January 11, 2009 – 1:46 pm
Entering the third week of war, the problems with the Israeli-Gaza conflict have surpassed questions of justification or objectives. Leaving aside who’s right (nobody), or when and how this war will end, or whether there will be a winner (no), or whether the achievement of Israel’s goals will outweigh the damage done to their international reputation or the shift in regional alliances and moods, the essential problems with this war have begun to scream in my ear.
The problems strike me when I drive in the north and see the Russian language campaign ads for Tzipi Livni. Livni, the centrist, supposedly noble candidate of Kadima, has responded to snide comments and allaying Russian-immigrant fears about her gender by advertising her “manhood to change the country.” In Hebrew, the ad substitutes “manhood” for “guts.” Either way, she has something to prove in this war.
They strike me when I read editorials from international news sources or take comments from friends back home, who think this war was calculated to take advantage of the last space before Barack Obama comes to power, or of the run-up to the February elections, or the Christmas season lull. It has nothing to do with that, I insist: When Israel and Hamas made their truce last summer, Obama’s presence was hardly inevitable, and Hamas was the one firing rockets in the week after the ceasefire ended. At the very least, Israel is fighting for their own security reasons and not out of bald-faced political opportunism, I contest. But the longer the war drags on, the more I doubt. Read More »
January 8, 2009 – 1:59 pm
Dear President Elect Obama,
I was born outside your state capital of Springfield, Illinois to Jordanian parents who in turn were children of Palestinians in exile. I am an US educated attorney who has spent long hours and days following and studying American culture, history and politics. I have always been fascinated by the dynamics of American society and the promise of the American dream. Therefore, as I followed your campaign over the past year not only did I become deeply moved by your message, but also grasped the historical significance of your victory. Like many of my fellow Arab and Muslim brothers and sisters across the world I celebrated your victory with tears of joy and with screams of jubilation.
Of course our joy was not driven by any misconceptions that your victory would magically alter American policies toward the Middle East. These policies have, and will continue to be, blindly supportive of Israel’s hegemony and its barbaric abuse and erosion of the inalienable rights of Palestinians – which unfortunately has been on full display over the past fortnight. Read More »
January 6, 2009 – 8:37 pm
About ten years ago, just before Ehud Barak was elected Prime Minister of Israel, he was asked by Haaretz journalist Gideon Levy what he would do had he been born Palestinian. Barak replied frankly: “I would join a terror organization.”
I admired that honest answer as it showed that he may have understood the mentality of many of his Palestinian occupied subjects. He was elected on the basis of going ahead with the peace process and I always thought that if he really understood the Palestinian mentality he would do his utmost to prevent young people like from joining terrorist organizations.
Alas, he didn’t achieve peace back then, nor do his actions now show that he really understood the Palestinian mind. Being myself a Palestinian and knowing how many of my people think, I dare put myself in the shoes of an Israeli citizen and try to reach any new conclusions. Read More »
January 2, 2009 – 10:43 pm
Really, if it weren’t so tragic, if it didn’t have to do with war, the sequence of events that led to the Israel-Gaza conflict would be comical.
In the days leading up to the Israeli Air Force air strike, as Palestinian militants launched more and more rockets in an effort to induce a new cease-fire from Israel, under better terms than the one that expired December 19th, Israeli politicians wavered between preaching patience and calling for attacks, with both sides appearing to have the February elections in mind.
On Christmas, it appeared the calm might extend a little longer: Ehud Barak appeared on a comedy show in Israel (something akin to SNL, and he did a fine job ribbing himself, by all reports), and a news story floated in national newspapers that soldiers were instructed to use up their vacation days this year, because they wouldn’t transfer over to the next year.
Perhaps thinking themselves so clever, Barak and co. then ordered the air strike last Saturday that indeed shocked the Gazans and has lit up the world. And things haven’t slowed down yet.
It should be said that political considerations appear to be out of the picture so far, as Ahron Bregman pointed out in his interview. War in any case will benefit the right wing, and hence the opposition leader and election front runner Benjamin Netanyahu. Read More »
December 31, 2008 – 9:47 am
Jonathan Mok has previously interviewed scholar Ahron Bregman on the subject of Israeli military actions.
Jonathan Mok: What can you say about the latest Israeli assault against Hamas? Do you think that the Olmert government would like to send a signal to the Obama administration?
Ahron Bregman: The Israeli military operation in Gaza is not about sending a signal to the future Obama administration, but a response to a strong feeling that Hamas has overstepped the mark, by firing rockets into Israel. It is true that thus far there have been few casualties in Israel, but the rockets did disturb life and worryingly – from an Israeli point of view – Hamas obtained medium-range missiles that could reach major populated areas.
For now, Israel enjoys strong American support and it is unlikely that in the foreseen future Washington will stop Israel’s military operations. Like the Israelis, Washington regards Hamas as “the bad guys”.
Jonathan: The responses of various Arab states and Mahmoud Abbas are different this time. While they condemn the Israeli attack, they also blame Hamas for sparking the action. Do you see a new departure from the traditional responses of Arab leaders?
Ahron: Don’t forget that the Palestinian Authority and such countries as Egypt and Jordan regard Hamas as a threat to their own regimes. Read More »
December 29, 2008 – 11:45 am
It’s the end of the year, but, once again, it looks like we don’t have much to celebrate, as air raids in Gaza continue. What do you say to this? Who do you blame?
Some say that in order to stand in solidarity with Gaza civilians, we must stand in solidarity with Hamas. I have rather mixed feelings on the issue, as you can imagine. I think I can understand why Hamas have become such a popular force in Gaza, but I don’t have to like it either.
In fact, it looks like Hamas’ popularity is the best thing to happen to the Israeli far-right at this crucial juncture.”But what about the civilians being killed?” You will ask. “What about the families getting destroyed?”
“But what about the people that those families wanted into power?” – Will be the counter-question. And no amount of reasoning, no amount of shouting, even pleading, will do a single bit of good.
When I heard about the local Jordanian effort to bring food and clothes into Gaza, the first thing I had to ask was: “this aid is going to civilians, right?” (It is, of course – and the Jordanian government can presently deliver aid where it needs to be delivered, but I had to check)
Read More »
December 1, 2008 – 12:24 pm
Picture courtesy of Lilia Araj.
Why do I love my country? – The question keeps torturing me.
Most pressing of all, apart from what they taught us in first grade and what certain billboards tried to achieve in recent years, do we really have to nurture such an emotion at all? While to some people the uncertainty itself is blasphemous, I am not ashamed to say that my thirst for a rational answer keeps intensifying with time. I just cannot suppress the itching curiosity to understand the roots of this non-severable connection that I’ve developed with earth, concrete, very little water, and a whole load of hairy, grumpy strangers.
I am not interested here in the theories of a social contract, taxation, or the tribal or political attachments to a certain community or nation state. I am intrigued by a totally different aspect of this relationship, the one, for example, that triggered a profound sadness in me as I read that the toll of the recent fire in the Dibbeen forest was a staggering 5,670 trees lost forever, taking the news as if a piece of my own flesh had been charred by the same fire. Why did I feel like that? Read More »
November 26, 2008 – 9:23 pm
You know what you get when you fight fire with fire? An inexhaustible blaze.
But according to Nagla al-Imam, this isn’t true. She believes that fighting Israeli occupation with sexual harassment is actually the key to resisting it. She recently “invited Arab youth to sexually harass and rape Israeli women as a form of resistance”: Read More »
November 13, 2008 – 9:07 am
Congratulations!
The road to the White House has been extremely long and highly entertaining.
Thank you Sarah Palin for showcasing Tina Fey’s comic genius. Thank you Barack Obama for showcasing American meritocracy at work.
You ran an impeccable campaign and I am proud to have a President who knows what the word impeccable means. But most of all thank you for inspiring us to get involved in politics. It has meant the world to me and to many Arab-American democrats.
Let me share with you what I saw:
I saw Arab-Americans young and old volunteer their time. They donated money like many other Americans who responded to your message of hope. They urged their friends and families to become registered voters. Many voted for the first time in their lives.
On election day I saw young kids with loud speakers cheer for Obama on the streets of Paterson, New Jersey. I honked my horn and was happy as a lark. It felt good to be on the winning side for a change. It feels good to be an American. I know this isn’t possible in Europe.
But don’t get me wrong. It hasn’t been all good: Read More »
November 3, 2008 – 11:17 pm
This is a review of Daniel Barenboim’s Everything is Connected: The Power of Music. Weidenfield & Nicolson. 2008.
A great number of tremendously gifted Jewish musicians occupy the highest places in the world of classical music. Lorin Maazel, Leronard Bernstein, James Levine and Daniel Barenboim are familiar names for any classical music fan.
Barenboim, however, stands out from the rest.
The former director of the Chicago Symphony and now the director of La Scala in Milan, Italy, Barenboim routinely condemns the excesses of the Israeli occupation and is interested in nurturing musical talents amongst Arabs as well as Jews. Read More »
