafis, who have no hierar- they are disproportionately to blame” for as the SCAF. The fourth influential channel, chical power structure, had “severe prob- the current state of the revolution seven according to El-Ghobashy, is localized street lems with discipline” after the revolution, months in. Moreover, he added, “their ac- politics. The daily actions by small groups Brown noted, they have since increased tions and their practices leave no doubt to who organize on street corners for specific their political savvy and restraint. There their culpability.” demands are the base of Egyptian politics, currently are four known Salafi parties in Although Mubarak is gone, the parallel she said, and will also be around for several Egypt, he said, and Salafis have shown “in- executive structures have remained, allow- years. credible solidarity” in uniting around ing the former regime’s same repressive As the revolution continues, El- Hazem Salah Abu Ismail as their presiden- rule to operate. One important element of Ghobashy argued, the presence of diverse tial candidate. The big question going for- this is that SCAF maintains veto power fragmented groups in political society will ward, Brown concluded, is “who is able to over political structures, such as who gets work to remove the personalization of get more votes, the non-Salafi Muslim appointed as a member of the constitu- power in Egypt. This will also prevent a Brotherhood or the Salafi groups?” tional delegation. SCAF has also pushed for corrupt and unresponsive executive from —Dale Sprusansky November elections—knowing that, as an reconstituting its power. incumbent with an unorganized opposi- Egypt’s upcoming elections have also The State of the Egyptian Revolution tion, it will win the stability vote and re- brought the role of Islamists to the fore- George Washington University’s Elliot tain its power. In addition to maintaining front of discussions. In El-Mahdi’s opinion, School of International Affairs hosted a its power while remaining in the shadows, there is too much media focus on the di- Sept. 21 panel of leading political scientists “SCAF will get the legitimacy vote for viding line between the secular and reli- to discuss and offer their perspectives on holding the elections,” Stacher observed. gious. In reality, she said, the issues that the revolution in Egypt and its new politi- In contrast to her fellow panelists, Mona launched the revolution, such as economic cal situation. El-Ghobashy, political science professor at justice and corruption, are not being fo- Rabab El-Mahdi, professor of political Barnard College, explained that for the first cused on. Indeed, she noted, the division science at the American University in time since the 1900s—right before the between Islamist groups can sometimes be Cairo, began by explaining that the revo- WAFD party took control of the political greater than that between the secular and lution in Egypt is far from being over. system—Egypt is experiencing a “free religious groups. While Mubarak’s rule ar- While it took only 18 days to depose Pres- movement” that consists of fragmented po- tificially consolidated these groups, El- ident Hosni Mubarak, the same elites, in- litical groups. Since the revolution, she went Ghobashy added, today they are “naturally cluding those from Egypt’s media and uni- on to explain, there are four vehicles of in- fragmenting into their natural tendencies” versities, are still running the country terest represented in Egypt. The first are po- no longer kept together by “the glue of re- today. This, according to El-Mahdi, is be- litical parties which are “a dime a dozen” pression.” —Jean-Pascal Deillon 60 THE WASHINGTON REPORT ON MIDDLE EAST AFFAIRS DECEMBER 2011 activisms_52-68_December 2011 Activisms 10/26/11 8:30 AM Page 61 Hezbollah in the Wake of the sisting domestic regimes. According to the Arab Uprisings MEI scholar, this recent regional shift to- ward domestic politics is increasingly mak- Seeking to better understand how Hezbol- ing Hezbollah appear “out-of-sync with lah will respond to the changing political the passions and interests of the Arab pub- landscape in the Middle East, the Middle lic.” East Institute (MEI) hosted an Oct. 11 dis- Slim explained that Hezbollah’s growing cussion titled “Hezbollah in the Wake of image problem is only compounded by its the Arab Spring.” Randa Slim, a Lebanese- relationship with the repressive Iranian American scholar at MEI, led the discus- and Syrian regimes. For instance, Slim sion. said, “Hezbollah’s Iranian ally will become Given that Iran, Syria and Hezbollah more of a liability than an asset.” Further- maintain a strong regional alliance, the po- more, she argued, Hezbollah’s support of tential overthrow of Syrian President the Assad regime “puts them in the camp Bashar al-Assad presents a major geopolit- of countries opposed to the values and as- ical challenge for the three. As Slim ex- pirations of the people for freedom and plained, “Syria is the crucial linchpin that good governance.” connects Hezbollah and Iran, serves as a Despite the many dilemmas Hezbollah is STAFF PHOTO J. DEILLON J. PHOTO STAFF conduit for transfer of weapons into currently confronting, the group maintains Obada Shtaya (l) and Eyal Shapira. Lebanon, provides strategic depth for that its future is stable, Slim pointed out. Hezbollah, and grants Iran a toehold on Is- In fact, she explained, Hezbollah still be- ing for the attacks to pass or whether we rael’s northern border.” Thus, without the lieves that Assad will survive the Syrian should keep on living our lives.”After hav- presence of a valuable ally in Assad, uprising. Given this confidence that its ing seen the effects these attacks had on Hezbollah’s ability to efficiently operate Syrian ally will remain in power, Slim his community, Eyal said he believes that and project strength diminishes greatly. noted that, in terms of scenario building, “we cannot keep on counting the victims Aside from potential damage to its al- there has been a “lack of real deliberation on both sides” but instead “we should take liances, Hezbollah also is concerned that going on inside Hezbollah’s ranks.” things into our own hands.” The govern- the Syrian uprising will create instability Slim concluded by giving her personal ment is not affected, but the people on the within Lebanon. Slim noted that Hezbol- assessment regarding Hezbollah’s future, ground, the civilians, are the victims. This lah is now being forced to devote more re- saying she believes that Hezbollah will be became his primary motivation to work for sources to domestic causes in an effort to “seriously weakened” by the ongoing re- OneVoice. avoid a spill-over of violence into Lebanon. gional events, but that it ultimately “won’t His views about the effects of this con- The Arab uprisings are also threatening collapse.” —Dale Sprusansky flict were reinforced when he served with the relevance of Hezbollah’s message, Slim the Israel Defense Forces for three years as said, noting that Hezbollah’s “principal The Role of Youth in Ending the a soldier in the West Bank and Lebanon. claim to leadership in the Arab region” is Israeli-Palestinian Conflict He explained that his experience as a sol- its “unwavering commitment to resisting Two OneVoice youth activists, one Israeli dier, where he went “into Palestinian vil- Israeli occupation of Arab lands and stand- and the other Palestinian, spoke on Sept. lages, seeing how the situation affects the ing up to U.S. policies in the Middle East.” 22 at the Case Foundation Washington, DC lives of the Palestinians, only served to While this message was central to Arab offices of Buxton Initiative, an organiza- strengthen the feeling that we are all the unity before the revolts, Slim added, Arabs tion of Muslims, Christians and Jews who victims of this conflict.” now are increasingly concerned with re- are dedicated to building understanding Eyal has been working with OneVoice and dialogue among their communities. on several events to spread the word about OneVoice is an international grassroots border agreements between Israel and movement that amplifies the voices of Palestine, as well as the Palestinian bid for mainstream 18- to 34-year-old Israelis and U.N. admission as a state and the reactions Palestinians who are demanding a two- of the Israeli government. He said he feels state solution. that “the audience that came to these types Eyal Shapira, a student at Hebrew Uni- of conferences left the event much more versity in Jerusalem and a youth leader optimistic, and got a much more complex from OneVoice Israel (OVI), first spoke look about the situation.” about his experience growing up in His fellow panelist, Obada Shtaya, a 20- Mevaseret Tsiyon, a small town west of year-old with OneVoice Palestine studying Jerusalem. When he was 15 years old, he at An-Najah National University in Nablus, recalled, the second intifada broke out, fol- shared his experience as a Palestinian. lowing Ariel Sharon’s trip to Haram al- When he was only a few years old, he ex- Sharif, also known as the Temple Mount. plained, many Palestinians were arrested, Shapira said two major attacks affected his including his father, who spent a year and community and “put fear in all of Israeli a half in jail. “This was a series of impris- STAFF PHOTO D. SPRUSANSKY D. PHOTO STAFF citizens.” Eyal explained that “every onments,” he added, “because he was ar- MEI scholar Randa Slim discusses the chal- household had the same dilemma, which rested nine times up until 2007.” Every lenges facing Hezbollah. was whether we should stop our life wait- time his father was arrested, Obada said, DECEMBER 2011 THE WASHINGTON REPORT ON MIDDLE EAST AFFAIRS 61 activisms_52-68_December 2011 Activisms 10/26/11 8:30 AM Page 62 “we moved to live with my ments services, such as educa- grandmother in another city.” tion, they urged the country’s This occurred during the sec- leaders to invest and spend in ond intifada, during which time America rather than Israel. In- Israeli soldiers invaded his city, deed, at one point, the protesters Nablus, and occupied it for three began repeatedly demanding months. “For two months contin- “more money for police,” earn- uously,” Obada recalled, “we ing them smiles from the sur- could not leave our houses—nei- rounding police officers. ther to [go to] schools, church, or Chanting “we want democ- anywhere.” While the intifada racy, no more hypocrisy,” the ral- ended in 2006, he explained, liers also maintained that Amer- “the wounds of the intifada, the ica’s current Middle East foreign scars and effects of the intifada policy does not serve the coun- did not end in 2006.” The people try’s best interests. Describing still imprisoned by Israel and the SPRUSANSKY D. PHOTO STAFF U.S. aid to Israel as “extremely The September 15 Organization holds a rally at the White destruction “remind the Pales- harmful to Palestinians, to Is- House. tinians that they are still humili- raelis themselves, and to Ameri- ated.” White House, where they arrived around cans,” Weatherbee emphasized that Wash- When Obada began his university stud- 7:30 chanting, “Free, free Palestine.” The ington’s strong support of Israel is deeply ies in 2008, he “understood that armed in- 50 demonstrators spent about an hour de- harming its image abroad. “We want jus- tifada and violence is not the way to end livering various chants and speeches in tice, we want peace,” the demonstrators the conflict”—even though he said he un- front of the White House. shouted, urging the U.S. to engage in a for- derstands that Palestinians were reacting to While the rally took place several days eign policy genuinely centered on the val- Israeli pressure. He joined OneVoice, he before Palestine applied for statehood with ues of justice, peace, and freedom. said, when he realized that “the two-state the United Nations, rally participants for —Dale Sprusansky solution would be the best, most achiev- the most part did not address the topic of able and pragmatic solution to end the con- statehood for Palestine. Explaining the de- U.S. Campaign to End the Israeli flict.” Before joining OneVoice, Obada had cision to take a neutral position on the Occupation: Looking Back, Moving never met Jews except for the Israeli sol- issue, rally organizer Sarah Weatherbee Forward diers occupying Nablus. said the group advocates “for a rights- Washington, DC’s Thurgood Marshall Cen- During Imagine Palestine 2018, where based solution, whether it’s one state, two ter hosted the U.S. Campaign to End the Is- OneVoice asked Palestinians what they states, or no state.” Elaborating, she raeli Occupation’s 10th Annual National imagined Palestine would be like in 2018, stressed that the organization is concerned Organizers’ Conference, from Sept. 16 to many had a difficult time imagining a state with ensuring that Palestinians “enjoy the 18. Approximately 250 activists gathered by then. Obada believes that projects like same rights as everyone else, regardless of for this year’s conference, themed “Look- these are important to “keep the conversa- their race, regardless of their religion, re- ing Back, Moving Forward: How to Align tion alive about a two-state solution.” gardless of whatever background they U.S. Policy with Freedom, Justice, and When asked how they do see the situa- come from.” Equality.” tion in 2018, Obada said he hopes to see a Given the focus on this theme, ralliers The weekend’s various well-attended free and economically prosperous Pales- opted to emphasize the $3 billion in annual panels and plenary sessions addressed a tine, while Eyal asked, “Why wait until U.S. aid to Israel. Arguing that U.S. aid to number of topics, notably boycott, divest- 2018, let’s make it 2013?” Both remain very Israel funds human rights abuses and sup- ment and sanctions (BDS) campaigns, ap- optimistic about the situation, even though ports an illegal occupation, those gathered proaches to challenging Zionist organiza- negotiations have not re-started due to Is- at the White House urged Washington to tions in the U.S., and the Israel lobby. rael’s refusal to halt its illegal settlement- reconsider its current monetary support of building. Israel. Lamenting that President Barack Connecting the Arab Spring to To learn more about OneVoice, visit Obama “has not taken a strong enough Palestine 62 THE WASHINGTON REPORT ON MIDDLE EAST AFFAIRS DECEMBER 2011 activisms_52-68_December 2011 Activisms 10/26/11 8:30 AM Page 63 the two themes that all fit the specifications of their local commu- the Arab uprisings share, nities. “This is how we can educate peo- he noted that all Arabs ple,” Baum explained, and make them re- want to be “citizens with alize that “the entire Israeli economy is in- rights.” All three pan- volved in the Palestinian occupation.” elists agreed that Pales- Baum cited Veolia, a French water and tinians are no different waste management company that has been from their fellow Arabs, involved in several Israeli projects, as a and that the success of good target for local organizing because the the uprisings in other company has facilities throughout the U.S. countries will only fuel Rebecca Subar, a professor of peace and the burgeoning Palestin- conflict studies at West Chester University ian desire for freedom and a board member of Jewish Voice for STAFF PHOTO D. SPRUSANSKY D. PHOTO STAFF and justice. Peace, focused on the TIAA-CREF divest- (L-r) Omar Barghouti, Helena Cobban and Rami Khouri dis- Khouri further empha- ment campaign. TIAA-CREF, a Fortune cuss the Arab Spring and Palestinian statehood. sized that supporting Is- 100 investment group that is the leading rael and repressive Arab retirement provider for academic and med- ington’s declining influence in the Arab leaders is resulting in the “self-marginal- ical employees, is “known for being a so- world. Commenting that the Arab upris- ization” of the U.S. He concluded by stress- cially-responsible company,” she ex- ings have had a “devastating effect” on the ing the importance of Palestinians devel- plained. However, it invests heavily in ability of the U.S. and Israel to be the hege- oping a “clear and unified consensus” on Caterpillar (CAT), the world’s largest man- monic powers in the region, Barghouti how to deal with Israel, and warned that if ufacturer of construction and mining made it a point to emphasize that Israel the Palestinian approach remains vague, it equipment, which provides bulldozers to must come to the realization that a new era will leave Israel with an effective propa- the Israeli army. According to Amnesty In- of Middle East politics is emerging. Noting ganda tool. —Dale Sprusansky ternational, these have been used to com- that Israel “has not yet realized that things mit human rights violations, including the have indeed changed,” Barghouti argued Panel on Crafting and Sharpening death of Rachel Corrie, a 23-year-old that it is against Israel’s best interests to not Effective BDS Campaigns American peace activist who was killed recognize that the status quo no longer ap- Boycott and divestment activism, initiated under a CAT bulldozer operated by an Is- plies. in 2005 by 171 Palestinian non-govern- raeli Defense Officer in 2003. While many in the West point to the mental organizations in support of the Panelist Tory Smith, a member of Earl- Arab uprisings as a sign that al-Qaeda’s Palestinian cause, continues to build mo- ham College’s BDS and Students for Justice ideology has been rejected by the Arab mentum in the United States. Panel moder- in Palestine groups, discussed BDS ac- street, Barghouti stressed that the upris- ator Omar Barghouti, political analyst and tivism from the perspective of a college ings also demonstrate that the U.S., too, has author of Boycott, Divestment, Sanctions: student. He explained that “one of the in- become “irrelevant” in the region. The up- The Global Struggle for Palestinian Rights teresting things about being a college risings “happened despite U.S. policy, not (available from the AET Book Store), group is that there’s a built-in resistance because of it,” he elaborated. opened the panel with the observation that [on campus]—Jewish student groups.” In Cobban discussed the importance of “just three years ago, BDS was still on the Smith’s opinion, engaging in dialogue with changing the discourse that surrounds the fringe…but look where we are now.” these groups is the first step in creating a Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Explaining that Panelist Dalit Baum, an activist in resi- successful BDS campaign. “discourse is how people get an idea of dence with Global Exchange and a co- Nancy Kricorian of Code Pink: Women what is acceptable to think,” she stressed founder of Who Profits from the Occupa- for Peace, a grassroots peace and social jus- that it is critical for Palestinian activists to tion, “true Arab sovereignty,” and “legitimate BIRKENTHAL S. PHOTO [Arab] governance.” Citing the demand for (L-r) Dalit Baum, Rebecca Subar, Tory Smith, Nancy Kricorian, Andrew Kadi and David social justice and constitutional reform as Wildman describe BDS progress. DECEMBER 2011 THE WASHINGTON REPORT ON MIDDLE EAST AFFAIRS 63 activisms_52-68_December 2011 Activisms 10/26/11 8:30 AM Page 64 tory,” Kricorian told the assembled ac- support the state of Israel and to falsely Janet McMahon, managing editor of the tivists, and hired “Sex and the City” star equate Judaism with Zionism, Kershnar ex- Washington Report on Middle East Affairs, Kristin Davis as a spokesperson to help the plained. Noting that Zionist groups “stand explained that because AIPAC is techni- company’s image. According to Kricorian, in opposition to the goals of the Palestinian cally classified as a not-for-profit member- “We were able to get people to contact liberation and the Palestinian solidarity ship organization, it does not have to reveal Oxfam, which has an explicit policy movement,” she contended that Zionist or- its funding sources or expenditures. She against settlement products, and asked, ganizations are ideal targets for BDS work. then detailed the 30-50 smaller pro-Israel ‘How can you be against settlement prod- “We can’t allow [Zionist groups] to claim PACs that actually donate money to politi- ucts, and have a goodwill ambassador who Jewish interests or authority,” she empha- cal campaigns. is selling settlement products?’” Thanks to sized. Grant F. Smith of IRmep began his pre- Code Pink’s activism, Davis lost both her Next, Szremski explained the concept of sentation by urging attending national ac- position as an Oxfam goodwill ambassador “creeping normalcy,” by which acceptance tivists to challenge the American Israel and her contract with Ahava. of Israeli human rights abuses has slowly Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC). He re- Andrew Kati, a steering committee mem- become normal and unobjectionable. She viewed the organization’s emergence from ber with the U.S. Campaign, discussed cul- described the movement to challenge the the Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs in tural boycotts, noting that they “have a American Israel Public Affairs Committee 1951 and continuous clashes with law en- very significant role in overturning the (AIPAC)’s tax-exempt status based on the forcement officials and regulators over For- psyche of normality and invisibility that fact that this summer, 55 House Republi- eign Agent (FARA) registration, election Israel has.” Cultural boycotts against Israel cans and 26 House Democrats participated law violations, money laundering, classi- should follow the same model as the sports in “educational” trips funded by the fied information trafficking and even theft boycotts imposed upon apartheid South American Israel Education Foundation of US government property! Africa, Kati said, and listed a number of (AIEF), a Zionist group affiliated with AIPAC is vulnerable, asserted Smith, be- artists and pop culture icons, including AIPAC. “In the United States we should cause it has imported not just harmful Is- Elvis Costello, Oprah, Bono and Snoop not be giving non-profit status to organi- raeli government policies, but its illegal Dogg, who have canceled planned appear- zations that racially discriminate,” she ar- tactics and disregard for rule of law into ances in Israel. For these artists, he ex- gued. —Sara Birkenthal the U.S.—and growing numbers of Ameri- plained, “it’s a political statement to go and cans can see how costly this has been to perform somewhere as much as it is not Exposing AIPAC: Delving into the the economy and security of the nation. to.” Details of the Israel Lobby Smith urged activists to join three pro- The final panelist, David Wildman, a During the second workshop session, Ali- grams—AIPAC FARA registration, IRS ex- member of the General Board of Global son Weir of the Council for the National emption revocation, and suspension of ill- Ministries of the United Methodist Church Interest and of If Americans Knew moder- gotten trade preferences—to expose and and a U.S. Campaign steering committee ated a discussion on the history of AIPAC challenge AIPAC’s corrupt practices in member, addressed the role of churches in and its “various quasi-legal activities.” America and win peace in the Middle East. the BDS movement. “Churches first started Weir opened the workshop by proposing —Sara Birkenthal boycotting 2,000 years ago,” he pointed that “supporting Israel is damaging to U.S. out, “when the Apostle Paul advocated a interests.” She explained that in the 1940s, Workshop: Strategies on How to boycott as an expression of solidarity.” the majority of U.S. government officials as Counter AIPAC Since 2005, when the United Methodist well as oil company executives opposed Alli McCraken, CODEPINK’s Washington, Church passed a resolution to divest from Zionism and viewed U.S. support for Israel DC office coordinator, led one of several companies supporting the Israeli occupa- as damaging in the long-term. However, workshops on Sept. 20 during the U.S. tion, the church has compiled lists of such American support for Israel shifted with Campaign to End the Israeli Occupation’s companies. Wildman concluded with a call the creation of the American Zionist Emer- National Organizers Conference. The work- to action: “At what point do you stop say- gency Committee, which had a budget of shop focused on strategies that can be im- ing ‘this is wrong,’ and start doing some- over $150 million in 1948. plemented to counter the influence of the thing?”—Sara Birkenthal Legal and Popular Approaches to Challenging Zionist Organizations The next morning began with a workshop on challenging Zionist organizations, pre- sented by Kristin Szremski of American Muslims for Palestine and Sara Kershnar of the International Jewish Anti-Zionist Net- work. The pair provided background in- formation on leading Zionist organizations, including the Anti-Defamation League, the Israel Advocacy Initiative, the Jewish Fed- eration and the Zionist Organization of America. DEILLON J. PHOTO STAFF The role of Zionist organizations is to CODEPINK’s Alli McCraken led a workshop on countering AIPAC. 64 THE WASHINGTON REPORT ON MIDDLE EAST AFFAIRS DECEMBER 2011 activisms_52-68_December 2011 Activisms 10/26/11 8:30 AM Page 65 American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC), America’s pro-Israel lobby, by or- ganizations working to change the narra- tive on the Israeli-Palestinian issue in the United States. The reason the group fo- cused on the organization, with its $15 mil- lion budget and 158 employees, is because it considers AIPAC to be “the biggest ob- stacle to peace in the region” stemming from the fact that its financial wealth en- ables it to exert major political influence in Washington. The workshop searched for ways to at- tract endorsement of CODEPINK’s cause and to end Israel’s occupation of Palestin- ian territories. One successful example of increasing involvement in this issue was the Move Over AIPAC conference held on May 21, 2011, during AIPAC’s annual meeting in Washington, DC. That confer- ence succeeded in bringing attention to HANLEY D. PHOTO STAFF the influence AIPAC exerts on the U.S. gov- (L-r) Dr. Alfred Khoury, Hani Khleif, Laurie Kassman, Ambassador Edward Gnehm and ernment. The lack of resources of organi- Dima Zayat ask donors to come to Palestine to see how their support is changing lives. zations working to counter AIPAC in com- parison to AIPAC’s wealth makes it difficult educational materials and playground Alfred Khoury, ANERA board vice chair, to mobilize with the same capacity. Fortu- equipment to Palestinian camps and com- noted the dire situation in occupied Pales- nately, the resources necessary for organi- munities in the West Bank, Gaza, Lebanon tine, “where in the last 40 years it’s moved zations to counter AIPAC’s influence in and Jordan. In FY 2011, the relief and de- backward.” When Israel occupied Gaza and their communities is not only monetary. velopment agency sponsored more than other parts of the West Bank in 1967, Factual information, creatively engaging $60 million of programs. Khoury said, “there was poverty but noth- people, and providing information in a Board chair Ambassador Edward (Skip) ing like what we see today. There has been simple manner that maps out the cause and Gnehm and ANERA president Bill Corco- de-development of large segments of Pales- effect are effective tools for organizers. ran welcomed guests to the event and de- tinian society,” he warned. “Education The workshop also came up with initia- scribed some of ANERA’s new programs. used to be our way forward but now edu- tives geared toward a college- level audi- One of them, a home gardening project has cated Palestinians can’t make a living...” He ence, since AIPAC focuses on recruiting provided training, greenhouses, tools, promised that “ANERA can and has the will college and university students. Workshop seedlings, water tanks, fertilizers and irri- to continue—with your support.” participants discussed ideas about how to gation systems to help 35 families living in Dr. Vicken Kalbian, chair of ANERA’s include an educational component in order remote and marginalized areas, especially medical committee from 1980 until his re- to reach out to college students. widows or women who are heads of house- tirement this year, explained why he and CODEPINK is a women’s anti-war and holds. others are so committed to the more than anti-militarism organization that fights to ANERA’s in-kind program delivers and 40-year-old organization: “ANERA hasn’t promote the reallocation of U.S. resources distributes donations, including life-saving wavered in its mission to improve lives in toward health care, education, green jobs medicines, wheelchairs and other items this volatile and politicized region. It’s al- and other efforts that benefit American gathered by other organizations. This year, ways focused...I say it loudly, ANERA is communities. The name CODEPINK origi- among many of the gifts it delivered was a the best show in town.” nated as a play on President George Bush’s badly needed hydraulic bed for the inten- To cap off the night, guests enjoyed an- color-coded terrorism threat level alert. sive care unit run by the Palestinian Red other excellent show by comedian Pales- To learn more about CODEPINK, visit Crescent Society (PRCS) in Gaza. tinian-American Aron Kader, one of four DECEMBER 2011 THE WASHINGTON REPORT ON MIDDLE EAST AFFAIRS 65 activisms_52-68_December 2011 Activisms 10/26/11 8:30 AM Page 66 apartheid resistors that rights of refugees must not be excluded define such new Pales- from the narrative for statehood. tinian resistance move- Palestinian Authority (PA) President ments as Boycott Di- Mahmoud Abbas’ Sept. 23 speech at the vestment and Sanctions U.N. publically demonstrated the power of (BDS). the Palestinian narrative, as he related sto- During the question- ries of the Nakba and the plight of and-answer session, refugees to an applauding international au- South Africa’s Ambas- dience. Yet despite his reference to the col- sador to the U.S. lective Palestinian plight, Makdisi said, Ebrahim Rasool stated Abbas was unable to fully utilize this that while the Palestin- power—and, like the bid itself, his speech ian narrative is power- lingered between “assertive and apolo- ful, it is “muddied” by getic,” and “forthright and offensive.” such ideologies as Is- Criticizing Abbas’ unelected govern- lamophobia, which vil- ment, Makdisi said that the January 2011 ifies Palestinians, and release of the Palestine Papers detailing the STAFF PHOTO D. ZARU D. PHOTO STAFF the narrative of Jews as almost unlimited concessions PA negotia- Dr. Saree Makdisi reminds his audience at the Palestine Center “perpetual historical tors were willing to grant Israel, and what that the rights of Palestinian refugees must be part of the state- victims, most recently he described as the PA’s apologetic attitude hood narrative. of the Holocaust” that toward its occupier have confirmed that is commonly used to le- the PA has become “a full-blown collabo- must shift their strategy by operating out- gitimize Israeli existence and actions. rationist apparatus whose main function is side the political realm “in which the deck According to Makdisi, who is Said’s to facilitate the occupation and coloniza- is stacked against them,” and transforming nephew, while competing ideologies do tion of the West Bank—not to challenge it their discussion to the literary and the exist, the balance has shifted in recent or end it.” —Deena Zaru ideal. years because it requires “massive institu- Referring to Said’s own “refusal to relin- tional organization and funding” to main- Social Justice, Antiwar Activists Meet quish his attachment to ideas and ideals,” tain the Israeli narrative, whereas the And “Occupy Iowa” Makdisi urged Palestinians to utilize the Palestinian narrative has an unshakable Some 500 Iowans expressed their support power of the Palestinian narrative as the basis in international law. of and solidarity with Occupy Wall Street backbone for action. Regarding the recent Palestinian bid for protests nationwide by occupying a park He cited lessons learned from the peace- admission to the U.N. as a member state, near the state capitol building in Des ful and proactive strategy of South African Makdisi argued that the bid fails to fully Moines on Sunday, Oct. 9. The group, demand the rights of all dubbed “Occupy Iowa” by its organizers, Palestinians, as it speaks of a represents a wide variety of concerns, and partial Palestine—one that many of the activists addressed more than is defined by the interests of one issue. those who have lived in the Kate Dirks, a student at Iowa State Uni- occupied West Bank since versity in Ames, held a hand-lettered sign 1967. Palestinians inside Is- declaring on one side “Fox ‘News‘ Will Lie rael and refugees at home About This” and “I Am A Human Being and abroad are left to fend Not A Student Loan Number” on the other. for themselves, he said. “There is a lot of diversity in the mes- U.N. Resolutions 242 and sages,” Dirks acknowledged, “but the over- 338 call upon Israel to with- arching theme that everyone can agree on draw from areas occupied in is that we want the government to be 1967, and Resolution 181 “about the people” again, whether that be guarantees a Palestinian concerns about war or about finance or state based on the 1947 par- business, or about student loans.” tition plan. However, the David Drake, a member of the Des current U.N. bid ignores the Moines Human Rights Commission and a right of refugees to return psychiatrist, wore his white lab coat to the STAFF PHOTO D. HANLEY D. PHOTO STAFF and Palestinians’ right to protest. Many of the issues that most con- Americans who oppose a U.S. veto of Palestine’s U.N. freely access holy sites, as cern Iowans are related, he pointed out. bid, including a fan of Palestinian poet Mahmoud Dar- outlined in U.N. Resolution “As a physician, I‘m most concerned wish, rallied outside the White House on Sept. 24, the 194.“The only path to a just about health care. I see health care as a day after the Palestinian leadership submitted its Secu- peace is to address the right not as a privilege, and I support a sin- rity Council application for U.N. membership to Secre- rights of all Palestinians, not gle-payer health care plan. I work with lots tary-General Ban Ki-moon. President Mahmoud Abbas just those who suffered oc- of people who‘ve had foreclosures, who‘ve quoted Darwish in his speech to the U.N. cupation after ‘67,” said lost their jobs, who lose their insurance. I‘m Makdisi, insisting that the very concerned about that,” Drake said. 66 THE WASHINGTON REPORT ON MIDDLE EAST AFFAIRS DECEMBER 2011 activisms_52-68_December 2011 Activisms 10/26/11 8:30 AM Page 67 Analyzing Iran’s domestic politics, Shaul Bakhash, professor of history at George Mason University—and an Iranian-born Jew who is married to Esfandiari—ob- served that Iran’s political leaders increas- ingly are resorting to authoritarian prac- tices. In the wake of the contested 2009 presidential elections, he said, a growing number of individuals are being charged with partaking in conspiracies designed to destabilize the Tehran government. The Iranian regime is disparagingly referring to these reformers as the “seditionist cur- rent,” Bakhash added. Moreover, he noted, there is growing STAFF PHOTO M. GILLESPIE GILLESPIE M. PHOTO STAFF Adam G. Krause (l, foreground) and Cora Metrick-Chen (r) facilitated Occupy Iowa‘s first conflict within Iran’s ruling elite. Some, general assembly. such as President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, have frequently been referred to as the “I‘m impressed with the interconnec- Wilson Center Event Examines Iran’s “deviationist current” by the more conser- tions of all these issues with ongoing wars, Domestic and International Relations vative elements within Iran. Accusing with the billions, even a trillion dollars The Woodrow Wilson International Center these “deviationists” of “religious un- that we‘re spending on wars in Iraq and for Scholars hosted a Sept. 30 event titled orthodoxy” and financial corruption, Afghanistan and other places, it‘s just as- “Iran: Turmoil at Home, Assertiveness Bakhash noted that figures such as Iran’s tounding to me,” he added. Abroad?” The first of two panels ad- spiritual leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei ac- According to Drake, the huge amounts of dressed Iran’s economy, educational system cuse these individuals of straying from the money our government is wasting on hor- and internal political struggles, while the principles of the Islamic revolution. rific wars abroad could be better spent here second addressed Iran’s nuclear ambitions Bijan Khajehpour, managing partner of at home to address the pressing needs of and its relations with the Gulf nations. The Atieh International, described the Iranian Americans who are in need and in distress. domestic panel was moderated by Haleh economy as being “sick.” Khajehpour, who Phil Carlson, a Des Moines social studies Esfandiari, the Iranian-American director was imprisoned for three months in 2009, teacher, came to the protest wearing a T- of the Wilson Center’s Middle East pro- in the aftermath of the disputed presiden- shirt that read, “Give Peace A Chance!” gram who was imprisoned by the Iranian tial election, noted that while Iran’s econ- He, too, spoke of a direct connection be- regime for more than 110 days in 2007. omy is experiencing 3 percent annual tween the nation‘s economic problems and Wilson Center scholar and journalist Robin growth, unemployment and inflation are the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. Wright moderated the panel on Iran’s in- rising. He cited as the most significant fac- “The wars that have been dragging our ternational relations. tor contributing to inflation the govern- country down for so long are certainly a factor that needs to be addressed in terms of the economic impact,” Carlson said. “We need to bring the troops home, and much of the money our government spends on defense would be better spent elsewhere.” Added Carlson, “We need a public works program like FDR‘s for infrastruc- ture and other things our country sorely needs.” Cora Metrick-Chen, a University of Iowa student, and Adam G. Krause, who attends Ashford University, facilitated Occupy DEILLON J. PHOTOS STAFF Iowa‘s first general assembly. (Above, l-r) Bijan Khajehpour, Shaul Bakhash, Haleh Esfandiari and Roberto Toscano. (Below, l-r) Michael Adler, Robin Wright, Rouzbeh Parsi and Afshin Molavi. Krause was one of more than 30 protest- ers arrested by Iowa State Patrol officers who ejected the protesters from the park on the Capitol grounds after they refused to leave at 11 p.m. Also among those arrested were Des Moines Catholic Worker and Iowa Citizens for Community Improvement com- munity organizer David Goodner, and Des Moines WOW-FM radio host and former state representative Ed Fallon. “Getting arrested only encourages me,” said Fallon. —Michael Gillespie DECEMBER 2011 THE WASHINGTON REPORT ON MIDDLE EAST AFFAIRS 67 activisms_52-68_December 2011 Activisms 10/26/11 8:30 AM Page 68 ment’s failed subsidy reforms. Rather than aged the U.S. to attack Iran. Rather than in- ception at its Washington, DC embassy equally distributing money between the flame already strained relations with the hosted by Saudi Ambassador to the U.S. lowest income class, industries, and the Gulf countries, Molavi pointed out, Presi- Adel bin Ahmed Al-Jubeir. (Days later, on treasury, Khajehpour explained, the subsi- dent Ahmadinejad instead quietly dis- Sept. 29, Manssor Arbabsiar, a 56-year-old dies have gone disproportionately to the missed the news as a “Zionist plot to create naturalized U.S. citizen, was arrested at lower class, causing the prices of com- regional conflict.” Molavi also described New York City’s JFK airport and charged modities to rise. He also identified rampant China’s relationship with Iran as purely with plotting to kill Ambassador Al- corruption in the awarding of new busi- “transactional,” which should not be seen Jubeir.) ness contracts as an important explanation as an alliance. For years Saudi embassies around the as to why Iran’s economy is lagging. Concluding the discussion, Michael world have celebrated the anniversary of Analyzing the impact that sanctions Adler, Wilson Center public policy the 1932 founding of the Saudi state by have had on the Iranian economy, Khajeh- scholar, commented that Iran has been suc- King Abdulaziz Al-Saud, but this year pour noted that they have resulted in a cessful at “maintaining a certain amount of Saudis at home also enjoyed the national lack of foreign investment in the country ambiguity” surrounding its nuclear pro- holiday. Crowds gathered to watch special and in the annual loss of approximately gram. By denying the U.S. the smoking events in cities and towns throughout the $10 billion in imports. Additionally, Kha- gun it seeks, he added, Iran has been able Kingdom. Judging by videos posted on jehpour noted that sanctions have made it to win “tactical victory after tactical vic- YouTube, Saudi revellers danced in the increasingly difficult for Iran to receive tory.” Adler predicted that Iran will con- streets and drove through the streets wav- funds from its oil exports. tinue to cultivate ambiguity surrounding ing flags. In the opinion of Roberto Toscano, a for- its nuclear program in an effort to deny the There are more than 50,000 Saudi stu- mer Italian ambassador to Iran, the Iranian U.S. and the International Atomic Energy dents studying in the United States, and regime is attempting to use the classroom Agency (IAEA) the damning evidence it many of them hosted celebrations at their to promote the ideals of the 1979 revolu- seeks to implicate Iran. While Alder al- universities. The Saudi Student Associa- tion. In so doing, Toscano elaborated, the luded to the 2007 National Intelligence Es- tion at Marymount University in Arling- regime is attempting to convey that “there timate—representing the unanimous judg- ton, VA held a special event at the Verizon is only one ideology that allows [individu- ment of all 16 U.S. intelligence agencies— Gym, in the school’s Lee Center to mark als] to belong to [the Iranian] community.” that Iran has had no active nuclear national day, featuring Saudi food, dance Toscano said the regime finds the humani- weapons program since 2003, he suggested and poetry. Hammad Albalawi, president ties particularly objectionable, charging that the U.S. government is behind in its of the Saudi Student Association at George that the humanities promote secularism, intelligence. The 2007 finding has yet to be Washington University, gave a remarkable “are not scientific, [and] can be the vehicle revised. —Dale Sprusansky speech at Marymount about national pride of Western influence.” Nevertheless, the and read a poem about the founding of the ambassador observed, the regime has had Diplomatic Doings Kingdom. difficulty preventing Western ideas from “I am very proud of every single young entering the country, and the Iranian peo- man and woman who is studying in the ple remain well informed. Saudi Arabia Celebrates 80th United States,” Ambassador Al-Jubeir said. Opening the panel on Iran’s interna- Anniversary “They make my job easier. Instead of hav- tional relations, Rouzbeh Parsi, research The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia celebrated ing one ambassador, we now have 50,000 fellow with the European Union Institute its 81st national day on Sept. 23 with a re- ambassadors.” —Delinda C. Hanley for Security Studies, described the nuclear issue surrounding Iran as “quite impossi- ble” to solve. Noting that talks between the West and Iran are stalled, he said that there is “really nothing to agree on.” More- over, he added, it will be difficult for talks to be rescheduled, as negotiations have be- come so complicated that no one knows “what to reset it to.” Finally, Parsi criticized the West for lacking a cohesive plan for dealing with the Iranian nuclear threat, commenting that “there is no strategy for where all of this is supposed to end up.” Diplomacy, he added, has become a reward rather than a means of communication. While many view Iran as an aggressive actor on the world stage, Iranian-American Afshin Molavi, senior research fellow at the New America Foundation, noted that Tehran has demonstrated restraint in re- cent months—citing its response to infor- HANLEY D. PHOTO STAFF mation leaked via WikiLeaks that Saudi Standing before a portrait of King Abdullah, Saudi Ambassador Adel bin Ahmed Al-Jubeir Arabia, Bahrain and the UAE have encour- welcomes guests to the national day celebration. 68 THE WASHINGTON REPORT ON MIDDLE EAST AFFAIRS DECEMBER 2011 bull_board_69_December 2011 Bulletin Board 10/26/11 8:16 PM Page 69 Upcoming Events, Announcements & Obituaries —Compiled by Andrew Stimson BulletinBoard Upcoming Events: The Middle East Studies Association will Fellowships require scholars to conduct re- The Middle East Children’s Alliance has hold its 45th Annual MESA Meeting Dec. search in more than one country, at least found a new venue for the Child’s View 1-4 at the Marriott Wardman Park Hotel, one of which hosts a participating Ameri- from Gaza exhibit, previously censored 2660 Woodley Rd, NW, Washington, DC can overseas research center. It is antici- by the Museum of Children’s Art in Oak- 20008. For more information call (560) 621- pated that approximately 10 fellowships of land (see p. 42). It will be on display 5850 or visit DECEMBER 2011 THE WASHINGTON REPORT ON MIDDLE EAST AFFAIRS 69 book_review_70_Book Review 10/26/11 1:33 PM Page 70 that Israel unwaveringly desired peace them. Many of the arguments in Israeli Books with its Arab neighbors. Their faith was Rejectionism have been featured in other shaken, however, by Israel’s actions in works, yet this compact volume provides Israeli Rejectionism: A Hidden the aftermath of the 1967 war, as it de- a concise summary of the problem at Agenda in the Middle East molished Arab neighborhoods near the hand, and a series of excellent rebuttals to Peace Process Western Wall, annexed East Jerusalem, those who believe that Israel could have By Zalman Amit & Daphna Levit, Pluto, and supported the establishment of set- peace if the Arabs only were willing. ❑ 2011, paperback, 208 pp. List: $30; AET: tlements in Hebron and Nablus. The au- $23. thors ultimately became active members Zahra’s Paradise Reviewed by Andrew Stimson of the Israeli peace movement and in the By Amir & Khalil, First Second, 2011, early 2000s began discussing the need to hardcover, 272 pp. List: $19.99; AET: $13. In an all-too-familiar write a book focused specifically on Is- refrain, Israeli Prime rael’s long-standing rejection of the entire The simple black- Minister Binyamin concept of peace with the Palestinians. and-white drawings Netanyahu recently Amit and Levit expertly explore the found in Zahra’s Par - told the Jerusalem motives behind many of Israel’s leaders, adise deliver an emo- Post that renewed including its first prime minister, David tional impact that Palestinian calls for a Ben-Gurion, who regularly blocked op- prose and non-fiction settlement freeze portunities for compromise with Arab rarely achieves. This were merely a “ruse negotiators. Fast forward to the 1979 graphic novel art- to avoid direct nego- Camp David accords, in which Israel fi- fully explores the tiations.” Of course, he failed to acknowl- nally relinquished the Sinai. According hypocrisy of the edge the fact that any future Palestinian to Amit and Levit the treaty with Egypt, Iranian religious elite and their basij en- state would be impossible to sustain with which was imposed on Israel, taught Is- forcers, and the strength and resilience of existing illegal settlements where only raeli elites that maintaining a state of the Iranian people. The book’s prologue Jews are allowed to live. Statements such hostility with its neighbors was prefer- sets the poetic narrative by depicting a as the prime minister’s are themselves able to territorial concessions and com- grizzly scene in which a pious father mer- “ruses” used to distract attention from promise regarding refu gees. cilessly slaughters a bag full of puppies the truth of Israeli rejectionism. As au- Israeli Rejectionism provides ample his son has just named. After performing thors Zalman Amit and Daphna Levit historical evidence of Israeli expansion- an act of ablution, he throws the bag into note, “Israel was never primarily inter- ism at the cost of peace, as well as its a river to drown the survivors as their ested in establishing peace with its strategy of stalling peace negotiations mother watches helplessly. As the story’s neighbors unless such a peace was totally with the Palestinians to ensure their de- main character navigates a labyrinthine on its own terms.” sired outcome. Particularly noteworthy bureaucracy searching for his brother, Amit, a behavioral neuroscientist and is the authors’ dissection of Ariel missing since the post-election protests of Levit, a financial analyst, grew up in the Sharon’s decision to remove Jewish set- 2009, these stark images reappear, punc- newly created state of Israel and were ar- tlements from the Gaza Strip. Sharon, tuating the banal cruelty of contempo- dent Zionists and kibbutzim. Both eagerly they argue, implemented the disengage- rary Iran. served in the Israeli military and believed ment program to deliberately avoid ne- The authors, based in the United gotiations with the Palestinians while States, have chosen to remain anony- Andrew Stimson is director of the AET Book being able to claim that the Palestinians mous, fearing for the safety of their fami- Club. refused to make a comparable effort. lies in Iran. The paradise at the center of Amit and Levit their work is a huge cemetery in south- conclusively ern Tehran. Interred there not only are demonstrate that many of the Islamic Republic’s victims, peace has never such as Neda Aga Sultan, a protester been Israel’s top made world-famous in 2009 through im- priority. Its mili- ages of her death, but many of its flag- tary strength en- bearers as well, including the father of sures that reci- the revolution, Ayatollah Ruhollah procity with the Kohmeini. This dichotomy becomes a Palestinians will theme that runs throughout Zahra’s Par- never be possible. adise. How could Iranian society, heir to Yet, Israelis have a long tradition of poets, philosophers placed themselves and miniaturists, produce such grotesque in a “self-imposed public displays as the large cranes fes- ghetto,” reinforc- tooned with corpses hanging amid a ing a sense of vic- modern metropolitan backdrop? timhood by keep- Beautifully drawn and well written, ing themselves in Zah ra’s Paradise is a worthy chronicle of conflict with a revolution that may have been delayed, those around but is not broken. ❑ 70 THE WASHINGTON REPORT ON MIDDLE EAST AFFAIRS DECEMBER 2011 book_catalog_71_December 2011 10/27/11 10:58 AM Page 71 AET Book Club Catalog Literature * Music * Film * Monographs * More Winter 2011 The Wandering Who?: A Zahra’s Paradise by Amir Hamas and Civil Society in Study of Jewish Identity and Khalil, First Second, Gaza: Engaging the Is- Politics by Gilad Atzmon, O 2011, hardcover, 266 pp. lamist Social Sector by Sara Books, 2011, paperback, 177 List: $19.99; AET: $13. This Roy, Princeton University Press, pp. List: $14.95; AET: $10.75. A graphic novel set in the af- 2011, hardcover, 336 pp. List: piercing investigation of Jewish termath of Iran’s contested $35; AET: $29.15. The author identity politics and Jewish con- 2009 elections follows the of the groundbreaking work temporary ideology that uses fictional story of a family’s Failing Peace returns with a both popular culture and schol- search for Mehdi, a young much needed comprehensive arly texts. Atzmon examines the protester who has vanished study of Hamas. Roy shows tribal aspects embedded in into an extrajudicial twilight how the social service activi- Jewish secular discourse, both zone. Beautifully drawn, well ties sponsored by the Islamist Zionist and anti-Zionist; the written, Zahra’s Paradise group fosters community de- “holocaust religion”; the meaning of history and time provides a sharp commen- velopment and civic restora- within the Jewish political discourse; and the anti-Gentile tary on the hypocrisy of Iran’s religious elite, and stands as tion, not political violence. Hamas and Civil Society in ideologies entangled within different forms of secular a worthy chronicle of a revolution that may have been de- Gaza argues for more enlightened policies that reflect Jewish political discourse and even within the Jewish left. layed, but is not broken. Hamas’ proven record of nonviolent community building. The Soul of Iran: A Na- Inside the Kingdom: Kings, The Wars of Afghanistan: tion’s Journey to Freedom Clerics, Modernists, Terror- Messianic Terrorism, Tribal by Afshin Molavi, W.W. Nor- ists, and the Struggle for Conflicts, and the Failures of ton, 2005, paperback, 352 pp. Saudi Arabia by Robert Lacey, Great Powers by Peter Tomsen, List: $15.95; AET: $9. Like a Penguin Publishing, 2010, paper- PublicAffairs Books, 2011, hard- master Persian carpetmaker, back, 448 pp. List: $17; AET: $7. cover, 912 pp. List: $39.99; AET: Molavi weaves together Based on hundreds of personal $26. As ambassador and special threads of rich historical in- interviews with princes and pau- envoy to Afghanistan from 1989 to sight, political analysis, cul- pers, this updated paperback 1992, Peter Tomsen has had close tural observation and the daily version of Inside the Kingdom relationships with Afghan leaders realities of life in the Islamic explores the previous turbulent and has dealt with senior Taliban, Republic to produce a colorful, three decades of Saudi experi- warlords, and religious leaders involved in the region’s intricate and mesmerizing nar- ence. Lacey documents the paradoxical nature of a state conflicts over the last two decades. In this detailed ac- rative. Originally published in hardcover under the title in which the House of Saud attempts to reconcile life count, Tomsen draws on a rich trove of never-before- Persian Pilgrimages, this paperback edition is revised, under religious law with the demands of a rapidly chang- published material to shed new light on the American with a new introduction and epilogue. ing world. involvement in the long and continuing Afghan war. Troubled Triangle: The War Diary: Lebanon 2006 The Dark Side of Zionism: United States, Turkey, by Rami Zurayk, Just World The Quest for Security and Israel in the New Books, 2011, paperback, 60 through Dominance by Middle East edited by pp. AET: $7. Lebanese agron- Baylis Thomas, Lexington William B. Quandt, Just omy professor and social ac- Books, 2011, paperback, 284 World Books, 2011, paper- tivist Rami Zurayk was in pp. List: $24.95; AET: $20. Au- back, 266 pp. AET: $18. Since Beirut with his family during thor of How Israel was Won, early 2009, it has seemed Israel’s 2006 assault on Baylis Thomas argues that that the once-warm relations Lebanon. War Diary is his both the early Zionists and, between Turkey and Israel record of the 33-day-long on- later, the Israelis sought their have reached a crisis point. slaught, capturing in vivid de- security through the military To complicate matters fur- tail the horror and the emo- domination of the indigenous ther, both countries are close tional and political complexi- Arab population of Palestine. partners of the United States. ties of the period. Published The Dark Side exposes the Israeli strategy of avoiding ne- In this timely book, a group of leading scholar-practition- by Just World Books to mark the war's fifth anniversary gotiations with the Palestinian-Arabs and provoking the ers from all three countries jointly explore this crisis. in 2011, this brief account is a valuable personal telling weak Arab states—opposed to Israel’s takeover of Pales- of a war that should not be forgotten. tine—into entering wars they would lose. Shipping Rates Most items are discounted and available on a first-come, first-served basis. Orders accepted by mail, phone (800-368-5788 ext. 2), or Web (www.middleeastbooks.com). All payments in U.S. funds. Visa, MasterCard, Discover and American Express accepted. Please make checks and money orders out to “AET.”Contact the AET Book Club for complete shipping guidelines and options. U.S. Shipping Rates: Please add $5 for the first item and Library packages (list value over $240) are available for $2.50 for each additional item. Canada & Mexico shipping $29 if donated to a library, or free if requested with a library’s charges: Please add $11 for the first item and $3 for each additional paid subscription or renewal. Call the Book Club at 800-368-5788 item. International shipping charges: Please add $13 for the first ext. 2 to order. AET policy is to identify donors unless anonymity item and $3.50 for each additional item. We ship by USPS Priority un- is specifically requested. less otherwise requested. DECEMBER 2011 THE WASHINGTON REPORT ON MIDDLE EAST AFFAIRS 71 angels_72-73_December 2011 Choir of Angels 10/26/11 8:17 PM Page 72 AET’s 2011 Choir of Angels Following are individuals, organizations, companies and foundations whose help between Jan. 1 and Oct. 19, 2011 is making possible activities of the tax-exempt AET Library Endowment (federal ID #52-1460362) and the American Educational Trust, publisher of the Washington Report on Middle East Affairs. We are deeply honored by their confidence and profoundly grate- ful for their generosity. HUMMERS Osamah Elkhatib, Dubuque, IA Donald Kouri, Quebec, Canada ($100 or more) M.R. Eucalyptus, Kansas City, MO Ronald Kunde, Skokie, IL Dr. & Mrs. Hossam Fadel, Augusta, GA Kendall Landis, Media, PA Americans For a Palestinian State, Mr. & Mrs. Majed Faruki, William Lawand, Mount Royal, Canada Oakland, CA Albuquerque, NM Fran Lilleness, Seattle, WA Ahsen Abbasi, Leesburg, VA P. Michele Felton, Winton, NC J. Robert Lunney, Bronxville, NY Catherine Abbott, Edina, MN Barbara Ferguson & Tim Kennedy, Helen Mabarak, Ann Arbor, MI Jeff Abood, Silver Lake, OH Arlington, VA Robert Mabarak, Grosse Pointe Park, MI Diane Adkin, Camas, WA Paul Findley, Jacksonville, IL A. Kent MacDougall, Berkeley, CA Dr. M.Y. Ahmed, Waterville, OH Elisabeth Fitzhugh, Mitchellville, MD Peter MacHarrie, Silver Spring, MD Emeel & Elizabeth Ajluni, Patrick Flynn, Yorba Linda, CA Farah Mahmood, Forsyth, IL Farmington Hills, MI Robert Gabe, Valatie, NY Dr. Asad Malik, Rochester Hills, MI Raji Akileh, Tampa, FL Ken Galal, San Francisco, CA Joseph Mark, Carmel, CA H.R. Alalusi, Moraga, CA Joseph & Angela Gauci, Whittier, CA Trini Marquez, Beach, ND Haroune Alameddine, Canton, MI Ahmad & Shirley Gazori, Mill Creek, Martha Martin, Paia, HI Dr. & Mrs. Salah Al-Askari, Leonia, NJ WA Tom & Tess McAndrew, Oro Valley, AZ Hamid & Kim Alwan, Milwaukee, WI Dr. & Mrs. Frederick Guenther, Ken Megill, Washington, DC Louise Anderson, Oakland, CA Newtown, PA Ben Monk, St. Paul, MN Dr. Nabih Ammari, Cleveland, OH Joyce Guinn, Germantown, WI John & Ruth Monson, La Crosse, WI Sylvia Anderson de Freitas, Raymond Haddock, Spotsylvania, VA Maury Keith Moore, Seattle, WA Paradise Valley, AZ Dr. Wasif Hafeez, West Bloomfield, MI Robert Moran, Richmond, VA Dr. Abdullah Arar, Amman, Jordan Dr. Marwan Hajj, Towson, MD Ahmed Mousapha, Madinah, M. Arefi, West Bloomfield, MI Allen Hamood, Dearborn Heights, MI Saudi Arabia David & Kathryn Asfour, Vallejo, CA Erin Hankir, Ontario, Canada Liz Mulford, Cupertino, CA Dr. Robert Ashmore, Jr., Mequon, WI Shirley Hannah, Argyle, NY John & Gabriella Mulholland, Gilad Atzmon, London, UK Robert & Helen Harold, West Salem, WI Alpharetta, GA Fuad Baali, Bowling Green, KY Prof. & Mrs. Brice Harris, Charles Murphy, Upper Falls, MD Alma Ball, Venice, FL Los Angeles, CA Joseph Najemy, Worcester, MA Dr. Sami Baraka, Wyandotte, MI Masood Hassan, Calabasas, CA Jacob Nammar, San Antonio, TX Rev. Robert Barber, Parrish, FL Albert Hazbun, El Dorado Hills, CA Neal & Donna Newby, Mancos, CO Jamil Barhoum, San Diego, CA Alan Heil, Alexandria, VA Mr. & Mrs. W. Eugene Notz, Stanton Barrett, Ipswich, MA Dr. Colbert & Mildred Held, Waco, TX Charleston, SC William Battistoni, Dickinson, TX Rich Hoban, Cleveland Heights, OH Michio Oka, El Sobrante, CA Mohammed & Wendy Bendebba, Veronica Hoke, Hillcrest Heights, MD Dr. Ibrahim Oweiss, Kensington, MD Baltimore, MD Edmund Hopper, Hilton Head Island, SC John Pallone, Rapallo, Italy Joseph Benedict, Mystic, CT Dr. Sami Husseini, Ithaca, NY Edmond & Lorraine Parker, Chicago, IL John Carley, Pointe-Claire, Canada The Said Jibrin Family, Bethesda, MD Jim Plourd, Monterey, CA Ouahib Chalbi, Coon Rapids, MN Anthony Jones, Alberta, Canada Patricia & Herbert Pratt, Cambridge, MA Patricia Christensen, Poulsbo, WA Omar & Nancy Kader, Vienna, VA Catherine Quigley, Annandale, VA Donald Clarke, Devon, PA Akram Karam, Charlotte, NC Cheryl Quigley, Toms River, NJ Joan & Charles Collins, Willard, MO Mr. & Mrs. Basim Kattan, Dr. Amani Ramahi, Lakewood, OH Dr. Robert Collmer, Waco, TX Washington, DC Mr. & Mrs. Duane Rames, Mesa, AZ Mr. & Mrs. Rajie Cook, Martha Katz, Youngstown, OH Nayla Rathle, Belmont, MA Washington Crossing, PA Ambassador Robert Keeley, Vivian & Doris Regidor, Pearl City, HI William Coughlin, Brookline, MA Washington, DC Frank & Mary Regier, Strongsville, OH Walter Cox, Monroe, GA Gloria Keller, Santa Rosa, CA Dr. William Reid, Glen Allen, VA Mr. & Mrs. Andrew Curtiss, Rev. Charles Kennedy, Newbury, NH Kyle Reynolds, Cypress, TX Herndon, VA Susan Kerin, Gaithersburg, MD Neil Richardson, Randolph, VT Taher & Sheila Dajani, Alexandria, VA Dr. Mazen Khalidi, Grosse Point Farms, Sean Roach, Washington, DC Dr. Hassan Dannawi, Macon, GA MI Rose Foundation/Wheeler and Glenn Davenport, Corvallis, OR Akbar Khan, Princeton, NJ Makdisi Fund, Oakland, CA Amb. John Gunther Dean, Paris, France Dr. M. Jamil Khan, Bloomfield Hills, MI Dr. Wendell Rossman, Phoenix, AZ Lee & Amelia Dinsmore, Elcho, WI Majid Khan, Bloomfield Heights, MI Brynhild Rowberg, Northfield, MN Dr. George Doumani, Washington, DC Dr. & Mrs. Assad Khoury, Potomac, MD Edward & Alice Saad, Cheshire, CT Gloria El-Khouri, Scottsdale, AZ N. Khoury, Pasadena, CA Gabrielle & Jalal Saad, Oakland, CA Kassem Elkhalil, Arlington, TX Paul Kirk, Baton Rouge, LA Hameed Saba, Diamond Bar, CA 72 THE WASHINGTON REPORT ON MIDDLE EAST AFFAIRS72 DECEMBER 2011 angels_72-73_December 2011 Choir of Angels 10/26/11 8:17 PM Page 73 Denis Sabourin, Dubai, Prof. & Mrs. George Wesley Buchanan, Amb. Clovis Maksoud, Washington, DC United Arab Emirates Gaithersburg, MD Paul Meyer, Iowa City, IA Ma-moun Sakkal, Bothell, WA William Carey, Old Lyme, CT Bob Norberg, Lake City, MN Dr. Yahya Salah, Amman, Jordan William Coughlin, Brookline, MA William O’Grady, St. Petersburg, FL Anis Salib, Huntsville, AL Mr. & Mrs. John Crawford, Gennaro Pasquale, Oyster Bay, NY Betty Sams, Washington, DC Boulder, CO Phil & Elaine Pasquini, Novato, CA Dr. H.I. Sayed, Charlottesville, VA Mohamed Dabbagh, Mahwah, NJ Ruth Ramsey, Blairsville, GA Elizabeth Schiltz, Kokomo, IN Ron Dudum, San Francisco, CA Dr. Mohammed Sabbagh, Dr. Abid Shah, Sarasota, FL Dr. Rafeek Farah, New Boston, MI Grand Blanc, MI Rifqa Shahin, Apple Valley, CA Eugene Fitzpatrick, Wheat Ridge, CO Mae Stephen, Palo Alto, CA Mahmud Shaikhaly, Hollywood, CA E. Patrick Flynn, Carmel, NY Mr. & Mrs. Donn Trautman, Richard Shaker, Annapolis, MD Bill Gartland, Rio, WI Evanston, IL Theodore Shannon, Middleton, WI Ray Gordon, Venice, FL David Willcox, Harrison, AR Lewis Shapiro, White Plains, NY H. Clark Griswold, Woodbury, CT Lt. Col. Alfred Shehab, Odenton, MD Fahd Jajeh, Lake Forest, IL BARITONES & MEZZO Kathy Sheridan, Mill Valley, CA Issa & Rose Kamar, Plano, TX SOPRANOS Shahida Siddiqui, Trenton, NJ Sandra La Framboise, Oakland, CA ($1,000 or more) Lucy Skivens-Smith, Dinwiddie, VA Matt Labadie, Portland, OR James Smart, Keene, NH Barbara Leclerq, Overland Park, KS Asha Anand, Bethesda, MD Glenn Smith, Santa Rosa, CA Joe & Lilli Lill, Arlington, VA The Estate of Pascal Biagini, Edgar Snell Jr., Schenectady, NY Jack Love, Escondido, CA Drexel Hill, PA David Snider, Airmont, NY Anthony Mabarak, Grosse Pointe G. Edward Brooking, Jr., John Soderberg, Foley, AL Park, MI Wilmington, DE Gregory Stefanatos, Flushing, NY John Malouf, Lubbock, TX Aston L. Bloom & Rev. Rosemarie Mubadda Suidan, Atlanta, GA Eric Margolis, Toronto, Canada Carnarius, Tucson, AZ Beverly Swartz, Sarasota, FL Jean Mayer, Bethesda, MD Joe Chamy, Colleyville, TX Thomas & Carol Swepston, Bill McGrath, Northfield, MN Luella Crow, Eugene, OR Englewood, FL Alice Nashashibi, San Francisco, CA Do Right Foundation, Las Vegas, NV Mr. & Mrs. Ayoub Talhami, Howard & Mary Norton, Austin, TX Dr. & Mrs. Rod & Carole Driver, Evanston, IL John Parry, Chapel Hill, NC West Kingston, RI Dr. Joseph Tamari, Chicago, IL Amb. Ed Peck, Chevy Chase, MD*** Linda Emmet, Paris, France Dr. Yusuf Tamimi, Hilo, HI Hertha Poje-Ammoumi, New York, NY Dr. & Mrs. Clyde Farris, Joan Tanous, Boulder, CO Sam Rahman, Lincoln, CA West Linn, OR Cheryl Tatum, Owensboro, KY Henry Schubert, Damascus, OR Gary Richard Feulner, Dubai, John Theodosi, Lafayette, CA Yusef & Jennifer Sifri, United Arab Emirates Charles Thomas, La Conner, WA Wilmington, NC Evan & Leman Fotos, Istanbul, Turkey Charles & Letitia Ufford, Michel & Cathy Sultan, Eau Claire, WI Dr. & Mrs. Hassan Fouda, Berkeley, CA South Bristol, ME Union of Arab American Journalists, Mary Ann Hrankowski, Rochester, NY** Paul Wagner, Bridgeville, PA Dearborn, MI Vincent & Louise Larsen, Billings, MT Joseph Walsh, Adamsville, RI John Van Wagoner, McLean, VA William Lightfoot, Vienna, VA Carol Wells & Theodore Hajjar, James Wall, Elmhurst, IL Rachelle Marshall, Mill Valley, CA Venice CA John V. Whitbeck, Paris, France John McLaughlin, Gordonsville, VA Arthur & Marianne Whitman, Nigel Wright, Delmar, NY Luella Moffett, Virginia Beach, VA Auburn, ME Ziyad & Cindi Zaitoun, Seattle, WA**** Ghulam Qadir, MD & Huda Zenati, Ph.D., Nabil Yakub, McLean, VA Dearborn, MI Raymond Younes, Oxnard, CA TENORS & CONTRALTOS Mark Sheridan, Alexandria, VA Dr. Robert Younes, Potomac, MD ($500 or more) CHOIRMASTERS Bernice Youtz, Tacoma, WA Mohamed Alwan, Chestnut Ridge, NY Munir Zacharia, La Mirada, CA Drs. A.J. and M.T. Amirana, ($5,000 or more) Dr. Henry Zeiter, Lodi, CA Las Vegas, NV Caipirinha Foundation, San Francisco, Hugh Ziada, Garden Grove, CA Dr. Lois Aroian, Willow Lake, SD CA Kamel Ayoub, Hillsborough, CA Henry Clifford, Essex, CT ACCOMPANISTS Dr. Joseph Bailey, Valley Center, CA Dick & Donna Curtiss, Kensington, ($250 or more) Graf Herman Bender, North Palm MD*† Michael & Jane Adas, Beach, FL John & Henrietta Goelet, Meru, France Highland Park, NJ Rev. Ronald C. Chochol, St. Louis, MO Andrew I. Killgore, Washington, DC* Khaled Al-Maeena, Jeddah, Lois Critchfield, Williamsburg, VA Saudia Arabia Richard Curtiss, Boynton Beach, FL *In memory of Grace Perolio A.R. Armin, Troy, MI Douglas A. Field, Kihei, HI **In memory of John Hrankowski Heidi Beck, Cedarville, CA Michael Habermann, Hackettstown, NJ ***In honor of the marriage of Elizabeth Boosahda, Worcester, MA Hind Hamdan, Hagerstown, MD Marianne Tralewski and Michael Boosahda, Worcester, MA Amb. Holsey G. Handyside, Bedford, OH Harry Dennis Dr. & Mrs. Issa J. Boullata, Salman & Kate Hilmy, Silver Spring, MD ****In memory of Rachel Corrie Montreal, Canada Brigitte Jaensch, Carmichael, CA †In memory of Said Jibrin DECEMBER 2011 THE WASHINGTON REPORT ON MIDDLE EAST AFFAIRS 73 jumps_74_Special Report 10/27/11 1:23 PM Page 74 Congress Watch… the Iraq war narrative to pass the need. The people of the Middle East blame for the $1 trillion catastrophe will not tolerate indefinitely a colonial Continued from page 31 and the deaths of nearly 4,500 U.S. regime in their midst that oppresses its soldiers—and hundreds of thousands Arab population and commits blatant With the withdrawal of U.S. troops of Iraqis—onto Obama. ❑ violations of international law. Israel from Iraq more or less on schedule, faces what may be a greater danger most members seemed satisfied with from within, in the rise of powerful occasional hearings to get status re- Years of Aimless War… settler groups that insist all of Palestine ports. However, Rep. Barbara Lee (D- Continued from page 24 belongs to the Jews, and the increas- CA), with 43 co-sponsors, on Aug. 1 ing number of those willing to attack introduced another Iraq withdrawal lion fortress with 1,000 personnel, anyone who disagrees. measure, H.R 2757. It would “pro- protected by a small army of merce- One such incident took place on hibit the use of funds to maintain U.S. nary gunmen. So much for with- Sept. 30, when a group of Israelis and Armed Forces and military contrac- drawal plans. Palestinians were holding a peaceful tors in Iraq after Dec. 31, 2011.” Sim- The stumbling, confused U.S. war demonstration outside the settlement ilarly, regarding Libya, with the fall of in Afghanistan has now lasted longer of Anatot to protest the settlers’ seizure the Qaddafi regime the previously de- than the two world wars. The former of land belonging to a nearby Palestin- scribed Libya-related measures have U.S. commander in Afghanistan, Gen. ian village. Hundreds of men came run- languished. One new one, H.J.Res. Stanley McCrystal, just said Wash- ning from Anatot and, according to 74, was introduced July 26 by Rep. ington’s view of that nation is “fright- one of the Israeli peace activists, Adam Smith (D-WA), with three co- eningly simplistic.” That’s an under- charged the demonstrators with “their sponsors. It would authorize the lim- statement. fists, their teeth, stones, pipes, and ited use of U.S. Armed Forces in sup- Facing the possibility of stalemate knives.” The attackers pursued the port of the NATO mission in Libya, or even defeat in Afghanistan, Wash- fleeing protesters and left many of but require the president to consult ington is trying to push India deeper them battered and bleeding. “And all of frequently with Congress regarding into the conflict. This desperate ploy, this,” according to the Israeli partici- U.S. efforts in Libya. ❑ and nurturing ethnic conflict, will pant, “was taking place before the eyes ensure another decade of misery for of the police, who didn’t do a Afghanistan. ❑ thing...Many of the attackers were po- Neocon Corner… licemen themselves.” Continued from page 19 By ignoring such incidents and pro- Obama’s Speech… viding Israel’s uncompromising leader- rect. In the meantime Mr. Obama will Continued from page 10 ship with a steady flow of dollars and surely boast on the campaign trail, as unwavering diplomatic support, the he did Friday at the White House, inforcing that “edge” with 5,000- U.S. is not helping the Israeli people that he has fulfilled his 2008 pledge pound bombs could tempt Israel into but delaying the achievement of a just ‘to bring the war in Iraq to a respon- launching yet another war. peace. Meanwhile, the ultranationalist sible end.’ End it will, for Americans Such dangers are inherent in the zealots who commit violence in the if not for Iraqis; as for ‘responsible,’ U.S.-Israel alliance, but thanks to a name of God are endangering the fabric count us among the doubters.” powerful lobby composed of the major that holds Israeli society together. In other words, the Post’s editors, Jewish organizations, an arms industry People on both sides desperately need who propagandized for the Iraq inva- that profits handsomely from U.S. mil- an agreement that allows them to live sion in 2002-03 by repeating the Bush itary aid to Israel, and members of the together as equals, either in one state or administration’s false claims about Christian far right, it is an alliance that two. Judging by Obama’s words at the Iraq’s WMD and links to al-Qaeda, no one who aspires to public office U.N., they can expect no help from the have now distanced themselves from dares challenge. Republican candidates White House. ❑ any responsibility for the strategic for president outdo one another in de- disaster that the Iraq war has created. claring their support for Israel. You see, by extending the U.S. oc- Mitt Romney refers to Obama’s “re- Deadline for cupation indefinitely—even in defi- peated efforts to throw Israel under a ance of conditions set by the Iraqi bus.” Herman Cain claims God gave the Holiday Gift government—Washington could pre- land of Israel to the Jews and accuses sumably hold off the day when Amer- Obama of “stabbing Israel in the back.” Orders icans will fully recognize what a cata- Texas Gov. Rick Perry urges the Israelis Books from the AET Book Club strophe the Iraq war was. As long as to retain control of all of Jerusalem and Catalog or subscriptions to the that day could be postponed, the neo- build more settlements. At a press con- Washington Report make ideal cons could hold themselves out as ference in late September, he de- holiday gifts. To ensure delivery of worthy foreign policy experts. clared,“Tell the people of Israel: help is books or magazines to addresses But now the day is fast approach- on the way.” within the U.S. and Canada by Saturday, Dec. 24, telephone ing when the U.S. occupation will There is no question that the people orders must be placed and mail end—and the full scope of the dismal of Israel and Palestine are in urgent and Web orders received no later failure will become apparent. So, the need of help, but supporting Israel as than Friday, Dec. 9 by 6 p.m. EST. ever-clever neocons are shape-shifting an apartheid state is the last kind they 74 THE WASHINGTON REPORT ON MIDDLE EAST AFFAIRS DECEMBER 2011 helping_hand_c3_Helping Hand C3 December 2011 10/26/11 4:00 PM Page c3 cover4_cover4 10/27/11 12:41 PM Page c4 American Educational Trust The Washington Report on Middle East Affairs P.O. Box 53062 Washington, DC 20009 December 2011 Vol. XXX, No. 9 For the third time in nearly four decades, Ghada Karmi (l) and Ellen Siegel have stood outside an Israel embassy—in London in 1973 and 1992, and in Washington, DC on Oct. 25, 2011—holding identical signs telling the world of their respective dis- possession and privilege. The longtime friends and activists were prohibited from having this year’s photograph taken in front of Israel’s Washington embassy, as they had in London, so went to the back of the building instead. Other than that, their situations have not changed—as Karmi’s “still” notes. FRANCIS KHOO (London photos) and JEAN-PASCAL DEILLON