NATIONAL SUMMIT REACHES LARGE AUDIENCE

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On Middle East Affairs

8 Abbas Faces Israeli Power With Peace Offensive—Rachelle Marshall

14 It Helps to Have Moral Authority When CriticizingPerpetrators, Passive Onlookers—Ian Williams

16 Israel Takes Still More Land From Bedouin Villageof Ramya for Ever-Expanding City—Jonathan Cook

18 The Death of Mutaz Washaha—Jamal Najjab

19 Some Animals Are More Caged Than Others…But Why?—Mohammed Omer

21 Hunger Strike: Still an Effective Mode ofResistance For Palestinian Prisoners?

—Pam Bailey

36 Netanyahu’s AIPAC Speech: 5 Lies—Dale Sprusansky

38 National Summit Reaches Large Audience DespiteMedia Silence—Delinda C. Hanley and Dale Sprusansky

CONGRESS AND THE 2014 ELECTIONS

23 Take the Money and Run—or Retire—Janet McMahon

23 Pro-Israel PAC Contributions to 2014Congressional Candidates—Compiled by Hugh Galford

26 FY ’14 “Omnibus” Appropriations Bill IncludesMiddle East Funds, Conditions—Shirl McArthur

SPECIAL REPORTS

11 Another Anschluss in Crimea—Eric S. Margolis

12 God Bless Putin—Uri Avnery

29 Bosnia-Herzegovina Protests a Response to Post-War Corruption, Impoverishment

—Peter Lippman

Volume XXXIII, No. 3 May 2014

Telling the Truth for More Than 30 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

ON THE COVER:A female Palestinian football (soccer) player takes part in a training session in the Arab EastJerusalem neighborhood of Issawiya, March 9, 2014. AHMAD GHARABLI/AFP/GETTY IMAGES

Prof. John Quigley addresses the National Summit to Reassess theU.S.-Israel “Special Relationship,” March 7, 2014. See story p. 38.

PHOTO PHIL PORTLOCK

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5 LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

7 PUBLISHERS’ PAGE

31 SOUTHERN CALIFORNIACHRONICLE: CIA and U.S.Middle East Policy Explored—Pat and Samir Twair

33 NEW YORK CITY AND TRI-STATE NEWS:Max Blumenthal’s GoliathIgnored by Liberal Zionists,Mainstream Media—Jane Adas

43 NORTHERN CALIFORNIA CHRONICLE: Iraqi Shot by U.S.Sniper Receives Care, Compas-sion in San Francisco Bay Area—Elaine Pasquini

46 ISRAEL AND JUDAISM:Confronted With Criticism,Israel’s Response Is Always theSame: “Anti-Semitism”—Allan C. Brownfeld

47 CHRISTIANITY AND THEMIDDLE EAST:Zionism Unsettled: A Congregational Study Guide—Carole Monica Burnett

50 MUSLIM AMERICAN ACTIVISM:Major MuslimGroups Launch New Council atDC News Conference

50 MUSIC & ARTS:MESTO Performs

51 HUMAN RIGHTS:Tackling Syria’s Humanitarian Crisis

56 DIPLOMATIC DOINGS:Ambassador Jalil Abbas Jilani onPakistan-U.S. Relations

56 WAGING PEACE:Prospects of Reaching a NuclearDeal, Restoring Diplomatic TiesWith Iran

68 BOOK REVIEW:Against Our Better Judgment:How the U.S. was Used toCreate Israel—Reviewed by James Abourezk

69 NEW ARRIVALS FROM THEAET BOOKSTORE

70 THE WORLD LOOKS AT THEMIDDLE EAST — CARTOONS

71 OTHER PEOPLE’S MAIL

73 BULLETIN BOARD

74 2014 AET CHOIR OF ANGELS

30 INDEX TO ADVERTISERS

Neocons Have Weathered the Storm, Robert Parry, http://consortiumnews.com OV-1

If We Can Sanction Russia Over Crimea,We Can Sanction Israel Over Palestine, Robert Naiman, www.huffingtonpost.com OV-3

AIPAC Lost Iran Sanctions Battle—Not War,Brent E. Sasley, The Forward OV-3

U.S. Adopts Israeli Demand to Bring Iran’s Missiles into Nuclear Talks, Gareth Porter, Inter Press Service OV-4

Why Israelis Are Content to Live in a Bubble of Denial, Jonathan Cook, The National OV-6

Al-Aqsa vs. Israel,Ramzy Baroud, www.counterpunch.org OV-7

Against Our Better Judgment: The Hidden History of How the U.S. Was Used to Create Israel, By Alison Weir,Gilad Atzmon, www.gilad.co.uk OV-8

Close the EU to Israeli Settlement Products, Willem-Gert Aldershoff & Michel Waelbroeck,Haaretz OV-8

Want to Boycott Israel? There Will Soon Be an App for That, Abbas Naqvi, http://mondoweiss.net OV-9

Israel’s Future in FIFA Is Uncertain, Dave Zirin, www.thenation.com OV-10

Camel Bones and Jerusalem: Archeology Shows Bible Written Late, Full of Errors,Juan Cole, www.juancole.com OV-11

How to Get Away With Spying on Muslims,Christopher Brauchli, www.counterpunch.org OV-11

Helping Themselves to the Fish, PhosphatesAnd Tomatoes of Western Sahara,Olivier Quarante, Le Monde diplomatique OV-12

Ordinary Spaniards Lend Sahrawi People A Helping Hand, Ines Benitez, Inter Press Service OV-14

South-South Cooperation Takes Off in Arab World, Thalif Deen, Inter Press Service OV-15

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

Compiled by Janet McMahon

DEPARTMENTS

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A Core American ValuePlease find enclosed my contribution toyour work and once again accept mythanks for the tremendous work you do.Wisely, our forefathers separated church

from state. That being said, does it botheranyone else in this country that billions ofdollars of American tax money is giveneach year to a country that insists on call-ing itself a “Jewish state”? I am a firm be-liever in religious liberty and do not thinkit is appropriate to dole out billions of dol-lars to a “Christian state,” a “Muslimstate,” a “Jewish state,” or any countrythat discriminates on the basis of religion.Is it even constitutional?Clyde Ferris, West Linn, ORWe are very grateful for your

support over the years, and believeyou will agree with many of thespeakers at the March 7 NationalSummit to Reassess the U.S.-Israel“Special Relationship.” See our cov-erage beginning on page 38 of thisissue, or visit the Summit website,<www.NatSummit.org>, for tran-scripts and audio and video footage.

An Angel’s TributeThank you for your letter acknowledginga 2013 contribution to the Washington Re-port.Your publisher, Ambassador Andrew

Killgore, and I have exchanged a fewwords in the past, but I cannot resist theurge of expressing my respect and admira-tion for his wonderful dedication over theyears. There is no yardstick that can mea-sure what he has done and what he contin-ues to do. The superlatives that we com-monly use will certainly not suffice tocover what he deserves.There is no doubt that he has been a

guiding light to the many, many peoplethat have known him and there is, also, nodoubt that he will always be a shining ex-ample to our future generations.Dr. Joseph W. Tamari, Chicago, ILThe editors heartily agree—and hence

have overridden our publisher’s modesty byignoring his preference to avoid public acco-lades. Without him and co-founder RichardH. Curtiss, our late executive editor, wewould not be writing these words today!

Friendly Only to Some ChildrenAgain our profound thanks to those at theWashington Report on Middle East Affairswho courageously tell people everywhereabout the tragedy of the Palestinian people.A brutal decades-long tragedy that Israel isimposing on innocent people with the sup-

port of U.S. taxpayers.Note: In the Feb. 5, 2014 issue of The

Christian Century, in the section “Brieflynoted” under Century News, was the fol-lowing: “Israel, a famously child-friendlycountry…” I could not believe the Christ-ian Century would print such an outra-geous lie. Less than a month before BarackObama was sworn in as president of theUnited States, “Our only friend and ally inthe Middle East—Israel” brutally attackedthe unarmed 1.7 million Palestinians inGaza. In 22 days they murdered 1,400Palestinians, of whom 397 were children.So Israel, this “child-friendly” country

killed 397 children in 22 days and we saidand did nothing. Oh, by the way 13 Is-raelis were killed, six by friendly fire.Please accept our, The LouVin Founda-

tion check for $5,000.00 in honor ofRichard H. Curtiss, Ambassador AndrewKillgore and the many others who havetried to tell the story of Israel’s theft of an-other people’s land and the murder of theinnocents.Vince and Louise Larsen, Billings, MTWe also would not be writing these words

today without the generous support of angelssuch as yourselves. As we like to say, we’reall in this together!

The Achille Lauro and Alex OdehI have become aware of an article in yourDecember 2013 issue written by news edi-tor Delinda C. Hanley about renewed inter-est in solving the murder of Alex Odeh. Iam an author and journalist living inAlexandria and I wrote a book in 2004about the Achille Lauro hijacking. I de-voted a good bit of that book to Odeh, hisdeath, and the people that my investiga-tion identified as his killers.If I can be help, please contact me.Michael K. Bohn, Alexandria, VA As you note on your website, <www.bohn

books.com>, “Palestinians killed [AchilleLauro passenger Leon] Klinghoffer because he

Publisher: ANDREW I. KILLGOREManaging Editor: JANET McMAHON

News Editor: DELINDA C. HANLEYAssistant Editor: DALE SPRUSANSKY

Book Club Director: ANDREW STIMSONFinance & Admin. Director: CHARLES R. CARTERArt Director: RALPH U. SCHERER

Executive Editor: RICHARD H. CURTISS(1927-2013)

Washington Report on Middle East Affairs (ISSN 8755-4917) is published 8 times ayear, monthly except Jan./Feb., March/April andJune/July combined, at 1902 18th St., NW, Washing-ton, DC 20009-1707. Tel. (202) 939-6050. Subscrip-tion prices (United States and possessions): oneyear, $29; two years, $55; three years, $75. ForCanadian and Mexican subscriptions, $35 per year;for other foreign subscriptions, $70 per year. Periodicals, postage paid at Washington, DC andadditional mailing offices. POSTMASTER: Sendaddress changes to Washington Report onMiddle East Affairs, P.O. Box 91056, Long Beach,CA 90809-1056.

Published by theAmerican Educational Trust(AET), a non-profit foundation incorporated inWash-ington, DC by retired U.S. foreign service officers toprovide the American public with balanced and ac-curate information concerning U.S. relations withMiddle Eastern states.AET’s Foreign Policy Commit-tee has included former U.S. ambassadors, govern-ment officials, and members of Con gress, includingthe late Demo cratic Sen. J.William Fulbright and Re-publican Sen. Charles Percy, both former chairmen ofthe Senate Foreign Relations Committee. Membersof AET’s Board of Directors and advisory committeesreceive no fees for their services.

The Washington Report on Middle East Affairs does not take partisan domestic political positions. As a solution to the Palestinian- Israeli dis-pute, it endorses U.N. Security Council Resolution242’s land-for-peace formula, supported by ninesuccessive U.S. presidents. In general, it supportsMiddle East solutions which it judges to be consis-tent with the charter of the United Nations and traditional American support for human rights, self-determination, and fair play.

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

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P.O. Box 91056, Long Beach, CA 90809-1056.Phone: (888) 881-5861 • Fax: (714) 226-9733

Printed in the USA

LetterstotheEditor

MAY 2014 5THE WASHINGTON REPORT ON MIDDLE EAST AFFAIRS

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6 MAY 2014THE WASHINGTON REPORT ON MIDDLE EAST AFFAIRS

was Jewish; Jews killed Odeh because he wasan Arab.” Most Americans above a certainage can immediately identify Klinghoffer,while very few know who Alex Odeh was orthat he was murdered by Jewish terrorists.We applaud you for telling the complete story.

An Israeli Is Shocked, Shocked!I’ve just come across your magazine and Imust say that I’m shocked. How is it possi-ble that a magazine published in the capi-tal of the USA to print such distortions of

the truth? Some of your articles are down-right lies. You must surely know the truth.So why do you publish such incrimina-tions and calumnies, you should beashamed of yourselves.

N. Halfteck (a proud Israeli and Jew),Atlit, IsraelWe find your letter a little short on

specifics. Not only do we print letters fromIsraelis, however, we also publish articles bythem (see “God Bless Putin” by Uri Avnery,on p. 12 of this issue).

The Bigger PictureAt least 136,000 Syrians have been killedby Syrians, yet your latest and every issuedeals mainly with “the Israeli occupationof Palestine.” Tell me, where is this “bal-ance” Washington Report has that it toutson page 5 of every issue?

Also, if the U.S. and Russia were to dukeit out clearly destroying all life, wouldyour final issue still mainly feature “the Is-raeli occupation of Palestine,” and would itbe mentioned in your last issue?

By the way, aren’t you a bit curious as towhy Israel is being subject to BDS and Syriaisn’t? Has Assad killed too many to qualify?

Jerry Axelrod (faithful subscriber), viae-mailWe would very much like to receive

copies of the letters you write to The NewYork Times, Washington Post, CNN andother mainstream American media askingwhy they fail to cover Israel’s illegal occu-pation only from an Israeli perspective. SeeEric Margolis’ article on p. 11 of this issuefor a discussion of the current U.S.-Russianstandoff. Finally, we are not aware thatWashington is providing Damascus $3 bil-lion-plus a year in U.S. tax dollars, vetoingU.N. resolutions critical of Syria, or other-wise putting itself at the service of a foreigngovernment. ❑

Other Voices is an optional 16-page supplement available only to subscribers ofthe Washington Report on Middle East Affairs. For an additional $15 per year (seepostcard insert for Wash ington Re portsubscription rates), subscribers will receiveOther Voices with each issue of their Washington Report on Middle East Affairs.Back issues of both publications are avail -

able. To subscribe telephone 1 (888) 881-5861, fax (714) 226-9733,e-mail <circulation@wrmea.org>, or write to P.O. Box 91056, LongBeach, CA 90809-1056.

How do I get a transcript or video of the presentations?Watched the entire meeting on C-SPAN3 and was very im-pressed by the LACK of spin, propaganda and heated rhetoric—a historical event. Would be a historical document if published.Russell Olson, via e-mail

Indeed, it was very refreshing to be at a conference where themain topic of discussion was not a solution for Israel nor evenfor the Palestinians, but for the U.S. We need to protect ourcountry from all sorts of foreign invasions, including the politicalkinds.Looking forward to an expanded meeting next year with more

opportunity for networking and discussion, and more time forthe speakers (in parallel sessions) over a two-day period.Paul Larudee, via e-mail

Thank you for an exceptional event at the National Press Club inWashington, DC, yesterday, March 7. I happened upon it on C-SPAN during the evening session and later viewed the entireeight hours (-plus).As a 20-year subscriber to the Washington Report on Middle

East Affairs, I enjoyed and learned from the excellent speakers’direct, blunt remarks on the issues and facts involved in the“Special Relationship”—that turns out to be special for Israel butnot so special for its reflexive, obedient U.S. benefactor.It was also a privilege to see Paul Findley again, still sharp, inci-

sive, and in the Illinois tradition of Abraham Lincoln always readyto confront the powerful forces that massed to silence him morethan 30 years ago.

It would be wonderful if you could arrange to have a DVDavailable of the entire day-long National Summit as seen on C-SPAN.Thank you again, and I wish you and the Washington Report

well in your important work.Paul Thomas, via e-mail

It was wonderful. Here at home in my little Nova Scotia fish-ing village, I plugged in my iPhone and listened to the entire thingwhile cleaning. All the speakers did a fantastic job! What a refreshing few

hours. I learned a LOT. I laughed out loud and shed some tears.Powerful stuff.We can only hope some powerful *people* were listening......Themis Frieden, If Americans Knew Facebook page

Thank you for an eye-opening program on C-SPAN, shown onthe weekend. I have been trying to tell this story to my grown-up children for years. All I have got back was that I was anti-Semitic.…This is the very first time I have ever heard criticismagainst Zionists ever in a public forum. Yesterday I watched onC-SPAN3 some more revelations. Though I must say I was a bitperturbed by the reaction of four of the panelists to a questionfrom the audience about the teaching of the Holocaust inschools. I couldn’t help think they were Zionists in sheeps’ cloth-ing. Thanks again. Peter Gill, via e-mail.

*See story p. 38.

Responses to the National Summit to Reassess the U.S.-Israeli “Special Relationship”*

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MAY 2014 7THE WASHINGTON REPORT ON MIDDLE EAST AFFAIRS

Publishers’ Page Publishers’ PageFrontPage Magazine Thinks We’rea JokeDaniel Greenfield doesn’t like the factthat—unlike just about every otherAmerican publication—this magazineshines a spotlight on Israeli blemishes.He writes: “If space aliens read theWashington Report on Middle East Af-fairs, they would assume that theMiddle East consists entirely of Israel.”But we’re sure that if space aliens didland in our nation’s capital they, too,would think that…

U.S. Politicians Work for Israel!As we went to press, with no pages leftto devote to this story, Florida bank-ruptcy Judge A. Jay Cristol was plug-ging yet another incarnation of his has-bara (Israeli propaganda) book, TheLiberty Incident Revealed. He calls eye-witness survivor testimony “conspiracytheories” and rearranges, concocts oromits facts in such a way as to lead a readerto a completely false conclusion: that Israel’s1967 attack on the USS Liberty was an un-fortunate accident. (We’ll have more onCristol’s book tour in the June/July issue.)

In Order Not to Disappoint…Mr. Greenfield (who apparently believesPalestinians do not exist), we’ve decided todevote much of this “Publishers’ Page” tosome pretty nasty stories you may havemissed in your morning paper or eveningnews broadcast. These events take place inthe “only democracy in the Middle East”—the nation that gets $9.3 million U.S. taxdollars per day—and in the land it illegallyoccupies: Palestine.

Israel Targets Soccer Players.Jawhar Nasser Jawhar, 19, and Adam Abdal-Raouf Halabiya, 17, will never againplay football (that’s soccer to Americans)or any sport, according to The Nation’sDave Zirin (see this issue’s “Other Voices”supplement). The cousins were on theirway home from the Faisal al-Husseini Sta-dium in Al-Ram, West Bank, on Jan. 31.As they walked near a checkpoint, Israelisoldiers fired on them without warning,shooting seven bullets into Jawhar’s leftfoot, three in his right and one in his lefthand. They shot Halabiya once in eachfoot. As is so often the case with Israelishootings, bombings and other acts of ag-gression, one can only conclude that itsmilitary is either…

Sadistic or Incompetent.This is but the latest instance of the system-atic targeting of Palestinian football playersby the Israeli army and security forces. Overthe past five years Israel has jailed, shot orkilled Palestinian football players in the WestBank and Gaza. In an occupied territorywhere sports provide one of the few sourcesof pride and entertainment for young people,Palestinian athletes are fair game. Israel notonly prevents them from participating in in-ternational competitions, but even limits im-ports of vital sporting equipment.

Then There Are the Hunger Games. Mahmoud Sarsak, a member of the Pales-tinian national football team, was arrestedin July 2009 and held without charges forthree years. His crime? He was trying toleave Gaza and cross through Israel on hisway to a football match in the West Bank.After a 90-day hunger strike Sarsak, 25,was released from prison after losing almosthalf his weight. (See article on Palestinianhunger strikers on p. 21 of this issue.)

Stadium Bombed.Israel first bombed the Palestine Sports Sta-dium in Gaza City in 2006. Football’s gov-erning body, the Fédération Internationalede Football Association (FIFA), helped re-build it—only to have Israel destroy it again(along with the Palestinian Paralympic Com-mittee headquarters) on Nov. 19, 2012,during Operation Pillar of Cloud. To itscredit, FIFA again rebuilt the stadium!

Beitar Jerusalem Club.Racist Israeli fans are apt to chant “Deathto Arabs” when Muslim players take thefield. In 2012 some of these fans ranamok through a Jerusalem shoppingmall, attacking Arab workers. The fol-lowing February they torched the officesof the Beitar Jerusalem football club afterthe team signed two Muslim playersfrom Chechnya. Throughout the club’shistory fans have vociferously opposedthe signing of Arab or Muslim players.

Sign the Petition to FIFA.It’s time to demand that FIFA and the In-ternational Olympic Committee suspendthe Israeli Football Association (IFA)until Israel respects the human rights ofall players and observes internationallaw. Add your name to—and tell yourf r i e n d s ab o u t—a p e t i t i o n a t<www.change.org>. Join the nearly8,300 people who have signed the peti-

tion as we went to press. After all…

It Worked in South Africa!

As You Can See, We’re Fired Up!After more than a year of planning The Na-tional Summit to Reassess the U.S.-Israel“Special Relationship,” along with the In-stitute for Research: Middle Eastern Policy,the Council for the National Interest and IfAmericans Knew—we had quite a day (seepp. 38-41). Despite the studied silence ofthe mainstream media (who were contactedrepeatedly), many Americans watched theentire summit live on C-SPAN3, and morecaught repeat segments later in the week.(According to C-SPAN, an estimated 47 mil-lion adults watch C-SPAN once a week.) Ifyou missed it, visit <NatSummit.org> towatch the panel discussions, listen to audiorecordings, or read the transcripts.

Help Us Spread the Information. Contact our Bookstore, <www.middleeastbooks.com>, to pre-order the NationalSummit DVD. Take it to your local publicbroadcasting service and ask them to show it.Help us reach evenmore viewers next year bysending a check with “Summit” in the memoline. We’ll put your hard-earned dollars toworknow. (As always,we could also use somegreenbacks ourselves to pay a few hefty billsof our own!) So please dig as deep as you can,so we can all build on the momentum and…

Make a Difference Today!

American Educational Trust

Palestinian football player Mahmoud Sarsak, whowas released from an Israel prison after going on ahunger strike to protest his being held for three yearswithout charges.

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Only in children’s stories does the bravebut spindly hero win out over the

much bigger bully. In real life the strongerside usually wins, especially when strengthis measured in military power. When Israeldemands that the Palestinians recognize Is-rael as a “Jewish state” despite its large pop-ulation of Palestinians and other ethnic andreligious groups, all the Palestinians can dois refuse. When Palestinians use official sta-tionery bearing the words “State of Pales-tine,” in conformance with the U.N.’s recog-nition of Palestine as an observer state inNovember 2012, the Israelis can threatenthe lives of hundreds of Palestinians.

Seldom has the disparity of power be-tween the two sides been as evident as inthe case of 13-year-old Salah Abu Assi,who travels to Jerusalem’s Hadassah hospi-tal several times a month for treatment of atumor behind his eye. Israel recently de-nied Salah permission to enter Israel be-cause his application was on official sta-tionery that contained the outlawed words“State of Palestine.” The refusal could havebeen a death sentence for Salah and more -than a thousand other medical patients

from Gaza who must use the Erez crossingsince the new Egyptian government hasvirtually closed the Rafah crossing.

Most of the Gazans who refiled theirtravel applications using stationery accept-able to Israel were eventually admitted, soSalah is likely to receive the chemotherapyhe needs—at least for the time being. Buthe will do so knowing that his life dependson an Israeli government that is willing touse any means possible to reinforce its con-trol over Palestinian territory regardless ofthe human costs.

It is this disparity of power that hasmade a travesty of the so-called peace ne-gotiations that have dragged on for 23years and allowed Israel to build more andmore settlements on Palestinian land. Thecurrent peace talks are “talks” in nameonly, since representatives of the two sidesseldom meet face to face. President BarackObama in effect acknowledged the futilityof the talks at his White House meetingwith Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Ne-tanyahu on March 3. He did not mentionIsrael’s accelerated settlement constructionbut reminded Netanyahu that with thePalestinian population growing, Israel willsooner or later have to accept a two-statesolution if it wishes to remain a democracy.

The president did ask that Netanyahu ac-cept a “framework for peace” that contains

a set of general principles regarding bordersand other issues as a basis for negotiation.Peace talks would be extended for anothereight months. The meeting between the twoleaders carefully avoided controversy, andthe next day Netanyahu even gave a nod toObama’s plea for a peace when he spoke tothousands of AIPAC members at the organi-zation’s annual convention.

“We all have so much to gain frompeace,” he told the audience, and expressedhope that “the Palestinian leadership willstand with Israel and the United States onthe right side of the moral divide, the sideof peace, reconciliation and hope.” (The ap-plause following this statement was“muted,” according to The New YorkTimes.) Despite his words, the Israeli leaderhas not himself made any move toward rec-onciliation. After countless separate meet-ings with Secretary of State John Kerry, Ne-tanyahu and Palestinian President Mah-moud Abbas are still as far apart as ever.

Details of the framework have not yetbeen made public, but reports say it callsfor the creation of a security zone along theJordan River designed to protect Israel, andgives the Palestinians only a small neigh-borhood in East Jerusalem as their capital.Israel would keep the large settlement blocsbut give land in Israel in exchange. Pales-tinian officials say the framework also callsfor Palestinian recognition of Israel as a“Jewish state,” a designation they firmlyreject. Senior Palestinian official HananAshrawi, who is long experienced in nego-tiating with Israel, asked, “Why have it? Isit just to maintain a semblance of progress?Is it meant to buy more time? Or is it not toadmit that we have failed?”

The Palestinians, however, are notcounting solely on help from Washington.They are increasing their reliance on non-violent resistance, with the aim of gaininginternational support and eventually prov-ing that the weak can overcome if theircause is just. Villagers in the West Bankcontinue to protest peacefully despite in-creasingly violent attacks by the army, andAbbas is responding to Israel’s intransi-gence with positive peace proposals.

He has suggested that a U.S.-led NATOforce be stationed indefinitely in the WestBank, with Israeli troops remaining for fiveyears before being phased out. The State ofPalestine would not have an army but onlya police force, to protect both sides’ secu-rity. “I hope the Israeli people will under-

SpecialReportSpecialReport

Abbas Faces Israeli Power With Peace OffensiveBy Rachelle Marshall

8 MAY 2014THE WASHINGTON REPORT ON MIDDLE EAST AFFAIRS

Rachelle Marshall is a free-lance editor liv-ing in Mill Valley, CA. A member of JewishVoice for Peace, she writes frequently on theMiddle East.

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A 12-year-old Palestinian named Rula with her grandmother in their family home in the GazaStrip’s Nusseirat refugee camp, after the young girl was denied entry into Israel to receive medical treatment, Feb. 13, 2014.

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stand what it means to live in a vicinity ofpeace rather than the current situation,”Abbas said. It is so far a distant hope. Ne-tanyahu rejected the idea of a NATO secu-rity force and continues to insist on “secu-rity arrangements that are embedded inthe hands of Israel so we will be able to se-cure ourselves.” Abbas reinforced his peace efforts in

mid-February by meeting with 300 Israelistudents and youth leaders in Ramallah.The students were given pamphlets de-scribing the Palestinians’ negotiating posi-tions, which included land swaps acrossthe 1967 borders and a solution to therefugee problem that is “fair and accept-able to Israel.” When the Israelis askedhow Abbas would integrate Gaza into apeace deal, he assured them that mostGazans want peace and said Hamas hadsigned an agreement supporting the nego-tiating process.As the meeting ended, the man Ne-

tanyahu recently accused of inciting ha-tred of Israel among Palestinian childrentold the audience that his grandchildrenhad attended the Seeds of Peace summercamp in Maine with Israeli children. A major obstacle to any peace plan is Is-

rael’s insistence on annexing a large portionof the Jordan Valley, the West Bank’s mostproductive agricultural area. Whether ornot the framework deals with the issue,home demolitions to make way for Israelimilitary bases and settlements are proceed-ing so rapidly that the Palestinian popula-tion already has been reduced from 300,000to 50,000. According to the U.N., the num-ber of demolitions in the Jordan Valleydoubled in 2013, with 665 homes destroyedbetween July and Jan. 1, 2014.Such statistics don’t reveal the intense

human misery that results whenever ahome is destroyed. When soldiers de-scended before dawn on the village of EinHijleh in early February they had to beatand kick the inhabitants to force them toleave their homes. Thirty-two of the evac-uees had to be hospitalized. Many otherswere left at the mercy of the weather. TheRed Cross was forced to stop deliveringtents to homeless Palestinians because Is-rael either destroyed or confiscated them.Any peace plan involving the return of

Palestinian land faces stiff opposition in Is-rael. Several members of Netanyahu’s coali-tion have threatened to leave the govern-ment if Netanyahu gives up any land to thePalestinians. Among them are cabinet mem-bers Naftali Bennett, head of the JewishHome Party, and Danny Danon, head of theLikud party’s central committee, and othersare certain to join them. After Kerry warnedthat Israel could face a growing interna-tional boycott if the current peace talks fail,a group of rabbis accused him of “making a

declaration of war against the Creator andRuler of the Universe...for God awarded theEntire Land of Israel to our ancestors.” The rabbis were at least clear in their de-

mand for the “entire land,” which some na-tionalists have defined as stretching fromthe Jordan River to the Litani in southernLebanon. Netanyahu has yet to define theboundaries of what he calls “the state of theJewish people.” In a Jan. 24 speech inDavos, Switzerland he said, “I have said inthe past and I repeat today: I do not intendto remove a single settlement [and] I do notintend to displace a single Israeli.” If thisremains the prime minister’s negotiatingposition, there can be no two-state solution. Kerry was only stating a fact when he

said Israelis face the choice of either ac-cepting the establishment of a viable, inde-pendent Palestinian state on their border,or bearing the blame for a failed peaceprocess. Consequently the boycott cam-paign, or BDS (boycott, divestment, sanc-tions), is potentially the Palestinians’ mosteffective weapon. Netanyahu all but ac-knowledged this fact when he devoted aconsiderable part of his AIPAC speech tocondemning BDS, calling it a return to the“darkest days of anti-Semitism.”Rebecca Vilkomerson, executive director

of Jewish Voice for Peace, which stronglybacks the boycott, dismissed the accusationas a scare tactic, and Omar Barghouti, one ofthe boycott’s founders, said, “It’s like a JimCrow leader calling Martin Luther Kingracist.” But Thomas Friedman pointed out inhis New York Times column of Feb. 5 thatthe Israelis have reason to worry. He quotesFinance Minister Yair Lapid as saying that if

a two-state solution is not reached with thePalestinians, “it will hit the pocket of everyIsraeli.” According to Lapid, if Israeli ex-ports of technology and agricultural prod-ucts to Europe are reduced by 20 percent, Is-rael would lose more than $5 billion a year. The boycott is already showing its effect.

The Netherlands’ largest pension fundmanagement company, PGGM, has with-drawn its investments in Israel’s five largestbanks because they have branches in theWest Bank or help finance settlement con-struction. Denmark’s Danske Bank is boy-cotting Israel’s largest bank, Hapoalim, for“legal and ethical reasons” because of itsactivities in the West Bank. Several Euro-pean supermarket chains have stoppedselling Israeli produce.The boycott campaign received a pub-

licity boost when the distinguished actressScarlett Johansson became a target ofprotests by taking a job as spokeswomanfor SodaStream, a company located in theWest Bank that manufactures carbonationequipment. Johansson credited the com-pany with “building a bridge between Is-rael and Palestine, supporting neighborsworking alongside each other, receivingequal pay, equal benefits and equal rights.” Critics pointed out that the Palestinian

workers are not “equal”; unlike Israelis,they must pass through numerous check-points to get to work and are barred fromusing major West Bank roads. Like allPalestinians, they live in constant fear ofbulldozers with demolition orders andmidnight raids by soldiers. Johansson wasforced to resign as global ambassador forOxfam, which issued a statement saying,

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Palestinian residents of the besieged Yarmouk refugee camp in Damascus wait in line to receive food aid distributed by UNRWA, Jan. 31, 2014.

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“Oxfam believes that businesses such asSodaStream that operate in settlements fur-ther the ongoing poverty and denial ofrights of the Palestinian communities wework to support.” The boycott movement is directed at a

military occupation that is not only illegalbut brutally enforced, with Palestinians sub-ject to physical attacks and vandalism by en-croaching settlers, and to the casual crueltyof Israeli soldiers and police. On Feb. 28,shortly after soldiers shot to death 25-year-old Mutaz Washaha in his home in Bir Zeit,calling him a “suspected” terrorist (see storyp. 18), Amnesty International accused the Is-raelis of being “trigger happy” in their useof excessive force. As if to illustrateAmnesty’s charge, a few days later soldiers atthe Allenby Bridge shot and killed RaedZeitar, a Jordanian judge of Palestinian an-cestry who was traveling to the West Bank tovisit his critically ill 6-year-old daughter.The organization documented the

killings of 22 Palestinians in the West Bankin 2013, and said in no case did the victimpose a threat to the Israelis. Two morePalestinians were killed in Gaza in the firsttwo months of this year, and more than 60wounded. Amnesty called the killings “un-lawful” and urged the suspension of alltransfers of weapons and equipment to Is-rael. The day after Netanyahu spoke aboutpeace and reconciliation in Washington anIsraeli air strike on Gaza killed another two

Palestinians and wounded a 7-year-old boyand a 12-year-old girl. On Feb. 25 Palestinians had commemo-

rated the 20th anniversary of a crime thatcast an even harsher light on Israel’s occu-pation policy. On that day in 1994 BaruchGoldstein, an American-born settler fromthe right-wing settlement of Kiryat Arbawalked into the Ibrahimi Mosque in He-bron, and shot to death 29 Palestinians asthey knelt in prayer, and wounded morethan 125. Although a settler was responsi-ble for the massive bloodshed, it was thePalestinians who were punished.At the direction of then-Prime Minister

Yitzhak Rabin, the Palestinian populationof Hebron was put under round-the-clockcurfew and the city’s main commercialthoroughfare, Shuhada Street, was closedto them. The Jewish settlers, who later putup a shrine to Goldstein, continued tomove about freely, protected by the Israeliarmy. Two months later Palestinian mili-tants carried out their first suicide bomb-ing, an event that virtually ended the Oslopeace process. Today the Palestinian resistance, includ-

ing Hamas, is largely nonviolent, despitebeing up against an Israeli army that rou-tinely fires tear gas, rubber bullets and liveammunition at peaceful protesters. Israeli airstrikes and fatal shootings in Gaza havelately increased, violating a 16-month cease-fire between Israel and Hamas that Hamas

has adhered to but more militant groups feelno obligation to observe. As Gazans sufferfrom scarcity and unemployment, the mili-tants are taking advantage of the situation,hoping to challenge Hamas’ leadership. Is-rael apparently finds it preferable to defendagainst groups that employ violence ratherthan deal with Hamas as a political faction.A similar situation exists in Egypt,

where after ousting President MohamedMorsi, the new rulers outlawed the Mus-lim Brotherhood and arrested thousands ofits members, along with journalists, stu-dents, liberals and academics. All dissenthas been silenced. Instead of the MuslimBrotherhood, which publicly denouncedviolence years ago, Egypt now faces agrowing jihadist movement. Militants from across the region called on

Muslims to take up arms against the govern-ment, and groups such al-Qaeda and AnsarBeit al-Maqdis responded, setting off a waveof violence aimed at government officials, se-curity forces and tourists. With the growthof extremism in Egypt, and the fighting inSyria edging closer to Israel, the Israelis’ besthope for security lies more than ever inpeace with the Palestinians. Abbas’ proposalof an independent but demilitarized Pales-tinian state with a permanent NATO pres-ence offers them an opportunity to achieveboth peace and security. Given the currentturmoil taking place on their borders, theymay never have a better chance. ❑

10 MAY 2014THE WASHINGTON REPORT ON MIDDLE EAST AFFAIRS

AIPAC’s convention in Washington on March 2-4 was as usualthe occasion for claiming solid grass roots support for Israelamong Jewish Americans, and for making sure that Congress willkeep billions in aid flowing to the self-proclaimed Jewish state.The three-day meeting included “advocacy day,” on which the14,000 attendees visited the offices of their representativesarmed with instructions on how to secure support for AIPAC’slegislative agenda. This year the assignment proved more diffi-cult. In a news story on Feb. 4, The New York Times speculated on

whether AIPAC has lost some of its clout. A Senate bill stronglybacked by AIPAC to impose harsher sanctions on Iran failed afterObama opposed it, and 70 House Democrats sent a letter to theWhite House backing the president’s diplomatic efforts with Iran.AIPAC also failed to win congressional support for a military

strike on Syria, and the Senate confirmed Chuck Hagel as de-fense secretary over AIPAC’s opposition. Another telling chal-lenge to AIPAC came from 700 Jewish New Yorkers in a letterto Mayor Bill de Blasio in February criticizing him for saying ata closed-door meeting of AIPAC, “Part of my job is to be a de-fender of Israel.” Earlier, 58 prominent Jewish Americans hadsent the mayor a message saying, “No, your job is not to doAIPAC’s bidding.”Undaunted by such events, AIPAC came back in mid-Febru-

ary with an op-ed column by Seth M. Siegel in The New YorkTimes that described Israel as the one Middle East country thathas mastered the problem of water scarcity and is helping itsneighbors cope with the problem. Siegel, who was identified bythe Times as an investment banker, blamed Hamas for pollut-ing Gaza’s water supply and asserted that “The Palestinians in

the West Bank already receive much of their water from Israel’snational water utility.”Neither of those statements is true. Siegel, it turns out, is a

member of AIPAC and chairman of its board of directors.Gaza’s water is polluted because Israel’s bombing of the terri-tory’s power plants and sewage lines in its 2008-2009 air andland assault on Gaza, and the scarcity of diesel fuel caused byIsrael’s seven-year blockade, have crippled its sanitation system.Far from supplying water to West Bank Palestinians, Israel takesmost of their water. Israel controls the West Bank aquifers andappropriates 80 percent of their water for use by Israelis. Ac-cording to Amnesty International, Israel also blocks infrastruc-ture projects that would improve the Palestinians’ water sup-plies. Almost a million families do not receive the minimum of60 liters a day advised by the World Health Organization. At least 70 West Bank villages are not connected to any water

network, and others find that their water runs short in a dry pe-riod. The result is that many Palestinians are forced to rely onbuying expensive water from tanker trucks while settlers enjoywatered lawns and swimming pools. In an interview publishedin Haaretz on Feb. 18, Nasser Nawajeh said, “Water is notsomething I take for granted. It is a daily existential struggle.”This information would not come as a surprise to Israelis

who read newspapers such as Haaretz, and columnists such asAmira Hass, but in the U.S. news articles and editorial columnscritical of Israel are hard to come by. Siegel’s column was justone example of the misinformation campaign that for so longhas enabled AIPAC to keep so many members of Congress ona tight leash. The leash is finally showing signs of fraying, butthe task of exposing the truth will remain a challenge.—R.M.

AIPAC Loses a Few Rounds But Comes Back Swinging

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Many Americans have trouble under-standing modern Russia or leader

Vladimir Putin. That’s in good part be-cause they have little or no understandingof Russia’s history or geopolitics.“The Soviet Union will return,” I wrote

in 1991 after the collapse of the U.S.S.R. de-prived the Russian imperium of a third ofits territory, almost half its people andmuch of its world power.A similar disaster for Russia occurred in

1918 at the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk. De-feated by the German-Austrian-Bulgarian-Turkish Central Powers in World War Iand racked by revolution, Lenin’s new Bol-shevik regime bowed to German demandsto hand over the Baltic states and allowUkraine to become independent.As soon as Josef Stalin consolidated

power, he began undoing the Brest-Litovsksurrender. The Baltic states, Ukraine, thesouthern Caucasus and parts of “GreaterRomania” were reoccupied. Half of Polandagain fell under Russian control. Stalin re-stored his nation to its pre-war 1914 bor-ders, killing millions in the process.In the 1930s, Adolf Hitler was tearing

down the equally cruel Versailles Treatythat left millions of ethnic Germansstranded in hostile nations and deprivedGermany of its historic eastern regions.Hitler claimed his invasion of Russia wasmotivated by Germany’s strategic impera-tive to acquire farm lands so it could attainfood security.The Central Powers—notably Germany

and Austro-Hungary—could not produceenough food to feed their growing popula-tions. Imports were essential.A major cause of the defeat of the Cen-

tral Powers was mass civilian starvationcaused by Britain’s naval blockade that cutoff grain imports, a crime under interna-tional law. Hitler said he had to acquireUkraine’s rich farmlands for national secu-rity—a term we often hear today. LikeAmerica today with oil, Germany insistedit had to be food independent.

Germany’s march east began in 1938 byAnschluss (reunification) with Austria—76years ago this month.Czechoslovakia’s ethnic German major-

ity in the province of Sudetenland soonfollowed.Today, we are seeing another Anschluss

with the reunification of Ukrainian-ruledCrimea with Russia.Crimea was detached from the Rus sian

Republic in 1954 by Nikita Khrushchevafter a drunken dinner and given as agrand (but then-empty) gesture to theUkrainian Soviet Republic. Khrushchevwas a Ukrainian Communist party bosswho had participated in Stalin’s murder of6-7 million Ukrainian farmers.This is the first step in President

Vladimir Putin’s slow, patient rebuilding ofsome of the former Soviet Union. Whattriggered his move was Washington’s engi-neering of a coup against Ukraine’s corruptbut elected pro-Rus sian president, ViktorYanukovich.The minute Ukraine fell under Western

influence, Putin began moving to detach

Crimea and rejoin it to historic Russianrule. Or misrule: Crimea and the Caucasuswas the site of the holocaust of up to threemillion Muslims of the Soviet Union whowere ordered destroyed by Stalin, amongthem most of Crimea’s Muslim Tatars.No Western leaders should have been

surprised by Crimea. Nations still havestrategic spheres of influence. In 1991, So-viet leader Mikhail Gorbachev refused touse force to keep the union together and al-lowed Germany to peacefully reunify. Inexchange, U.S. President George H.W.Bush agreed not to expand NATO’s borderseast, and certainly not to Russia’s borders.But at the time, Washington regarded

Russia as a broken-down, Third World na-tion beneath contempt. Bush senior andhis successor, Bill Clinton, reneged on thedeal with Moscow and began pushingWestern influence east—to the Baltic, Ro-mania and Bulgaria, Kosovo and Albania,then Georgia, across Central Asia. NATOoffered membership to Ukraine. Moscowsaw encirclement.

SpecialReportSpecialReportAnother Anschluss in CrimeaBy Eric S. Margolis

A woman walks past a statue of Lenin in Yalta, Crimea, March 19, 2014.

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Eric S. Margolis is an award-winning, inter-nationally syndicated columnist and authorof American Raj: America and the MuslimWorld (available from the AET Bookstore).This article was first posted on <http://ericmargolis.com>, March 15, 2014. CopyrightEricMargolis.com. Continued on page 15

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BinyaminNetanyahu is very good atmak-ing speeches, especially to Jews, neocons

and such, who jump up and applaud wildlyat everything he says, including that tomor-row the sun will rise in the west.The question is: is he good at anything

else?His father, an ultra-ultra-Rightist, once

said about him that he is quite unfit to beprime minister, but that he could be a goodforeign minister. What he meant was thatBinyamin does not have the depth of un-derstanding needed to guide the nation,but that he is good at selling any policy de-cided upon by a real leader.(Reminding us of the characterization of

Abba Eban by David Ben-Gurion: “He isvery good at explaining, but you must tellhim what to explain.”)In early March Netanyahu was sum-

moned to Washington. He was supposed toapprove John Kerry’s new “framework”agreement, which would serve as a basisfor restarting the peace negotiations, whichso far have come to naught.

On the eve of the event, PresidentBarack Obama gave an interview to a Jew-ish journalist, blaming Netanyahu for thestalling of the “peace process”—as if therehad ever been a peace process.Netanyahu arrived with an empty bag—

meaning a bag full of empty slogans. TheIsraeli leadership had striven mightily forpeace, but could not progress at all becauseof the Palestinians. It is Mahmoud Abbaswho is to blame, because he refuses to rec-ognize Israel as the Nation-State of theJewish People.What…hmm…about the settlements,

which have been expanding during thelast year at a hectic pace? Why should thePalestinians negotiate endlessly, while atthe same time the Israeli government takesmore and more of the land which is thesubstance of the negotiations? (As the clas-sic Palestinian argument goes: “We negoti-ate about dividing a pizza, and in themeantime Israel is eating the pizza.”)Obama steeled himself to confront Ne-

tanyahu, AIPAC and their congressionalstooges. He was about to twist the arms ofNetanyahu until he cried “uncle”—theuncle being Kerry’s “framework,” whichby now has been watered down to look al-

most like a Zionist manifesto. Kerry is fran-tic for an achievement, whatever its con-tents and discontents.Netanyahu, looking for an instrument to

rebuff the onslaught, was ready to cry asusual “Iran! Iran! Iran!”—when somethingunforeseen happened.Napoleon famously exclaimed: ”Give me

generals who are lucky!” He would haveloved General Bibi.Because, on the way to confront a newly

invigorated Obama, there was an explosionthat shook the world:Ukraine.It was like the shots that rang out in Sara-

jevo a hundred years ago. The internationaltranquility was suddenly shattered. Thepossibility of a major war was in the air.Netanyahu’s visit disappeared from the

news. Obama, occupied with a historic cri-sis, just wanted to get rid of him as quicklyas possible. Instead of the severe admoni-tion of the Israeli leader, he got away withsome hollow compliments. All the wonder-ful speeches Netanyahu had prepared wereleft unspeeched. Even his usual triumphantspeech at AIPAC evoked no interest.All because of the upheaval in Kiev.By now, innumerable articles have been

written about the crisis. Historical associa-tions abound.Though Ukraine means “borderland,” it

was often at the center of European events.One must pity Ukrainian schoolchildren.The changes in the history of their coun-try were constant and extreme. At differ-ent times Ukraine was a European powerand a poor downtrodden territory, ex-tremely rich (“the breadbasket of Europe”)or abjectly poor, attacked by neighborswho captured their people to sell them asslaves or attacking their neighbors to en-large their country.The Ukraine’s relationship with Russia is

even more complex. In a way, the Ukraineis the heartland of Russian culture, religionand orthography. Kiev was far more im-portant than Moscow, before becoming thecenterpiece of Muscovite imperialism.In the Crimean War of the 1850s, Russia

fought valiantly against a coalition of GreatBritain, France, the Ottoman Empire andSardinia, and eventually lost. The war brokeout over Christian rights in Jerusalem, and

SpecialReportSpecialReportGod Bless Putin By Uri Avnery

Patrons in a cafe in the Crimean capital of Simferopol watch as Russian President VladimirPutin celebrates the referendum four days earlier in which 96 percent of voters in Crimeavoted to rejoin Russia, March 18, 2014.

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

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included a long siege of Sevastopol. Theworld remembers the charge of the LightBrigade. A British woman called FlorenceNightingale established the first organiza-tion to tend the wounded on the battlefield.In my lifetime, Stalin murdered millions

of Ukrainians by deliberate starvation. Asa result, most Ukrainians welcomed theGerman Wehrmacht in 1941 as liberators. Itcould have been the beginning of a beauti-ful friendship, but unfortunately Hitler wasdetermined to eradicate the Ukrainian “Un-termenschen,” in order to integrate theUkraine into the German Lebensraum.The Crimea suffered terribly. The Tatar

people, who had ruled the peninsula in thepast, were deported to Central Asia, thenallowed to return decades later. Now theyare a small minority, seemingly unsure ofwhere their loyalties lie.The relationship between Ukraine and

the Jews is no less complicated.Some Jewish writers, like Arthur

Koestler and Shlomo Sand, believe that theKhazar empire that ruled the Crimea andneighboring territory a thousand years agoconverted to Judaism, and that mostAshkenazi Jews are descended from them.This would turn us all into Ukrainians.

(Many early Zionist leaders indeed camefrom Ukraine.)When Ukraine was a part of the exten-

sive Polish empire, many Polish noblementook hold of large estates there. They em-ployed Jews as their managers. Thus theUkrainian peasants came to look upon theJews as the agents of their oppressors, andanti-Semitism became part of the nationalculture of Ukraine.As we learned in school, at every turn of

Ukrainian history, the Jews were slaugh-tered. The names of most Ukrainian folk-heroes, leaders and rebels who are reveredin their homeland are, in Jewish con-sciousness, connected with awful pogroms.Cossack Hetman (leader) Bohdan Khmel-

nytsky, who liberated Ukraine from the Pol-ish yoke, and who is considered by Ukraini-ans as the father of their nation, was one ofthe worst mass-murderers in Jewish history.Symon Petliura, who led the Ukrainian waragainst the Bolsheviks after World War I,was assassinated by a Jewish avenger.Some elderly Jewish immigrants in Israel

must find it hard to decide whom to hatemore, the Ukrainians or the Russians (orthe Poles, for that matter).People around the world find it also

hard to choose sides.The usual Cold-War zealots have it

easy—they either hate the Americans orthe Russians, out of habit.As for me, the more I try to study the

situation, the more unsure I become. Thisis not a black-or-white situation.The first sympathy goes to the Maidan

rebels. (Maidan is an Arab word meaningtown square. Curious how it traveled toKiev. Probably via Istanbul.)They want to join the West, enjoy inde-

pendence and democracy. What’s wrongwith that?Nothing, except that they have dubious

bedfellows. Neo-Nazis in their copycatNazi uniforms, giving the Hitler salute andmouthing anti-Semitic slogans, are notvery attractive. The encouragement theyreceive from Western allies, including theodious neocons, is off-putting.On the other side, Vladimir Putin is also

not very prepossessing. It’s the old Russianimperialism all over again.The slogan used by the Russians—the

need to protect Russian-speaking people ina neighboring country—sounds eerily fa-miliar. It is an exact copy of Adolf Hitler’sclaim in 1938 to protect the Sudeten Ger-mans from the Czech monsters.But Putin has some logic on his side. Sev-

astopol—the scene of heroic sieges both inthe Crimean War and in World War II—is

essential for his naval forces. The associa-tion with Ukraine is an important part ofRussian world power aspirations.A cold-blooded, calculating operator, of

a kind now rare in the world, Putin usesthe strong cards he has, but is very carefulnot to take too many risks. He is managingthe crisis astutely, using Russia’s obviousadvantages. Europe needs his oil and gas,he needs Europe’s capital and trade. Russiahas a leading role in Syria and Iran. TheU.S. suddenly looks like a bystander.I assume that in the end there will be a

compromise. Russia will retain a footing inthe coming Ukrainian leadership. Bothsides will proclaim victory, as they should.(By the way, for those here who believe

in the “One-State Solution”: Another mul-ticultural state seems to be breaking apart.)Where will this leave Netanyahu?He has gained some months or years with-

out any movement toward peace, and in themeantime can continue with the occupationand build settlements at a frantic pace.That is the traditional Zionist strategy.

Time is everything. Every postponementprovides opportunities to create more factson the ground.Netanyahu’s prayers have been answered.

God bless Putin. ❑

MAY 2014 13THE WASHINGTON REPORT ON MIDDLE EAST AFFAIRS

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14 MAY 2014THE WASHINGTON REPORT ON MIDDLE EAST AFFAIRS

Syria poses a classic dilemma for theUnited Nations. It cannot do anything

opposed by a permanent member of theSecurity Council, in this case Russia. Butthere is another dimension, as former Sec-retary-General Boutros Boutros Ghali elo-quently complained: the U.N. has no army,no police force of its own. It cannot act un-less member states provide the where-withal for it to do so.

The countries who are prepared, or able,to commit substantial forces are not neces-sarily those best politically or ethicallysuited to operations. While Moscow, withhelp from Iran, has actively provided sup-port for Syria’s military and Bashar al-Assad’s morale, we have to ask about thefailings of the rest of the world, and in par-ticular the West.

Diplomacy is interconnected. Washing-ton’s tacit continuation of the Cold Warafter Glasnost exacts a price, fueling Rus -sian revanchism, and a desire to tweak theEagle’s feathers. Hardly an occasion hasbeen missed to humiliate Moscow. It is truethat Russian rulers have often behaved stu-pidly and reflexively, playing to populistresentment at home, but they have surelybeen provoked—and the rewards for beingsensible have not been so great.

It began with Russian support for DesertStorm, which was a huge breakthrough.(Indeed it is worth remembering that Syr-ian troops also played a role in that first Iraqwar.) Sergei Lavrov was Russia’s permanentrepresentative to the U.N. at that time, andhe smarted under the combined humilia-tions of the West’s insistence on taking Iraqresolutions farther than their clear intent,and the maintenance of brutal sanctionswhen they had lost international support.

Russia’s invention of an Orthodox Inter-national to be the ghost of the Cominternhas certainly trapped it into a geopoliticaltangle from which it sometimes has diffi-culty extricating itself. It went along withsanctions against Serbia’s Slobodan Milose-vic because it was clear to all but a coterieof leftists and nationalists that Belgrade’sactions were beyond the pale of interna-

tional law. But then it ended up supportinghim in ways that persuaded him, likeAssad, to continue in his course of action.

The West’s reaction was equally short-sighted and presaged Syria. Secretary ofState James Baker thought the U.S. did nothave a dog in the fight. Britain and Franceassumed that the Bosnians would lie downand die, expeditiously, so if it were done,it were best done quickly. They feinted,providing U.N. peacekeepers who did notkeep the peace but collaborated in the Serbsiege of Sarajevo, while monitoring andcounting how many shells were raineddown on civilians.

Hardly an occasion hasbeen missed to humiliateMoscow.While we deservedly point the finger atRussia, in Rwanda the only dog in thefight barked in French. Paris supported themurderous regime and nobody else caredenough to intervene. Countries withdrewtheir forces and left the few behind iso-lated and at risk, doing their best to pro-tect the victims.

It is in fact difficult to see a way out of theSyrian crisis in the absence of any credibleactors with any moral authority. There areso many double standards that observerscould easily grow cross-eyed. The U.S. ishopelessly compromised by the military, fi-nancial and diplomatic support it providesfor lawless behavior by Israel, whose inter-vention in turn would possibly have onlyone positive outcome—uniting Syriansagainst it. The U.S., if not hampered by theIsrael lobby, could make up to Iran andbreak the spurious unity of Alawite andShi’i, but under the influence of the samelobby the U.S. was putting distance be-tween itself and Turkey, which could havetaken action—except, perhaps, for its less-than-exemplary behavior toward the Kurds,who straddle the regional boundaries.

In the end, where there has been action,it is because world public opinion turnedagainst both the perpetrators and the pas-sivity of the onlookers. That did not worktoo well in the case of Darfur, of course.However, it seems to be at least one of the

principles behind Ban Ki-moon’s increas-ingly strong statements.

When he was running for the office,U.N. Secretary-General Ban pledged fullsupport for the International CriminalCourt (ICC) and for the concept of “Re-sponsibility to Protect,” steered throughthe U.N. by his predecessor, Kofi Annan.Ban was sincere to the point of career sui-cide, since the temporary U.S. “permanentrepresentative” at the time was none otherthan John Bolton, the paleocon who hadmade it his life work to destroy the ICC—and, for that matter, the United Nations.

Ban’s restrained delivery, sadly, meansthat his statements are not always taken asstrongly as intended. In some ways this is adiplomatic plus. He can tell the truth with-out being mortally insulting to those hetells the truth about, which is indispensablein offering the U.N.’s intermediary services.

His statement in March went far beyondwhat most previous U.N. officials wouldhave dared to say about a sovereign state.“Three years ago, the Syrian people stood upin peaceful protest to demand their universalrights and freedoms. In response came bru-tal force, escalating bloodshed and the dev-astation of civil war,” he declared, puttingthe blame clearly on the Assad regime.

“Syria is now the biggest humanitarianand peace and security crisis facing theworld,” he went on, “with violence reach-ing unthinkable levels. Syria’s neighborsare bearing the increasingly unbearablehumanitarian, security, political and so-cioeconomic effects of this conflict.”

Ban said he “deeply regrets the inabilityof the international community, the regionand the Syrians themselves to put a stop tothis appalling conflict,” and appealed “tothe region and the international commu-nity, and in particular to the Russian Fed-eration and the United States as the initiat-ing states of the Geneva Conference onSyria, to take clear steps to re-energize theGeneva process.”

So the secretary-general was not justpointing the finger at the parties in theconflict, but also at the other United Na-tions members who have failed the Syrianpeople. Valerie Amos, the U.N. under sec-retary-general for humanitarian affairs,was even more forthright, adding, “Our

United NationsReport

United NationsReport

It Helps to Have Moral Authority WhenCriticizing Perpetrators, Passive OnlookersBy Ian Williams

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

williams_14-15_United Nations Report 3/20/14 7:41 PM Page 14

collective voice should be raised in protestat the flagrant violations of internationalhumanitarian and human rights law…Theinternational community needs to showthe courage and determination to do allthat is necessary to reach a political solu-tion. Without that, we will see years moreof destruction and continued brutalitymeted out to the people of Syria.”It would, of course, be easy to dismiss

this as empty rhetoric. But it is in fact moresubstantial rhetoric than the U.N. exhib-ited in the past, when under the shield ofsovereignty and cowardice it kept its peaceabout the Balkans and Rwanda. Ban has been equally forthright on the

Palestinian question, calling out Israelibreaches of resolutions, the embargo onGaza, etc.—at a time, one might add, whenEgypt, a member of the Arab League, hasbeen colluding in keeping the Strip isolated. Some naming and shaming is certainly

called for. In this benighted age, there arefew independent moral figures. One couldnot even be sure that the late Nelson Man-dela, whose gratitude for support againstapartheid sometimes over-rode his ethicalsense, as in his support for Libya’s Muam-mar Qaddafi, would get this right. That makes it even more important for a

figure like Ban Ki-moon, backed perhapsby the “The Elders,” the group of states-people set up by Mandela and Kofi Annan,to call on the various capitals—beginningwith Moscow and Tehran— to act, to tellAssad that his time is up. But that will only be the beginning. If

there is a post-regime period, it will needinternational support. That would be agood time to call Moscow’s bluff—and in-vite the Russian army to send contingentsof peacekeepers to the force that will beneeded to maintain security in Syria.Of course, Crimea does not assist.

Moscow denies the right of Kosovars, afterethnic cleansing and massacres, to secedefrom the state that tried to drive them out.Washington tacitly supports the right ofIsrael to annex Jerusalem, the West Bankand the Golan Heights and displace the in-digenous inhabitants.American negotiators back Israel in its at-

tempt to redraw the internationally ac-cepted 1967 line, but Washington con-demns Moscow’s (rather clumsy) attempt toredress arbitrary borders drawn up by aCommunist-ruled Kremlin. There are evenechoes of Palestine in the Crimea: whoshould vote in a referendum? The Crimeans,who were driven out en masse by Stalin, orthe settlers who came in afterward?And that brings us to the birth of the

United Nations. Following World War II,the key principle—evoked in the MiddleEast resolutions, surviving in East Timorand Western Sahara and invoked inKuwait—is the inadmissibility of the ac-quisition of territory by force. By movingin troops in large quantities and staging adubious referendum in Crimea, Putin isbreaking a cardinal principle on which theshaky post-war peace has depended.Boundaries are not sacred: they can berenegotiated, they can be arbitrated and lit-igated—and, in truth, the Crimean bound-ary is far less sacred than many others. But the prospect of changing them by

force, or with the threat of force, is whatunited the Security Council against Russia,whichwas forced to use its veto onMarch 14.Putin united the world against Moscow.

Yes, the U.S. invaded Panama, Grenada,Vietnam and more, but it pulled out after-ward. If Saddam Hussain had just installeda friendly regime in Kuwait and pulled out,he would not have united the worldagainst him.Russia might not suffer military conse-

quences from its actions, but it has orches-trated diplomatic disaster for itself andothers. Watch out for a referendum in thesettlement zone, citing the Putin prece-

dent. But it will make no difference. LikeMorocco and Israel, Russia might havepossession, but the overwhelming major-ity of U.N. members will not recognize it.Ban should wait to talk to an electedUkrainian government that one hopes willblunt the influence of the nationalistswhose rhetoric and actions have done somuch to foment separatism in Crimea. ❑

Having serially violated Russia’s tradi-tional sphere of influence, it was inevitableMoscow would riposte. This writer, whoextensively covered the Soviet Union,strongly advised NATO in the early 1990snot to push east but to leave a strategicbuffer zone in Eastern Europe to maintainpeace with nuclear-armed Russia. The op-posite occurred.The Western allies have committed the

same error over Ukraine that they did overCzechoslovakia in the mid-1930s: extend-ing security guarantees they could notpossibly fulfill. As of now, it looks likePutin’s gambit over Crimea will work andthere is nothing the West can do about itbut huff, puff and impose mutually nega-tive economic sanctions.By moving 12 F-16 fighters to Poland

and warships to the Black Sea, a Rus sian“lake,” Washington has provided enoughmilitary forces to spark a war but not towin it. Anyway, the very clever Putinknows it’s all bluff. He holds the highcards. Germany’s Angela Merkel, thesmartest, most skillful Western leader, isresponding firmly, but with caution, un-like the childish U.S. Republicans who ap-pear to be yearning for a head-on clashwith nuclear-armed Russia.Washington’s pot-calls-kettle-black de-

nunciations of the Crimea referendum ringhollow given the blatantly rigged votescoming up in U.S.-dominated Egypt andAfghanistan.Moreover, too few in Washington are

asking what earthly interests the U.S. hasin Ukraine? About as much as Russia hasin Nebraska. Yet the bankrupt U.S. is tolend $1 billion to the anti-Russian Kievleadership and risk war in a foolish chal-lenge to Russia in a region where it hasnothing to be gained.Except, of course, for the U.S. neocons

who have played a key role in engineeringthe coup in Kiev and this crisis. They wantto see Russia punished for supportingSyria and the Palestinians. ❑

MAY 2014 15THE WASHINGTON REPORT ON MIDDLE EAST AFFAIRS

Anschluss in Crimea…Continued from page 11

m a s h r a b i y aibra ahsm ay

(Advertisement)

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Once the tiny Bedouin village of Ramyaenjoyed uninterrupted views of the

grassy uplands of the central Galilee.Today the huddle of shacks and tents issurrounded on all sides by luxury apart-ments—a new neighborhood of the ever-expanding city of Karmiel, here in north-ern Israel.

“We are being choked to death,” saidSalah Sawaid, Ramya’s village leader.“They are building on top of us as thoughwe don’t exist. Are we invisible to them?”

His fears for the future have grownrapidly in the past few months, after acourt ruled that the Bedouin village mustbe bulldozed to make way for Karmiel’sfurther expansion. The decision, the cul-mination of what Sawaid called “betrayals”by successive Israeli governments, ended adecades-old legal battle by the villagers toremain on their land.

Salim Wakim, the lawyer who representsRamya’s 45 families, said the only avenueleft was “popular struggle.”

Yoav Bar, an activist from the nearbycity of Haifa, is among a small group ofJews who have supported the families.“The apartheid here could not be more ap-parent. You look at Ramya and the homesin Karmiel and you see how democratic Is-rael really is if you are not Jewish.

“Ramya is living under a siege, little dif-ferent from the one against Gaza,” Bar added.“It is designed to force them to leave.”

The contrast between the lives of the180 inhabitants of Ramya and their neigh-bors in Karmiel is stark indeed.

Although the modern apartment build-ings are now only meters away, the peopleof Ramya are living in a different era. Theyare denied connection to the electricityand water grids and other public services.Generators provide power for a few hoursa day, and makeshift, above-ground pipeschannel in a trickle of water.

Their homes, classified as illegal by theIsraeli authorities, are tin shacks or modest

breeze-block huts. Anything elsewould be certain to be demol-ished, said Sawaid.

And yet the village’s purchase ofthe land was registered in the1930s—before either Israel’sfounding in 1948 or Karmiel’s cre-ation 16 years later.

“We have the tabu [title deeds]for this land,” said Sawaid. “Andyet Israel refuses to recognize ourright to live here. They have madeus criminals. They say we aresquatters. It is nonsense.”

Karmiel, today with a populationof nearly 50,000, was built in 1964on agricultural lands Israel confis-cated from several communities, in-cluding Ramya, that belong to Is-rael’s Palestinian minority—thosewho avoided expulsion during the1948 war.

Today, one in five Israeli citizensbelong to this minority, a groupthat the Israeli historian Ilan Pappehas described as “the forgottenPalestinians.”

The official aim in establishingKarmiel was to “Judaize the Galilee,” agovernment campaign to reverse thePalestinian minority’s demographic holdon Israel’s north by encouraging Jews tomigrate and settle there. They were of-fered incentives of subsidized land andhousing.

Palestinian citizens of Israel long haveclaimed that they suffer systematic dis-crimination and are denied basic rights.Suhad Bishara, a lawyer with Adalah, alegal center for the Palestinian-Arab mi-nority, said the discrimination was espe-cially acute in relation to land.

Israel has nationalized 93 percent of thecountry’s territory for the benefit of thecountry’s Jewish population, taking muchof it from the Palestinian minority throughmass confiscations, she said. Palestiniancommunities are left on slivers of privatelyowned land.

In addition, dozens of Palestinian com-munities inside Israel, such as Ramya, arenot recognized by the state, and the inhab-itants’ “presence in their homes has beenmade illegal,” according to Bishara.

TheNakbaContinuesTheNakbaContinues

Israel Takes Still More Land From BedouinVillage of Ramya for Ever-Expanding CityBy Jonathan Cook

16 MAY 2014THE WASHINGTON REPORT ON MIDDLE EAST AFFAIRS

Jonathan Cook is a journalist based inNazareth and a winner of the Martha Gell-horn Special Prize for Journalism. His mostrecent book is Disappearing Palestine.

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Salah Sawaid stands on the last area of arable land available to the village of Ramya.

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Bar and other activists joined the struggleto save Ramya after Israel’s high court ruledlast year that the Bedouin must leave within90 days. The group staged its first demon-stration in December in front of Karmiel’smunicipal building, followed by weeklyprotests in the city’s main shopping area.The villagers have been handing out

leaflets in Karmiel explaining their story topassers-by, hoping to win public opinionto their side.But Dov Koller, a Jewish resident of

Karmiel who helped set up a solidarityforum for Ramya, said most people in thecity either did not care about Ramya’splight or were opposed to living with theBedouin villagers: “The difficulty is thatmost of Karmiel’s residents don’t thinkequality is important for Arabs,” he ex-plained. “Most of them are racist.” The families in Ramya are being evicted

so that a new neighborhood of Karmiel—named for the late Israeli Prime MinisterYitzhak Rabin—can be expanded. Apart-ments marketed to the Jewish populationwill be built over Ramya’s homes, as wellas some goat sheds and a small plot ofarable land the villagers so far have man-aged to cling on to.Wakim said the racist policy of the mu-

nicipality and the Israel Lands Adminis-tration, the government agency in chargeof state land, was especially apparent inthis case.“Often Israel enforces demolitions

against unrecognized villages on thegrounds that it has refused to zone theland for development,” he said. “But herethe motive is not even hidden. This land iszoned for development. It is just that thegovernment wants Moshe to live here, notMohammed.”Palestinian activists have noted a wider

pattern of recent evictions enforced againstPalestinian citizens still living in closeproximity to Jews.In the half-dozen so-called “mixed

cities” in Israel—rare communities whereresidence is not segregated based on eth-nicity—Palestinian citizens are beingforced out under cover of gentrificationprograms, said Bishara.For example, the homes of some 30

Palestinian families living in al-Mahatta, aneighborhood of Haifa whose populationhas been declining for decades under pres-sure from official bodies, are to be demol-ished so the city’s port can be expanded.The last families in the nearby historicWadi al-Siyah area also are facing eviction.Similar stories are emerging in the cities

of Acre and Jaffa.

Documents leaked to the Israeli media inDecember showed plans by the WorldZionist Organization—an international um-brella organization of Zionist groups—tostep up the Judaization program in theGalilee. The aim is to bring in 100,000Jews over the next few years in what WZOofficials termed “preserving our hold” onthe region and creating a “demographicbalance”—code, said Bishara, for trying toenforce a Jewish majority.The Israeli Haaretz newspaper objected:

“A state that encourages members of onepeople to settle in any region, while at thesame time imposing harsh restrictions onthe growth of the other, is acting in a racistmanner.”

A History of Secret ConfiscationsRamya’s land was secretly confiscated in1976, when the government of the day, ledby Rabin, ordered the expropriation ofmuch of the remaining agricultural land heldby Palestinian communities in the Galilee.Large protests led to Rabin sending in

the army, which shot dead six unarmeddemonstrators, an event still commemo-rated by Palestinians around the worldeach year as Land Day.Although the general confiscation order

was eventually rescinded, Wakim said thesecret expropriation of Ramya’s lands re-mained in place.According to Sawaid, the villagers first

learned that there was an eviction orderagainst them 15 years later, in the 1990s,when the late Ariel Sharon, then housingminister, wanted to rapidly expand Karmiel.He had decided to launch another wave

of “Judaizing the Galilee,” using Karmiel tohouse some of the hundreds of thousandsof Jews migrating to Israel following thefall of the Soviet Union. The residents ofRamya were ordered to leave to make roomfor the new arrivals.At the time, Adi Eldar, the city’s mayor

since 1989, dismissed the villagers’ claims,suggesting that, even though they had set-tled in Ramya decades ago, they were stillnomads at heart. They were, he said, “usedto wandering. They are here today andthere tomorrow.”Leviah Shalev, a spokeswoman for the

municipality, said neither Karmiel norEldar were responsible for the govern-ment’s Judaization policy.“The official policy was to bring Jews to

the Galilee. But we do not take a viewabout who lives in our city. Jew or Arabcan buy a home here,” she said. Accordingto the municipality, about 3 percent of res-idents are “Arab.”

Koller, however, said Karmiel’s claim oftreating Jewish and Palestinian residentsequally was a lie. “If that is true, where arethe Arabic-language schools, where are thetraffic signs in Arabic, why is there nomosque here?” he asked.“The truth is that Karmiel officials can-

not legally stop Arab families from buyinga home here. But they do everything possi-ble both to make sure they feel unwelcomeand to prevent Jews from selling to them.”In a sign of the growing opposition in

Karmiel to Palestinian citizens buyinghomes, the issue took center stage in re-cent local elections, with the main candi-dates raising fears of an Arab “takeover”of the city.In 2010, Eldar’s deputy, Oren Milstein,

set up an email “hotline” on which resi-dents could inform on Jewish neighborswho were intending to sell to a Palestinianfamily. Milstein claimed he had managed tostop 30 such sales.In the same year, Milstein also estab-

lished a group of 150 volunteers called“the City Guard,” supported by the localpolice, that was authorized to demand thatanyone entering Karmiel present their ID.Left-wing activists described the group asa “racist militia” trying to keep Palestiniancitizens out.Shalev, Karmiel’s spokeswoman, added

that the Bedouin of Ramya had been of-fered a solution in 1995, when land was setaside for them in a special area nearKarmiel. “The problem is not caused byus,” she said, “but by disagreements be-tween themselves about how much landeach family owns.”Wakim described the municipality’s

claims as a “distortion of the truth.”“The offer was not implemented at the

time and is now totally unsuitable for thecommunity’s needs,” he said. “Twentyyears on, there is another generation ofvillagers and they need a housing solu-tion too. Where are they supposed tolive?“The real problem is that Karmiel won’t

let them live where they already are,” headded, “as a recognized neighborhood ofthe city and with the chance to buildproper homes without the threat of de-molition.”Koller said that Karmiel had tried to cre-

ate what he called a “ghetto” for the fam-ilies. “It is described as ‘a special neigh-borhood for minorities.’ No Jewish fami-lies in Karmiel would agree to live in thoseconditions.”The Israel Lands Administration was un-

available for comment. ❑

MAY 2014 17THE WASHINGTON REPORT ON MIDDLE EAST AFFAIRS

cook_16-17_The Nakba Continues 3/20/14 5:21 PM Page 17

On Feb. 27, a man from the small WestBank town of Bir Zeit was shot dead

during a standoff with the Israel DefenseForces (IDF). According to an IDF state-ment, Mutaz Washaha, 25, was “suspectedof terror activity,” and the IDF attemptedto capture Washaha “under the premisethat he had weapons in his possession.”The statement said the Israeli military“shelled the house, destroying a part of it,and then stormed it and killed Washaha,”and claimed to have discovered an assaultrifle once the troops entered the house.

The New York Times reported that “therewas no indication that Mr. Washaha hadused it to fire at the Israeli forces.”

Witnesses to the shooting stated that theIDF used excessive force in their pursuit ofWashaha. According to the family’s neigh-bor, Muneeb al Hamouri, the Israelis useda machine gun to shoot Washaha. Afterthey determined he was dead, al Hamourireported, the Israeli soldiers continued tofire shots into his chest. Medics later re-ported that they removed 45 bullets fromWashaha’s body, photos of which show thenose missing from his face, with brain tis-sue protruding from the skull cavity.

Al Hamouri added that Washaha had nogun with him at his home. “He was onlysleeping. They killed him without mercy.”

The Israelis then seized Washaha’s twobrothers and a cousin, tied their hands be-hind their backs and repeatedly threwthem against large stones until they sus-tained broken legs and arms. Then they ar-rested the young men and took them away.

The attack on the Washaha home left itunfit for human habitation.

Bir Zeit business owners in the city’scommercial section said the Israeli soldierssurrounded an intersection leading to theWashaha home prior to their attempted ar-rest of the young man. When children ontheir way to school heard the attack on thehouse they ran back half a mile and beganthrowing stones at the soldiers. The sol-diers responded with tear gas and bullets,both rubber and live. Al Hamouri said his18-year-old son, Majid, was shot in his legnear the Washaha home. Empty shellswere found after the soldiers had left.

The soldiers also threw a sound bombinto an empty car. When the ownerrushed to his vehicle to put out the result-ing fire, the soldiers shot him with a rub-ber bullet. One soldier also shot a cameraout of the hands of a Bir Zeit Universitystudent who was taking pictures of theseevents, causing severe nerve damage totwo of her fingers.

Friends of the dead man stated thatWashaha earlier had fired shots at a bridgebetween Bir Zeit and El Terra, an illegal Is-raeli settlement which was rumored tohave cameras and other surveillance gearattached to it. He did not target or harmanyone, however. Witnesses refused to bequoted directly or to give their names forthis report, for fear of retribution by the Is-raeli military.

Everything that happened in Bir Zeit onFeb. 27 seemed to substantiate the humanrights organization Amnesty Interna-tional’s 87-page report released the sameday. The report, entitled “Trigger-happy:Israel’s use of excessive force in the WestBank,” documents the gross abuse by theIsraeli occupying forces of Palestinians liv-ing in the West Bank. In a statement fromAmnesty International released along withtheir report, the organization stated that“Israeli forces have displayed a callous dis-regard for human life by killing dozens ofPalestinian civilians, including children, in

SpecialReportSpecialReportThe Death of Mutaz WashahaBy Jamal Najjab

A banner remembering Mutaz Washaha hangs on the ruins of his home following the deadlyIDF assault.

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18 MAY 2014THE WASHINGTON REPORT ON MIDDLE EAST AFFAIRS

Jamal Najjab is a free-lance writer based inWashington, DC, where he is assistant to thevice provost of undergraduate studies atAmerican University. Continued on page 20

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Idrag our suitcases, mine and my preg-nant wife Lina’s, through the often im-

penetrable Rafah Crossing, at the borderbetween the Gaza Strip and Egypt. It’s aritual carried out by thousands wheneverit is announced that the border will beopen. Even so, would-be travelers wonderwhether they will in fact be permitted tocross into Egypt, or if they will end upwaiting all day, only to have to returnhome and try again tomorrow.

We’ve been trying to cross for twomonths. Now eight months pregnant, Linais nearing her due date, and each day it be-comes more difficult and dangerous for herand our unborn child. I am lucky: I havecitizenship in another country, so we haveoptions. Most of the 1.7 million people liv-ing in Gaza do not. Like parents the worldover, we want our child born where he orshe will be safe. Not under apartheid. Notunder siege. Somewhere opportunitiesexist, where laws aren’t passed and humanrights doled out based on religion, raceand ethnicity. We seek somewhere whereit is safe, with a future and, above all, free.

There are only two crossings throughwhich, if allowed, Gazans can reach theoutside world. Gaza does have a seaportand airport, but Israel has blockaded theseaport and bombed the airport, renderingit useless since 2000. That leaves the RafahCrossing in the south, guarded by Egyptwith Israeli overseers, and the Erez cross-ing to the north, into Israel. Israel requiresthat all Palestinians enter and leavethrough the same crossing. Rafah tends tobe slightly easier and doesn’t require trav-eling through hostile and dangerous settlerterritory.

Today our journey began at 7 a.m. Wemade our way to the Rafah crossing, carry-ing luggage and other necessities for an ex-tended stay abroad. We sat at the gate, sur-rounded by our luggage, waiting forEgyptian border patrol officers to call ournames. Three hours pass. Coffee and con-versation help pick up the slack. Another

hour goes by. Still nothing. We wait. Thereare now thousands with us: men, women,children, elderly and sick milling about, allclutching tight to belongings. We all waitfor a moment of empathy, for a border po-liceman to be in a good mood and decidethat today he’ll let us through.

High noon. I smile at my wife and gentlytouch her swollen belly carrying a life in-side, wondering if we will have to returnhome and wait for the border to be openedagain in a few days, or weeks. No one everknows.

Suddenly a border policeman on thePalestinian side approaches us, his walkie-talkie crackles out our names. He gesturesfor us to hurry onto the bus that we’vebeen looking at for hours. The bus is hotand crowded, but preferable to sitting out-side. In the seat in front of us I recognizethe president of my university as we settlein. Our passports have already beenstamped at the Palestinian side. Again wewait. The bus will take us to the gate at theborder with Egypt.

The Egyptian Terminal It’s a short drive. The lines, security checksand buses are used to control access andcrowds, rather than territory or security.

When we arrive at the Egyptian terminalmore lines confront us. More waiting.There are hundreds of people everywhere,some sitting on suitcases, others standinglooking quizzically at signs forbiddingphotographs. Obviously, the authorities donot want these conditions publicized. I amreminded of Animal Farm and wouldn’t besurprised to see George Orwell somewherein the crowd taking notes. If it weren’t reallife, the absurdity of the situation wouldbe funny.

We wait for our names to be called.More hours pass. Lina is hungry and tired.Now it’s 5 o’clock. Finally Egyptian secu-rity calls out our names: “Yes sir, that’s us.”I reply quickly, rushing up to the kioskwith our belongings. “My wife is travelingwith me to give birth abroad; here are ourvisas and papers. Thank you.”

He orders us to sit and wait a “few min-utes.” I smile at him. But he is right. A fewminutes later, we proceed through the bor-der and to another 20-minute walk. We areamong the last to pass through. Those be-hind us are sent back to Gaza due to a col-lapse in the computer system—a commonoccurrence. Sadly, they will have to startthe whole procedure all over again.

Outside the bus we hear the tat-tat-tat of

Some Animals Are More Caged Than Others…But Why?By Mohammed Omer

A young Palestinian girl waits with her family at the Rafah border to cross into Egypt.

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MAY 2014 19THE WASHINGTON REPORT ON MIDDLE EAST AFFAIRS

Award-winning journalist Mohammed Omerreports on the Gaza Strip and maintains theWeb site <www.rafahtoday.org>. He can bereached at <gazanews@yahoo.com>. Followhim on Twitter: @MoGaza.

Gazaon the GroundGazaon the Ground

omer_19-20_Gaza on the Ground 3/20/14 5:25 PM Page 19

gunfire and the ping of bullets hittingmetal. Egyptian soldiers a few kilometersaway in El Arish impose a curfew, whichthey announce by shooting at the legs ofBedouin youths refusing to comply withorders. They continue to announce it byfiring at birds, trees and moving vehi-cles—including buses. I glance at my wifeand am reminded that bullets and babiesare not compatible. I wonder if she regretsleaving our families. This must be so fright-ening to her—it’s her first time leavingGaza.

The TaxiWe have to walk another few kilometers toreach the taxi stand. Our driver on theEgyptian side has been waiting patientlyfor our arrival—since 10 a.m. I had origi-nally estimated that it would take us a cou-ple of hours to reach him; I didn’t antici-pate that the Egyptian regime would re-vamp its travel restrictions. Thankfully, heunderstands.We climb into the taxi. I see an elderly

man and woman walking behind us, bur-dened with heavy boxes. Both theirdaughters are studying in Cairo, and theparents are bringing supplies to replace be-longings recently lost in a fire. Othersstruggling with luggage can be seen be-hind them. Around us the sound of riflefire continues as we drive on. We’re ner-vous. The curfew is now in effect in Rafahand El Arish.Our taxi driver does his best to find al-

ternate routes to the main highway, whichnormally would take two minutes to reach.Under curfew, however, it takes 45. All thewhile curfew warning shots continue toring about us. A few bounce off the rims ofour tires as our driver pushes through. Lina and I have three options at this

point: stop where we are; keep drivingthrough toward Cairo; or return to thecrossing. But none of these choices willprotect us from the bullets. Having gonethis far, through so many delays, we decideto press on through the Sinai. We have twopriorities: our safety and catching ourflight out of Cairo.Thankfully, the KLM customer relations

director had given us flexible tickets incase of unforeseen or unavoidable circum-stances, starting at the Rafah border. That’sassuming, of course, we reached the air-port at all!

CheckpointsTraveling through the Sinai Desert requirespassing through nine military checkpoints.At every stop all luggage must be opened

and rechecked. If one is Palestinian, thesearches take longer, with soldiers goingthrough laptops, cameras and personal be-longings. It’s humiliating—but better thandodging bullets on the street during cur-few. The final checkpoint, the Al SalamBridge over the Suez Canal, is closed whenwe arrive. This means we must take a boatto complete our journey. It’s dark and cold now. Lina waits hud-

dled in the taxi. I wonder why it is I mustfeel lucky to be able to travel from Rafah toCairo in 19 hours. Normally, this is a five-hour trip. Of course, for travelers not car-rying a Palestinian passport, it still is. Palestinians are the only Arab people

without a state. We are required to recog-nize the rights of others to live in safety,freedom and security, but no one recog-nizes our right to do so. Instead we’reforced to live like caged animals, containedand trapped inside reservations and ban-tustans, segregated, alienated from ourland and heritage, treated as lesser hu-mans, herded by armed guards throughcrammed, narrow, metal checkpoints. Andnot just by Israelis, but by Egyptians aswell. Not that long ago, Gaza was underEgyptian rule. We’re still the same peo-ple—yet we’re disrespected and subjectedto endless cold questions and looks of sus-picion. Why is it that some people are treated

like animals, while others are deemedhuman beings worthy of respect? Whichhumans have the right to determine who ishuman and who a lesser mortal or animal?Did the world not learn the lessons of the1930s and 1940s, the danger that comeswhen race or faith are used to determine anindividual’s humanity? How do I explainthis to my son or daughter?Fortunately, my child will be born in a

free country in Europe. His or her faith,skin color, ancestry, language and accentwill not be used to determine whether thischild is a human being, where he or shecan live and travel. One day I’ll tell mychild about the trip we took so he or shecould begin life in freedom. My child is a human being—as is every

child. In a civilized world, no humanbeing should ever have to go through whatwe go through in Gaza. ❑

the occupied West Bank over the past threeyears with near total impunity.” The report documents that in 2013 Is-

raeli forces killed 22 Palestinian civilians in

the West Bank, at least four of whom werechildren. The majority of the victims wereunder the age of 25. Citing U.N. figuresthat the IDF killed more West Bank Pales-tinians last year than in 2011 and 2012combined, the report goes on to state thatin the last three years at least 261 Palestini-ans in the West Bank have been injured bylive bullets fired by the Israeli military.Since January 2011, more than 8,000 WestBank Palestinians, including 1,500 chil-dren, have been wounded by rubber-coated steel bullets and by the Israeli mili-tary’s careless use of tear gas. The report gives evidence that Israeli

soldiers are killing Palestinian civilianswho pose no direct or immediate danger tothe soldiers. In some cases, there is evi-dence of willful killing of Palestinians inthe West Bank. According to internationallaw, these acts amount to war crimes. “Thereport presents a body of evidence thatshows a harrowing pattern of unlawfulkillings and unwarranted injuries of Pales-tinian civilians by Israeli forces in the WestBank,” stated Philip Luther, Amnesty In-ternational’s Middle East and North Africadirector, in the organization’s press release.Amnesty International goes on to note

that during the time period covered in thereport, only one Israeli soldier had beenconvicted of the wrongful death of a Pales-tinian. Sentenced by an Israeli militarycourt to one year in prison, his sentencewas suspended by five months and he wasallowed to remain in the army at a lowerrank. “The current Israeli system has proved

woefully inadequate,” Luther said. “It isneither independent nor impartial andcompletely lacks transparency. The author-ities must conduct prompt, thorough andindependent investigations into all sus-pected instances of arbitrary and abusiveuse of force, especially when resulting inloss of life or serious injury.” For its part, the IDF denies the report’s

claims, decrying the report as a “public re-lations stunt” “removed from reality” and“unverifiable” and stating that it is the Is-raeli military that is in danger from a “sub-stantial increase” in Palestinian violence. Itaccuses Amnesty International of a “com-plete lack of understanding” of what Is-raeli soldiers in the West Bank face on adaily basis. But, as Luther concludes, “A strong mes-

sage must be sent to Israeli soldiers and po-lice officers that abuses will not go unpun-ished. Unless those who commit violationsare held to account unlawful killings andinjuries are bound to continue.” ❑

20 MAY 2014THE WASHINGTON REPORT ON MIDDLE EAST AFFAIRS

Death of Mutaz Washaha…Continued from page 18

omer_19-20_Gaza on the Ground 3/20/14 5:25 PM Page 20

Prisoners are perhaps the most power-less individuals in the world. They are

at the mercy of their captors—deprived offreedom of movement, stripped of virtu-ally all personal resources, limited in com-munication with the outside to rationed,supervised moments. But the human spirit is not easily extin-

guished and, particularly when people areimprisoned for their belief in a cause, thenatural leaders among them fight backwith what little they have: their brains andtheir bodies. On just one day recently, news accounts

documented prisoners from around theworld—including individuals held in a fed-eral “supermax” prison in Colorado and indetention centers in Guantanamo Bay,Greece and Egypt—engaging in one of theoldest tactics of resistance: the hunger strike. However, the most constant presence

among hunger strikers today is that of thePalestinians. As of this writing, at least sixPalestinians held in Israeli jails have beenon hunger strike since January. Four areprotesting their “administrative deten-tion”—a bureaucratic term for imprison-ment without charge or trial—while theother two are striking against their solitaryconfinement, along with medical neglect. The Addameer Prisoner Support and

Human Rights Association has joined theWorld Organization Against Torture to ex-press concern about their health and harshtreatment, as well as call on internationalactivists to protest to Israeli authorities.Meanwhile, the Israeli government is con-sidering a new rule that would allow theforce-feeding of hunger-striking prisonerswhose lives are in danger. Israel had previ-ously stopped the practice after three pris-oners died as a result. According to Jonathan Hafetz, an asso-

ciate professor of law at New Jersey’s SetonHall University School of Law, who focuseshis work on the prisoners in Guantanamo,

“The reality is that hunger strikes…havean unparalleled ability to focus the world’sattention on the ongoing plight of menwhose situation is so desperate they wouldrather starve themselves than go on livingin legal limbo. Addameer agrees, noting that, “Due to

Israel’s use of administrative detention,and the lack of due process afforded toPalestinians in the military court system, ahunger strike represents the single-mostnonviolent tool available to fight for theirbasic human rights.”Since Israel seized control of the West

Bank, East Jerusalem and the Gaza Strip in1967, imprisonment has become a tragic riteof passage for an estimated one in five Pales-tinians living in the occupied territories,and 40 percent of Palestinian males. Today,Addameer reports, 5,023 Palestinians arebeing held as political prisoners in Israelijails—including 155 without charge or trial. Repeated collective hunger strikes have

been documented since 1968, occurring atleast every several years. However, a trendbegan building in 2012 in which hungerstrikes increasingly are launched by indi-vidual prisoners seeking their own release,rather than the traditional collective push

for improved conditions for all. The pat-tern began with Khader Adnan, a 33-year-old baker and member of the Islamic Jihadmovement. He was arrested without chargeon Dec. 17, 2011, and on the following daybegan what at the time was the longesthunger strike in Palestinian history—66days. His protest captured media attention, in-

spired solidarity actions around the worldand triggered a rash of other strikes—cul-minating in a mass action by an estimated1,800 Palestinian prisoners. On Feb. 21,2012, a deal was announced betweenAdnan and the Israeli authorities in whichthey agreed to release him the followingApril. Adnan announced victory andended his hunger strike.Since then, a virtual stampede of other

prisoners have followed in Adnan’s foot-steps, launching their own strikes for indi-vidual freedom. Increasingly, however,they are receiving attention only from afew activist websites. And while some ofthe strikes have been successful in satisfy-ing at least a few demands, most othershave not—depending on how one definesa “win.” Hana Shalaby, for instance, endedher 43-day hunger strike not too long after

SpecialReportSpecialReport

Hunger Strike: Still an Effective Mode ofResistance for Palestinian Prisoners?By Pam Bailey

Supporters of hunger-striking prisoner Khader Adnan in Gaza City react upon hearing thenews that he had reached a deal with Israeli authorities for his release, Feb. 21, 2012.

PH

OTO

P. BA

ILEY

MAY 2014 21THE WASHINGTON REPORT ON MIDDLE EAST AFFAIRS

Pam Bailey is a freelance journalist and ac-tivist who has lived and worked in the GazaStrip. She blogs at <paminprogress.tumblr.com>. Special thanks to the UFree MediaCentre and Sinead MacLochlainn for coordi-nating several of the interviews, and to bothUFree and Mohammed Alhammami fortheir assistance with translation.

bailey_21-22_Special Report 3/20/14 5:32 PM Page 21

Adnan—by agreeing to be deported to theGaza Strip for three years, unreachablefrom her West Bank hometown of Jenin.

Unique ChallengesThe evolving Palestinian situation hassome unique challenges, both imposed andself-induced:• Powerful enemies. In contrast to the

Irish hunger strikers of 1981, who had pow-erful allies in the United States, one of thestrongest U.S. lobbies today (the AmericanIsrael Public Affairs Committee, or AIPAC)supports Israeli policy. That lobby is sostrong that, according to Mourad Jadallah,a researcher and spokesman for Addameer,U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry askedPalestinian President Mahmoud Abbas torefrain from honoring a request from theHigher Council of Administrative Detaineesto take their case to the International Crim-inal Court. And Abbas agreed.• Media fatigue and skepticism. When a

movement lacks powerful allies, media cov-erage becomes especially important—andmuch of the American mainstream mediafunction virtually as an arm of the Israellobby. In addition, uncoordinated on-and-off actions by individual Palestinian prison-ers—with many resorting to consuming glu-cose, vitamins and even juice or milk whentheir health begins to wane—has induced asense of fatigue among both activists and themedia, as well as doubts in some quartersabout the prisoners’ commitment. As the most recent individual strikes have

illustrated, such “halfway strikes” canbackfire—especially when there are somany and some participants simply give up. “Sadly, a condition for widespread sup-

port for hunger strikers is that they mustbe perceived as willing to pursue the striketo death,” says Patrick Sheehan, a formerprisoner who participated in the Irish

hunger strike of 1981. For 55 days he livedon only water and salt, and would surelyhave been the 11th Irish prisoner to die ifthe strike had not been halted. “And ifprisoners abandon the hunger strike with-out a settlement, it becomes harder for thenext striker to be taken seriously.” • Limited strategy. A related challenge is

the “why” and “for what” motivating the

hunger strikes. In the case of the individ-ual hunger strikers, the demand is typi-cally the release of a single prisoner. “There is an ongoing debate among

those who work on behalf of prisoners onthis subject, but there is general consensusthat group strikes with collective demandsare the most productive,” according to Ad-dameer’s Jadallah. “Demands to release prisoners do not

have a great history of success,” agreesGerry MacLochlainn, who represented thenationalist Irish party, Sinn Féin, in GreatBritain for 14 years. While the Irish pris-oners embarked on their strikes one byone, he adds, they were planned collec-tively. “Basically, the authorities have anumber of ways of dealing with such de-mands. One way is to allow the pressure tobuild until it reaches a crescendo and thenrelease the prisoner. But then the pressuresubsides and has to be built up again forthe next prisoner. If a prisoner breaks hisor her fast, then the state is off the hook,the campaign deflates again and the stateis able to relax until another prisonerreaches the critical point.” That, in fact, is exactly what has oc-

curred among the Palestinians.Sometimes, however, what seems like in-

dividual wins can carry larger symbol-ism—as in the case of Samer Issawi. Overthe course of a partial hunger strike of 266days, Issawi lost half his body weight andsuffered numerous health problems—yetrejected offers to release him if he agreed tobe deported someplace other than EastJerusalem. By insisting on going home, hecaptured the hearts of activists and caughtthe fickle media’s attention—and won.“My victory was a Palestinian victory

that proves nothing is impossible in theface of our will,” he says now. “If I had todo it over again, I would, because nothingis more valuable than freedom.” These are difficult, contentious issues.

No one wants to tell individuals facingyears in prison under harsh conditions notto do everything possible to win their free-dom—or to be prepared to starve them-selves to death. Yet in light of the fitfulprogress of the peace negotiations (if onecould call it progress at all), the number ofPalestinian prisoners in Israeli jails likelywill continue to grow. It’s time, says KhaledWaleed, operations coordinator for UFree,a UK-based prisoner-support group, for op-pressed populations and their supportersto re-examine resistance past and present,learning from what has worked and whathasn’t. Palestinian prisoners would beamong the first to benefit. ❑

22 MAY 2014THE WASHINGTON REPORT ON MIDDLE EAST AFFAIRS

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bailey_21-22_Special Report 3/20/14 5:32 PM Page 22

MAY 2014 23THE WASHINGTON REPORT ON MIDDLE EAST AFFAIRS

Alabama H 1 Byrne, Bradley R. R I 2,500 2,500 ASAlaska S Begich, Mark* D I 45,798 52,298 A(FO, HS), C, HSArizona H 1 Kirkpatrick, Ann D I 1,000 8,000

H 2 Barber, Ronald D I 2,000 4,000 HSH 3 Grijalva, Raúl M. D I 2,500 12,500H 5 Salmon, Matt R I 2,500 9,000 FRH 8 Franks, Trent R I 3,600 4,600 ASH 9 Sinema, Kyrsten D I 2,000 2,000

Arkansas S Pryor, Mark L.* D I 10,000 68,000 A(D), HSCalifornia H 7 Bera, Amerish (Ami) D I 150 13,850 FR

H 12 Pelosi, Nancy D I 16,350 149,150 Min. LeaderH 15 Swalwell, Eric M. D I 5,000 19,500 HS

Certain names are conspicuousby their absence this election

year. Three of the top 10 Senateheavy hitters in career pro-IsraelPAC contributions—Carl Levin,Tom Harkin and Max Baucus—areretiring. Will we never learn whatLevin, for example, did to deservenearly three-quarters of a milliondollars from pro-Israel PACs? Their departure will undoubtedly

leave Senate Minority Leader MitchMcConnell—up for re-election thisyear—at the top of the career heap.He may well be joined, or even sur-passed, in 2016 by fellow Republi-can Mark Kirk of Illinois, whoearned a spot in the top 10 beforehe even took the oath of office forhis first Senate term. As an initiatorof the Kirk-Menendez bill designedto sabotage diplomatic talks withIran, Kirk has left no doubt abouthis true Israeli-blue colors.The House counterpart to the

Kirk-Menendez bill proved prob-lematic to Rep. Debbie WassermanSchultz (D-FL), chair of the Democ-ratic National Committee. Shefound herself caught betweenAIPAC, which lobbied hard for thebill, and President Barack Obama,who has committed his administra-tion to pursuing a diplomatic ap-proach before resorting to war. This may be why, as of the end of

2013, Wasserman Schultz’s take frompro-Israel PACs was less than that of herfellow Floridian, first-term Rep. Lois

Frankel. (Full disclosure: Frankel and theauthor were high school classmates.) Rep.Ted Deutch took home the most inFlorida in 2013, with Israel-firster Rep.Ileana Ros-Lehtinen coming in a rela-tively distant second.Among the races we’ll be keeping an

eye on this year is that of Georgia’s

Michelle Nunn, daughter of former Sen.Sam Nunn (D-GA), whose support so faris quite tepid for a Senate candidate. In-terestingly, by his last Senate race in1990, Sam Nunn had a career total ofonly $19,500 in pro-Israel PAC contribu-tions—by which time Carl Levin had al-ready amassed a total of $422,038. ❑

ELECTION WATCH

Take the Money and Run—or Retire

TOP TEN 2014 AND CAREER RECIPIENTS OFPRO-ISRAEL PAC FUNDSCompiled by Hugh Galford

Janet McMahon is managing editor of theWashington Report.

By Janet McMahon

2013-2014State Office District Candidate Party Status Contributions Career Committees

PRO-ISRAELPAC CONTRIBUTIONS TO2014 CONGRESSIONALCANDIDATES

HOUSE: CURRENT RACES

Royce, Edward R. (R-CA) $32,700Engel, Eliot L. (D-NY) 22,500Deutch, Theodore E. (D-FL) 21,000Hoyer, Steny H. (D-MD) 19,000Boehner, John A. (R-OH) 18,000Pelosi, Nancy (D-CA) 16,350Cantor, Eric (R-VA) 15,875Lowey, Nita M. (D-NY) 12,650Ros-Lehtinen, Ileana (R-FL) 12,000Chabot, Steve (R-OH) 10,000Granger, Kay (R-TX) 10,000

House: Career Totals

Engel, Eliot L. (D-NY) 331,918Hoyer, Steny H. (D-MD) 286,025Ros-Lehtinen, Ileana (R-FL) 285,470Cantor, Eric (R-VA) 240,605Lowey, Nita M. (D-NY) 215,888Pelosi, Nancy (D-CA) 149,150Burton, Danny L. (R-IN) 146,836Levin, Sander M. (D-MI) 134,827Boehner, John A. (R-OH) 118,500Andrews, Robert E. (D-NJ) 112,025

SENATE: CURRENT RACES

Begich, Mark (D-AK) $45,798Hagan, Kay R. (D-NC) 45,000Landrieu, Mary L. (D-LA) 38,700Udall, Mark E. (D-CO) 36,500Shaheen, Jeanne (D-NH) 27,500Franken, Al (D-MN) 26,000Booker, Cory A. (D-NJ) 25,000McConnell, Mitch (R-KY) 22,000Graham, Lindsey O. (R-SC) 21,500Roberts, Pat (R-KS) 21,000Udall, Tom (D-NM) 21,000

Senate: Career Totals

Levin, Carl (D-MI) $729,937Harkin, Thomas R. (D-IA) 552,950McConnell, Mitch (R-KY) 520,141Reid, Harry (D-NV) 394,001Durbin, Richard J. (D-IL) 386,421Baucus, Max (D-MT) 360,148Wyden, Ronald L. (D-OR) 349,462Kirk, Mark S. (R-IL) 338,386Boxer, Barbara (D-CA) 279,044Landrieu, Mary L. (D-LA) 246,589

paccharts_23-25_Pac Charts for May 2014 3/20/14 7:42 PM Page 23

24 MAY 2014THE WASHINGTON REPORT ON MIDDLE EAST AFFAIRS

California H 17 Honda, Mike D I 2,000 15,500 AH 23 McCarthy, Kevin R I 5,000 14,000H 24 Capps, Lois G. D I -194 35,223 CH 28 Schiff, Adam D I 2,000 82,917 A(FO), IH 30 Sherman, Brad D I 2,000 92,430 FRH 31 Aguilar, Pete D O 2,000 4,500H 34 Becerra, Xavier D I 1,000 5,000 WH 38 Sanchez, Linda D I 1,000 23,950 WH 39 Royce, Edward R. R I 32,700 42,200 FRH 41 Takano, Mark D I 1,000 6,000H 46 Sanchez, Loretta D I 1,000 67,450 AS, HSH 47 Lowenthal, Alan D I 2,000 12,200 FRH 52 Peters, Scott D I 1,000 1,400 AS

Colorado S Udall, Mark E.* D I 36,500 84,750 AS, IH 2 Polis, Jared D I 1,000 1,000

Delaware S Coons, Christopher A.* D I 13,500 32,500 A(FO,HS), B, FR(NE)Florida H 6 DeSantis, Ronald D. R I 1,000 1,000 FR(NE)

H 6 Stearns, Clifford B. R N 1,500 21,500H 9 Grayson, Alan M. D I 500 8,000 FR(NE)H 10 Demings, Valdez (Val) D N 1,000 3,000H 14 Castor, Kathy D I 2,500 24,900 B, CH 18 Murphy, Patrick D I 9,500 17,000H 19 Radel, Henry J. (Trey), III R N 5,500 8,000H 21 Deutch, Theodore E. D I 21,000 78,850 FR(NE)H 22 Frankel, Lois J. D I 5,500 12,000 FR(NE)H 23 Wasserman Schultz, Debbie D I 3,000 77,300 A(FO)H 26 Garcia, Jose A. (Joe) D I 9,945 28,945H 27 Ros-Lehtinen, Ileana R I 12,000 285,740 FR(NE)

Georgia S Nunn, Mary Michelle* D O 2,500 2,500H 1 Kingston, John H., Sr. (Jack) R I 1,000 6,500 A(D, HS)

Hawaii S Schatz, Brian*† D I 19,700 19,700 CH 1 Hanabusa, Colleen Wakako#† D I 2,500 7,500 ASH 2 Gabbard, Tulsi D I 1,000 1,500 FR, HS

Idaho S Risch, James E.* R I 3,500 17,000 FR(NE), IIllinois S Durbin, Richard J.* D I 11,000 386,421 A(D, FO), FR(NE)

S Kirk, Mark S. R I 1,000 338,386 A(FO)H 2 Kelly, Robin L. D I 1,350 1,350H 8 Duckworth, L. Tammy D I 1,000 18,474 ASH 9 Schakowsky, Janice D. D I 1,500 35,645 C, IH 10 Schneider, Bradley S. D I 6,000 8,600 FR(NE)H 11 Foster, G. William (Bill) D I 3,700 22,700H 13 Callis, Ann D C 2,000 2,000H 14 Hultgren, Randy R I 1,000 3,000H 17 Bustos, Cheri D I 2,000 7,000H 18 Schock, Aaron J. R I 3,000 23,000 W

Indiana S Coats, Daniel R. R I 1,000 70,060 A(D, FO, HS), C, IS Donnelly, Joseph S. D I 500 25,000 ASH 2 Walorski Swihart, Jackie R I 500 500 AS, BH 4 Rokita, Theodore E. (Todd) R I 2,000 6,500 BH 6 Messer, Allen L. (Luke) R I 1,000 1,000 B, FR(NE)

Iowa H 1 Braley, Bruce L. D I 8,500 25,500 CKansas S Roberts, Pat* R I 21,000 72,000

H 4 Pompeo, Michael R. R I 500 500 C, IKentucky S Grimes, Alison Lundergan* D C 2,500 2,500

S McConnell, Mitch* R I 22,000 520,141 A(D, FO)H 5 Rogers, Harold D. R I 4,600 20,600 A

Louisiana S Landrieu, Mary L.* D I 38,700 246,589 A(FO, HS), HSH 1 Scalise, Steve R I 2,500 33,000 CH 2 Richmond, Cedric L. D I 3,500 6,000 HSH 4 Fleming, John C., Jr. R I 2,000 14,000 ASH 5 Riser, Hartwell N., Jr. (Neil)† R P 2,000 2,000

Maine S Collins, Susan M.* R I 20,500 133,500 A(D), I

KEY: The “Career Total” column represents the total amount of pro-Israel PAC money received from Jan. 1, 2009 through Dec. 31, 2013. S=Senate, H=House ofRepresentatives. Party affiliation: D=Democrat, R=Republican. Status: C=Challenger, I=Incumbent, N=Not Running, O=Open Seat (no incumbent), P=Defeated inprimary election. *=Senate election year, #=House member running for Senate seat, †=Special Election. Committees: A=Appropriations (D=Defense subcommittee,FO=Foreign Operations subcommittee, HS=Homeland Security, NS=National Security subcommittee), AS=Armed Services, B=Budget, C=Commerce, FR=ForeignRelations (NE=Near Eastern and South Asian Affairs subcommittee), HS=Homeland Security, I=Intelligence, IR=International Relations, NS=National Security,W=Ways and Means. “–” indicates money returned by candidate, “0” that all money received was returned.

2013-2014State Office District Candidate Party Status Contributions Career Committees

PRO-ISRAEL PAC CONTRIBUTIONS TO 2014 CONGRESSIONAL CANDIDATES

paccharts_23-25_Pac Charts for May 2014 3/20/14 5:36 PM Page 24

MAY 2014 25THE WASHINGTON REPORT ON MIDDLE EAST AFFAIRS

Maryland S Mikulski, Barbara D I 1,000 214,099 A(D, FO), IH 1 Harris, Andrew P. R I 2,500 8,500 AH 5 Hoyer, Steny H. D I 19,000 286,025 Min. Whip

Massachusetts S Gomez, Gabriel† R O 2,500 2,500S Markey, Edward J.* D I 14,000 26,250 C

Michigan H 8 Rogers, Michael J. R I 5,000 11,000 C, IH 9 Levin, Sander M. D I 1,000 134,827 WH 14 Peters, Gary D I 4,000 42,500

Minnesota S Franken, Al* D I 26,000 31,680H 2 Kline, John P., Jr. R I 1,000 24,000 AS

Montana S Baucus, Max* D N 7,500 360,148Nevada S Reid, Harry D I 1,000 394,001 A(D)

H 1 Titus, Alice C. (Dina) D I 1,000 15,100New Hampshire S Ayotte, Kelly A. R I 1,000 17,500 AS, B, HS

S Shaheen, Jeanne* D I 27,500 69,600 A(FO), FRNew Jersey S Booker, Cory A.* D I 25,000 25,000 C

H 1 Andrews, Robert E. D N 5,000 112,025H 6 Pallone, Frank, Jr. D I 7,500 96,050 CH 8 Sires, Albio D I 7,000 8,000 FRH 9 Pascrell, William J., Jr. D I 2,000 17,853 B, WH 11 Frelinghuysen, Rodney P. R I 1,000 13,350 A(D, HS)

New Mexico S Udall, Tom* D I 21,000 62,500S Wilson, Heather A. R N -2,000 49,750H 1 Grisham, Michelle Lujan D I 1,000 2,000 B

New York H 8 Jeffries, Hakeem D I 2,100 22,400 BH 11 Grimm, Michael R I 2,000 2,000H 12 Maloney, Carolyn B. D I 1,000 30,970H 14 Crowley, Joseph D I 300 109,457 WH 16 Engel, Eliot L. D I 22,500 331,918 C, FRH 17 Lowey, Nita M. D I 12,650 215,888 A(FO)H 18 Hayworth, Nan R C -7,000 -4,000

North Carolina S Hagan, Kay R.* D I 45,000 53,000 ASH 11 Shuler, Joseph H. (Heath) D N 4,000 13,250

Ohio H 1 Chabot, Steve R I 10,000 30,000 FR(NE)H 8 Boehner, John A. R I 18,000 118,500 House Spkr.H 11 Fudge, Marcia L. D I 6,700 9,700H 14 Joyce, David P. R I 2,500 3,500 A

Oklahoma S Inhofe, James M.* R I 2,000 130,800 ASOregon S Merkley, Jeffrey A.* D I 10,000 31,600 A, B

S Wyden, Ronald L. D I 1,000 349,462 B, IPennsylvania H 4 Perry, Scott R I 2,000 2,000

H 8 Fitzpatrick, Michael G. R I 3,500 23,500Rhode Island S Reed, Jack F.* D I 7,000 165,850 A(D), AS

H 2 Langevin, James R. D I 6,000 39,000 AS, ISouth Carolina S Graham, Lindsey O.* R I 21,500 84,000 A(FO), AS, B

S Scott, Timothy E.† R I 18,100 22,100 CH 1 Colbert Busch, Elizabeth D P 2,000 2,000

South Carolina H 1 Sanford, Marshall C., Jr. (Mark) R I 750 750 HSSouth Dakota S Rounds, Marion M. (Mike)* R O 5,000 5,000Tennessee S Alexander, Lamar* R I 5,000 13,000 A(D)Texas S Cornyn, John* R I 6,000 73,480

S Cruz, Rafael E. (Ted) R I 2,500 18,500 AS, CH 12 Granger, Kay R I 10,000 31,500 A(D, FO)H 25 Perry, Brent Clark R C 2,000 2,000H 35 Doggett, Lloyd D I 1,000 6,500 W

Vermont H At-L. Welch, Peter D I 2,000 11,000 CVirginia S Warner, Mark R.* D I 9,000 50,500 B, C, I

H 6 Goodlatte, Robert W. R I 1,000 5,500H 7 Cantor, Eric R I 15,875 240,605 Maj. Leader

Wisconsin H 1 Ryan, Paul D. R I 1,000 22,750 B, WWyoming S Enzi, Michael B.* R I 15,000 41,250 B, HS

2013 Total Contributions: 975,374Total Contributions (1978-2013): 54,744,432Total No. of Recipients (1978-2013): 2,421

2013-2014State Office District Candidate Party Status Contributions Career Committees

PRO-ISRAELPAC CONTRIBUTIONS TO2014 CONGRESSIONALCANDIDATES

paccharts_23-25_Pac Charts for May 2014 3/20/14 5:36 PM Page 25

After again failing to pass individualFY 2014 appropriations bills, Con-

gress lumped them all into H.R. 3547, the“Consolidated Appropriations” (“om-nibus”) bill. The House passed it on Jan.15, the Senate the following day, and Pres-ident Barack Obama signed it on Jan. 17,as P.L. 113-76. As passed, the bill contains few sur-

prises. As reported in the June/July 2013Washington Report, the FY ’13 ContinuingAppropriations Act continued foreign af-fairs funding at the FY ’12 level, reducedby the 5 percent “sequestration.” Thisyear’s bill does not “sequester” any funds,and provides funding similar to the FY ’12level. One significant change is the additionof $1.284 billion, under Title VIII OverseasContingency Operations, “for Migrationand Refugee Assistance for the extraordi-nary costs of the U.S. response to humani-tarian crises resulting from conflict.” Theprovision notes “particularly the largenumber of individuals and families whohave fled Syria to neighboring countries,such as Jordan, Turkey, and Lebanon,”without specifying amounts for thosecountries.Amounts for Middle East countries,

other than Egypt, either earmarked in thebill or specified in the accompanying“statement” are:Israel—$3.399 billion: $3.1 billion in

military aid, to be disbursed within 30days, of which $815.3 million can be spentin Israel, and $15 million for “refugees set-tling in Israel.” Plus, as described in theprevious issue, $284 million from the De-fense Department. Jordan—$1 billion: $360 million in eco-

nomic aid, $300 million in military aid, and$340 million for “extraordinary costs re-lated to instability in the region, includingfor security requirements along the borderwith Iraq.” Plus unspecified amounts for“migration and refugee assistance,” as de-scribed in paragraph two above.

Bahrain—$3 million in economic aid.Lebanon—$12 million for scholar-

ships, plus unspecified amounts for “mi-gration and refugee assistance,” as de-scribed in paragraph two above.Morocco—$20.896 million in economic

aid, also available for Western Sahara.Tunisia—$30 million in economic aid.Yemen—$45 million in economic aid.

Plus unspecified assistance for the Yemenarmed forces “only if such forces are coop-erating with the U.S. on counterterrorismefforts.”Palestinian Authority—No funds are

specifically earmarked for the PA, and thebill includes all the previous restrictions onaid.The bill also includes a provision that un-

specified funds “may be made available toestablish and operate one or more enterprisefunds for Egypt, Tunisia, and Jordan.”

Ros-Lehtinen rantedagainst the possibility that UNESCO fundingmight be restored.

No funds are provided to UNESCO, in ac-cordance with previous laws barringfunding to organizations that admit thePA to membership. On Jan. 9, and againon Jan. 13, before the full contents of theomnibus were known, leading Israel-firster Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (R-FL)took to the floor of the House to rantagainst the possibility that UNESCO fund-ing might be restored. Then on Jan. 15she again took the floor to crow that, in-deed, no funds for UNESCO were in-cluded.

$1.568 Billion in Aid to Egypt, WithConditionsReflecting developments in Egypt follow-ing last summer’s military overthrow ofthe elected government of President Mo-hamed Morsi, the bill includes provisionsthat will enable aid to Egypt to continue,“notwithstanding any other provisions of

law restricting assistance for Egypt” (re-ferring to earlier provisions that prohib-ited aid to governments that came topower through a “coup”). As reported inthe previous issue, Senate Foreign Rela-tions committee Chairman Robert Menen-dez (D-NJ) on Dec. 18 introduced S. 1857,the “Egypt Assistance Reform Act,” whichwould allow Washington to maintain tieswith strategically important countries likeEgypt while imposing strict restrictions onany financial or military aid to them. Sec-tion 7041(a) of the omnibus will allowEgypt aid to continue with conditions thatare a bit less strict than under the Menen-dez bill. The first, general conditions arethat Egypt is “(A) sustaining the strategicrelation with the U.S.; and (B) meeting itsobligations under the 1979 Egypt-IsraelPeace Treaty.”Subject to the further conditions de-

scribed below, the bill provides “up to”$250 million for economic aid, of which$35 million should be for higher educationprograms; “up to” $1.3 billion for militaryaid “which may be transferred to an inter-est bearing account in the Federal ReserveBank of New York”; and $1.8 million formilitary training. Of these amounts for Egypt, “(A) up to

$975 million may be made available if theSecretary of State certifies to the commit-tees on appropriations that the Govern-ment of Egypt has held a constitutionalreferendum, and is taking steps to sup-port a democratic transition in Egypt; and(B) up to $576.8 million may be madeavailable if the Secretary of State certi-fies…that the Government of Egypt hasheld parliamentary and presidential elec-tions, and that a newly elected Govern-ment of Egypt is taking steps to governdemocratically.”The bill also provides exceptions to the

above conditions (whether or not the sec-retary of state can make the described cer-tifications) “for education and economicgrowth programs” and “for counterterror-ism, border security, and nonproliferationprograms in Egypt, and for developmentactivities in the Sinai.”

FY ’14 “Omnibus” Appropriations Bill Includes Middle East Funds, ConditionsBy Shirl McArthur

26 MAY 2014THE WASHINGTON REPORT ON MIDDLE EAST AFFAIRS

Shirl McArthur is a retired U.S. foreign ser-vice officer based in the Washington, DCarea.

CongressWatchCongressWatch

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AIPAC Conference Fails to Press forMore Iran SanctionsEvery year AIPAC’S annual “Policy Confer-ence” draws thousands of Zionists to Wash-ington, DC to hear pro-Israel speeches andlobby Congress for pro-Israel legislation.This year’s March 2-4 conference waswidely expected to feature a push for morepunitive Iran sanctions, possibly in theform of pressure to pass the previously de-scribed far-reaching and problematic S.1881, introduced in December by Sens.Menendez and Mark Kirk (R-IL). However,that didn’t happen. AIPAC likes to consideritself a nonpartisan organization, and thequestion of Iran sanctions at this time hasbecome a strongly partisan issue, withnearly all Democrats supporting Obama’sdiplomatic efforts with Iran, and most Re-publicans supporting Israeli Prime Minis-ter Binyamin Netanyahu’s efforts to scuttlethe negotiations, even to the point of intro-ducing new Iran sanctions amendments tonon-related measures. However, with De-mocrats in control of the Senate, it appearsno new sanctions will be imposed, at leastfor the next few months.

Rather than enacting new sanctions, ef-forts to scuttle negotiations may be turningto placing stringent, deal-breaking condi-tions on any final agreement that might bereached. At a late February news conferenceNetanyahu said, “Zero enrichment, zero cen-trifuges, zero plutonium,” giving an indica-tion of what those conditions might looklike—and to which Iran will never agree.S. 1881, which would impose a long list

of additional sanctions on Iran unless thepresident certifies to Congress that a list of10 conditions has been met, has gained nonew co-sponsors and still has 59, includingMenendez and Kirk.The only previously described Iran mea-

sure to gain co-sponsors was the non-bind-ing H.Res. 431, introduced in December byRep. Steve Scalise (R-LA), plaintively “call-ing on the U.S. Senate to increase sanctionsagainst Iran.” It has gained two co-spon-sors and now has 64, all but one Republi-cans, including Scalise. Meanwhile, dueling letters were sent op-

posing and supporting the negotiations withIran. On Feb. 4, 42 Republican senatorssigned a letter to Majority Leader Harry

Reid (D-NV) urging him to permit a vote onS. 1881. In the House on Feb. 12, 104 repre-sentatives, mostly Democrats, signed a letterto Obama saying that “we believe that Con-gress must give diplomacy a chance,” andthat “we must not imperil the possibility ofa diplomatic success before we even have achance to pursue it.”

House Passes U.S.-Israel Partnership BillOne result of AIPAC’s conference was theMarch 5 passage by the full House, under“suspension of the rules,” of H.R. 938, asamended, the “U.S.-Israel Strategic Part-nership” bill introduced last March byRos-Lehtinen and described in previous is-sues. This bill, along with the Senate’scompanion bill, S. 462, introduced lastMarch by Sen. Barbara Boxer (D-CA), werea major effort at last year’s AIPAC confer-ence, so it is not surprising that they wereable to get the House version passed thisyear. A major change is that the bill aspassed includes the text of H.R. 1992, the“Israel QME Enhancement” bill, intro-duced in May by Rep. Doug Collins (R-GA)and passed by the full House in December,

MAY 2014 27THE WASHINGTON REPORT ON MIDDLE EAST AFFAIRS

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mcarthur_26-28_Congress Watch 3/20/14 5:39 PM Page 27

which would update the criteria for main-taining Israel’s “qualitative military edge”to include cyber warfare. Among otherthings, H.R. 938 would still authorize in-creased U.S. “cooperative activities” in var-ious fields, expand U.S.-Israel cyber-secu-rity cooperation, and extend authority toadd to “foreign-based” defense stockpilesand transfer “obsolete or surplus” Depart-ment of Defense items to Israel.There had been some speculation that

Ros-Lehtinen would modify the provisionurging that Israel be included in the visawaiver program, along the lines of S. 462,which would water down the key require-ment of granting full reciprocity to U.S. cit-izens by saying that Israel would only haveto make “every reasonable effort, withoutjeopardizing the security of the State of Is-rael, to ensure that reciprocal travel privi-leges are extended to all U.S. citizens.”However, as passed H.R. 938 only says that“it shall be the policy of the U.S. to includeIsrael in the list of countries that partici-pate in the visa waiver program…when Is-rael satisfies, and as long as Israel contin-ues to satisfy, the requirements for inclu-sion in such program.”H.R. 938 was passed on a roll call vote of

410-1 with 19 absent, with Rep. ThomasMassie (R-KY) the lone “nay” vote. Whenpassed it had 356 co-sponsors, includingRos-Lehtinen. S. 462 now has 56, includ-ing Boxer.

Of the previously described measures urg-ing continued U.S. efforts to resolve the Is-rael-Palestine conflict through a negotiatedtwo-state solution, H.Res. 365, introduced inSeptember by Rep. Jan Schakowsky (D-IL),continues to gain co-sponsors. It now has119, including Schakowsky.Of the various previously described

measures to transfer to Jerusalem the U.S.Embassy located in Tel Aviv, only H.R.3629, introduced by Rep. Trent Franks(R-AZ) in December has gained co-spon-sors. It would express the “sense of Con-gress” not only that the U.S. should moveits embassy to Jerusalem, but also thatthe U.S. “should recognize Israel’s sover-eignty and legal rights to its lands, in-cluding the Golan Heights and Jerusalemas Israel’s capital.” It would also eliminatethe presidential waiver authority in-cluded in the Jerusalem Embassy Act of1995. It now has 12 co-sponsors, includ-ing Franks. Also, H.R. 3683, to amend the Energy In-

dependence and Security Act of 2007 to im-prove U.S.-Israel energy cooperation, intro-duced in December by Rep. Fred Upton (R-MI), was reported out of the House Energyand Commerce committee on Feb. 5. It nowhas eight co-sponsors, including Upton.One new Israel-related bill was intro-

duced. On Jan. 29 Rep. Alan Grayson (D-FL) introduced H.R. 3961, which wouldcall for discussions with Israel to identifythe steps necessary to include Israelwithin the list of countries eligible forthe Strategic Trade Authorization excep-tion to the requirement for a license forthe export, re-export, or in-countrytransfer of an item subject to certain ex-port controls.

New Bills Introduced Limiting PA Aid,Punishing Academic InstitutionsOn Jan. 14 House Foreign Affairs commit-tee chairman Ed Royce (R-CA) introducedH.R. 3868, the “Palestinian Peace Promo-tion and Anti-Incitement” bill. It wouldmake aid funds available to the PA only ifthe president certifies that “the PA: (1) nolonger engages in a pattern of incitementagainst the U.S. or Israel, and (2) is engagedin activities aimed at promoting peace withthe Jewish State of Israel.”On Feb. 6 Reps. Peter Roskam (R-IL) and

Dan Lipinski (D-IL) introduced H.R. 4009,the contrarily named “Protect AcademicFreedom” bill, even though its purpose isto restrict academic freedom. It would

“prohibit an institution that participates ina boycott of Israeli academic institutions orscholars from being eligible for certainfunds” under the Higher Education Act.Earlier, on Jan. 17, Roskam led 134 repre-sentatives in signing a letter to AmericanStudies Association (ASA) President CurtisMarez “in strong opposition to ASA’s recentdecision to boycott Israeli universities andacademic institutions” (see March/April2014 Washington Report, p. 19).

Bills to Repeal Authorization of ForceAgainst Iraq, War Powers ResolutionCompanion bills in the House and Senatewould “repeal the Authorization for Use ofMilitary Force Against Iraq Resolution of2002.” On Jan. 10 Rep. Barbara Lee (D-CA),with 10 co-sponsors, introduced H.R. 3852,and on Jan. 14 Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY), witheight co-sponsors, introduced S. 1919.More comprehensively, on Jan. 16 Sen.

Tim Kaine (D-VA) and two co-sponsors intro-duced S. 1939, the “War Powers Consulta-tion” bill. It would repeal the War PowersResolution of 1973, as amended, replacing itwith a consultation process between the leg-islative and executive branches of govern-ment. The bill’s stated purpose is “to establisha constructive and practical means by whichthe judgment of both the President and Con-gress can be brought to bear when decidingwhether the U.S. should engage in a signifi-cant armed conflict. This Act is not meant todefine, circumscribe, or enhance the consti-tutional war powers of either the executive orlegislative branch of government, and neitherbranch by supporting or complying with thisAct shall in any way limit or prejudice itsright or ability to assert its constitutional warpowers or its right or ability to question orchallenge the constitutional war powers of theother branch.” ❑

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28 MAY 2014THE WASHINGTON REPORT ON MIDDLE EAST AFFAIRS

mcarthur_26-28_Congress Watch 3/20/14 5:39 PM Page 28

For 18 post-war years, Bosnia-Herzegov-ina has progressively sunk into eco-

nomic wreckage within the framework ofthe “Dayton straitjacket” that has encour-aged pervasive corruption and the enrich-ment of an ethno-nationalist elite. Withmassive unemployment, paltry pensions, ahigh cost of living, and chaos in govern-ment, one might well ask why it took solong for February’s turbulent streetprotests to erupt.

And now, after the torching of severalgovernment buildings and the resignationof a number of officials, a more urgentquestion is how to transform and channelthe anger expressed on the street into con-crete social change.

The demonstrations began in the north-east industrial city of Tuzla as a protestagainst a standard postwar pattern of eco-nomic devolution: managers run state-owned industries into the ground, thenthey and their cronies purchase them onthe cheap, sell off valuable assets, declarebankruptcy, and lay off workers. This pat-tern was repeated in the Tuzla region withseveral formerly thriving factories. Afterseveral months of hunger strikes and smalldemonstrations, workers announced an-other protest on Feb. 5.

On that occasion, dissatisfied studentsand other young people joined the work-ers, multiplying their numbers. Within aday, violence between demonstrators andpolice erupted and, at the end of the week,protesters had torched Tuzla canton’s gov-ernment building and the municipal build-ing as well. By that time the number ofdemonstrators in Tuzla had grown from afew thousand to some ten thousand.

The unrest was quick to spread through-out the Federation of Bosnia-Herzegovina,one of Bosnia’s two entities (together withthe Serb-controlled Republika Srpska, orRS). The first demonstration in solidaritywith Tuzla—and in protest of the same dif-ficult conditions that exist throughout thecountry—took place in Sarajevo, thenspread quickly to such other cities such asZenica, Mostar, Bugojno, Brčko, and Bihać,and ultimately even to smaller, peripheral

towns such as Srebrenik and Kalesija. While the demonstrations in Sarajevo

never reached the size of those in Tuzla,similar violence took place in the firstdays, as protesters torched the state-levelpresidency building and the Sarajevo can-ton government building. Torchings fol-lowed in Zenica and Mostar, where demon-strators not only set several cantonal andmunicipal buildings on fire, but also tar-geted the headquarters of the SDA and theHDZ, respectively the offices of the Mus-lim and Croat nationalist parties in powerin that divided city.

For a few days popular anger thusbrought street unrest out of controlthroughout the Federation, primarily in lo-calities where the Muslim population waspredominant—although Croats have par-ticipated to some extent in Mostar. By thefirst weekend, however, the street fightingwas over and demonstrators themselveswere cleaning up the broken glass andrubble.

More peaceful demonstrations continued,however, and for the first time since thewar, ordinary people managed to get the at-

tention of the politician-profiteers who forso long had been plundering their country.Now the recriminations and spin began.

It is notable that during this period therewas virtually no protest activity recordedin the RS; a solidarity demonstration ofseveral hundred was held in the RS capital,Banja Luka, and a smaller protest tookplace in nearby Prijedor. But the autocraticpresident of that entity, Milorad Dodik,was quick to warn that the protests in theFederation were part of a “plot to destabi-lize the RS” and that there was a seriousthreat of invasion across entity lines. Rep-resentative Aleksandra Pandurević fromthe SDS, a Serb nationalist party, called forthe arrest of demonstrators who hadblocked the parliament building in Sara-jevo, asserting that local police agencies inthat city were guilty of collaborating withthe demonstrators in “holding RS repre-sentatives hostage.”

Meanwhile entrenched politicians in theFederation were voicing similarly oppor-tunistic and spurious conspiracy theories.One of the SDA’s high functionaries as-serted that the violence in Sarajevo had

SpecialReportSpecialReport

Bosnia-Herzegovina Protests a ResponseTo Post-War Corruption, ImpoverishmentBy Peter Lippman

Bosnian activists tie yellow ribbons on the arms of protesters in Sarajevo, Feb. 15, 2014.

MAY 2014 29THE WASHINGTON REPORT ON MIDDLE EAST AFFAIRS

Peter Lippman is an independent humanrights activist based in Seattle.

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been instigated by “football fans”who had infiltrated from neighboringEast Sarajevo, a Serb-controlled area.In Mostar, Croat nationalist politi-cians characterized the unrest thereas the result of Bosniak (BosnianMuslim) plans to overthrow Croatleadership. However, the widespread protestswere in fact notable for consistentlytargeting Bosnia’s corrupt leadership ratherthan harking back to worn-out tales of eth-nic enmity. This time protesters, regardlessof ethnicity, were uniting around what onemight go so far as to call class issues. Whilepoliticians were, practically in unison, call-ing those who committed violence “hooli-gans,” the demonstrators were likewiseunanimously calling for the dismissal ofcorrupt politicians whom they termed a“band of thieves.”Response among ordinary people to theunrest was fairly united. Especially in theFederation, support for the demonstrationswas nearly unanimous. At the same time,the violence in the streets and the sightand smell of burning buildings terrifiedmany—especially those with any memoryof the war two decades ago. Regardless of their overall support forthe protests, nearly everyone condemnedthe violence. But it was difficult to disagreewith the point that the unrest was the onlything since the war that had actuallycaused politicians to pay attention to theconcerns of ordinary people. As it hap-pened, within the first 10 days or so of theprotests, the entire governments of Sara-jevo, Tuzla, Zenica, and Unsko-Sanski(Bihać) cantons resigned. The prime min-ister of that canton, Hamdija Lipovača,long under fire for corruption, temporarilyfled the country. By the second week of demonstrations itwas obvious that the spontaneous eventsneeded more formal expression, and ac-tivists in at least a half-dozen cities formedcitizen assemblies that they calledplenums. The plenums, notably in Tuzla,Sarajevo, Bihać, Mostar and Zenica, wereopen to all who could take the time to par-ticipate. In Sarajevo and Tuzla, initially asmany as a thousand came to tell their sto-ries of frustration, impoverishment, angerand hope. The very opportunity to speakone’s personal story and be heard was sig-nificant to many participants. Some respected independent intellectu-als helped give form to the plenums’process of developing demands. Represen-tatives of the plenums traveled among par-ticipating cities and shared their experi-

ences with each other. Within days theplenums had drawn up lists of demandsthat they were presenting to their respec-tive canton governments. Early on, these demands were developedin several categories. One dealt with rightsof the protesters, calling for canton gov-ernments to ensure their right to protestpeacefully, for the release of randomly ar-rested protesters, and for an impartial in-vestigation into the violence on both sides.Another pertained to the responsibilities ofpolitical authorities, calling on them toquickly create caretaker governments com-posed of “non-partisan, non-corrupt ex-perts.” A third category of demands dealtwith corruption and other fundamentalcauses of the unrest, calling for recognitionof the “seniority and secure health insur-ance of the workers”; confiscation of ille-gally obtained property; annulment of pri-vatization agreements (referring, for exam-ple, to Tuzla’s bankrupt factories); and re-turn of the factories to the workers so thatproduction could be resumed. An additional, crucial category of de-mands pertained to the inordinate privilegethat Bosnia’s legislators at municipal, cantonand state levels had granted themselves overthe years, with regular increases in salaryeven while per capita income was stagnat-ing or falling. Plenum demands in this realmincluded the call for equalizing pay of gov-ernment and ordinary workers; variouscaps were mentioned, such as limiting thepay of a politician to three times the averageof a worker. Additional payouts to politi-cians for membership on subcommitteesand task forces, as well as fat budgets formobile phones, lodgings away from home,family visits and official cars also were tar-geted. One prominent benefit cited waswhat Bosnians call the “white bread” pay-ment, equivalent to the “golden parachute,”that grants retiring politicians a year’s payafter they leave office. As the plenums got under way, localgovernments met with representatives ofthese assemblies to discuss their demands.The “white bread” cancellation demandwas quickly accepted in Tuzla and severalother cantons; other demands became the

object of desultory negotiations withvarying results. The mayor of Bugo-jno accepted all demands of thatcity’s demonstrators. The Sarajevocanton parliament consented to a re-view of payments and benefits ofpublic officials and for an audit ofthe privatization of all state compa-nies. The Unsko-Sanski canton par-liament accepted all 13 demands of a

group of activists calling itself “BosnianSpring.” By mid-March participation both instreet demonstrations and attendance atthe plenums had dwindled to the pointwhere some commentators were statingthat the wind was gone from the move-ment’s sails. But the unrest had stirred upthe country and the dust has not settled. Itis worth remembering that after last sum-mer’s short but turbulent demonstrationsregarding the standardized identificationnumber (see Oct./Nov. 2013 WashingtonReport, p. 34), people commented pes-simistically that nothing had beenachieved. Grassroots uprisings areepisodic; it is quite possible that they willbecome more frequent and build in inten-sity with each episode. As one demonstrator said, “If it is notclear to them now that they must listen tothe voice of the people, everything thathappened on Feb. 7 will look like a picniccompared to what happens when thatanger explodes again.” ❑

30 MAY 2014THE WASHINGTON REPORT ON MIDDLE EAST AFFAIRS

For a list of demands generated by the plenums,visit <www.jasminmujanovic.com/1/post/2014/02/the-demands-of-the-people-of-tuzla-sarajevo-english.html>.

For a website with informative articles trans-lated into English about the unrest, see <http://bhprotestfiles.wordpress.com>. —P.L.

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“America’s Great Game: The CIA andU.S. Middle East Policy” was the

theme of a March 6 program sponsored byLos Angeles Jews for Peace and organizedby the Levantine Cultural Center. The dy-namite roster of speakers featured historianHugh Wilford and former CIA case workerand best-selling author Robert Baer.Robert Scheer, editor-in-chief of Truthdig,was the moderator.Wilford, a professor at California State

University, Long Beach, has garnered crit-ical acclaim for his new book, America’sGreat Game: The CIA’s Secret Arabists andthe Shaping of the Modern Middle East.Scheer introduced Baer as the real life char-acter played by George Clooney in themovie, “Syriana,” based on Baer’s novelsSee No Evil: The True Story of a Ground Sol-dier in the CIA’s War on Terrorism, Sleep-ing With the Devil and The Devil We Know.In his research into the formative years

of the CIA after World War II, Wilford saidhe was surprised to read about the Ameri-can Friends of the Middle East which triedto scale down U.S. support of Israel. KeyCIA figures in this group, who were re-ferred to as Arabists because of their skillsin speaking Arabic, were Kermit andArchie Roosevelt, grandsons of PresidentTheodore Roosevelt, and Miles Copeland.Wilford pointed out that many of the

“sympathetic Arabists“ were descendantsof Christian missionaries to the Middle Eastand founders of the American Universityof Beirut. Kermit Roosevelt held Oriental-ist views and glorified the adventurism inthe works of T.E. Lawrence and RudyardKipling—hence his nickname of Kim, inhonor of Kipling’s boy hero.The overriding interest of the fledgling

CIA was to ensure that the region wouldnot fall into the U.S.S.R.’s embrace. Ac-cording to Wilford, Arabists in the CIAtried to help former colonies shed theirpast ties, support Arab nationalism andforge relations with Washington. The de-cline of CIA Arabism occurred in 1958,when Secretary of State John Foster Dulles’suspicion of Nasserism caused Arabs toview Washington as an enemy. In Wilford’s opinion, it was the internal

flaw of covert CIA actions that led to Arab

disenchantment with the U.S.Disillusionment, disdain and disgust

peppered Baer’s remarks, as he repeatedlysaid “I’m sorry” for misadventures attrib-uted to the CIA in Chile, Nicaragua, Iraqand Afghanistan, to name a few. In 1982,he said, CIA operatives advised that send-ing U.S. Marines to Lebanon was a badidea, but they were overruled.Baer, who was in the CIA from 1976 to

1997, said his most effective years were inthe 1980s and ’90s. He considers theagency’s policy of no longer studying thelanguages of an agent’s area of specializa-tion a tragedy. “The neocons didn’t wantArabists,” stated Baer, who is fluent inArabic, Persian, French and German andconversant in Russian, Tajik and Baluch.“Instead they sent Hispanic specialists tothe Middle East.”Baer continued: “In Iraq, the Americans

stayed inside the Green Zone, inAfghanistan, they were more isolated—not one American spoke Pashtu. Now theyrely on intelligence from drones. They’velost touch. There’s a disconnect with fact.” Baer’s frequent statements on the neo-

cons’ hatred of Arabists seemed to mirrorhis loathing for the neocons’ love of covertactions—which, he asserted, don’t succeed

in overthrowing targeted regimes. Insteadof investigating what’s causing social un-rest in a given country, an agent is handedan operational directive telling him the in-formation he’s to collect. So, Baer said, if hewants to collect his paycheck every twoweeks the investigator writes a brief thatwill make the White House happy. Serious war crimes were committed by

Americans in Afghanistan and Iraq, Baercharged, but the government doesn’t wantto talk about it, just as it chose to ignore Is-rael’s deliberate and extended attack onthe USS Liberty in 1967.In answer to a query about the Arab

Spring, Baer said there was an initial eu-phoria, but the military power lurking inthe background was ignored. The Egypt-ian army’s ouster of Mohamed Morsi onJuly 3, 2013 was a coup d’état, he said, butWashington looked the other way. “Weweren’t going to invade Egypt over it,” hequipped.The veteran CIA operative said he ex-

pected 9/11 to be America’s wakeup call (toour misguided policy of supporting Israelwithout question), but all it did was createthe Department of Homeland Security,which opened the door for the governmentto snoop on its own citizens.

CIA and U.S. Middle East Policy ExploredBy Pat and Samir Twair

Authors Hugh Wilford (l) and Robert Baer.

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MAY 2014 31THE WASHINGTON REPORT ON MIDDLE EAST AFFAIRS

Pat and Samir Twair are free-lance journal-ists based in Los Angeles.

Southern CaliforniaChronicle

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Director, Cast Discuss “Omar” Hany Abu-Assad has achieved what manynever thought possible for a Palestinianmovie director and writer: he’s created twofeature films, “Paradise Now” (2005) and“Omar” (2013), nominated for the Acad-emy Award’s best foreign language cate-gory.Days before the Oscar ceremonies, a spe-

cial screening took place at the SundanceSunset Theater, where Abu-Assad andfour of the actors answered questions fromthe audience. The director said he startedwriting the script at 4 a.m. and completedthe first draft four days later. Leem Lubanywas 16 years old when she read for the roleof Nadia and was selected over 44 otherswho made screen tests for the part.“Omar,” shot on location in Nazareth,

Abu-Assad’s hometown, is the first featurefilm wholly financed by Palestinians. Thefour lead actors are virtual newcomers.Adam Bakri commented that while study-

ing at the Lee Strasberg Institute, he’ddreamed how wonderful it would be to actin a Hany Abu-Assad film, and felt as if hewere still dreaming when he was cast asOmar.“The movie isn’t solely about the occu-

pation,” Abu-Assad said. “It looks closelyat love, friendship and paranoia.”Sadly, Abu-Assad didn’t win the Oscar

for Palestine, but he can take consolationin the knowledge his “Omar” beat out“Bethlehem,” Israel’s film about a Pales-tinian teenager coerced to collaboratewith his Israeli handlers, for considera-tion in the best foreign language cate-gory.

Beijing ReunionDr. Laila Al-Marayati took time out fromher medical practice and work as chairper-son of KinderUSA on the last weekend ofFebruary to fly to Washington, DC to at-tend a Feb. 25 reunion of the U.S. delega-

tion to the U.N.’s 4th World Conference onWomen which convened in 1995 in Bei-jing.At the Beijing event, Dr. Al-Marayati,

then a young gynecologist, was a privatesector adviser to the delegation headed bythen-Secretary of State Madeleine Albrightand First Lady Hillary Clinton, who werejoined by Donna Shalala and the late Geral-dine Ferraro. Georgetown University was the venue

for the reunion, where Al-Marayati re-ported that the Internet has become avaluable tool for Muslim women to discusssuch taboo topics in their societies as do-mestic violence. She noted that computersalso have improved literacy among Mus-lim women, who now can study in a safehome environment. At the same time, theLos Angeles physician stressed, manyMuslim women face persistent poverty, il-literacy and violence, adding that mater-nal mortality must be reduced in the poor-est countries. Rep. Frederica Wilson (D-FL) pointed out that the U.S. also has muchto do for its women citizens, especially inreproductive health and equal pay forequal work.Now that she’s returned to L.A., the

busy doctor is finalizing plans forKinderUSA’s annual fund-raiser, slated forApril 19 in Pasadena’s Eden Garden andGrill. Featured speakers will be the Elec-tronic Intifada’s Ali Abunimah and Lailael-Haddad, the author of Gaza Kitchen(available from the AET Bookstore) whowas featured on Anthony Bourdain’s CNNprogram “Parts Unknown” episode on Is-rael, the West Bank and Gaza. ❑

32 MAY 2014THE WASHINGTON REPORT ON MIDDLE EAST AFFAIRS

Dr. Laila Al-Marayati.

“Omar” director Hany Abu-Assad (second from left) with cast members (l-r) Adam Bakri,Leem Lubany and Eyad Hourani.

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In 2009—during Israel’s “Cast Lead” as-sault on Gaza—Max Blumenthal wason a book tour promoting his highly suc-cessful Republican Gomorrah: Inside theMovement that Shattered the Party, an ex-amination of right-wing activism inAmerica. Five years later, speaking atAlwan for The Arts this past Jan. 19, Blu-menthal recalled how he had been en-raged to read about picnicking Israeliswatching and cheering from a hill nearthe Gaza border as F16s and dronesbombed the densely populated strip, andMinister of Foreign Affairs Tzipi Livni’sexpressed pride that Israeli soldiers “be-haved like hooligans.” Even the leftishMeretz party supported Operation CastLead. In May 2009, Blumenthal went toIsrael on an extended reporting trip togather material for a book on contempo-rary Israeli society: Goliath: Fear andLoathing in Greater Israel (available fromthe AET Bookstore).Ari Shavit’s My Promised Land: The Tri-

umph and Tragedy of Israel was publishedat about the same time. As Blumenthal ob-served, both books make the same point:it’s not only about the 1967 occupation,Jewish Israelis are deeply threatened byany discussion of the Nakba. For Shavit,what happened in 1948 was unfortunatelynecessary for the creation of Israel. ForBlumenthal, the Nakba was a crime and isongoing. Quoting Israeli historian IlanPappé, he said, “not a day goes by in Israelwithout some form of ethnic cleansing,”—an eviction, a permit denied, a home de-molition, settler violence.The two books have had very different

receptions. Shavit’s has been heavily pro-moted, extensively reviewed, and praisedby liberal Zionists like David Brooks andThomas Friedman. Other than Eric Alter-man, who in The Nation dubbed Goliath the“I hate Israel Handbook,” Blumenthal said,“the liberal Jewish establishment won’teven discuss Goliath.” Rather than reviewit, the mainstream press mostly ignores it.People like Terry Gross of PBS’s “Fresh Air”who were eager to interview Blumenthalabout Gomorrah now shun him. Further to

the right, John Podhoretz, theneocon editor of Commentary,called Goliath “the year’s most dis-gusting book,” and it garneredBlumenthal ninth place on theWiesenthal Center’s annual list oftop ten anti-Semites. Blumenthalquipped that, being an ambitiousJew, he aspires to displace the Ay-atollah in the number one spot. Blumenthal warned that re-

pressing discussion leads to ac-tual anti-Semites wearing anti-Semitism as a badge of honor,and argued that Israel is the realbeneficiary of anti-Semitism.Moreover, on his nationwidebook tour, in spite of pressure tocancel about a quarter of histalks, Blumenthal has had largeaudiences eager to learn, whichhas taught him that there is morepolitical space than people think.Goliath details how Israelis, especially

younger ones, are becoming more national-istic and more committed to Jewish racialpurity. This is translated for the Americanpublic as concern for Israel’s security, whichshapes the decades-long U.S.-led peaceprocess in which the real goal is to avoid ajust resolution. Blumenthal concluded bydescribing the recently deceased ArielSharon on a feeding tube as the perfectmetaphor for Israel. The U.S. is the feedingtube, he said, preserving the status quo.

Rami Khouri Discusses Arab Revolutions, Failed Peace Process

Rami Khouri is director of the Issam FaresInstitute for Public Policy and Interna-tional Affairs at the American Universityof Beirut. Under the auspices of Churchesfor Middle East Peace–New Jersey, he pre-sented two talks at Nassau Church inPrinceton. In the first he discussed “Threeyears of Arab revolutions and counter-rev-olutions.” Because of the mediocre natureof the mainstream media, Khouri began,Americans see the region only as chaoticand violent. The reality, he said, is morecomplicated and optimistic. Khouri sees amajor historical development underway,where for the first time 350 million ordi-nary Arab citizens are insisting on theirrights, defining the limits of power, writ-ing their own constitutions, and demand-ing accountability from their governments. There has been a wide range of out-

comes so far. Tunisians and Egyptiansoverthrew dictators, and then democrati-cally elected Islamist governments. Neithersucceeded in addressing underlying griev-ances. Tunisians opted for an orderly tran-sition of power, the Egyptian military for acoup, albeit with wide popular support.Khouri considers Syria the most troubling,calling it the “biggest proxy war of mod-ern history.” What began as aggrieved cit-izens seeking reform has devolved into Is-lamists vs. secularists; Shi’i vs. Sunnis; a

Max Blumenthal’s Goliath Ignored by LiberalZionists, Mainstream MediaBy Jane Adas

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Journalist Rami Khouri.

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global cold war with the U.S. vs. Russia; aregional cold war of Iran vs. Saudi Arabia;and Salafi (a word Khouri prefers to “ji-hadist”) vs. everybody. Khouri believes thesituation will calm down only when exter-nal forces back off. The U.S., Khouri continued, now knows

what ordinary Arabs want: government le-gitimacy, not through military power butthrough the consent of the governed—something we should applaud and sup-port. Khouri also urged Washington to bemore consistent, for example, not going towar for regime change in Libya whileputting down dissent in Bahrain. Finally,the U.S. should be clear what it stands for:is it stability for the sake of oil and Israel’ssecurity, or is it democracy?Khouri’s second talk was on Israel/Pales-

tine. For the past 20 years, the U.S. has leda peace process that Khouri believes hasfailed because it is based on the principlethat the U.S. must guarantee Israel’s secu-rity, therefore giving more priority to Is-raeli demands than Palestinian. Khouriasked why the Obama administrationunder Secretary of State Kerry suddenly isplaying such an active role in what is likelyto continue to fail. He believes it is becauseof what Gen. David Petraeus and othershave been saying for the past three years:the continuation of the Israeli-Arab/Pales-tinian conflict has led to public opinion inthe region, and even in the world, that isdetrimental to U.S. interests. Resolving thesituation is now a top national priority. One other new element in the process is

Israel’s demand that Palestine recognize Is-rael as a Jewish state. However, Khouriadded, because this concept is not well de-fined, there is skepticism in the Arabworld. Within Israel, public opinion hasshifted to the right, and Palestine isscarcely on the radar. Palestinians livingoutside the West Bank—under siege inGaza, in refugee camps, or the diaspora—are not represented in the negotiations,which confers less legitimacy on PresidentMahmoud Abbas. Khouri assured his au-dience that Hamas is not a stumblingblock, because if Fatah negotiates an agree-ment with Israel that is approved by refer-endum, Hamas has promised to accept it.A real obstacle is the refugee issue, of para-mount importance for Palestinians. UnderU.N. resolutions and international law,they should be allowed to return to theirhomes, but Israel does not accept this. Khouri views popular sentiment in the

global context as more problematical for Is-rael than for Palestine. The EU supports Is-rael, but is putting pressure and legal con-

straint on its colonies, which Khouri notedare clearly illegal. He emphasized that BDS(boycott, divestment and sanctions) is notabout delegitimizing Israel, but about end-ing the occupation. Khouri added that thePalestinian exile has now lasted longerthan the Babylonian exile, which was whatled to the idea of a Jewish people with ahomeland in the first place. Nobodyshould therefore be surprised when a sim-ilar situation and the denial of rights haveled to a heightened national consciousnessamong Palestinians.

Richard Falk Gives Edward SaidMemorial Lecture at Princeton

Richard Falk, professor emeritus of inter-national law, gave Princeton University’s11th Annual Edward Said Memorial Lec-ture on Feb. 18. Falk is the first Americanto have been the U.N. special rapporteur onhuman rights in occupied Palestine. De-spite the U.N. mandate, Israel not only de-nied Falk access to the occupied territories,but in 2008 detained the then-77-year-oldFalk for 15 hours at Ben-Gurion airport inprison-like conditions, then expelled him.Falk responded at the time, “Israel wantedto teach the U.N. a lesson.”Falk cited three key incidents that

shaped Edward Said’s stance toward thePalestinian predicament. The 1967 warspurred Said to activism. He recognizedthat Palestinians could not rely on the mil-itarism of Arab states, but instead musttake responsibility for their own self-em-powerment. Second, Falk continued, Said supported

the Palestinian National Council’s “stun-ning decision” in 1988 to recognize Israelwithin the Green Line in conformity withU.N. Resolution 242, which called for un-conditional Israeli withdrawal from terri-tory occupied in 1967 and a just resolution

for Palestinian refugees. Noting that thismeant a Palestinian state on less than halfthe territory offered by the 1947 partitionresolution, which itself was unfair to Pales-tinians, Falk pointed out how unusual it isfor the weaker side to offer significant ter-ritorial concessions in advance of negotia-tions. However, Israel ignored the PNC de-cision and chose instead to accelerate set-tlement expansion. Third, Said viewed the 1993 Oslo

process as “a humbling defeat, worse than1967, with delusionary expectations.”From that point, Falk explained, Saidbroke with the PNC and shifted toward ad-vocating a single state as the only outcomethat would allow a just solution for all.Throughout, Falk added, Said was consis-tent in his belief that one dispossessionnever justifies a second. Therefore, Saidnever refused to accept Israel, but by thesame reasoning did not believe that theHolocaust justified Israeli treatment ofPalestinians. In the decade since Said’s death, Falk ob-

served that the occupation has intensified,Israel’s control of East Jerusalem has be-come a form of annexation, and Secretaryof State Kerry’s peace brokering seems tobe an all-or-nothing final chance to have atwo-state outcome on terms favorable to Is-rael. In Falk’s opinion, it is too late for ajust two-state solution and too early forone state. “How then,” he asked, “to envi-sion getting from an oppressed here to aliberated there, and with no happy politi-cal ending ensured?”The Palestinians themselves, in restruc-

turing their movement, have provided apossible answer. Seeing that the Osloprocess is based on the existing powerstructure, no longer believing that the U.S.is a credible mediator, and losing confi-dence in their official leadership, Palestini-ans have turned to rights-based, nonvio-lent popular mobilization, which Falk de-scribed as a “legitimacy war strategy” thatdeploys “soft power.” It worked in SouthAfrica once the white elite recognized thatthey were better served by compromisethan by paying the rising costs of racism.Falk hopes it might transform Israelis’view of what is in their own self-interest. He concluded by reading from the poem

Mahmoud Darwish wrote upon the deathof his friend, Edward Said:My dream leads my steps.And my vision places my dream on my

knees like a pet cat.It’s the imaginary real, the child of will:We can change the inevitability of the

abyss. ❑

34 MAY 2014THE WASHINGTON REPORT ON MIDDLE EAST AFFAIRS

Prof. Richard Falk.

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MAY 2014 35THE WASHINGTON REPORT ON MIDDLE EAST AFFAIRS

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Throughout his March 4 speech beforethe American Israel Public Affairs

Committee (AIPAC) annual policy confer-ence, Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Ne-tanyahu made lofty assertions about Is-rael’s moral standing. At the end of his re-marks, he confidently stated that “any-body can verify” the claims he made.Taking the prime minister up on this

challenge, below are five easily refutableclaims Netanyahu made in his speech:1) “In the Middle East bludgeoned by

butchery and barbarism, Israel is humane;Israel is compassionate. Israel is a force forgood.”If you are facing persecution in your home-

land, Israel cares deeply about your plightand wants you to seek refuge within its bor-ders—assuming, of course, you are a Jew.The 50,000 to 60,000 non-Jewish

African migrants who have come to Israelfleeing violence in Sudan and Eritrea since2006 have learned the painful lesson thatthey are not welcome in Netanyahu’s “hu-mane” and “compassionate” Israel. Netanyahu has called the beleaguered

asylum-seeking Africans “infiltrators” andwarned that they threaten Israel’s Jewishidentity.

This tough rhetoric has been backed upwith harsh laws. In December, the Knessetpassed a law that allows asylum-seekingmigrants to be detained indefinitely at thenew Holot detention center in the NegevDesert. Africans sent to the center, whichIsrael describes as a “halfway house,” arefree to leave the facility during the day, butare not permitted to work, must check inat the center (which is an hour’s bus ridefrom the nearest city) three times a day,and are required to spend the night there.Thus, the center—which lacks such basicservices as heat and medication—is essen-tially a glorified prison.The United Nations High Commissioner

for Refugees (UNHCR) has expressed con-cerns about the facility, stating it might vi-olate international law. “‘Warehousing’refugees in Holot is not a solution in linewith the 1951 Refugee Convention [towhich Israel is a signatory],” the agencysaid in a statement.While Israel’s harsh treatment of

Africans is a relatively new development,the country’s inhumane treatment of itsPalestinian population has been well doc-umented. The construction of illegal Jew-ish-only settlements on Palestinian land,the destruction of Palestinian homes andolive trees, the existence of roads for Jewsonly, the construction of a separation wall

that cuts deep into Palestinian territory,the denial of adequate water to Palestiniantowns, the imprisoning of thousands ofPalestinians (including children) withoutcharges, the blockade of Gaza and aggres-sive military incursions that have killedthousands, top the list of Israel’s humanrights violations.Ignoring these facts, Netanyahu at-

tempted to bolster Israel’s compassionateimage at AIPAC by noting that his countryhas treated injured Syrian civilians at fieldhospitals in the occupied Golan Heights.While this is true, Israel sends these indi-viduals back to war-torn Syria once theyrecover. The prime minister also negatesthe fact that thousands of Palestinians aresuffering in Syria solely because they wereforced to flee their homes in Palestine dur-ing the 1948 Nakba.While Netanyahu claims Israel is the “di-

viding line between decency and deprav-ity,” neighboring Lebanon and Jordan,countries with far fewer resources than Is-rael, have done far more to assist Syrians.Writing in Haaretz in January, GideonLevy described Netanyahu’s humanitarianclaims vis-à-vis Syria as little more than“nauseating self-congratulations.”2) “[Israel has] values that move us to treat

sick Palestinians, thousands of them fromGaza. They come to our hospitals. We treatthem despite the fact that terrorists fromGaza hurl thousands of rockets at our cities.”Netanyahu is quick to point out what

Hamas militants have done to Israel, butignores the devastation his country’s mili-tary has caused Gaza. Yousef Munayyer,executive director of The Jerusalem Fund,recently provided figures that put theprime minister’s remarks in perspective.An estimated 9,000 rockets have been firedat Israel from Gaza in the last seven years,he noted, while in 2005 and 2006 alone, Is-rael fired more than 15,000 shells atGaza—one of the most densely populatedareas in the world. Israel’s military bombardment of Gaza

has had predictable results. Since 2008, Is-rael has killed 1,867 Gazans. During thesame time period, 30 Israeli civilians havebeen killed by Palestinian attacks. Moreover, those who have survived Is-

rael’s assaults face serious health risks. Can-cer rates in Gaza have risen astronomicallysince Israel’s 2008-2009 Operation Cast Lead,

SpecialReportSpecialReportNetanyahu’s AIPAC Speech: 5 LiesBy Dale Sprusansky

African asylum seekers who entered Israel illegally via Egypt stage a protest outside theHolot detention center in Israel’s southern Negev desert, Feb. 17, 2014.

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during which French experts say Israellikely attacked the area with uranium. Localdoctors have told Al-Monitor they expectthe cancer rate in Gaza to double by 2018.Israel’s blockade of Gaza also severely

limits medical options there. The Israelihuman rights organization B’Tselem re-cently reported that many diagnostic cen-ters and ambulances have had to stop op-erating due to lack of fuel, and that thesupply of medical equipment and medi-cines is steadily declining. Additionally, ac-cess to clean drinking water is quickly dis-appearing, as are trucks that pick up trash.Even though Gazans often have no re-

course other than to seek medical help inIsrael, the country frequently is not eagerto assist them. “Israel has cut back on is-suing permits to enter the country for thehundreds of patients each month whoneed immediate life-saving treatment andurgent, advanced treatment unavailable inGaza,” B’Tselem noted. “Since Hamas tookover control of the Gaza Strip, the numberof patients forbidden to leave Gaza ‘for se-curity reasons’ has steadily increased.”Indeed, B’Tselem pointed out, some peo-

ple who live in Gaza have died after beingdenied access to Israeli hospitals. “It isclear that these patients’ right to optimaland rapid treatment was infringed, andthat delay in the permit, or refusal to grantit, impaired their quality of life, theirchances to be cured, and their possibilityto live a longer life,” the January 2014 re-port said.Bottom line: offering medical care to a

small number of the people you havebombed, blockaded and poisoned makesyou no hero.3) “Israel is the nation-state of the Jew-

ish people, where the civil rights of all cit-izens, Jews and non-Jews alike, are guar-anteed.”Adalah, The Legal Center for Arab Mi-

nority Rights in Israel, offers ample evi-dence on its website to refute this claim.The organization has documented morethan 50 Israeli laws that “discriminateagainst Palestinian citizens of Israel in allareas of life, including their rights to polit-ical participation, access to land, educa-tion, state budget resources and criminalprocedures.” One such law is the “Protection of Holy

Sites Law,” enacted in 1967, which em-powers the Ministry of Religious Affairsto designate the names of the holy sites inIsrael. Notes Adalah: “To date, the Min-istry of Religious Affairs has declared 135Jewish sites as holy sites and has not de-clared any Muslim, Christian or Druze

holy places as recognized holy sites.”Another law, the “Nakba Law,” enacted

in 2011, “authorizes the finance minister toreduce state funding or support to an in-stitution if it holds an activity that rejectsthe existence of Israel as a ‘Jewish and de-mocratic state’ or commemorates ‘Israel’sIndependence Day’ [known as the Nakba,or catastrophe, by Palestinians]…as a dayof mourning.” Meanwhile, the Institute for Middle East

Understanding (IMEU) has found that Is-raeli government resources “are dispropor-tionately directed to Jews and not toArabs, one factor in causing the Palestini-ans of Israel to suffer the lowest livingstandards in Israeli society by all economicindicators.” Added IMEU: “As many as 100Palestinian villages in Israel, many ofwhich pre-date the founding of the state,are not recognized by the Israeli govern-ment, and are not listed on maps and re-ceive no services (water, electricity, sanita-tion, roads, etc.) from the government.”

Separate and UnequalIn July 2013, Haaretz reported on the dis-parities in funds distributed to Arab andJewish schools in Israel. The report foundthat in 2012, each Arab high school stu-dent was allocated an average of about$6,000 per student, while religious Jewishhigh schools received an average of about$7,700 per student. The above is just the tip of the iceberg.

Countless additional examples of Israelidiscrimination, such as Israel banning non-Jews from marrying Jews, can be cited.4) “Israel, the one country in the Middle

East that protects Christians and protectsthe right of worship for everyone.”This statement would have been more

accurate if Netanyahu ended it with “ex-cept Palestinians.” Both Muslim and Chris-tian residents of the West Bank cannottravel to holy sites in Jerusalem unless theyreceive a permit from Israeli authorities.Even if they are successful, they must en-dure humiliation and long lines at the sep-aration wall. Invasive Israeli security mea-sures turn a Palestinian pilgrim’s seven-mile journey from Bethlehem to Jerusaleminto a seven-hour trip. In April 2012, CBS’ “60 Minutes” dedi-

cated a segment to the plight of Christiansin the Holy Land. Correspondent BobSimon spoke with Palestinian Christianswho said their fellow believers are leavingthe Holy Land due to the brutalities of theIsraeli occupation.Then-Israeli Ambassador to the U.S.

Michael Oren dismissed the report as a

“hatchet job” and attempted to prevent itfrom airing. Asked by Simon why Palestin-ian Christians are leaving their native land,Oren blamed Islamic extremism. When re-minded of Israel’s draconian occupation bySimon, Oren replied, “Sometimes you haveto do what you have to do to survive.” Thisis perhaps the closest an Israeli official willcome to admitting its policies are drivingaway Palestinian Christians.5) “[Iran obtaining a nuclear weapon]

would open up a Pandora’s box of nuclearproliferation in the Middle East andaround the world.”Israel has long been the sole nuclear

power in the Middle East. Israeli-Americanscholar Avner Cohen has described Israel’snuclear weapons program as “the worst-kept secret.” Even though Israel’s program has been

known to its neighbors for decades, noneof these nations, most of whom have poorrelations with Israel, have decided to pur-sue their own nuclear program in response.This is enough evidence to question Ne-tanyahu’s claim.It must also be noted that—unlike

Iran— Israel has refused to sign the Nu-clear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) anddoes not allow international inspections ofits nuclear facilities. This further delegit-imizes its ability to criticize other nations’nuclear programs.There is also the issue of Netanyahu’s

presumption that Iran has decided to pur-sue a military nuclear program. This hasnot been verified. “According to the U.S.intelligence community, Iran has not de-cided to build a nuclear weapon, and anyof their weapons design work was endedover a decade ago,” Paul Pillar, former CIAintelligence officer for the Near East andSouth Asia, reminded the audience at theMarch 7 National Summit to Reassess theU.S.-Israel “Special Relationship.”Perhaps Netanyahu is afraid that another

Pandora’s box—Israel’s occupation ofPalestine—will be opened unless he keepshis American ally preoccupied with Iran.According to Pillar, the Iran nuclear crisis“serves as the best kind of distraction youpossibly could have from things that theprime minister perhaps would rather nottalk about.”Indeed, the passion with which Ne-

tanyahu ridiculed Israel’s neighbors, ad-monished Iran and dismissed the BDSmovement as “anti-Semitic” during hisAIPAC address reveals just how much hestands to lose if actual facts are discussed.The time is coming when lies no longerwill suffice. ❑

MAY 2014 37THE WASHINGTON REPORT ON MIDDLE EAST AFFAIRS

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The National Summit to Reassess theU.S.-Israel “Special Relationship,” held

March 7, 2014 at the National Press Club inWashington, DC, was a stunning achieve-ment. Sandwiched between two headline-grabbing annual conferences—those of theAmerican Israel Public Affairs Committee(AIPAC) and the Conservative Political Ac-tion Committee (CPAC)—the nonpartisanNational Summit examined the impact ofU.S. financial, military, and diplomatic sup-port for Israel. More than 300 attendees gathered from

all over the country, and as far away asJapan. Extra chairs had to be provided toaccommodate an overflow audience, whichexceeded all expectations. For more than ayear, Washington Report staff workedalongside the Institute for Research: Mid-dle Eastern Policy (IRmep), the Council forthe National Interest (CNI) and If Ameri-cans Knew (IAK) to assemble an array ofexperts who have been unsparing critics ofthe Israel lobby’s influence over U.S. poli-

cymaking. Even seasoned U.S.-Middle Eastforeign policy experts were startled tolearn the extent of the damage the U.S.“special relationship” with Israel hascaused to American security and prestige.“The Summit was groundbreaking for

two reasons,” CNI executive director PhilipGiraldi remarked. “First, it brought to-gether respected authorities from all acrossthe political spectrum and from a widerange of disciplines to challenge directlythe value of the U.S.-Israel special relation-ship. This was the first time that the rela-tionship has been subjected to such a po-litically inclusive and exhaustive examina-tion. “Second,” added Giraldi, a former CIA

counter-terrorism specialist, “this was thefirst time that any event critiquing the re-lationship broke through the media black-out normally in place on the issue of U.S.ties to Israel. It was broadcast live on C-SPAN, enabling it to reach a much largeraudience than the 300-plus enthusiastic at-tendees at the National Press Club ball-room.”“Israel and its diverse apologists have

tried to convince Americans that Israel is

an important U.S. ally and that Americansupport for Israel benefits Americans,”IAK founder Alison Weir pointed out.Weir, who is also CNI president, intro-duced her new book, Against Our BetterJudgment (see review p. 68), at the summit.“The Summit resoundingly rebutted thosefalse claims. Also, Americans heard live onC-SPAN top experts detailing the Israelconnection to the Iraq war and to the pushfor war against Iran. One person told usthat in 30 years of attending conferences inWashington, DC he had never before seenanything like this.”Many attendees told us they left with a

sense of camraderie and purpose. “Before,during and after the summit, speakers, ac-tivists and supporters alike were able tocome together and talk face to face—manyfor the first time,” IRmep director GrantSmith remarked. “In a digital age wheremany of us collaborate on projects digitallyover vast distances, the value and long-term effects of that direct contact is price-less.”Almost as important as the ground-

breaking event itself was the realizationamong organizers that writers, historians,

SpecialReportSpecialReport

National Summit Reaches Large AudienceDespite Media Silence By Delinda Hanley and Dale Sprusansky

38 MAY 2014THE WASHINGTON REPORT ON MIDDLE EAST AFFAIRS

Delinda Hanley and Dale Sprusansky arenews editor and assistant editor of theWashington Report on Middle East Affairs.

The National Press Club audience listens to speakers, including Mark Perry (at podium),address the question, “Does the ‘special relationship’ transcend the rule of law?” The National Press Club audience listens to speakers, including Mark Perry (at podium),address the question, “Does the ‘special relationship’ transcend the rule of law?”

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speakers and activists—so often shut outby corporate media—can work together toget our messages out to our fellow Ameri-cans. Working alone, each organizationcould never have pulled off this summit,but by pooling our resources and expertisewe can really make a difference.“The Summit has sparked an explosion

in this country,” said Ambassador AndrewKillgore, publisher of the Washington Re-port. “It revealed the true nature of Israeland Zionism.” Organizers hope the Summit has opened

the door for an informed and inclusive na-tional discussion about whether the U.S.should continue its “special relationship”with Israel. It is long past time for this crit-ical national conversation to occur and forthe American public to have a voice in U.S.foreign policies. Until now American Mid-dle East policies have been dominated bythe Israel lobby, at great detriment to thecitizens of this country. It is time for U.S.policies to be based on what the Americanpublic determines would be best for ournation and for the world. Please spend some time on the National

Summit’s Web site, <www.NatSummit.org>. There you will find video and audiorecordings of every presenter, as well astranscripts of their talks. You can also pur-chase DVDs of the summit, or books byspeakers (see ad p. 35) by contacting AET’sMiddle East Bookstore. Order a secondcopy for your library or local TV stationand help spread the word!

Some Words We’ll RememberPanel 1: “How does the Israel lobby

influence Congress?”When asked about the lobby’s influence

on Congress, former Congressman PaulFindley (R-IL) stated, “I know that a lot ofmembers of Congress are bought and paidfor—you might as well face it—andthey’re not going to change....The influ-ence of Israel as of today is so great onCapitol Hill that they see dangers of not

surviving the next election if they chal-lenge what Israel is doing.” Findley presented his plan of action for

Israel, Palestine and the U.S.—a plan hepromised would transform PresidentObama into an “all-time hero.” Findleysaid, “Obama must issue an executive ordersuspending all aid to Israel and Palestine,until Israel and Palestine conclude a peacetreaty that creates a two-state solution.”In a well-received video address, former

Rep. Cynthia McKinney (D-GA) describedthe Israel lobby’s successful efforts to de-feat her, noting that “the pro-Israel lobbyusually has a whole lot of money and thoseof us who act of conscience generallydon’t.” She urged listeners to know “who’swho in the zoo—we have to understandwho is our friend and who is in oppositionto us.”Janet McMahon, managing editor of the

Washington Report, described how the Is-rael lobby network coordinates PACs thatfinance U.S. elections and get around FECregulations. If 30 “unaffiliated” pro-IsraelPACs are all giving to the same candidate,McMahon warned, “that’s a potential haulof $300,000—not $10,000—per candi-date.”

Washington Re-port news editorDel inda Hanleyspoke about U.S.taxpayers givingmilitary aid, morethan $9 million aday, to a countrywith the world’ssixth most powerfulmilitary. “Does Is-rael really need ourhandouts?” sheasked. “Cutting offaid to Israel is thelogical, economicaland ethical thing forAmericans to do,”Hanley concluded.

Panel 2: “Does Israel and its lobby ex-ercise too much influence on U.S. deci-sions to wage war in the Middle East?”Author Stephen Sniegoski began by dis-

cussing the relationship between neoconsand Israel as it relates to the Iraq war. “Thebackground for many—if not most—ofthe neocons shows a close personal identi-fication with the state of Israel,” he stated.“It’s reasonable to say—I think—that theneoconservatives viewed American foreignpolicy in the Middle East through the lensof Israeli interests.”Retired U.S. Air Force Lt. Col. Karen

Kwiatkowski captivated audience mem-bers by recalling her experience workinginside the Pentagon’s Near East and SouthAsia directorate. “One of the first thingsthat was said to me [upon accepting thejob],” she recalled, “was, if you have any-thing nice to say about the Palestinians,don’t say it here.”Investigative journalist Gareth Porter ar-

gued that Israel’s threats to attack Iran areinsincere and nothing more than a ploy tohave leverage over U.S. policy. “This has al-ways been a political ruse,” he said. “It hasbeen used by the Israelis to manipulate thepolicy of the United States in particular.”

MAY 2014 39THE WASHINGTON REPORT ON MIDDLE EAST AFFAIRS

Prof. John Quigley (l) describes the cost of U.S. support for Israel’soccupation as Jeffrey Blankfort, who addressed lobby gatekeepersand damage control squads on the Left, listens.

Dr. Stephen Sniegoski (l) and Lt. Col. (ret.) Karen Kwiatkowski addressIsrael’s influence on U.S. decisions to wage war in the Middle East.

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Grant Smith (r) holds the microphone for Congressman PaulFindley as he answers audience questions.

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Brig. Gen. (ret.) James J. David ques-tioned whether the U.S. benefits from itsoverwhelming military support of Israel.“When you look at the enormous amountof U.S. weapons that we provide Israel eachand every year and see the kind of resultsthat it’s achieving, you’ve got to ask your-self, what good is it?” he opined. “We’regiving so much weapons that she keeps in-vading her neighbors, keeps the Palestini-ans in Gaza locked up in a prison pen.”

Panel 3: “Does the ‘special relation-ship’ transcend the rule of law?”IRmep director Grant Smith provided a

brief history of unprosecuted Israeli for-eign agent, smuggling and espionage cases.His conclusion: “There is no U.S. law—if itstands in the way of Israel and its U.S.lobby—that cannot be thwarted [or] over-come…well before any warranted prose-cutions take place.”Former Deputy National Counterintelli-

gence Executive M.E. “Spike” Bowmandiscussed the specifics of the Jonathan Pol-

lard spy case, which he had played an ac-tive role in investigating. Recalled Bow-man, Pollard “took so much information tothe Israelis, that they had to install twohigh speed copiers in an apart-ment to take care of everythingthat he brought them.”Ernie Gallo, president of the

USS Liberty Veterans Associa-tion, described his experienceon the USS Liberty as it cameunder Israeli attack in June1967, and lamented the ensuingcover-up. “It is appalling thelength Israeli supporters will goto ensure you are silenced andharassed,” he said. “However,the USS Liberty story is veryimportant and it must be toldtruthfully and accurately.”Military and foreign affairs

author Mark Perry pointed outthat individuals within the U.S.government understand that Is-

rael is a strategic li-ability to the U.S.He cited an exchange betweenGen. David Petraeus and Sen.John McCain as an example.Petraeus “was asked by Sena-tor McCain whether he be-lieved that the Israeli-Palestin-ian conflict was the primaryobstacle to American nationalsecurity interests in the Mid-dle East, and [Petraeus] said,‘Yes, I do,’” Perry noted.

Panel 4: “History: Howdid the ‘special relation-ship’ come to be?”Harvard University profes-

sor Stephen Walt began bynoting that U.S. support for Is-rael is in many ways irrational

and not strategic. “We give this aid uncon-ditionally,” he noted. “There’s no hint wemight reduce our assistance to get Israel tostop building settlements or to allow cre-

ation of a viable Palestinian state.”University of North Texas history profes-

sor Geoffrey Wawro gave a history lesson onthe tense debate within the Harry Trumanadministration over whether or not the U.S.should recognize Israel as a country. Then-Secretary of State George Marshall warnedTruman that he was “weakening the U.S.globally by his uncritical support for theZionists,” Wawro said, while “Marshall’sdeputy called the emerging state of Israel ‘apig in a poke, a state with high strategiccosts and few apparent benefits.’”According to Prof. John Quigley, who

teaches law at the Moritz College of Law atOhio State University, support for Israel isharming America’s global reputation. “Ithink one can say that our positions are out

40 MAY 2014THE WASHINGTON REPORT ON MIDDLE EAST AFFAIRS

Harvard University Prof. Stephen M. Walt.

Investigative journalist Gareth Porter (seated above) and USS Liberty survivor Ernie Gallo (right) signed copies of their books at the AETMiddle East Bookstore booth.

M.E. “Spike” Bowman discusses the Pollard affair.

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summit_38-41_Special Report 3/27/14 11:51 AM Page 40

of step with the positions of most of theworld community,” he said, “and that it’sone of the major reasons for the negativeperception of the United States in the re-gion.”

Turning to the media coverage of Israel’sspecial relationship with the U.S., IAKfounder Alison Weir said, “While we arerepeatedly told that rockets are fired fromGaza into Israel, we seem never to be toldthat over 10 years of largely home-maderocket fire has killed a total of 29 Israelis—nor do we learn that during this same pe-riod Israeli forces have killed 4,000Gazans.”

Panel 5: “Has the lobby captured po-litical parties and the news media?”

Radio programmer Jeffrey Blankfortopened this panel by lamenting that manyliberals don’t push elected representativesto speak up on the topic of Israel. “The Lefthas allowed members of Congress who pub-licly support Israel, particularly Democrats,to go unchallenged if they are consideredgood on other issues,” he observed.

Washington Report columnist AllanBrownfeld, editor of The Lincoln Review,charged that Zionism has “had a terriblynegative impact upon Jewish life in theUnited States and throughout the world.”Most American Jews, draw a distinctionbetween Israel and their religion, he said,meaning that “the vast majority of Ameri-can Jews believe they are Americans, be-lieve that Judaism is their religion, do notbelieve that Israel is their homeland.”

Justin Raimondo, editorial director ofAntiwar.com, noted that conservative out-lets such as the National Review were atone time highly critical of Israel. Whiletimes have changed, Raimondo said thereis reason to believe a more open debatewill re-emerge on the Right. “There is aresurgence of foreign policy realism in the

GOP and in the conservative movementgenerally,” he maintained. “Opposition toU.S. intervention overseas, embraced as aprincipled position by the increasingly in-fluential libertarian wing of the Republi-can Party, will tend to distance the GOPfrom a pro-Israel lobby that is perpetuallytrying to draw us into Israel’s wars.”

Scott McConnell, co-founder of TheAmerican Conservative, explained that for-mer mainstream conservatives such as PatBuchanan were os-tracized for ques-tioning the U.S.-Is-rael relationship.“Thereaf ter,” hepointed out, “anyyoung conservativeknew the rules—you’d best be suffi-ciently pro-Israel.”

P h i l i p We i s s ,founder and co-edi-tor of the blog Mon-doweiss, expressedhis belief that asmore Jews begin toopenly question Is-raeli policies, thegeneral public willfell more comfortable discussing the issue.

“There’s deference to the Jewish com-munity inside the American establish-ment,” Weiss said. “And because that Jew-ish community is now beginning to frac-ture openly, that is giving people permis-sion to talk about it.”

Panel 6: “Is Israel really a U.S. ally?” Paul Pillar, who recently retired from along career in the U.S. intelligence commu-nity, noted that the U.S. could spend themoney it sends to Israel on such vital pro-jects at home as infrastructure and educa-tion. Concluded Pillar, “The relationship

on security matters has been more of a lia-bility than an asset.”

Retired CIA officer Ray McGovern de-scribed an occasion when he sparked amini-controversy simply for questioningthe U.S.-Israel relationship in front of mem-bers of Congress. He recalled wanting totell his critics, “You know, you ought to realize that not only is Israel not our ally,but...Ariel Sharon has our presidentwrapped around his little finger and that

he’s got our president mesmerized.”CNI executive director Philip Giraldi

said that in addition to not being an ally,Israel “is not actually a friend, because itdoes actual damage to the United Statesthrough using its considerable access toCongress and the media to promote policiesthat are neither good for the United Statesnor for Israel.”

Added Giraldi: “The GAO [GovernmentAccountability Office] has concluded thatIsrael conducts the most aggressive espi-onage operation against the United Statesof any U.S. ally.” ❑

MAY 2014 41THE WASHINGTON REPORT ON MIDDLE EAST AFFAIRS

Scott McConnell (l) and Philip Weiss.

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From left to right: Dr. Geoffrey Wawro; Alison Weir, founder of If Americans Knew and Washington Report columnist Allan Brownfeld.

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summit_38-41_Special Report 3/20/14 9:06 PM Page 41

42 MAY 2014THE WASHINGTON REPORT ON MIDDLE EAST AFFAIRS

Alalusi Foundation

“Whomsoever provides for an orphan in this life, he andI will live like brothers in the next.”

— Prophet Muhammad (upon him be peace)

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Thanks to the Hayward-based AlalusiFoundation, in partnership with the

International Organization for Migrationand International Rescue Committee, 22-year-old Iraqi Ahmed Al-Kubaisi is receiv-ing medical treatment for wounds inflictedby an American military sniper in hishometown of Fallujah on June 3, 2007. Ashe was leaving his home across from a U.S.military base, the then 16-year-old was hitby a sniper’s bullet in his spine, leavinghim severely bleeding and paralyzed fromthe waist down. Rescued by neighbors, Al-Kubaisi was driven to a local medical cen-ter for treatment, then transferred to twodifferent hospitals in Baghdad, returned toFallujah and ultimately driven to Amman,Jordan. All of these life-saving attemptswere solely at his family’s expense. After running out of money for treat-ment, the wheelchair-bound teenagereventually was forced to return to Fallujah,where he asked for assistance at the Amer-ican military base there and was told bythe officer in charge: “We’re sorry. We shotyou by accident, but we can’t compensateyou for anything.” Al-Kubaisi’s experience

is being documented by the Mill Valley-based Citizens Reach Out (CRO) as part ofits “What Happened” project to archivethe lives of innocent Iraqis displaced bythe 2003 U.S.-led invasion and occupationof their country.To help the injured Iraqi paraplegic,CRO and the James Moseley Band co-

hosted a Jan. 16 fund-raiser at Sausalito’sSeahorse Restaurant, which raised $3,500toward the purchase of a new wheelchair.“In the work that we do at Citizens ReachOut, we meet extraordinary people whohave lived through incredible tragedy andstill have tremendous resilience and courageto actually end up here in the United States,where we finally meet them as refugees,”CRO president Ruth Friend told attendees atthe benefit dinner. “And when we metAhmed we thought he personifies thesequalities of courage and resilience. We wereso impressed with him, as I think everyonewho has met him has been.”Friend went on to describe how movedshe was from the first day she met Al-Kubaisi by his positive and happy nature.“I have never seen him look back andcomplain about what happened to him—he was shot and is now a paraplegic,” shesaid. “He is always looking forward towhat he needs to do to make his life workhere.”“Wars begin, but wars don’t end,” anti-war activist and author David Harris told

the crowd. “They keep living themselvesout in the lives of all the people who wereterrorized, who were crushed, destroyed,who had enormous loss, whose homes havebeen destroyed, whose lives have beenripped up. That war lives on in them, inthe next generation, and the next genera-tion after that. Rescuing Ahmed is really

MAY 2014 43THE WASHINGTON REPORT ON MIDDLE EAST AFFAIRS

Iraqi Shot by U.S. Sniper Receives Care,Compassion in San Francisco Bay AreaBy Elaine Pasquini

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

Northern CaliforniaChronicle

Northern CaliforniaChronicle

Guest of honor Ahmed Al-Kubaisi enjoys his dinner and dance fund-raiser at Sausalito’s Seahorse Restaurant.

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Alalusi Foundation founder and director Dr. Hesham R. Alalusi (l) and Ruth Friend, president of Citizens Reach Out.

pasquini_43-44_Northern California Chronicle 3/20/14 5:53 PM Page 43

44 MAY 2014THE WASHINGTON REPORT ON MIDDLE EAST AFFAIRS

an investment in us and in ourcountry. It gives us an opportunity,despite so many failings, to finallybe the people that we really want tobe. We need to welcome him withopen arms, and give him the helpthat he needs. We will all be betteroff for it.”After dinner and the speeches

concluded, guests enjoyed themusic of the James Moseley Band.Being wheelchair-bound failed toprevent the young Iraqi from en-joying the evening’s activities. Al-Kubaisi was an inspiration to allwhen he simply maneuvered him-self onto the crowded dance floorto boogie—swing-ing his outstretchedarms in the air—along with the livelycrowd.Al-Kubaisi’s jour-

ney from Fallujahhas been a long one.Arriving in Califor-nia last July, hestayed for a fewweeks in Oakland’sHighland Hospital.Presently, he is inFairmont Hospital, anursing facility inSan Leandro. Plansare in the works tofind Al-Kubaisi anapartment or houseequipped for wheel-chair access, proba-bly to be sharedwith others. In the long run, after theyoung Iraqi recovers from his severe bed-sores, the Alalusi Foundation and CRO aretrying to find a surgeon who can specifi-cally address his partially damaged spinalcord.Al-Kubaisi’s family remains in Fallujah,

where heavy fighting between Iraqi gov-ernment forces and al-Qaeda militants con-tinues. This makes Ahmed’s ultimate goal tobring his family to California an urgent one.For the millions of Americans who al-

ways opposed the U.S.-led invasion and oc-cupation of Iraq, this is an opportunity toassist one of the many casualties of thatwar. To help Al-Kubaisi lead an indepen-dent and successful life here in the U.S.,tax-deductible donations may be madepayable to the Alalusi Foundation/AhmedFund and mailed to Alalusi Foundation,1975 National Ave., Hayward, CA 94545.

Citizens Reach OutAt the Jan. 16 fund-raiser David Harrisalso discussed the founding and purpose

of CRO. “The first purpose was simply theintegration of a new set of Americans intothe America that already exists,” the warresister explained. “We have new neigh-bors, new friends about whom we knownothing, and they need to have their sto-ries heard. We went out to collect thosestories.” The second purpose, Harris noted, was

to create memories. “America has somegreat ideas, but one of the things it is re-ally short on is memory,” he told the au-dience. “Once something is no longernew, we abandon it and pay no atten-tion.” One such case is the Iraq war. “Wedropped 10 years of war on peoplehalfway around the world that disruptedtheir society completely and have yet totake a good look at exactly what we did,”he pointed out. “We fool ourselves whenwe start thinking that we can turn a waron and off like a faucet. It doesn’t worklike that, and instead we have to pick upthe pieces and make the best of it. TheIraq war is not over, and that’s why we

need to have a record, so the nexttime someone in Washingtoncomes up with the bright idea thatthey want to install a governmentthat they like better than anotherone halfway around the world wewill have something that isn’t bull-shit to talk about.”Through video and digital

recordings, CRO documents andarchives firsthand stories of whathappened to war refugees. Theseaccounts are preserved in the Uni-versity of California at Berkeley’sMerritt System and made publicthrough the Berkeley Library Cata-log and OskiCat.

Pre-Trial Rally forAnti-Drone Defendants

Activists opposedto the United States’drone warfare pro-gram rallied Feb. 3outside Sacramen -to’s federal court-house in supportof Martha Hubert,Robin Ryan, Bil lDoub and TobyBlomé, who wereon trial that day forattempting to de-l iver a l e t ter tothe Beale Air ForceBase commanderdur ing an Apr i l2013 nonviolent

protest against drone warfare. CODEPINK and other peace groups, in-

cluding the Peace Center of NevadaCounty, protest peacefully each month atthe military base. Col. Ann Wright joinedthe Feb. 22 protest there. During these ral-lies many individuals have been arrestedand charged with criminal trespassing onfederal property.A child drone victim memorial created

by members of Radical Art for TheseTimes was displayed on the sidewalk infront of the federal building. Since March8, 2013, artists have been creating illus-trated fabric panels dedicated to childrenwho have been killed by U.S. drone at-tacks. Through use of paint, pens and fab-ric each child is identified by name, ageand homeland. Tragically, the project isongoing, as more than 200 children areamong the estimated 3,000 killed by thecontinuing drone strikes. To read first-hand testimonies of victims of U.S. droneattacks see the December 2013 WashingtonReport, p. 21. ❑

TOP: Author and activist David Harris speaks at Ahmed Al-Kubaisi’s fund-raiser.ABOVE: A child drone victim memorial created by members of Radical Art for TheseTimes displayed on the sidewalk in front of Sacramento’s federal building during a Feb. 3anti-drone protest.

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FILLING THE VACUUM

WHAT YOU CAN DO

HOLY LAND PRINCIPLES

MY AMERICAN STRUGGLEFOR JUSTICE IN

NORTHERN IRELAND... AND THE HOLY LAND

“No one has done more than Fr. Mc Manus to keep the U.S. Congress on track regarding justice in Ireland.”

FR. SEAN MC MANUS

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MAY 2014 45THE WASHINGTON REPORT ON MIDDLE EAST AFFAIRS

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holy_land_principles_ad_45_Holy Land Principles Ad 3/27/14 11:55 AM Page 45

Criticism of Israel’s continued occupa-tion of the West Bank and its denial of

equal citizenship to non-Jews, along withthe peace initiative by Secretary of StateJohn Kerry, the growth of the Boycott, Di-vestment and Sanctions (BDS) movement,and the Presbyterian Church’s study guide“Zionism Unsettled” (see facing page), allhave received the same response from Is-rael and many of its American friends:charges of “anti-Semitism.”This, of course, is nothing new. “Anti-

Semitism,” traditionally having meant hos-tility to Jews and Judaism—despite thefact that Arabs themselves are Semites—was long ago recast by the organized Jew-ish community to mean criticism of Israel.When that criticism comes from Jews, as itincreasingly does, such critics are dis-missed as “self-hating Jews.” This tactic not only trivializes genuine

anti-Semitism, which all people of goodwill vigorously oppose, but it clearly does-n’t work—since criticism of Israel and itsever-expanding occupation is growing.Consider some recent examples of this

tactic. On Feb. 17, Israeli Prime MinisterBinyamin Netanyahu, speaking to the Con-ference of Presidents of Major AmericanJewish Organizations in Jerusalem, calledthe BDS movement “anti-Semitic.”He declared: “There is a new campaign

against us. Having failed to dislodge uswith weapons, with armies, with terrorists,with rockets, with missiles, they now thinkthat they will dislodge us with boy-cotts.…and I think the most eerie thing,the most disgraceful thing, is to have peo-ple on the soil of Europe talking about theboycott of Jews. I think that’s an out-rage.…In the past anti-Semites boycottedJewish businesses and today they call forthe boycott of the Jewish state.”Netanyahu, who repeatedly confuses

“Jews” and “Israelis”—and who is notcontent to speak for his own citizens but,with no mandate to do so, speaks on behalfof “the Jewish people,” the majority ofwhom are citizens of other countries—re-

peatedly evokes the horror of Nazi Ger-many. He told the American Jewish leadersin Jerusalem: “It’s time to delegitimize thedelegitimizers. And it’s time that we fightback. I know all of you participate in this.”

Knesset member MotlYogev said that Kerry’s efforts had “an undertoneof anti-Semitism.”While American Jewish leaders may beprepared to take their marching ordersfrom Netanyahu, however, many in Israelwho oppose the occupation and the mis-treatment of Palestinians are not. In fact,many Israelis who object to the occupationhave long boycotted products from WestBank settlements. The leader of the Israeliparty Meretz said she practices a boycottof settlement products and supports an EUpolicy to not invest over the Green Line. “Ihaven’t bought products from the settle-ments for years,” said Zehava Gal-On. “For many years, nobody succeeded in

convincing the Israeli public that the oc-cupation had a price,” she noted, “and Ithink that the occupation—which is amoral issue also—has a financial price thatthe state is paying. The country’s leadersneed to understand that it has a price.”According to New York Times columnist

Roger Cohen, however, the BDS movementharbors “anti-Semitism” because it woulddeny “the core of the Zionist idea that Jewshave a national home.” And Times reporterJodi Rudoren wrote a piece quoting right-wing Israelis saying BDS is immoral andanti-Semitic and reminiscent of Nazi tac-tics. The reaction of New York Times read-ers was overwhelmingly critical of attach-ing the “anti-Semitic” label to the BDSmovement, which includes many Jews andIsraelis in its ranks.Writing in Politico last Dec. 20, Michael

Oren, the former Israeli ambassador to theU.S., an American who abandoned his U.S.citizenship and emigrated to Israel, refersto the president of the American StudiesAssociation, an academic body whichvoted to boycott Israeli academic institu-tions, as “anti-Semitic.” ASA presidentProf. Curtis Marez declared in response tocriticism that “Americans have a particular

responsibility to answer the call for boy-cott because the U.S. is the largest supplierof military aid to the state of Israel.” Anyevidence of bigotry on the part of Profes-sor Marez appears to be non-existent.Secretary of State John Kerry has come

under withering attack in Israel for pursu-ing the peace process. Some Orthodox rab-bis have suggested that he would suffer di-vine retribution for his efforts to achieve atwo-state solution. Israeli Defense MinisterMoshe Ya’alon was quoted in YediotAhronot on Jan. 14 as saying that Kerry’sdiplomatic efforts stemmed from an “in-comprehensible obsession” and a “mes-sianic feeling,” adding that Kerry should“take his Nobel Prize and leave us alone.”He described the U.S. security plan that re-tired U.S. Marine Gen. John Allen put to-gether as “not worth the paper it was writ-ten on.”

Obsessed With Economics?In the Feb. 7-13 edition of the InternationalJerusalem Post, columnist Caroline Glickmade it clear that, in her view, Kerry issimply “anti-Semitic.” According to Glick,“Kerry is obsessed with Israel’s economicsuccess...The anti-Semitic undertones ofKerry’s constant chatter about Jews andmoney are obvious. But beyond their in-herent bigotry, Kerry’s statements legit-imize the radical Left’s economic waragainst the Jewish state.”At the same time, Moti Yogev, a Knesset

member in the governing coalition, saidthat Kerry’s efforts at achieving a peaceagreement between Israelis and Palestini-ans had “an undertone of anti-Semitism.”Writing in Yediot Ahronot on Feb. 15,

Cameron Kerry, a brother of the secretaryof state and until last year general counselto the U.S. Department of Commerce, de-clared that charges of “anti-Semitism”against his brother “would be ridiculous ifthey were not so vile.” Cameron Kerry, aconvert to Judaism, recalled relatives whodied in the Holocaust. The Kerrys’ pater-nal grandparents were Jewish.The reaction to the Presbyterian study

guide, “Zionism Unsettled,” issued in Jan-uary by the Israel/Palestine Mission Net-work of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.),was vitriolic. The Anti-Defamation League(ADL) claimed the study guide “may be

Confronted With Criticism, Israel’s ResponseIs Always the Same: “Anti-Semitism”By Allan C. Brownfeld

46 MAY 2014 THE WASHINGTON REPORT ON MIDDLE EAST AFFAIRS

Allan C. Brownfeld is a syndicated colum-nist and associate editor of the Lincoln Re-view, a journal published by the Lincoln In-stitute for Research and Education, and edi-tor of Issues, the quarterly journal of theAmerican Council for Judaism.

Israel andJudaismIsrael andJudaism

Continued on page 48

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The Israel/Palestine Mission Net-work (IPMN) of the Presbyterian

Church (USA) has generated atsunami of controversy with the re-cent publication of Zionism Unset-tled: A Congregational Study Guide(available from the AET Bookstore), alavishly illustrated 74-page book ac-companied by a DVD, which pro-vides a wealth of information andprovocative questions for discussionin book clubs and church and syna-gogue groups. Among the savagecondemnations of this book is the re-view by Rabbis Abraham Cooperand Yitzchok Adlerstein on the FoxNews website which bears the title“Why is U.S. church sending Jews tothe trash-heap of history?” It accusesthe authors of “poisoning attitudesamong its members toward theirJewish neighbors,” and exhortsmembers of PCUSA to abandon theirchurch. By contrast, Jewish-American

psychologist Mark Braverman, in apost on the Mondoweiss blog, applaudsthe book as a “jewel” and “an urgentlyneeded tool for a church that is poised tofulfill its social justice calling,” and the ac-claimed Protestant Old Testament scholarWalter Brueggemann has endorsed it as“an effective vehicle for helping to mobi-lize public opinion so that both attitudesand policies can be transformed in the faceof an imperious and exploitative ideology.”Others have joined the fray, including astaff columnist of The Economist magazine.An intriguing exchange of conflicting

views has erupted between the Rev. ChrisLeighton, a Presbyterian opponent of thebook, and Rabbi Brant Rosen, author ofWrestling in the Daylight (also availablefrom the AET Bookstore), who is featuredin the book and DVD. In the reverend’sopen letter rebuking Zionism Unsettled onthe website of Baltimore’s Institute ofChristian and Jewish Studies, where he

serves as executive director, he undertakesto instruct his readers on the indispensablecentrality of a homeland in the Jewishfaith. Rabbi Rosen responds on his blog bydistinguishing clearly between Judaismand Zionism, pointing out the broad diver-sity in the Jewish community. ReverendLeighton’s response, hosted on RabbiRosen’s website, promotes political sover-eignty for Jews in the Holy Land and ac-cuses the authors of Zionism Unsettled of“dishonesty” and “an unwillingness tocome clean” about their agenda. RabbiRosen’s lengthy rejoinder offers a point-by-point refutation, among which is therabbi’s unequivocal rejection of the use ofthe Bible to undergird claims to politicalpower. Rosen’s coup de grâce in this piece isa moving quotation about God’s omnipres-ence from the rabbinical literature of hisown Jewish tradition.What is the agenda of Zionism Unsettled?

The authors present it forthrightly—and,yes, honestly—in the first chapter: it is aclarion call to repudiate exceptionalism ofall sorts and to understand Zionist excep-tionalism as the cause of the presenttragedy in the Holy Land. The authors

state explicitly that adherents of allthree Abrahamic faiths (Christianity,Judaism and Islam) have indulged inthe exceptionalist belief that theirown community enjoys God’s specialfavor, and they proceed throughoutthe book to reject exceptionalism,citing as deplorable examples theideology of white supremacy and theChristian theology of supersession-ism (the belief that the Church hasreplaced Israel as the Chosen People).Thus the book’s criticism is obvi-ously not confined to Zionists. Nev-ertheless, it is the exceptionalism ofZionism that is under the microscopehere.The second and third chapters, to-

gether with a detailed timeline, tracethe development of Zionist thoughtand leadership until 2013. This livelyhistory describes the varieties ofZionism: political, cultural, Revision-ist, Labor and religious. It identifiesthe root of Zionism as the necessityto escape from anti-Semitic persecu-

tion in the historically Christian countriesof Europe.This shameful culpability of Christen-

dom is probed in Chapter 4 and in one ofthe DVD’s segments, which features JamesCarroll, author of Constantine’s Sword. TheCatholic Church’s initial disapproval ofZionism was based on its distrust of non-Christians, but the insights of the SecondVatican Council (1962-1965) on interfaithrelations have encouraged religious toler-ance and refocused the Church’s attentionto address the sufferings of Palestinians.This chapter concludes with the rumina-tions of Walt Davis (one of the book’s au-thors) on the dilemma faced by all religiousbelievers: how to embrace one’s own faithas divine truth while at the same time sin-cerely extending equal respect to other tra-ditions.Protestant readers will be looking for a

discussion of their own tradition vis-à-visZionism, and Zionism Unsettled does notdisappoint, with one chapter devoted toevangelical Protestants, and another to themainline.Christian Zionism arose among evangeli-

cals and has attained a powerful position

SpecialReportSpecialReport

MAY 2014 47THE WASHINGTON REPORT ON MIDDLE EAST AFFAIRS

Zionism Unsettled: A CongregationalStudy Guide By Carole Monica Burnett

Carole Monica Burnett serves on the Leader-ship Council of Sabeel DC Metro. She is theeditor of, and a contributor to, the book Zion-ism through Christian Lenses (availablefrom the AET Bookstore).

burnett_47-48_Special Report 3/20/14 5:59 PM Page 47

48 MAY 2014THE WASHINGTON REPORT ON MIDDLE EAST AFFAIRS

in the American landscape under the lead-ership of Jerry Falwell, Pat Robertson andJohn Hagee. Its theological basis is a dis-pensationalist view of history that advo-cates the mass relocation of Jews to theHoly Land as a precondition for the returnof Christ and the end of time. Another fea-ture of this theology is the belief that twoconcurrent covenants are fully operative intoday’s world: for Jews, the Old Testamentcovenant with its divine promise of land;and for non-Jews, the New Testamentpromise of salvation. On this issue we aregiven an enlightening glimpse into thethinking of evangelical theologian GaryBurge, a firm opponent of Christian Zion-ism, who has pondered the question ofcovenants and the problem of how to up-hold the cosmic significance of Christwithout slipping into supersessionism.The Holocaust jolted mainline Protestant

leaders, driving them to pour strenuous ef-forts into Jewish-Christian relations, butconsuming their attention at the expenseof Western-Arab relations. The 20th-cen-tury theologians Reinhold Niebuhr, PaulTillich and Krister Stendhal boldly con-demned the genocidal policies of the ThirdReich, yet they enthusiastically supportedZionism, turning a blind eye to the ethniccleansing inflicted on Palestinians. Thisparadox is ironic in light of the fact thatNiebuhr’s “Christian Realism” urged vigi-lance toward the ubiquitous nature of so-cietal sin.Another chapter presents Rabbi Brant

Rosen’s journey from an unquestioningembrace of Zionism to his current activismon behalf of justice in the Holy Land—afascinating story. Rosen’s “Jewish theologyof liberation” rejects “Constantinian Ju-daism,” the alliance of Jewish religion withthe politics of power (as occurred infourth-century Christianity). He wrestleswith the biblical texts that sequentially fol-low the narrative of the Exodus fromEgypt; these comprise the story of theEisodus, the violent entry into Canaan andextermination of its indigenous people,which has been heartlessly applied to thePalestinians.The book would not be complete with-

out the voices of those who have experi-enced Zionism first-hand. In two chapterswe hear respectively the voices of a Pales-tinian Muslim and a Palestinian Christian.Mustafa Abu Sway, a professor at Al QudsUniversity, laments the exclusivist natureof Zionism, which is responsible for the“hard ethnic cleansing” that occurred in1947-1948, the “soft ethnic cleansing” thatunderlies the ongoing revocation of Pales-

tinian residency permits, and the “ethniccleansing by stealth” that attempts to erasePalestinian cultural identity. A PalestinianAnglican priest, Naim Ateek, points to the2009 Kairos Palestine document as an ex-posé of the theological heterodoxy of Zion-ism and of its life-negating implications.A segment of the DVD spotlights a group

of West Bank settlers, converts to Judaism,who believe that one cannot live as a Jewoutside the Holy Land and that the Pales-tinians have no right whatsoever to theirancestral lands. The rigidity and zeal oftheir beliefs are eye-opening. Settler vio-lence is also a focus of this segment.Interspersed among the book’s chapters

are mustard-colored “Focus” pages that in-vestigate in depth various aspects of Israeliand Palestinian life, such as Jewish atti-tudes toward the Diaspora and Israel’s cul-tivation of its public image, or hasbara.Throughout the entire book, the plentifulphotographs, maps and charts, in combi-nation with the DVD, produce a visualfeast. The entire package is an unforget-table voyage of discovery. Order it from<www.middleeastbooks.com>. ❑

the most anti-Semitic document to comeout of a mainline church in recent mem-ory.” J Street, which promotes itself as amore moderate pro-Israel lobbying groupthan AIPAC, was almost as harsh. It saidthat the church document promotes “po-larization” and “intolerance.” Saying it was“deeply offended,” J Street asserted that“one has to question the...motives in pub-lishing this ‘resource.’”In fact, the church document, which ex-

amines the role of Zionism and ChristianZionism in shaping attitudes and events inPalestine and the region, devotes extensivespace to a discussion—and harsh criti-cism—of anti-Semitism within Christianityand its influence in the rise of Nazism. Itrejects racism and religious bigotry in allits forms. And it has many strong Jewishsupporters. Rabbi Brant Rosen, author ofWrestling in the Daylight: A Rabbi’s Path toPalestinian Solidarity (available from theAET Bookstore), notes that, “As a Jew, I’mespecially appreciative that while [ZionismUnsettled] is strongly critical of Zionism, itdoesn’t flinch from extensive Christianself-criticism.”Discussing the Presbyterian study

guide, the respected Israeli political scien-tist Neve Gordon said, “I welcome the ef-

fort to emphasize a conception of Judaismand Christianity that espouses universalis-tic ethics—whereby all humans are imagodei—and to use it to expose injustices car-ried out in my homeland.” Perhaps the organized Jewish commu-

nity is so exercised by this Presbyterianstudy guide because it asks a question theycannot—or will not—answer: “Given theliberal values shared by many AmericanJews and the long, proud tradition of Jew-ish participation in the struggle for humanrights worldwide, why has there been solittle outrage expressed at Israel’s humanrights abuses of Palestinians in the decadessince Israel’s founding?”One need not agree with the BDS move-

ment, Secretary Kerry’s peace plan or thePresbyterian study to recognize that falsecharges of “anti-Semitism” are simply away to silence and intimidate criticism.Ironically, as such false charges proliferate,so does the growth of racism and intoler-ance in Israel, where non-Orthodox Jewshave no right to perform weddings, funer-als or conversions. Recently, Knesset mem-ber David Rotem declared that Reform Ju-daism “is not Jewish.”Jewish and other critics of Zionism have

shown that false charges of “anti-Semi-tism” will hardly stop the growing debate.As Prof. Judith Butler of the University ofCalifornia, Berkeley, an outspoken Jewishcritic, wrote in the Aug. 21, 2003 issue ofthe London Review of Books: “If one can’tvoice an objection to violence done by Is-rael without attracting a charge of anti-Semitism, then that charge works to cir-cumscribe the publicly acceptable domainof speech, and to immunize Israeli violenceagainst criticism. One is threatened withthe label ‘anti-Semite’ in the same way oneis threatened with being called a ‘traitor’ ifone opposes the most recent U.S. war [onIraq]. Such threats aim to define the limitsof the public sphere by setting limits onthe speakable. The world of public dis-course would then be one from which crit-ical perspective would be excluded, andthe public would come to understand itselfas one that does not speak out in the faceof obvious and illegitimate violence.”Efforts to intimidate free speech with

false charges of “anti-Semitism” havegrown since Dr. Butler wrote those words.But this tactic of intimidation has clearlyfailed. Real problems must be addressedwith real discussion and debate. Onlythose who have something to lose by opendebate would use the tactics we have seendeployed by Israel and its most ferventAmerican supporters. ❑

Israel and Judaism…Continued from page 46

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icna_ad_49_ICNA-MAS Convention Ad 3/20/14 7:18 AM Page 49

Major Muslim Groups Launch NewCouncil at DC News ConferenceTen major national American Muslim orga-nizations held a March 12 news conferenceat the National Press Club in Washington,DC, to announce the formationof the U.S. Council of MuslimOrganizations (USCMO), anumbrella group that will serveas a representative voice forMuslims as that faith commu-nity seeks to enhance its posi-tive impact on society.USCMO Secretary-General

Oussama Jammal told reportersthat the formation of the na-tional council has long been adream. Its goal, he said, “is tohelp strengthen relationshipsamong member organizationsin order to better serve mem-bers of the Muslim communityand all America.” USCMO’sfirst priority will be to conducta census of American Muslimsand create a database that willbe used to enhance civic andpolitical participation in up-coming elections.Nihad Awad, founder of the

Council on American-IslamicRelations (CAIR), said organiz-ers have been meeting for a year and a halfto create a broad, unifying platform.America’s vibrant Muslim community isgrowing, and numbers 7 to 8 million. Op-ponents of the Muslim community shotdown those figures, claiming Muslims onlynumber 2 and a half million. That’s whywe need this census, Awad said, to knowourselves and tell our own story. EngagedMuslim citizens can be swing voters in up-coming elections, he added, and Muslimswill work for civil rights, dignity andequal rights for all Americans. Mazen Mokhtar, a member of the Mus-

lim American Society (MAS) board oftrustees, agreed, adding that USCMO willempower all American Muslims to reachout to elected officials. W. Deen Mohammed II, president of The

Mosque Cares and grandson of Elijah andClara Muhammad, who built the Nation ofIslam, said American Muslims will con-tinue to play an active grassroots role incommunity life in America. The Muslim Legal Fund of America’s

Khalil Meek said that Muslims, who havethe most diverse religious community in

America, can participate in our nation’s di-alogue. “We want to contribute to thisgreat country,” he explained. AmericanMuslim Alliance’s Imam Mahdi Bray em-phasized that Muslims work for social andeconomic justice for all. Dr. Osama Abu Irshaid of American

Muslims for Palestine said Muslims “are a

growing demographic, numbering in themillions, and it is time to organize our-selves so that we can fully participate pro-ductively and efficiently in the politicalprocess.” American Muslims’ purchasingpower exceeds $170 billion, Dr. Abu Ir-shaid concluded, “but we want to be morethan consumers in this country. We alsowant to engage in the political process andward off bigotry and Islamophobia.”

—Delinda C. Hanley

Sheikh Al-Nabulsi SpeaksMore than 660 Muslim Americans fromSyria, Palestine, Jordan and Lebanon gath-ered Feb. 1 for a fund-raiser at the HiltonIrvine to hear Sheikh Dr. MohammadRateb Al-Nabulsi of Damascus speak dur-ing a program entitled “A Nation in Need.”Sheikh Al-Nabulsi is a well-known scholarwho gives sermons throughout the world.The fund-raiser was sponsored by the Syr-ian American Council-Los Angeles andShaam Relief Foundation, a 501(c)(3) non-profit humanitarian organization recog-nized by the U.S. State Department, whichhelps Syrian refugees. Sheikh Al-Nabulsi

and Shaam fund-raisers did not talk aboutpolitics in Syria, but they raised $100,000to buy food for starving Syrians.

—Samir Twair

MESTO PerformsConnoisseurs of classical Middle Easternmusic eagerly anticipate a performance ofthe Multi-Ethnic Star Orchestra (MESTO)because its founder-conductor Dr. NabilAzzam always introduces his new compo-sitions and original arrangements of tradi-tional works. When the curtain rose on thestage of the Downey Civic Theater on Feb.22, the Nazareth-born maestro offered fourworld premieres.Apropos of MESTO’s mission to perform

music of all cultures, the program openedwith “Samba al-Qahira (The Cairo Samba),with Azzam’s new orchestration ofMuhammed ‘Abd al-Wahhab’s interpreta-tion of a Latin instrumental piece. Anotherworld premiere was of the conductor’s newwork “El-Mallah” (The Sailor), dedicatedto his friend Prof. Issam El-Mallah, now ofOman.The audience broke into applause as

renowned Libyan singer-guitarist-com-poser Nasser el-Mezdawi casually walkedonstage carrying his guitar. Backed by the50-piece MESTO orchestra, El-Mezdawisang his ”Nour El-Ayn” (Light of the Eye),one of the most popular hits in the MiddleEast. His music employs a mixture ofBerber, Arab, African and contemporaryEuropean rhythms while he sings in darja,the Arabic dialect of North Africa.The conductor offered the world pre-

miere of his “Azzam violin suite”—in na-hawand mutlaq (A minor)—consisting offour movements. The work opened in amoderate tempo, followed by taqasim (im-provisation), then broke into an instru-

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Sheikh Dr. Mohammad Rateb Al-Nabulsiraises funds for food in Syria.

50 MAY 2014THE WASHINGTON REPORT ON MIDDLE EAST AFFAIRS

Muslim American Activism

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Organizers participating in the U.S. Council of MuslimOrganization’s initial launch included (l-r) MazenMokhtar (Muslim American Society-MAS), MahtabUddin Ahmed (Muslim Ummah of North America-MUNA), Nihad Awad (Council on American-Islamic Re-lations-CAIR), Dr. Osama Abu Irshaid (American Mus-lims for Palestine-AMP), Imam Mahdi Bray (AmericanMuslim Alliance-AMA), Imam Talib Abdur-Rashid(Muslim Alliance in North America-MANA), OussamaJammal (secretary-general of USCMO), Khalil Meek(Muslim Legal Fund of America-MLFA), W. Deen Mo-hammed II (The Mosque Cares) and Naeem Baig (IslamicCircle of North America-ICNA).

activisms_50-67_May 2014 Activisms 3/19/14 5:39 PM Page 50

mental “song,” evolving into a fastertempo or mutlaq, a name derived from theArabic verb to be quickly discharged (asan arrow). Karima Skalli, elegant in a black velvet

gown, paid tribute to Egypt’s late LailaMourad by singing two of her signaturesongs, “Ana Albi Dalili” (My Heart IsTelling Me) and ”Is’al ‘Alayyah” (AskAbout Me). The Moroccan singer closedwith Fairouz’s “Nassam ‘Alayna” (TheBreeze of Wind). —Pat McDonnell Twair

Obeidallah and Kader at USCDean Obeidallah and Aron Kader appearedFeb. 11 following a special screening at theUniversity of Southern California of thecomedy documentary “The Muslims AreComing.” The 80-minute film, directed byNegin Farsad and Obeidallah, followsArab-American comedians as they performin large and small U.S. cities, often stagingpublic gags on unsuspecting citizens asthey set up booths named “Ask a Muslim”or “Name That Religion.”The production, designed to combat Is-

lamophobia, won the audience award atthe 2012 Austin film festival. It featuresMaysoon Zayid, Preacher Moss, Obeidal-lah, Kader and Farsad, with commentaryby Jon Stewart, Janeane Garofalo, RachelMaddow and Ali Velshi.One USC student asked Obeidallah what

religious beliefs his parents observe andwhat they think of his career choice in

comedy. His father is Muslim and hismother is Christian, Obeidallah replied,and they would have preferred him to bean attorney as he studied to be. The audience of film students learned

that it took four years to complete the pro-duction, which is in digital distributionand will be picked up by Netflix.

—Samir Twair

John Halaka’s “Portraits of Denialand Desire”The Jerusalem Fund Gallery exhibition“Portraits of Denial and Desire,” pho-tographs by John Halaka, are on view fromMarch 21 to April 25. Halaka, a visualartist, documentary filmmaker and profes-sor of visual arts at the University of SanDiego (see Jan./Feb. 2014 Washington Re-port, p. 50), preserves seldom-heard per-sonal narratives from three generations ofmen and women displaced from theirhomeland or born in exile. The oral historyarchive, drawings, photographs and docu-mentary film that comprise this work cre-atively present the testimonies of forgottenPalestinian survivors to global audiences. “Palestinian refugees have become the

forgotten survivors of the world,” Halakanotes. “Their experiences in exile havebeen deliberately ignored and their voicesrepeatedly silenced. While Palestinians

continue to be reduced to an absence intheir native homeland, the continuity oftheir stories and images ensures their pres-ence and survival. “Portraits of Denial & Desire” is a multi-

disciplinary project that attempts to makethe images and narratives of Palestinianrefugees indelible, and their personal ex-periences in exile unforgettable. No onewill forget the story “Abu Ghazi” told Pro-fessor Halaka about his 1948 escape fromhis beloved homeland. —Dagmar Painter

Tackling Syria’s Humanitarian Crisis After the latest round of lackluster peacetalks in Geneva, many observers are pes-simistic that a Syrian peace deal will bereached anytime soon. Tragically, thismeans that innocent Syrian men, womenand children will continue to suffer insidetheir devastated country. At the same time,more and more Syrians are likely to seekrefuge in neighboring countries, pushingthese weak nations to their breaking point. Over the past two months, several

Washington, DC-based organizations haveheld events to discuss the Syrian humani-tarian crisis and its regional implications.Speakers included top U.N. officials, am-bassadors, U.S. government officials, hu-manitarian workers and analysts.

Reaching Refugees Within SyriaAt a Jan. 31 Middle East Institute (MEI)event, several speakers expressed frustra-tion that the Syrian government and somerebel groups have made it difficult for hu-manitarian assistance to reach internallydisplaced individuals. According to Amin Awad, director of

the United Nations High Commissioner forRefugees’ (UNHCR) Middle East and North

MAY 2014 51THE WASHINGTON REPORT ON MIDDLE EAST AFFAIRS

Karima Skalli sings at MESTO “Hear ‘n Now” concert.

Aron Kader (l) and Dean Obeidallah.

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Africa Bureau, about two million of Syria’ssix million displaced individuals are inareas that are besieged by either the gov-ernment or a rebel group. “Some of thesepopulations are malnourished. They don’thave access to services,” he noted. “Someof them have pending operations or healthneeds, and they need to get out of thesebesieged areas to really seek support.”Jomana Qaddour of Syria Relief and De-velopment, Inc. (SRD) reported that her or-ganization has struggled to reach individ-uals due to the presence of the IslamicState of Iraq and al-Sham (ISIS). “The ISIScheckpoints that are placed all overAleppo have really threatened the popula-tion,” she stated. “Many times our doctorsand our physicians and our nurses havebeen unable to go to work, because thereare checkpoints in their neighborhoodsand because ISIS has been executing peo-ple in a very ad hoc fashion.”USAID Administrator Rajiv Shah used hisremarks to criticize the Assad regime for re-stricting access to aid. “As Secretary [of StateJohn] Kerry recently noted, ‘If the regimecan allow access to United Nations and in-ternational weapons inspectors, surely it cando the same for neutral, international hu-manitarian assistance,’” Shah said.While more money is needed to assistSyrians, Encho Gospodinov of the EUCommission for International Cooperation,Humanitarian Aid and Crisis Response saidthat access is the critical concern. “With-out access, money means nothing,” hepointed out.Anne Richard, assistant secretary ofstate for the Bureau of Population,Refugees and Migration, agreed with hisassessment. “All of the humanitarian aid inthe world won’t make a difference unlessthere can be access to the people who needthat help,” she said. “The regime is em-

ploying the sort of surrenderor starve tactics that are ap-palling.”Without access to basic sup-plies, Qaddour said, Syrianshave become desperate.“Many people in Homs, aswell as other places in Damas-cus, have been eating grass,shrubs, roots, dogs, cats andotherwise,” she noted. “A lot ofthem are uprooting trees com-pletely just to be able to accessthe roots, so that they could ei-ther burn them or also cookthem.”Dr. Uma Kandalayeva of In-ternational Relief and Develop-

ment pointed out the psychological impactof the war on Syrians. “Their psychosocialand mental conditions as victims of war, aspeople who just yesterday saw their houseblown up or their family member killed infront of them, they are really under veryserious psychosocial stress,” she said.UNHCR High Commissioner AntónioGuterres told his audience at the UnitedStates Institute of Peace (USIP) on March 12that the Syrian crisis is “probably the worsthumanitarian crisis in the world since theRwandan genocide.” Saying, “I’ve neverseen a people as generous as the Syrians,”he lamented that individuals who gra-ciously hosted numerous Palestinian andIraqi refugees are now themselves deci-mated by war.

Saving Syria’s ChildrenMany speakers noted the horrific impactthe Syrian crisis has had on the country’schildren. Assistant Secretary Richard said theglobal community has developed the “NoLost Generation” initiative to make suresufficient attention is given tothe needs of Syria’s children.“The idea is to be alert to thefact that half of the refugeesare children, that children aredisplaced,” she explained.Dr. Kandalayeva added thatSyria’s displaced children needboth physical and mental care.“They are the faces of this cri-sis,” she said. “They really re-quire multi-level assistance, notonly addressing their basicneeds of food, clothing, water,shelter, but they need very, veryserious psychosocial support.”High Commissioner Guter-res said that some children

have been forced to beg on the streets,work as laborers and engage in prostitu-tion. Only 30 percent of refugee childrenattend school, he added, and violence anduncertainty are now a way of life forSyria’s children. USAID’s Shah put the scope of the crisisfacing Syria’s children into perspective. “Itis as if every student in the 25 largest U.S.school districts—including New York, LA,Chicago, Miami and 21 others—had allbeen affected by violence, homelessness,hunger, disease, or malnutrition all atonce,” he said.This is why tremendous energy must beextended toward protecting Syria’syoungest generation, Shah emphasized.“The future of what we hope is a democra-tic, stable Syria depends precisely on thesekids returning with the skills and capacityto be part of a positive future,” he said. SRD’s Qaddour, however, offered a soberassessment of Syria’s children. “They feelhopeless,” she said. “A lot of them aretelling us, ‘we wish we were never born.’”

Syria’s Burdened NeighborsWhat began as a civil war has quickly be-come a regional crisis. Lebanon, Jordan,Turkey, Iraq and Egypt are now home to asignificant number of Syrian refugees.After more than three years of war, thesenations, particularly neighboring Lebanonand Jordan, are beginning to collapseunder the weight of refugees. Making mat-ters worse, violence has spread acrossSyria’s borders and impacted the alreadyfragile nations of Iraq and Lebanon.High Commissioner Guterres expressedhis frustration that more has not been doneto assist Syria’s neighbors. “The support ofthe international community is out of pro-portion with the needs,” he stated. “Theycannot do it alone. It is absolutely essential

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(L-r) Jomana Qaddour, Uma Kandalayeva, Amin Awad,Abdallah Al-Dardari and moderator Kate Seelye discussSyria’s humanitarian crisis.

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to support them.” Guterres called it“totally unacceptable” that such alarge burden has been placed on Jor-dan and Lebanon. Discussing Lebanon’s plight,

Guterres noted that there are now964,000 Syrian refugees in the coun-try, making up one-fourth of its totalpopulation. In addition, he pointedout, Lebanon’s economy has taken a$7.5 billion hit due to the refugee cri-sis, and the country’s unemploymentrate is expected to double by the endof the year.At a Feb. 21 Brookings Institution

event, Lebanon’s Ambassador to theUnited States Antoine Chedidwarned that his country is facing an exis-tential crisis that “threatens to unravel thecountry economically, politically and so-cially.” In addition to overwhelmingLebanon’s infrastructure, healthcare andeducational systems, the Syrian civil warhas destabilized the country’s security, hesaid, noting that Lebanon suffers from al-most daily terror incidents. “What mattersis how to stop this hemorrhaging,” heopined.Ambassador Chedid also expressed fear

that Lebanese citizens are beginning to be-come frustrated with Syrians in theircountry. “Their presence is causing in-creased tensions,” he explained. “The com-ing of the displaced Syrian families aggra-vated the misery and the suffering of bothSyrian and Lebanese.”Dina Sabbagh, deputy chief of Mercy

Corps Jordan, told the Brookings audiencethat similar tensions exist in Jordan. Inparticular, she said, some Jordanians havebegun to blame Syrians for their country’swater crisis. Jordanians receive a limited supply of

water once a week that must be carefullyrationed, Sabbagh noted. Given that Syri-ans come from “a water-wealthy country,”Sabbagh said, many have had difficultylimiting their water use. Regardless of the cause, it’s undisputable

that Jordan’s water supply is lagging, Sab-bagh said. “The government of Jordan es-timates the standard of 100 liters per per-son per day,” she noted. “After the crisis,this has tremendously dropped. In someareas it’s more like 30 liters.” Dr. Kandalayeva described the impact of

the refugee crisis on Jordan’s healthcaresystem, which provides free care to Syrianrefugees. “Ordinary healthcare providersnow are seeing three times more patientsper day versus what they were seeing twoyears ago,” she noted. This is overwhelm-

ing a system that is operating with thesame limited resources it had before thewar began, Kandalayeva said.Kemal Kirisci, director of Brookings’

Turkey Project, praised Turkey’s treatmentof Syrian refugees. “They did build perfectcamps. I’ve seen it. I don’t want to soundlike a government spokesman, but they de-serve the credit for the way in which theyare housing now about 210,000 refugees inthese camps,” he said. Nonetheless, he said, many refugees

want the independence that comes fromliving outside of the camps, even thoughthis means a tougher life. Many, he noted,refer to the camps as “five-star prisons.”Syrians have trouble finding jobs in

Turkey, as the country’s laws do not allowfor easy access to work permits for Syrians,Kirisci continued. “More and more Syriansare working in the black market,” he ex-plained. “They work for pittances, andwith no doubt also get exploited.”Iraq’s Ambassador to the United States

Lukman Faily reported to the Brookings au-dience that Iraq is not struggling to copewith its 220,000 refugees. Ninety-eight per-cent of these refugees are Syrian Kurds, heexplained, most of whom are fleeing to IraqiKurdistan, thereby making it easier for therefugee population to peacefully assimilate. According to Ambassador Faily, the

main challenge Iraq faces is coordinatingrefugee assistance between NGOs, the in-ternational community, local governmentsand the central government. Given that itis not overwhelmed with refugees, headded, Iraq is mainly concerned about thespillover of violence from Syria.High Commissioner Guterres said

refugees are now being given cash so theycan purchase their own supplies. Whilesome have questioned this decision, he wasconfident that refugees understand theirown priorities better than outside groups.

Richard noted another benefit ofthe cash program: “By shifting tocash-based assistance,” she said, “weare injecting hundreds of millions ofdollars in 2014 into all small commu-nities, and that will also have a spin-off of creating employment and stim-ulating these communities that weredepressed or restrained by the pres-ence of the refugees.”

Planning for the FutureAt the MEI event, Abdallah Al-Dar-dari of the United Nations Economicand Social Commission for WesternAsia (UN-ESCWA) said the interna-tional community should not wait

until there is a peace agreement in place tobegin thinking about Syria’s future. Inorder for displaced Syrians to return home,roads, health services, clean water, educa-tion and many other basics must be avail-able, he noted. “We need to think aboutthese issues now,” he stressed. “It is nottoo early. It is already too late.”Al-Dardari expressed confidence that

once they return, Syrians will be able to re-build their country. “The brilliant peopleof Syria and their entrepreneurial spiritand their ability to produce something outof nothing….This is what we are countingon for Syria in the future,” he said. Beforethis can happen, however, Al-Dardari be-lieves that Syrians must agree to a new so-cial contract. “To achieve that, the countrytoday needs to have a common agenda anda common middle ground,” he stated. Not all speakers shared Al-Dardari’s op-

timism for post-war Syria.Brookings’ Kirisci expressed his belief

that many refugees, particularly those inTurkey, might not return to their nativecountry. “When we look at the refugeescene, not just in the Middle East, butaround the world, most refugees end upstaying where they are,” he noted. Giventhis reality, Kirisci said, a long-term planfor how to integrate Syrians into Turkeymust be developed. Several speakers also addressed the im-

portance of resettlement. High Commis-sioner Guterres said a “robust” resettle-ment program must be developed to takethe pressure off Syria’s neighbors. AddedKirisci, “The international community willhave to come forward with a more realisticpossibility of resettlement, at least for themost vulnerable amongst those refugees inthe neighboring countries.”Kelly Clements, deputy assistant secre-

tary of state for the Bureau of Population,Refugees and Migration, told the Brook-

United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees An-tónio Guterres (l) tells moderator Steve Heydemann thatit’s “totally unacceptable” the international communityhas not done more to assist Syria’s neighbors.

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ings audience that the U.S. would play amajor role in the resettlement program.“The United States is the largest resettle-ment country of all other countries com-bined,” she said. “We’ll be taking signifi-cant numbers of Syrians before this crisisis over, there’s no doubt.”In addition to endorsing resettlement,

Ambassador Chedid said, the internationalcommunity must consider creating safezones within Syria. In the meantime, heurged the world to provide Lebanon withthe funds it needs to assist the refugeeswithin its borders.Ambassador Faily said Iraq wants to en-

sure there is no delay in developing a long-term plan for Syrian refugees. “Within thevery near future these refugees will wantto have a permanent solution, whether it’sin Iraq or Lebanon or whether they wantto go overseas,” he cautioned. “How longwill this be? What is the day-after sce-nario?”

—Dale Sprusansky

Dr. Morad Elsana Describes Israel’sPrawer Plan Legal scholar Dr. Morad Elsana discussed“The Prawer Plan: Implications for Pales-tinian Bedouin in the Naqab” on Jan. 29 atthe Palestine Center in Washington, DC.Elsana, who served as a lawyer and direc-tor of Adala, the Legal Center of Arab Mi-nority Rights, in the Naqab (Negev), de-scribed Israel’s five-year plan devised byEhud Prawer, the head of policy planningin the prime minister’s office, and ap-proved by the Knesset in June 2013. The Prawer Plan is Israel’s “final solu-

tion” for Bedouin in the Negev. Once im-plemented, Dr. Elsana said, the plan willforcibly move 30,000 to 40,000 NegevBedouin away from their historic villagesand communities in the southern part ofthe country and destroy more than 40 un-recognized villages near Beersheba. Israelwill demolish 4,000 to 5,000 houses, con-fiscate Bedouin land, and destroy their tra-ditional economy. Following charges of ethnic cleansing, in

December 2013 the Israeli government sus-pended the controversial plan—also knownas the Prawer-Begin Plan—which was firstapproved by the cabinet in September 2011.The Prawer Plan may be temporarilyshelved, but it may reappear if peace talkscollapse, Elsana warned. Meanwhile,Bedouins who thought the plan’s suspen-sion would mean their confiscated landswould be returned are disappointed, hesaid, “as we know the Israeli governmentnever gives up taking Palestinian land.”

The state of Israel has been confiscatingBedouin lands for 60 years. Before 1948,Bedouin owned about 11 million dunams[2.7 million acres] in the Negev. After thecreation of Israel, 90 percent of Bedouinswere evicted and left for Jordan, the WestBank or Gaza. The 10 percent who re-mained, about 10,000 Bedouins, submittedland claims on one and a half milliondunams. Half a million dunams were con-fiscated for military reasons; and of the re-maining million, not one Bedouin landclaim has been successful in Israeli courts. In the past 60 years Israel has also tried

to “disconnect” Bedouins from Palestiniansin Israel and make the Bedouin a national-ity in itself, Elsana said. But that iswrong—they are Palestinians. Bedouinsusually hate the government, he added.They don’t like the Israeli government, andthey disliked the British and Ottomans—they simply don’t like governments at all,Elsana explained. They want to live freelyin the desert. Until recently Bedouins did not protest

government policies, but when theylaunched massive demonstrations callingon Israel to suspend the Prawer Plan, theysucceeded.There are no official Israeli maps that

show the Bedouin villages, Elsana said.Even the big city Rahat is not on Israelimaps. For 60 years, Israelis have madeBedouin invisible. They do not appear inIsrael’s national census, which show num-bers for Jewish cities, towns, and some ofthe recognized villages. But the Bedouinsin the unrecognized villages do not appearon the census. It’s as if they do not exist.Many Bedouin do not have IDs or ad-

dresses. That makes it hard to get tele-phone, electrical and water services, letalone voting rights, in “the only democra-tic state in the Middle East,” Elsana said. Israel claims to want to resettle Bedouin

in modern villages, giving them access to

healthcare, schools, electricity, runningwater, Internet and other services. “I wantto make it clear to you that Bedouins donot oppose modernity,” Elsana stated.They’d love to enjoy these benefits. Theproblem is that the Prawer Plan is part ofIsrael’s strategic National DevelopmentPlan for the Negev, which develops theNegev for Jews, not Arabs. Jewish organi-zations claim Bedouins, who have lived ontheir traditional land for centuries, are oc-cupying state land and preventing stateprojects. The state wants to concentrateBedouins in a limited number of villagesand towns and open up their land to Jew-ish settlement. Dr. Elsana concluded byasking his audience to add their voices tosupport Bedouin rights.

—Delinda C. Hanley

African Refugees in Israel: The PlightOf Non-Jews in the Zionist State The Palestine Center in Washington, DChosted independent journalist and film-maker David Sheen, who on Feb. 26 gaveone of the best talks this reporter has everheard. Sheen—who is from Toronto,Canada and now lives in Dimona, Israel—discussed the striking parallels between Is-rael’s current efforts to deport all Africanrefugees and its marginalization of non-Jewish populations, including Palestinians,throughout its history. Right off the bat, Sheen put Israeli

racism into an American context in orderto show how unacceptable and outrageousIsraeli behavior would be here in the U.S.Imagine an America, Sheen said, in

which: “the director of the largest hospitalin Philadelphia announces that he regretsthe Jews are having babies and bans Jewsfrom entering the hospital unless it’s anemergency. In which the largest preacher inPalm Beach County organizes preachersacross the nation to issue a religious edictbanning Christians from renting apart-ments to Jews. In which a Philadelphia citycounselor proposes that there be new mu-nicipal bus lines only for Jews because theysmell and spread diseases. In which theBrooklyn city counselor evicts Jews fromtheir apartments in the middle of the win-ter. In which the mayor of Charlotte simplyrounds all the Jews in town onto buses andkicks them out of town. In which themayor of Sacramento puts flags up allaround the city and declares that the city isnow at war with Jewish people. In whichJews living in Los Angeles are corneredinto just one living section of town, aghetto for Jews only. In which the head ofthe Department of Homeland Security, Jeh

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Johnson, announces that ‘Why can’t Jewsjust accept that the United States is a Chris-tian nation,’ calling them disease bearersand saying that he will make their livesmiserable until they leave. In which Attor-ney General Eric Holder revises the legalstatus of Jews and henceforth they can bearrested, prosecuted and jailed, even with-out having the right to a fair trial.” Everything Sheen described is actually

happening in America’s sister cities in Is-rael—so it’s not in Philadelphia, but in itssister city of Tel Aviv, where the directorof the largest hospital complained thatAfricans were having babies and bannedAfricans from entering the hospital, etc.African asylum seekers in Israel today

have no recourse to the courts, Sheen con-tinued. For example, an African riding abike may be confronted by the police andasked to prove that his bike is his. He maybe asked on the spot to show a receipt, andif he can’t he is hauled off to jail on suspi-cion of stealing that bicycle. That’s thelegal status of African asylum seekers in Is-rael today.Sheen acknowledged he is talking about

non-Jewish asylum seekers, includingrefugees from Sudan and Eritrea, not theJewish Ethiopian Africans who were air-lifted by the Israeli government in the late’80s and ’90s, and who serve in the armyor win beauty pageants in Israel. To besure, Sheen admitted, Ethiopian Israelisand other Jews of color do experienceracism in Israel, but they have more privi-leges in the state of Israel than people whoare not Jewish. Sheen pointed out that 80 percent of the

refugees in the world are living in devel-oping nations. “It’s the poorest people ofthe world who are taking on the burden ofsheltering most of the world’s refugees,” hesaid. Israel’s neighbors have taken in mil-lions of refugees. There are approximately55,000 asylum seekers in Israel, and lastyear Israel actually accepted one Africanrefugee—she happened to be a white per-son, an albino from the Ivory Coast.Sheen mentioned that there is a commu-

nity in Dimona made up of several thou-sand African Americans who moved to Is-rael starting 40 years ago. They do not havestatus, do not have the right to work, donot have health care. His friend Dahlia justhad a baby boy and cannot get health carefor him “because she doesn’t have J-posi-tive blood—that’s the only reason. She wasborn in Israel, she speaks perfect Hebrew.In every sense of the word she’s Israeli, butbecause she hasn’t Jewish blood she does-n’t have access.“

During an investigation into Israel’s his-torical archives Sheen discovered that thisgroup, which began with only 1,500African Americans, had the same hatreddirected to them that asylum seekers arenow facing. African Americans and other audience

members surrounded Sheen after his talk,asking him to visit their churches to tellabout Israel’s treatment of African asylumseekers. Please visit <www.thejerusalemfund.org> to watch the video or read thetranscripts from Sheen’s shocking presen-tation. You can also visit his Web site,<www.davidsheen.com>.

—Delinda C. Hanley

Status of Reforms in Bahrain The Project on Middle East Democracy(POMED) and Americans for Democracyand Human Rights in Bahrain held anevent at the U.S. Capitol Visitors Center inWashington, DC on Feb. 12 to assessBahrain’s tumultuous political situation.The panel discussion was titled “CanBahrain’s New Talks Spur Reform?”Dwight Bashir, deputy director of the

U.S. Commission on International ReligiousFreedom, began by assessing how well theBahraini government has implemented rec-ommendations made by the Bahrain Inde-pendent Commission of Inquiry (BICI)—anindependent panel commissioned by King

Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa to look into thehuman rights abuses that occurred duringprotests in 2011.While Manama has made some efforts to

engage protesters, it has failed to imple-ment key BICI recommendations, Bashirsaid. “There are areas where there’s notsufficient progress,” he stated. “I wouldcharacterize the situation as one step for-ward and two steps back.”In particular, Bashir expressed concern

that arrests of political activists continue.Additionally, he noted, only low-level po-lice officers have been prosecuted forhuman rights abuses. “No high-level offi-cials have been held to account,” Bashirpointed out.Maryam al-Khawaja, acting president of

the Bahrain Center for Human Rights,shared some human rights abuses her or-ganization has documented since the be-ginning of the year 2014.According to al-Khawaja, many individ-

uals are being tortured and forced to makefalse confessions. These same people areoften denied access to lawyers, she said,and are held in secret facilities for ex-tended periods of time.Al-Khawaja noted that one man was re-

cently held for more than six months with-out a trial, a clear violation of Bahraini law.Another man was held in contempt ofcourt for accusing the public prosecutor ofbeing involved in his torture, she added.Bahrain’s prisons are overcrowded and

some inmates are forced to sleep outside orin corridors, al-Khawaja complained. Pris-oners are also frequently denied access todoctors, warm clothing, clean drinkingwater and proper ventilation, she said.Sayed Radhi al-Moosawi, acting secre-

tary-general of the National DemocraticAction Society (Waad) political party, ar-gued that the Bahraini royal family needsto play a more active role in peace talks. In-stead of remaining on the sidelines, heurged the country’s leaders to put a clearvision on the table. Sarah Margon, acting Washington direc-

tor of Human Rights Watch, offered rec-

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ommendations to U.S. policy makers.“U.S. policy toward Bahrain has been

particularly broken for a long time,” Mar-gon said. She criticized Washington for be-lieving that it can steer Bahrain toward sta-bility by backing the current government.Such an approach will actually lead togreater instability in the country, Margonwarned, because it ignores the desires ofthe people. By emphasizing government-to-government relations, “the U.S. issquandering its leverage with the people ofBahrain,” she said.

Bashir urged Washington to pushBahrain’s leaders to fully implement theBICI’s recommendations. He also called onhigh-level U.S. officials to call for the re-lease of prisoners of conscience.

—Dale Sprusansky

Ambassador Jalil Abbas Jilani on Pakistan-U.S. RelationsThe Middle East Institute (MEI) hosted aFeb. 27 discussion with Jalil Abbas Jilani,Pakistan’s ambassador to the United States,at the Carnegie Endowment for Interna-tional Peace in Washington, DC. The am-bassador’s speech was titled “U.S.-PakistanRelations in 2014.”

Ambassador Jilani expressed confidencethat, after years of tension and mistrust,the U.S. and Pakistan are progressing to-ward a more stable and respectable bilat-eral relationship. He attributed this to bothcountries practicing patient diplomacy andinternal reflection. Both sides, he added,are now more candid and honest with eachother.

Pakistan and the U.S. also have come tothe realization that they share commongoals, such as regional stability, the fightagainst terrorism, the safety and securityof nuclear assets and greater regional co-operation, Jilani explained. “Despite thelows, we both need each other,” he em-phasized.

At the same time, the ambassador ac-knowledged the two nations diverge on is-sues such as U.S. drone strikes and Pak-istan’s relationship with the Haqqani net-work.

Jilani expressed his hope that specificareas of disagreement will not derail theoverall relationship. “We should stop look-ing at this relationship through single is-sues,” he said. This approach proved prob-lematic in the past, he noted, when the twonations sparred over policy towardAfghanistan.

In Ambassador Jilani’s opinion, ex-panded economic ties between Pakistanand the U.S. would benefit both countriesand “further strengthen [their] relation-ship.” In addition, the ambassador said, aneconomically strong Pakistan would helpbring stability to Afghanistan, since theneighboring nations have closely linkedeconomies. Jilani added that increasedtrade and economic cooperation betweenthe U.S. and Pakistan would convey to Is-lamabad that Washington desires a long-term relationship between the two coun-tries.

Ambassador Jilani also used his remarksto comment on Pakistan’s domestic situa-tion. He proudly noted that his country re-cently completed a successful democratictransfer of power, has a free and vibrantmedia, has invested in improvements to itsinfrastructure and energy supply, and isexpanding its economy. The ambassadoradded that the country’s comprehensivestrategy to combat extremism enjoys theoverwhelming support of the Pakistanipeople. Jilani also optimistically pointedout that polls show that the perception ofthe U.S. among the Pakistani people hasrisen in recent months. —Dale Sprusansky

Prospects of Reaching a Nuclear Deal,Restoring Diplomatic Ties With IranWashington continues to be abuzz over theongoing nuclear talks between the Westand Iran. Over the objections of many inCongress, President Barack Obama appearsto have convinced his fellow Democrats inthe Senate to allow him to pursue diplo-macy with Iran. Some believe these talkswill prove successful, while others arehighly skeptical. Most are cautiously opti-mistic. To discuss and debate this critical

topic, several think tanks held events inthe nation’s capital in February and March.

Reaching a Final DealWhile many were hopeful following thesigning of a temporary nuclear deal in No-vember, some experts are now cautioningthat reaching a final deal will be muchmore challenging. “The next round oftalks…will be infinitely more difficult,”commented Nicholas Burns, former undersecretary of state for political affairs, at aFeb. 7 Partnership for a Secure Americaevent at the Rayburn House Office Build-ing on Capitol Hill.

“The differences are very wide,” cau-tioned Robert Einhorn, former State De-partment special adviser for nonprolifera-tion and arms control. “I think 50-50might be optimistic,” he said, assessingodds on successfully reaching a final deal.

At a March 5 event at the Woodrow Wil-son International Center for Scholars,Michael Adler, a public policy scholar atthe center, noted that the recent round ofnegotiations in Vienna shed light on howfar apart Iran and the West are on key is-sues. “There was zero agreement” on coreissues, he said. “There seems to be an ir-reconcilable gap between the two sides.”

Einhorn listed several issues he believesare a critical part of the ongoing talks.First, he said, the two sides must agree onthe appropriate size of Iran’s uranium en-richment program. “Iran has given everyindication it’s going to resist deep cuts toits nuclear infrastructure,” he said.

The future of the Arak heavy water plu-tonium reactor and the Fordo nuclear facil-ity will also be hotly debated, Einhorncontinued. While Iran insists Arak is de-signed for medical isotopes, Einhorn ques-tioned Tehran’s honesty, noting that light-not heavy-water reactors are generallyused for this purpose. Regarding the Fordofacility, Einhorn said, “It has no logical roleto play in a future Iranian civil program.”

Finally, Einhorn said, the two sides mustagree on a monitoring and verificationregime. The international community, heinsisted, needs long-term access to Iran’snuclear facilities to make sure it is not con-ducting a secret program. In Einhorn’sopinion, the West should insist on accessfor at least the next 20 years.

While Adler agreed with Einhorn’s as-sessment, he said he believes there is stillreason for optimism. In his opinion, theNovember deal suggests that the two sidesare capable of settling their differences andreaching an agreement.

At the Wilson Center event, Reza

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Marashi, research director at the NationalIranian American Council, shared Adler’soptimism. “We have to believe this processwill succeed,” he said. “Otherwise, what’sthe point?”

Marashi considers it a positive sign thatboth sides are “finally playing the longgame” and have come to realize the impor-tance of patience and process. Predictingthat the two sides eventually will realizethey are not as strong as they think theyare, Marashi also sought to downplay talkof “red lines” being broken. Such barriersare made to be broken, he stated, adding,“They have to, otherwise there would benothing to negotiate.”

Burns argued that most of the pressureis on Iran at this stage of the negotiations.“They’re going to have to prove tous…that they are ready to become a peace-ful country,” he said. “Dismantlement hasto be part of this.”

It’s an “open question” as to how the ay-atollah and other conservative forceswithin Iran will view the deal when and ifthey are presented with it, Burns said, ex-pressing his belief that Iran’s domestic pol-itics could complicate nuclear talks. How-ever, he noted that Iran does strongly de-sire to be reintegrated with the world.“They don’t want to live in isolation,” hesaid.

Debating SanctionsAddressing his congressional au-dience, Burns said that Congressmust cooperate with PresidentObama’s desire not to place newsanctions on Iran. The president,he argued, must be given thespace and leeway he needs to exe-cute his foreign policy agenda. “Ifthat’s what the negotiator thinks,I think we should support him,”said Burns, adding that the U.S.

can’t have 535 people negotiat-ing with Tehran.

While some in Congresshave complained that the tem-porary nuclear deal gives Irana degree of sanctions relief,Burns noted that Iran neededto benefit in some way fromthe deal in order for it to bepossible.

Adler said critics of the tem-porary deal must rememberthat sanctions were designedto bring Iran to the negotiat-ing table, not to force theminto an unconditional surren-der. Sanctions have achieved

their purpose, he stated, adding, “I thinkit is indisputable that sanctions havebrought Iran to the negotiating table.”

Marashi was much more skeptical aboutthe degree to which sanctions influencedTehran’s decision making. “We should dif-ferentiate between what we wish to be trueand what we know is true,” he stressed.“You can just as easily say 19,000 cen-trifuges brought the United States to thetable.”

Instead of focusing on the alleged posi-tive impact of sanctions, Marashi arguedthat experts should ponder the possibili-ties presented by diplomacy. Persistentdiplomacy is just as, if not more, likelythan sanctions to help the U.S. achieve itsstrategic goals, he said.

In recent weeks, business leaders fromseveral European nations, such as Franceand Turkey, have visited Iran to discusspossible future commercial ties, raisingsome concerns in Washington.

Burns expressed disappointment withthis development, calling it an “embar-rassing spectacle.” He stressed that the U.S.and its allies must send a strong and uni-fied message to Tehran that it has not yetdone enough to warrant warm relationswith the West. “It’s the wrong message tosend to Iran to make them think they are

90 percent there,” he said. “They are not.”Einhorn shared Burns’ concern, warning

that Iran’s leadership might experience apsychological shift due to the presence ofthe business delegations and change theirexpectations for negotiations.

Nonetheless, Einhorn conceded that nobusiness deals have been reached thus farand that no Western nation or companyhas violated the international sanctions inplace. “While there is a lot of smoke, so farwe see no signs of fire,” he said. Further-more, Einhorn reminded his audience, Irandesires the full lifting of sanctions and willlikely not lose focus on this end goal.Tehran still has “plenty of incentive to ne-gotiate,” he said.

Marashi argued that the presence ofbusiness delegations in Iran is actually apositive thing for nuclear talks, as it givesTehran a taste of what life would be likewithout sanctions. “It actually incentivizesgoing all the way toward a final deal andsigning on the dotted line,” he said.

Resuming Diplomatic RelationsAt a Feb. 19 Atlantic Council event, speak-ers discussed the possibility of the U.S. re-establishing a diplomatic presence in Iran.

Ramin Asgard, former director of theState Department’s Iran office in Dubai, ad-vocated for the opening of a U.S. interestssection in Tehran. Since U.S. diplomats leftIran following the 1979 Islamic Revolution,he noted, the U.S. has had a poor under-standing of realities on the ground. This,Asgard pointed out, has resulted in an in-effective U.S. policy toward Iran and thegreater Middle East.

In Asgard’s opinion, the U.S. stands tobenefit in several ways from the openingof a U.S. interests section in Iran. First, hesaid, the diplomatic presence would pro-vide Washington with an increased levelof engagement with the Iranian govern-ment on bilateral issues. Even though thisinteraction would likely be minimal, As-gard nonetheless said he believes it “would

help advance our policy quiteconsiderably.”

Asgard also noted that the U.S.would benefit from the establish-ment of a public affairs sectionthat would allow Americans toexplain their policy directly toIranians through local media. Fur-thermore, he noted, a political-economic section would allow de-cision makers in Washington toact based on information comingdirectly from Iran. Finally, Asgardsaid, the interests section would

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Former U.S. nuclear negotiators Nicholas Burns (l) andRobert Einhorn say Iran must concede elements of its nu-clear program.

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(L-r) Reza Marashi, Haleh Esfandiari and Michael Adler dis-cuss Iran’s nuclear program.

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benefit U.S. citizens who visit Iran, partic-ularly Iranian Americans, by re-establish-ing consular services.Morad Ghorban, director for govern-

ment affairs and policy at the Public Af-fairs Alliance of Iranian Americans(PAAIA), noted that 73 percent of IranianAmericans support the opening of a U.S.interests section in Iran. These individu-als—who Ghorban described as affluent,well-educated and secular—do not, how-ever, support the resumption of full diplo-matic relations. At the same time, Ghorbannoted, two-thirds of Iranian Americans op-pose military intervention in Iran, whileless than a third support the U.S. activelypursuing regime change.During his presentation, Asgard cited—

and refuted—four common argumentsagainst opening an interests section inIran. First, he said, critics believe a U.S.diplomatic presence would reward Iran forbad behavior. Asgard noted that even dur-ing the Cold War, the U.S. and the U.S.S.R.never broke diplomatic ties, because bothsides realized such relations were impor-tant to national security. Furthermore, hepointed out, no one ever argued that diplo-matic relations were a reward for Sovietgood behavior.Second, Asgard noted, many believe the

Iranian government would not allow theU.S. to return to Tehran. “Under the rightconditions they would welcome a resumedU.S. presence,” he contended, adding thatsuch an arrangement would allow Iran toopen its own diplomatic facility in Wash-ington. Third, Asgard said, some view resumed

relations as a betrayal of Iranian oppositionmembers and human rights advocates. Heresponded to this argument by noting thatthe last 35 years of severed relations hasdone nothing to improve human rights inIran. A U.S. presence in the country “willarguably do more to advance those goals

than the status quo,” he ar-gued.Finally, Asgard noted that

many believe it is not safe forAmerican diplomats to returnto Tehran. While diplomatsserving in Iran would face se-curity issues, he said, the po-tential dilemmas pale in com-parison to those faced byAmericans in war zones overthe past decade. Furthermore,he pointed out, diplomats un-derstand the risks and hard-ships involved when they ac-cept an assignment.

In order to ease American concerns, As-gard believes Iran must affirm its commit-ment under international law to protectdiplomatic facilities. Furthermore, he said,the country’s leaders should no longercommemorate the Nov. 4, 1979 seizure ofthe U.S. Embassy in Tehran.Former Deputy Assistant Secretary of

State for Iran John Limbert, who was oneof the 52 Americans held hostage inTehran, said he endorses a U.S. diplomaticpresence in Iran—with a caveat. “Yes weshould,” he stated, “but maybe not now.” Limbert expressed concern that Tehran

is not yet a secure location for U.S. diplo-mats. “There’s a very delicate balancing actgoing on in Iranian politics and I wouldhesitate to put our people into the middleof it, because if you do they become pawnsin a very tough contact sport,” he said.Limbert added that he fears any negativeswing in the U.S.-Iran relationship couldput diplomats at risk. “An upset couldmean a repeat of 1979,” he stated.Nevertheless, Limbert said he believes in

the importance of eventually resumingdiplomatic relations with Iran.“It’s news to me that talking to some-

body is rewarding them,” Limbert stated.He also reiterated the importance of theU.S. having eyes and ears on the ground inIran, noting that the lack of verifiable in-formation has turned everyone into an“expert” on the country. “When every-body’s somebody,” he cautioned, “then noone’s anybody.” —Dale Sprusansky

Helping the Arab World’s Rural Poor The Brookings Institution held an event atits Washington, DC headquarters on Feb.11 to discuss the economic plight ofTunisians, Egyptians and Yemenis living inrural areas. The discussion was titled“Achieving Greater Inclusion in Post-ArabSpring Countries.”Brookings senior fellow Hafez Ghanem

began by noting that, since 2011, GDPgrowth has slowed considerably in post-Arab Spring countries. This, he pointedout, has made it difficult for those living inrural areas to find employment and remainabove the poverty line. Many rural-dwelling individuals are so frustrated withtheir economic situations that they regrethaving supported the uprisings that top-pled the region’s long-ruling autocrats,Ghanem added.Ghanem cited statistics from Egypt—

where 57 percent of the population lives inrural areas—to illustrate why rural-dwelling individuals are so displeased.While Upper Egypt comprises half of

the country’s population, he noted, it ishome to 83 percent of Egypt’s extremepoor. This disparity is in part a result ofthe central government’s disproportionatedistribution of resources, Ghanem said. In-deed, he pointed out, Upper Egypt re-ceives only 25 percent of the country’spublic investment funds.Similar disparities in access to resources

can be found in Tunisia and Yemen, headded.Ghanem argued that Arab countries and

the West must work harder to improve thelives of the rural poor and increase theiraccess to beneficial social and economicprograms. “We ignore small farmers andrural poverty at our own peril,” he cau-tioned. Ghanem also warned that stabilitywould not come to the region until theneeds of long-marginalized individuals aremet.Deputy director for the Middle East and

Central Asia at the International MonetaryFund (IMF) Daniela Gressani stressed theimportance of private-sector job growth inthe Arab world. “Helping the private sec-tor create good jobs should be very highon everyone’s agenda,” she said, notingthat too many individuals in the regionrely on unsustainable government jobs fortheir income.For this reason, Gressani said, the IMF is

urging Arab countries to allocate money toareas such as infrastructure. This, she ar-gued, would encourage private businessesto expand their presence in the region andcreate new jobs. Fiscal responsibility

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(L-r) Ramin Asgard, Morad Ghorban and John Limbertdiscuss the merits of the U.S. re-establishing a diplomaticpresence in Iran.

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would allow the countries to allocate moreresources to the vulnerable in rural areas,she concluded.All panelists agreed that the political

compromise that helped facilitate Tunisia’snew constitution bodes well for the coun-try’s poor. According to Akihiko Koenuma,director-general of the Middle East and Eu-rope department at the Japan InternationalCooperation Agency, it is significant thatTunisia was able to reach political compro-mise without the intervention of either anexternal actor or the country’s military.This, he added, shows that Tunisia is capa-ble of tackling its pressing issues.

—Dale Sprusansky

Georgetown Conference ExaminesEgypt’s Struggle for DemocracyGeorgetown University’s Alwaleed BinTalal Center for Muslim-Christian Under-standing hosted a day-long conference inWashington, DC on Jan. 29 to discuss“Egypt and the Struggle for Democracy.”Throughout the day, panelists had harshwords for Egypt’s military-backed govern-ment, critiqued the international commu-nity’s response to the July 3 coup, andlamented the polarization that is currentlycrippling Egyptian society.

A Planned Coup?Wael Haddara, a former adviser to deposedPresident Mohamed Morsi, accused indi-viduals loyal to former President HosniMubarak of orchestrating a counterrevolu-tion to oust Egypt’s first democraticallyelected president and return Egypt to thepre-January 2011 status quo. Members of the “deep state” have made

it clear in the past few months that theyare willing to use violence and repressionto destroy Egypt’s revolution, Haddarastated. As evidence, he noted that more

Egyptians have died sincethe July 3 coup than duringthe 30 years of Mubarak’srule. Haddara described thecurrent level of violence as“previously unknown andunheard of in Egypt.”According to Emad

Shahin, a scholar at theWoodrow Wilson Interna-tional Center for Scholars,Field Marshal Abdel Fattahel-Sisi is leading a “watch-ful, fierce counterrevolu-tion” and is bent on killingdissenting Egyptians intosubmission. However, hecontended, this strategy is

not working, and the field marshal even-tually will be forced to unclench his fist. Shahin, a well-respected Egyptian acad-

emic who has been charged with espionageby the Egyptian government, said Sisi nowhas three options: rely on Mubarak’s men

for assistance, consolidate power, or killmore individuals. In his opinion, a broadcoalition is needed to stop or at least slowdown the military’s seizure of power.Mohammad Fadel, a law professor at the

University of Toronto, argued that Sisi’sgovernment has committed crimes againsthumanity and thus violated the RomeStatute of the International Criminal Court.Fadel predicated that Sisi would not easilycede power because he is aware that he andother senior officials could be held respon-sible. “There’s no way that the currentleadership of Egypt will risk democracy,”he predicted.Abdul Mawgoud Dardery, a former par-

liamentarian for the Muslim Brotherhood-backed Freedom and Justice Party, com-plained that Morsi was never given the op-portunity to transform Egypt. “The forcesof the old regime were still there,” he saidof Morsi’s year in office. “The old state wasblocking any changes in the country.”Dardery specifically criticized the military,

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(L-r) Hafez Ghanem, Daniela Gressani and AkihikoKoenuma stress the importance of private-sector job growthin the Arab world.

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(L-r) Dalia Fahmy, Maha Azzam and Mohammad Fadel say the military-backed govern-ment in Cairo is using nationalist rhetoric to divide the country.

(L-r) Abdul Mawgoud Dardery, Nathan Brown, Dalia Mogahed and Emad Shahin expressfear that Egyptian society is becoming increasingly polarized.

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police and judiciary for refusing to coop-erate with Morsi’s government. Dalia Fahmy, a professor of political sci-

ence at Long Island University Brooklyn,speculated that the Egyptian governmenthas decided to hold presidential electionsahead of parliamentary elections in orderto allow Sisi to consolidate power. If, as ex-pected, Sisi wins the presidential race, hewould oversee the legislative elections andensure his new party’s success, she said.This, Fahmy added, would allow parlia-ment to become the executive’s rubberstamp.

Combating PolarizationDalia Mogahed, CEO of Mogahed Consult-ing, expressed concern that some Egyp-tians have begun to question the humanityof their fellow countrymen. This, she said,shows that the country is in need of deepsocietal reconciliation at the popular level.State-sanctioned violence, she added, is “aresult of a moral and spiritual crisis inEgyptian society.”Maryam Jamshidi, founder of Muftah

magazine, accused the military-backedgovernment of intentionally dividing theEgyptian public by using xenophobic andultra-nationalist rhetoric. The MuslimBrotherhood has been portrayed as an or-ganization working to destroy the country,she said, while anyone critical of the stateis accused of not being a real Egyptian.Added Maha Azzam, an associate fellow atthe Chatham House’s Middle East andNorth Africa Program, “There is no roomin Egypt for an alternative view.”Mohamad Elmasry, a professor in the de-

partment of mass communication at theAmerican University in Cairo, noted thatthe Egyptian media is helping the militaryspread its nationalist narrative. Allegedlyindependent networks have reported thatthe military’s forceful tactics against theBrotherhood are necessary to cleanse andpurify the country from a treasonous ter-rorist organization, he said.While the media had plenty to criticize

Morsi about, Elmasry continued, manynews outlets invented or fabricated storiesto spread the myth that the Brotherhoodwas taking over the country. Writers whowere told by their superiors they had tocreate negative news about the Brother-hood reported satire-worthy news—suchas Morsi wanting to sell the pyramids andthe Suez Canal—as fact, he noted. “Noneof these things were based on any reality,but they were taken seriously,” he stated.George Washington University professor

Nathan Brown ascribed Egypt’s current

polarization in part to a legacy of decadesof authoritarian rule. Given that pluralismwas not previously tolerated, he explained,many Egyptians are not accustomed tosorting out their political differences. In-stead rival groups talk past one anotherand put most of their focus on riling uptheir own constituencies, Brown said. Michele Dunne, a senior associate at the

Carnegie Endowment for InternationalPeace’s Middle East Program, opined thatmuch of Egypt’s present unrest is due tothe fact that a clear transition plan wasnever created following Mubarak’s ouster.“It all comes down to a failure to buildconsensus about where Egypt was goingafter the fall of Mubarak,” she said, addingthat the opposition relied on such vaguethemes as bread, freedom, social justiceand dignity to propel their movement for-ward.When it assumed power, Dunne said,

the Brotherhood acted with the confidencethat it had the support of the military anda wide segment of society—a premise thatcaused it to decline to work with other po-litical forces. As a result, Dunne believesthe Brotherhood squandered the good willit had built up. “There was an opportunityto reach across the aisle and build abroader coalition, but it didn’t happen,”she said.Mohammed Abbas, a leading member of

the Revolution Youth Alliance, recalled thatmany in his organization lost faith in Morsiwhen he issued a constitutional declarationin November 2012 granting himself far-reaching powers. This move, he said, was abetrayal of an agreement between theyouth and the Brotherhood to fight the oldregime. As a result, Abbas pointed out,many youths collaborated with the oldregime to depose the Brotherhood.Islam Lotfy Shalaby, a member of the

Revolution Youth Alliance, expressed hisbelief that there is a deep generation gap inEgypt. While the older generation believesonly limited reforms can be achieved, theyouth believes there is no limit to the revo-lution, he said. Shalaby cited lack of expe-rience, lack of funding, and marginalizationfrom influential roles in policy circles asother obstacles faced by Egypt’s youth. Nevertheless, Shalaby is confident

young Egyptians can bring about a betterfuture. The older generation, he argued,read the historical moment incorrectly bydiscounting the youth.

Criticizing the U.S. ResponseSeveral speakers used their remarks tovoice their displeasure with Washington’s

response to the July 3 coup. “The interna-tional community needs to withdraw itssupport,” Maha Azzam stated, expressingher disapproval with the U.S. decision tocontinue to supply Egypt with $1.5 billionin annual aid. Most of this aid goes to theEgyptian military.Wael Haddara also took aim at the “si-

lence, if not collusion, of the internationalcommunity.” Supporting the coup govern-ment will not help restore stability inEgypt, he warned, saying that there are asignificant number of young Egyptianswho “would rather die than go back to the[pre-January 2011] status quo.” Washington’s silence is “stunning to the

youth,” Abbas added, and seen as a formof support for the military government.Asked Dardery, “How come Europe andthe United States betray the wishes of theEgyptian people?” —Dale Sprusansky

The Role of Entrepreneurship inBuilding a Better EgyptThe Middle East Institute in Washington,DC hosted a discussion on Egypt’s growingstart-up sector at the Carnegie Endowmentfor International Peace on Jan. 22. Christo-pher M. Schroeder, author of Startup Rising:The Entrepreneurial Revolution Remaking theMiddle East, opened the conversation bypointing out that Americans typically focuson Egypt’s very real problems while ignor-ing the country’s real opportunities. Dina Sherif, co-founder of Ahead of the

Curve and senior adviser for engagement atSilatech, said she regards Egyptians, espe-cially youths, as assets who will solve thenation’s economic problems. Tahrir Squarewas not just about ideology and politics—protesters were concerned about economicinjustice, Sherif opined. Today there is agrowing community of young entrepre-neurs launching start-ups. She cited Flat 6Labs as an example of an organization thatencourages entrepreneurs to support eachother. Sawari Ventures and Flat 6 Labs areturning American University in Cairo intoa “mini-Silicon Valley,” where Egyptiansare creating the jobs they need. Another entrepreneur, Mona Mowafi,

co-founded Rise Egypt, an organizationthat is mobilizing the global Egyptian di-aspora to invest in social entrepreneurshipfor development in Egypt. Rise Egyptfinds and supports social enterprises thatcreate positive social impact. The organiza-tion asks Egyptians what they need andprovides mentorships, advice and capital. Yumna Madi, co-founder and chief busi-

ness development officer of KarmSolar, dis-cussed the possibilities of commercially vi-

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able solar energy projects, including high-capacity solar water pumping stations. After a career as an investment banker,

James A. Harmon said he decided to “getre-potted” and do something meaningfulfor the public sector. In 2004 Harmonlaunched Caravel Management LLC, anemerging and frontier markets fund. Harmon emphasized the need for more

international support for innovative jobcreation and development plans in Egypt,and other countries undergoing the Arabspring. Egyptians don’t need charity, theywant investors, Harmon added, but neitherbanks nor fellow Arabs are willing to takethe investment risks necessary to fund en-trepreneurs. Harmon urged Americans to invest pri-

vate funds in the Middle East, which hecalled the “new frontier.” Egypt is an ex-cellent source of human capital, Harmonconcluded. And the sky is the limit for po-tential infrastructure projects, includingimproving traffic flow, recycling, educa-tion and health care, and creating alterna-tive energy projects. —Delinda C. Hanley

World Affairs Council Presents Annual AwardsThe World Affairs Council in Washington,DC held its Global Education Gala onMarch 13 at the Ritz-Carlton Hotel.With the help of master of cere-monies Bill Plante, CBS News seniorWhite House correspondent, gala at-tendees recognized the Council’sachievements over the previous year,which included more than 60 educa-tional forums and a weekly TV pro-gram, “World Affairs TODAY,” broad-cast Sunday mornings on<www.mhznetworks.org>. TheCouncil’s board of directors chair-woman Edie Fraser thanked execu-tive director Heidi Shoup and othersfor their tireless work, and remindedguests that it is ever more vital foryouths, senior citizens (and everyonein between) to learn about interna-

tional issues. Christopher Isham, Washington bureau

chief for CBS News, accepted the GlobalCommunications Award on behalf of JeffFager, chairman of CBS News and execu-tive producer of “60 Minutes.” While thetight economy has forced most U.S. mediato turn inward, Isham noted, CBS has de-ployed an increasing number of reportersoverseas because of its commitment to cov-ering international events. CBS has moreforeign headline stories than the other twonetworks combined, Isham stated. As theU.S. winds down two foreign wars, Ishamconcluded, “It is essential for our viewersto know what is going on there. It has a di-rect impact upon what is going on here.” The Council presented the Educator of

the Year Award to Dr. John J. DeGioia,president of Georgetown University. TheDistinguished Diplomatic Service Awardwas accepted by Ambassador of Brazil tothe U.S. Mauro Vieira. The Global Education award went to

Sheikha Moza bint Nasser, co-founder ofthe Qatar Foundation for Education, Sci-ence and Community Development, for ex-traordinary worldwide contributions tothe promotion of education, human devel-opment and social and economic prosper-

ity. Qatar Foundation vice president Dr.Abdulla bin Ali al-Thani, who is also pres-ident of Hamad bin Khalifa University, ac-cepted the award on her behalf. “Guidedby HH Sheikha Moza bint Nasser, theQatar Foundation has since 1995 beenspearheading Qatar’s transition to a knowl-edge-based society by fostering innovationand excellence in education, research andcommunity development,” Dr. Al-Thanisaid. Education City in Doha is home tosome of the world’s leading universitiesand researchers. Marillyn A. Hewson, chairman, presi-

dent and CEO of Lockheed Martin Corpo-ration, described the importance of “turn-ing innovation into a renewable resource.”This can be accomplished by taking threeactions, Hewson elaborated. Innovationstarts with education, so she stressed theneed for global classrooms and learning.The second action is global collaborationor cooperation. Innovation doesn’t happenin a lab but in a cafeteria, she said, wherepeople start conversations and share ideas.Finally, Hewson called for smart invest-ment, taking a chance on breakthroughideas. She concluded by urging the audi-ence to support the great thinkers of thefuture. —Delinda C. Hanley

Ennahda President GhannouchiPraises Tunisia’s TransitionSheikh Rached Ghannouchi, co-founderand president of Tunisia’s Ennahda party,appeared at the Carnegie Endowment forInternational Peace in Washington, DC onFeb. 26 to discuss his country’s democratictransition.Ghannouchi said that Tunisia’s inclusive

and widely praised new constitution,which was adopted this past January,highlights the importance of moderation

and cooperation. As the dominantparty in the constituent assembly, henoted, Ennahda understood itneeded to make concessions to pre-serve the revolution and reach a con-stitutional consensus. The rulingparty also realized the important sta-bilizing impact of ceding power to aninterim caretaker government oncethe constitution was implemented,he added. Going forward, Ghannouchi be-

lieves Tunisia should continue downthe centrist path. He expressed hishope that a coalition government willbe formed following the country’supcoming elections. Ghannouchi saidhe would insist on this arrangementeven if Ennahda wins a majority of

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(L-r) Christopher M. Schroeder, Dina Sherif, Mona Mowafi, James A. Harmon and YumnaMadi discuss the need for angel investors to support Egyptian entrepreneurs.

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seats in parliament. Ennahda’s role in Tunisia’s transition

proves that there is no contradiction be-tween Islam and democracy, Ghannouchiemphasized. The Islamist party has acteddemocratically and has stood at the fore-front of the fight for freedom and equalityin Tunisia, he said. Members of Ennahda believe in moder-

ate Islam, democracy and nonviolence andare not homogeneous in their beliefs,Ghannouchi stated. He described Ennahdaas “a modern party where there are manywings” and as “the most unified party inthe country.”Ghannouchi called on the world to sup-

port Tunisia’s new government, saying,“Its success will be a success for democ-racy.” Neither Tunisians nor the world canafford for the country’s democratic exper-iment to fail, he cautioned.Tunisia’s new constitution is an impor-

tant step toward “ending the era of repres-sion in the Arab world,” Ghannouchistated. “There is no reason for despotismanywhere in the Arab world,” he argued,adding that “Tunisia can posi-tively affect other Arab coun-tries.”Ghannouchi was particularly

critical of the Egyptian militaryand the manner in which it hasmanaged Egypt’s transition. Vi-olence and coups “only lead tochaos and destruction,” hestated. While deposed EgyptianPresident Mohamed Morsi mademistakes, Ghannouchi said, hisoverthrow was unwarranted.“In democracy,” he remindedhis audience, “mistakes cannotjustify coups d’état.” While the Egyptian coup rep-

resents a negative moment inEgypt’s transition, Ghannouchi

believes true democracy will inevitablyreach the Arab world’s largest country.“The regime of [Field Marshal Abdel Fat-tah el-] Sisi has no future,” he stated. “Thefear has collapsed, the people have discov-ered that despots are not strongenough….It’s only a matter of time whenthese people will reach their democracy.”

—Dale Sprusansky

Tunisia: The Way ForwardThe Maghreb Center and the NationalCouncil on U.S.-Arab Relations discussedthe latest developments in Tunisia at thePeterson Institute for International Eco-nomics in Washington, DC on Feb. 19.Moderator Néjib Ayachi, founding presi-dent of The Maghreb Center, said the pro-gram was designed to assess Tunisia’s eco-nomic challenges as the country where“the Arab Spring” began moves forwardon the path of democratization and politi-cal stability. Secretary of State John Kerryhad stopped in Tunis the previous day topraise Tunisia for its democratic progress,its new constitution and its pursuit of dia-logue and compromise. Tunisia is a modelin the region, Ayachi said, and U.S.-Tunisiarelations are excellent, including in theareas of trade and economic development.Tunisia’s Ambassador to the U.S.

M’Hamed Ezzine Chelaifa described inmore detail Tunisia’s new liberal, secularconstitution. Ambassador Chelaifa said hiscountry needs to address three major chal-lenges: political, security and socio-eco-nomic problems. It was Tunisia’s high un-employment and poor economic conditionsthat sparked the uprising. The economy isrecovering, the ambassador said, and isjust now reaching its pre-revolution levels.He urged that free trade agreements be-tween the U.S. and Tunisia be explored.

Andrew Haviland, acting deputy assis-tant secretary of state for economic affairsfor international finance and development,concurred that U.S. trade agreements andincreased international investment wouldbe a win/win for both the U.S. and Tunisia. Caroline Freund, senior fellow at the Pe-

terson Institute for International Econom-ics and a former chief economist for theMiddle East and North Africa at the WorldBank, gave a lively summary of stepsTunisia could take to improve its economy.She said Tunisia had become a family-runcorrupt business under President Zine el-Abidine Ben Ali. In addition, Tunisia’sgovernment provided government jobsand subsidies instead of fostering eco-nomic growth and competition. Tunisia ison the right path now, Freund concluded,especially if it can improve security.

—Delinda C. Hanley

Afghanistan Development Goals andChallengesThe New America Foundation in Wash-ington, DC hosted a Feb. 10 discussion onthe upcoming elections in Afghanistan, thedrawdown of American troops, and thecurrent and future challenges of deliveringassistance to Afghanistan. What are thechallenges, and how will the U.S. Agencyfor International Development (USAID) ap-proach them?Donald “Larry” Sampler, Jr., assistant to

the administrator for USAID’s Office ofAfghanistan and Pakistan Affairs, warnedlisteners not to believe everything thepress is saying about Afghanistan. Amer-ica isn’t just shoveling money out the doorinto a crumbling, corrupt Afghan govern-ment, he said. Over the past 12 years,USAID has helped Afghanistan move to-ward a stable, prosperous future. That’s

important to Americans, whowant to ensure the country willnever be a safe haven for terror-ists. It’s also important toAfghans for their country tosucceed—they have skin in thegame. Life expectancy has increased

from 42 years in 2002 to morethan 62 years—an increase of 20years in just a decade! Maternalmortality rates have declined by80 percent, and child mortalityrates by almost 50 percent. In 2002 only 6 percent of

Afghans had access to electric-ity, and almost none owned amobile phone. Now, 18 percenthave electricity and phone net-

62 MAY 2014THE WASHINGTON REPORT ON MIDDLE EAST AFFAIRS

(L-r) Néjib Ayachi, Ambassador M’Hamed Ezzine Chelaifa, Car-oline Freund and Andrew Haviland discuss challenges facingTunisia.

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Rached Ghannouchi considers Tunisia amodel for the Arab world.

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works cover more than 90 percent of thecountry. Almost 20 percent of Afghans enrolled

in higher education are women, and thereare over 3,000 women-owned businesses,Sampler noted.Polls reveal that 70 percent of Afghans

feel more economically secure than theydid five years ago, and a majority feel theircountry is headed in the right direction. Only a few weeks after a deadly bomb

attack on a popular Lebanese restaurant inKabul, Sampler asked some rhetoricalquestions, including: Is it dangerous inAfghanistan? Yes. Can we do better? Sure.There is much to be done in this period oftransition. Jarrett Blanc, the U.S. State Department’s

deputy special representative forAfghanistan and Pakistan, who works oninternational partnership, reconciliationand political transition issues, describedthe various creative ways the U.S. supportsAfghanistan. Blanc made it clear that in-ternational assistance to Afghanistan willdecline, but normal U.S. aid will continuefor years to come. —Delinda C. Hanley

Senate Holds Hearing on Lebanon The Senate Committee on Foreign Rela-tions’ Subcommittee on Near Eastern andSouth and Central Asian Affairs held a Feb.25 hearing entitled “Lebanon at a Cross-roads” at the Dirksen Senate Office Build-ing on Capitol Hill. Sen. Tim Kaine (D-VA)presided over the hearing. The senator began by reflecting on his re-

cent trip to Lebanon. Noting that he wit-nessed a terrorist attack during his visit,Kaine lamented that such acts have becomecommon in the country. “It was a littleheartbreaking to see the normality of thesituation,” he said. In order for Lebanon topersevere through the ongoing regional in-stability, the senator stressed the importanceof solving the Syrian civil war and strength-ening both the Lebanese government and

the Lebanese armedforces.Lawrence Silver-

man, acting deputyassistant secretary ofstate for Near EasternAffairs, testified thatthe Feb. 15 formationof a new nationalunity government byPrime Minister Tam-mam Salam, whichended 10 months ofpolitical tension andgridlock, “is a wel-

come development for the Lebanese peo-ple.” The new government “is in a sense animprovement over its predecessor,” hesaid. “Nearly all political factions are rep-resented in a careful balance.”Paul Salem, vice president of the Middle

East Institute (MEI), predicted that thenew government will prove to be “an im-portant step in easing sectarian and fac-tional tensions, consolidating precariousnational stability, and helping the countryride out the oncoming waves of instabilityemanating from Syria.” As Lebanon struggles to deal with the

impact of the Syrian crisis, Silvermanstressed the importance of strengtheningthe Lebanese armed forces (LAF), which hedescribed as “a beacon of cross-confes-sional integration for the entire country. Itremains one of the most respected nationalinstitutions in Lebanon,” he said, “becauseit reflects the diversity of the country: It isin fact the sole national institution able tocounter destabilizing influences fromwithin Lebanon and without. Supportingthe LAF strengthens its ability to serve asa model for other Lebanese institutions.”Maj. Gen. Michael T. Plehn, principal

director for Middle East policy at the De-partment of Defense, noted that the U.S.has given the LAF nearly $1 billion worthof assistance since 2005. He said the U.S.“fully supports” Saudi Arabia’s decision to

grant the LAF $3 billion to purchase de-fense items from France.Silverman criticized Hezbollah for its

role in the Syrian civil war, saying that thegroup has threatened Lebanon’s nationalsecurity. “Hezbollah is dragging theLebanese people into a war in defense ofan Assad regime whose continuation canonly result in more conflict, more terror-ism, and more instability for Lebanon,” hesaid. He accused Hezbollah of entering thewar solely for “its own narrow interestsand on behalf of its foreign sponsors.”

—Dale Sprusansky

Friends of UNRWA Bid Farewell to Filippo GrandiThe Embassy of Saudi Arabia hosted afarewell reception for United Nations Re-lief and Works Agency for PalestineRefugees in the Near East (UNRWA) Com-missioner-General Filippo Grandi on Feb.12, hours ahead of a major snowstorm.Guests chose to gather together to thankGrandi for nearly nine years of dedicationand commitment to the refugees of Pales-tine instead of stocking up on groceries orheading straight home from work. Nail A. Al-Jubeir, director of the infor-

mation office of the Royal Embassy ofSaudi Arabia, and UNRWA-USA boardmember Maggie Mitchell Salem welcomedguests. Anne Richard, assistant secretary of the

U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Popu-lation, Refugees and Migration, remindedguests that the United States is a top fun-der of vital UNRWA programs. The U.S. re-sponded to UNRWA’s emergency appeal forSyria in January 2014 by pledging $28.1million, of which $20.9 million will sup-port UNRWA’s emergency services to Pales-tinians inside Syria. The remainder will bespent helping 80,000 Palestinian refugeeswho have fled to neighboring countries,including Lebanon and Jordan. The U.S.has contributed more than $100 million toUNRWA emergency appeals for Syria sincethe start of the crisis, Richard said, andprovided over $294 million to support theAgency in 2013. In his remarks, Grandi thanked the Saudi

Embassy for hosting the event and notedthat Saudi Arabia, “one of our best donors,”has launched a group of reconstruction pro-jects in West Bank refugee camps. TheSaudi Fund for Development will rehabili-tate homes for 930 Palestine refugee familiesand reconstruct three schools, as well as theHebron Health Center. As the largest bilateral donor to UNRWA,

the U.S. has helped ensure that Palestinian

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refugees affected by ongoing conflicts re-ceive lifesaving assistance, including accessto clean water, medicine, food and othercritical needs. American support forUNRWA is not always easy “in the politicalcontext we work in,” Grandi acknowl-edged. Thanks to the “spectacular” effortsof American Friends of UNRWA, who havemade UNRWA’s work better known inAmerica, Grandi said it’s becoming easier tomake a pitch for badly needed funds. Americans are learning that UNRWA is

one of the largest educational organizationsin the world, and has provided services inthe midst of incredible challenges, includ-ing two wars in Gaza, a war in Lebanon, thedestruction of a camp in northern Lebanon,and now a war in Syria. The global eco-nomic downturn has made it difficult forgovernments to meet their financial obliga-tions during the current crisis in Syria,Grandi observed. He urged Americans notto forget Gaza, saying, “Gaza is still in crisis.It seems media can only focus on one crisisat a time. You don’t hear about Gaza.”The future of refugees will depend on the

peace process, whatever happens, Grandiemphasized. “If it fails we will need to carefor refugees. If it succeeds, in the transi-tional period, UNRWA will need to continueto care for refugees.” He told UNRWA sup-porters, “Our work is important—it’s an in-vestment in the future of Palestinians.”The evening ended with a silent auction

of striking UNRWA Archive photo prints.

Since the agency’s creation in 1949,UNRWA photographers (and their prede-cessors) have recorded the life and historyof Palestinian refugees. There are more thanhalf a million photos and videos of familiesforced to flee their homes in 1948, the es-tablishment of camps in 1950s, the secondflight in 1967 and the lives of present-dayrefugees. (You can see these gripping pho-tos at <www.unrwa.org>.) Palestinians inthe private sector raised funds to preserveand digitize these photos, which they rec-ognize as the community’s priceless collec-tive memory over the past six decades. ”Weare proud to have helped preserve the her-itage of Palestinians,” Grandi concluded. Pierre Krähenbühl, previously of the In-

ternational Committee of the Red Cross(ICRC), has been appointed the new headof UNRWA.Grandi and UNRWA-USA staff reminded

attendees that UNRWA’s funding needs areimmense. Visit <www.unrwausa.org> tomake a U.S. tax-deductible contribution toUNRWA’s life-saving work for Palestinianrefugees in Gaza, the West Bank, Syria,Lebanon and Jordan, and join UNRWA-USA’s third annual Gaza Solidarity 5KWalk/Run on Saturday, May 17, 2014.

—Delinda C. Hanley

Palestinian Refugees in Syria: The Crisis in YarmoukThe Palestine Center in Washington, DChosted a Feb. 6 talk on the condition of the

Palestinian community in Syria, particu-larly in the Yarmouk camp in Damascus.Executive director Yousef Munayyer intro-duced Syrian-Palestinian journalist NidalBitari, a former resident of Yarmouk andfounder of the Palestinian Association forHuman Rights in Syria. The Institute forPalestine Studies USA published Bitari’sdetailed study on the Palestinians in Syriain the Fall 2013 issue of the Journal ofPalestine Studies.Bitari began his remarks by asking pan-

elists to refrain from calling Syria’s revolu-tion a “civil war.” He reminded the stand-ing-room-only audience that the conflictstarted as a “really peaceful and very beau-tiful uprising.” Bitari, who left Syria in De-cember 2011, said he is in almost dailycontact with his friends and colleagueswho remain there. Yarmouk, established in 1957 at the south-

ern edge of Damascus, was the largest of 12Palestinian refugee camps in Syria. Fordecades Yarmouk has been at the center ofPalestinian political movements, with orga-nizers working for Palestinian human rights,including the right of return. Many Pales-tinian leaders were born and grew up in thiscamp, which housed 165,000 refugees, al-most a third of those who lived in Syria. Palestinians in Syria had a very privi-

leged situation, enjoying economic, cul-tural and social rights, including the rightto work and obtain education. Syrians andPalestinians are integrated in Syria, Bitariemphasized. “It’s not like Lebanon,” hesaid. You don’t see checkpoints at the gatesof the camp. You can’t tell where the campbegins and the Syrian neighborhoodends—in fact, Palestinians are the minor-ity in Yarmouk. Some of the leaders of thepeaceful Syrian revolution were born andgrew up inside the camp. Palestinians decided to remain neutral in

Syria. Just as Syrians are divided betweenpro- and anti-regime, the Palestinians alsoare divided. Some Palestinians, including thePopular Front General Command, begansupporting the regime’s military and at-tacked the Free Syrian Army, which be-lieved Yarmouk was their gateway to Dam-ascus. The Free Syrian Army started stealinghouses and hospital equipment inside thecamp, Bitari said. Then the regime attackedthe camp by air in December 2012, killing atleast 20 people. Residents who had moneyand travel documents started to flee.People are starving inside the camp be-

cause the Syrian regime is preventing mostfood and assistance from entering, Bitaricharged. Finally on Jan. 18, UNRWA foodparcels were allowed in. [The following

64 MAY 2014THE WASHINGTON REPORT ON MIDDLE EAST AFFAIRS

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night, however, aid distribution was sus-pended.]The Syrian government has been proud

to support Palestinian rights for decades,Bitari said, so he can’t understand whyAssad’s soldiers are now killing Palestini-ans inside Syria’s camps. Christopher McGrath, acting head of the

Washington Representative Office of theUnited Nations Relief and Works Agencyfor Palestine Refugees in the Near East(UNRWA), said six of the twelve campshave become theaters of war, includingYarmouk. As of now, about 51,000 Pales-tinian refugees have fled to Lebanon, about11,000 to Jordan, 6,000 to Egypt, 1,100 toLibya and 1,000 to Gaza. Others have fledto Turkey, Malaysia, Thailand and Indone-sia. In addition to those who have fled,about half of those who stayed, 280,000Palestinian refugees, have been internallydisplaced, many of them multiple times. Eleven of 23 UNRWA health clinics in

Syria now are not functioning, McGrathstated, and only 42 of UNRWA’s 118schools remain operational. Ten UNRWAstaff members have been killed in Syria, 21are missing, and about 16 have been in-jured. This is from a staff of about 3,700,almost all of them Palestinian refugeesthemselves. It’s estimated that more than46,000 refugee homes have been destroyed. Inside Syria UNRWA is moving from a

facility-based approach to a beneficiary-based approach, that is, UNRWA is bring-ing services to the refugees. UNRWA is in-troducing new approaches, including pro-viding self-learning materials students canuse at home to keep up with their studies.UNRWA will need about $417 million in

2014, including $310 million for programsinside Syria, $90 million in Lebanon and$15 million in Jordan. Palestinian refugeesare particularly vulnerable throughout theregion, McGrath concluded, making it

more important than ever to reach a peaceagreement that will provide Palestinians asustainable future. —Delinda C. Hanley

Twenty Years After Oslo: Peace for Israel and Palestine?The New America Foundation and theArab American Institute (AAI) co-hosted aJan. 31 discussion of a Zogby Research Ser-vices public opinion poll on Israeli andPalestinian attitudes toward the peaceprocess. AAI president Dr. James Zogbysaid pollsters wondered whether Israelisand Palestinians are ready to support apeace agreement, and what kind of agree-ment they actually want. Pollsters held in-home personal interviews in August 2013of 1,000 Israeli and 1,000 Palestinian adults.Pollsters discovered Palestinians are con-

tent with the role their leaders are playing,while Israelis give their leaders low ratings.A majority of Palestinians see the role ofevery U.S. president since Oslo as destruc-tive, and majorities of Israelis see the roleof U.S. presidents as constructive.Fifty percent of Palestinians are confi-

dent that their society is committed to atwo-state solution, but only 26 percent be-lieve that Israelis are committed to this

goal. On the other hand, 57 percent of Is-raelis say they are committed to a two-statesolution, but only 28 percent believe thatPalestinians share this goal.Only one-third of Israelis (34 percent)

and Palestinians (36 percent) still believethat a two-state solution is feasible, how-ever. And, while the two-state solution re-mains the most popular option amongboth peoples, that support is muchstronger among Israelis (74 percent) thanamong Palestinians (47 percent). [The en-tire poll can be downloaded at <www.aaiusa.org>.]The two-state solution has been defined

by Israeli needs, not Palestinian needs,Zogby reminded his audience. “If I hadadded details to the question of a two-statesolution such as the 1967 borders and aPalestinian capital in East Jerusalem, Is-raelis would have been less supportive.“Israelis always poll in favor of negotia-

tions, but are less favorable regarding spe-cific outcomes,” Zogby elaborated. “Pales-tinians support outcomes more but supportnegotiations less, because they don’t trustthe process. But when you’re in the domi-nant position, as Israel is, your attitudesare framed by the fact that you’re in con-trol.”The poll showed that young Israelis have

harder-line positions than their elders,while Palestinians of all ages hold similarviews. Zogby believes there are several rea-sons for this split between younger andolder Israelis, including the disproportion-ately large number of children born to Or-thodox and settler families. “Israel is theonly country where we poll that youngerpeople’s attitudes are less progressive thanthe older,” he said.Lara Friedman, director of policy and

government relations for Americans forPeace Now, said she was not surprised thatyoung Israelis are more ideologically op-posed to normalization. Past generations of

MAY 2014 65THE WASHINGTON REPORT ON MIDDLE EAST AFFAIRS

(L-r) Yousef Munayyer, Christopher McGrath and Nidal Bitari discuss the Palestinian com-munity in Syria’s Yarmouk refugee camp.

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Israelis knew Palestinians because theyshopped in Ramallah and there was noseparation barrier. At the end of the day,when both sides are presented with thepossibility of peace, Friedman said peo-ples’ opinions could shift quickly.According to Khaled Elgindy, a fellow at

the Saban Center for Middle East Policy atthe Brookings Institution, the Zogby pollsupports Secretary of State John Kerry’sview that if current efforts fail, the two-statesolution is in serious jeopardy. Both Palestinian President Mahmoud

Abbas and Israeli Prime Minister BinyaminNetanyahu have stated that they wouldput any peace agreement to a referendum.When asked if they held out hope for anagreement, only 11 percent of Palestiniansand 39 percent of Israelis said they did. Butwhen asked if they would support anagreement if their respective leaders en-dorsed it, 55 percent of Israelis and 49 per-cent of Palestinians said they would do so,while only 19 percent of Israelis and 28percent of Palestinians said they wouldnot. —Delinda C. Hanley

Josh Ruebner Riles Pro-Israel CrowdIn Des MoinesWhen Josh Ruebner, national advocacy di-rector of the US Campaign to End the Is-raeli Occupation, spoke to an audience ofabout 50 who gathered in Drake Univer-sity’s Sussman Theater on March 4, theWashington, DC-based political analyst,activist and author of Shattered Hopes:Obama’s Failure to Broker Israeli-Palestin-ian Peace (available from the AET Book-store) drew the ire of several hecklers.After thanking the crowd for coming

out on a very cold night, Ruebner de-scribed the US Campaign as “a nationalcoalition of more than 400 organizationsthat have joined together to work tochange our country’s policies toward Israeland the Palestinian people; to support apolicy that is based on human rights, in-ternational law and equality; and tochange those aspects of our country’s pol-icy that are supportive of Israel’s ongoingmilitary occupation of Palestinian land andIsrael’s apartheid policies toward the Pales-tinian people.”Ruebner spoke for about 40 minutes, de-

livering a memorably cogent overview ofthe history and politics of Israel’s illegal oc-cupation of Palestine. Though he was in-terrupted by one of a noisy group of pro-Israel members of his audience, Ruebnerpersuaded the group to hold their ques-tions until he completed his formal re-marks. He continued, ignoring occasional

laughter and rude remarks.Opening the question-and-answer pe-

riod, the former Congressional ResearchService analyst and founder of Jews forPeace in Palestine, which later merged withJewish Voice for Peace, invited the youngman who had earlier interrupted him topose the first question. It quickly becameapparent that his critic, who chargedRuebner with speaking “untruths” and“complete falsehood,” was ill-prepared fordebate with a policy analyst who holds aBA in political science and Near Easternstudies from the University of Michiganand a graduate degree in international af-fairs from the Johns Hopkins UniversitySchool of Advanced International Studies. Ruebner, sparring with another ques-

tioner who suggested that neighboring Arabcountries should absorb Palestinian refugees,offered an analogy. If the USA, which in the19th century invaded Spanish-held lands inwhat is now the southwestern and westernUnited States, decided in 2014 to invade andethnically cleanse modern-day Mexico,should then the USA say to Venezuela,Colombia and Argentina, “because youspeak the same language as the people whowe ethnically cleansed, why don’t you ab-sorb them?…That’s what you’re askingwhen you ask other countries to bear the re-sponsibility for Israel’s ethnic cleansing.”Interrupted again, Ruebner refused to be

shouted down by a critic who disagreedwith his analogy and then stormed out ofthe auditorium.This reporter asked Ruebner to discuss

the relationship of the “neoconservatives”and the “Israel Lobby,” and how they influ-ence events on the ground in Palestine andpolicy in Washington.“It’s no secret that certain neoconservative

ideologies ruled the Bush administration’sforeign policy,” replied Ruebner, “and ofcourse it’s no secret that that ideological

movement was heavily influenced by andinterconnected with right-wing Israeli ideo-logical circles as well. That really played it-self out during the [Bush] administration.The neocons are sort of licking their woundsright now, waiting for another opportunityto be a more fundamental part of the gov-ernment.“I don’t think that the neocons exercise

any form of influence over the Obama ad-ministration whatsoever,” opined Ruebner.[This despite the fact that assistant Secre-tary of State for European and EurasianAffairs Victoria Nuland, an Obama admin-istration official who served during theBush administration as Vice President DickCheney’s principal deputy foreign policyadviser, also served under then-Secretaryof State Hillary Clinton as State Depart-ment spokesperson from mid-2011 untilFebruary 2013. Nuland is viewed by manyobservers of official Washington as a neo-conservative.] Shattered Hopes: Obama’s Failure to Bro-

ker Israeli-Palestinian Peace has drawnpraise from Phyllis Bennis of the Institutefor Policy Studies and Nadia Hijab of AlShabaka: the Palestinian Policy Network,among others.The Des Moines event was sponsored by

the American Friends Service Committee’sMiddle East Peace Education Project, Mid-dle East Peace and Prosperity Alliance ofDrake University, and Methodist Federa-tion for Social Action–Iowa.

—Michael Gillespie

Jerry Ebner Returns From PrisonOmaha Catholic Worker Gerald A. “Jerry”Ebner, arrested during a Dec. 28, 2012nonviolent direct action line crossing at Of-futt AFB, home of the Strategic Air Com-mand, celebrated the end of a six-monthfederal prison term on Feb. 28. Friends andcolleagues gathered at the Des MoinesCatholic Worker’s Dingman House to wel-come home Ebner, 63, from the FederalMedical Center at Lexington, KY and hearhim speak about the experience.“I had a blast,” declared Ebner, who

laughed about having had to explain, againand again, to guards monitoring the facil-ity’s metal detectors that it was his pace-maker that always set off the alarms.In response to questions from this reporter,

Ebner spoke at some length about the reac-tions of other prisoners who became aware ofthe nature of the offense that caused JudgeThomas Thalken, also a Catholic, to sentencehim to six months in a federal prison.Several other prisoners, said Ebner, “told

it to me this way: They have a hard time un-

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Josh Ruebner speaking in Sussman Theater atDrake University in Des Moines on March 4.

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derstanding courage. They think Ihave a lot of courage to do what I did.Not that I think I’m holier than theyare. I’m not.”They just don’t understand that

particular kind of courage, Ebnersaid. “They’ve never experiencedthat in their lives, with other peo-ple. And we all know, Catholic orotherwise, they’ve never beentaught about nonviolence. Most ofus are more angry that our religiousleaders and church leaders don’tteach people nonviolence.” Ebner explained that prison life

allows inmates time to get to knowone another. “There’s a lot of dis-cussion and a lot of disbelief,”noted Ebner, who smiled as he re-called that some of the inmatesthought he was crazy to engage innonviolent actions that he expectedto result in prison time.“The question of effectiveness comes up.

‘You’re never going to be effective andyou’re never going to win.’ So we havethese discussions, don’t we always, abouteffectiveness and faithfulness,” said Ebner.“I’m not there to preach to them, the in-

mates. They’ve been preached at and hu-miliated by people in the [criminal justice]

system, or they’ve lost their wives, or fam-ily members who don’t write anymore,”explained Ebner.While Ebner was incarcerated in Ken-

tucky, three Transform Now Plowsharesactivists were sentenced to prison for non-violent direct action trespassing in July2012 at the Y-12 National Security Com-plex, a nuclear weapons manufacturing fa-

cility in Oak Ridge, TN. Catholicnun Megan Rice, 84, received asentence of 35 months in prison,while Michael Walli, 65, and Gre-gory Boertje-Obed, 58, each re-ceived sentences of five years andtwo months in prison. The threeserved eight and a half monthswhile awaiting sentencing.Ebner told his audience that

news of the sentencing of the octo-genarian Rice to almost three yearsin prison came to him from otherinmates, who were surprised andshocked, even before members ofhis own Catholic Worker commu-nity could inform him.Ebner, who opened the event

with a Christian prayer, closed itwith a Jewish prayer from the Sab-bath service, which begins withthe words: “Disturb us, Adonai,

ruffle us from our complacency; Make usdissatisfied. Dissatisfied with the peace ofignorance, the quietude which arises froma shunning of the horror, the defeat, thebitterness and the poverty, physical andspiritual, of humans. Shock us, Adonai,deny to us the false Shabbat which gives usthe delusions of satisfaction amid a worldof war and hatred.” —Michael Gillespie

MAY 2014 67THE WASHINGTON REPORT ON MIDDLE EAST AFFAIRS

Jerry Ebner (front row, c) with friends and colleagues in DesMoines after his return from the Federal Medical Center:(back row, l-r) Frank Cordaro, Jim Kelly, Mike Bender, EdBloomer, Al Birney; (front row, l-r) Gilbert Landolt, Ebner,and Michael Sprong.

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BooksAgainst Our Better Judgment:How the U.S. was Used toCreate IsraelBy Alison Weir, ifamericansknew.org,2014, paperback, 240 pp. List: $9.93;AET: $8.

Reviewed by James Abourezk

Having studiedenough AmericanIndian tribes overthe years, I havegrown accustomedto creation mythsthat each tribe as-signs itself as itsreason for being.And the definition

of “chutzpah” that I’ve been taught isthat of a young man on trial for murder-ing his parents, who throws himself onthe mercy of the court on grounds thathe is an orphan.That, as Alison Weir has made clear,

is Israel’s situation. In Against Our Bet-ter Judgment, Weir writes with greatclarity how the Zionist movement wasable to move politicians, both in Amer-ica and in England, to legalize a most il-legal act—that of stealing an entire na-tion—and crying foul when those fromwhom it was stolen complained, thentried to retake the land.Weir’s in-depth research to expose

Zionist actions in earlier times provides asolid basis for her conclusions about cre-ating Israel from a land called Palestine.And she documents the intense lobbyingdone by Israel’s Zionist creators and theirAmerican and British fellow travelers.We are now living with the conse-

quences of that bit of grand theft, i.e.,the continuing violence in the MiddleEast, affecting everything Americamight want to do in the region. We onlyrecently witnessed Bibi Netanyahu’s so-far-failed effort to have America invadeand conquer Iran, a country that obvi-ously is too much of a mouthful for Is-rael to bite off itself. Suddenly, evenBarack Obama recognizes the danger infollowing Israel’s advice on how to con-duct itself in the Middle East. The presi-dent tiptoed to the edge of the abyss butbacked away when Israel’s trained sealsin the U.S. Congress tried to push thenation over the edge.We saw congressional supporters of

Israel shamefully initiating the dozensof standing ovations when a Joint Ses-sion of Congress entertained Prime Min-ister Netanyahu, who obliged the as-sembled mass with aggressive applauselines designed to favor those who have apenchant for violence and to show howIsrael is “America’s staunchest ally” inthe Middle East. During the 1970s, when I was a mem-

ber of the U.S. Senate, I was waiting myturn to testify on the Middle East situa-tion before the Senate Foreign RelationsCommittee. As is the custom, the admin-

istration witness wastestifying ahead of me.I do not recall his name,but I felt very sorry forhim when New YorkSen. Jacob Javits askedfrom the dais, “Pleaseexplain why Israel isour most important allyin the Middle East.”The poor fellow did

not have an answer.Granted, he was alower level State De-partment official, buthis lack of an answerwas indicative of thelack of a story providedto him by his seniors inthe State Department.So Senator Javits

asked him again, andagain, and again, tryingto have a statement

from some government official which Is-rael’s Lobby could use in its propagandacampaign to maintain Israel’s lofty posi-tion in the American mind. But the StateDepartment official was unable to comeup with an answer, which left SenatorJavits and his cohorts to try some otheravenue. The Israel-is-a-vital-ally shibbo-leth has since been made into anoverused slogan by supporters of Israel. But each time I hear that phrase,

“staunchest ally,” I think of the Ameri-can sailors on the U.S.S. Liberty, who,during the 1967 Israeli-Arab War, diedwhen the Israeli military was ordered todestroy its “ally’s” intelligence ship.During that act of friendship, America’sstaunchest ally killed some 34 Americansailors, and wounded another 170. I also think of Jonathan Pollard, an

American employee of our Pentagon,who sold what has been described as “atruckload” of the Pentagon’s secrets toIsrael. I say “sold,” because Israel paidPollard for the secrets, which Israel thentraded to the Soviet Union for thatcountry’s relaxation of rules with re-spect to Jewish emigration from the So-viet Union to Israel.With Weir’s well-researched history

in mind, I am forced to think of thecadre of American journalists who latelyhave assigned “oil” as the reason forGeorge Bush’s folly—the 2003 U.S. inva-sion of Iraq. They say nothing of thewell known fact that George Bush had anumber of Israel’s supporters givinghim advice on the issue of Iraq. I’ve lostcount of the billions of American dollarsthat were sucked up by that war, as wellas the precious American lives that werelost to satisfy Israel’s agents in the Bushadministration, those who convincedPresident Bush to do something that Is-rael wanted, but knowing it was betterif “America did it.” President Obamashould be applauded for refusing to fallinto the same trap with respect to Syria.This provocative book documents a

history that is essential in understand-ing today’s world. Scholarly, yet read-able, it is a must for all Americans. Weall need to know what we have spent bycoddling Israel and its aggressions, andwhy the cost has become more than webargained for. ❑

James Abourezk is a former U.S. senatorfrom South Dakota who plunged into theMiddle East morass when he saw the cost toour country of Israel’s efforts to connive tohave our country do Israel’s dirty work.

68 MAY 2014THE WASHINGTON REPORT ON MIDDLE EAST AFFAIRS

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The Ultimate Choice: Ar-mageddon or Awakening, byRosemarie Carnarius, CreateSpacePublishing, 2013, paperback, 328pp. AET: $17. Drawing on her expe-rience as a Unitarian Universalistminister and childhood surroundedby war and corruption in the for-mer East Germany, RosemarieCarnarius urges readers to act forchange in the Middle East and awider world on the brink. With chapters exploring currentevents including the siege of Gaza and Israel’s threats toIran, Carnarius calls on humanity to acknowledge itsshared nature in order to avoid extinction.

A E T B o o k s t o r e Ca t a l o g

The Disinherited, by IbrahimFawal, NewSouth Books, 2012,hardcover, 300 pp. List $28.95; AET:$25. In this sequel to the criticallyacclaimed On the Hills of God,Yousif Safi’s journey continues ashe searches for Salwa, his bride,lost amid the destitute Palestinianrefugee camps of Jordan in 1948.Their tearful reunion is the start oftheir life together as part of a nascent Palestinian Dias-pora. As hopeful as it is heartbreaking, The Disinheritedunflinchingly connects readers to the courage of thePalestinians who began the ongoing quest to reclaimtheir homeland.

The Idea of Israel: A Historyof Power and Knowledge, byIlan Pappé, Verso, 2014, hardcover,288 pp. List: $26.95; AET: $22. Ac-claimed author Ilan Pappé chartsthe development of Zionist dis-course, paying special attention tothe early 20th Century scholarstasked with establishing historical“proof” for the ideology’s funda-mental assumptions. This eye-opening multidimensional look at Zionism and its chal-lengers explores the movement’s core myths, the evolu-tion of post-Zionism, and the impact of recent events inIsrael and the Middle East.

Above the Din of War: AfghansSpeak About Their Lives, TheirCountry, and Their Future—andWhy America Should Listen, byPeter Eichstaedt, Lawrence Hill Books,2013, hardcover, 280 pp. List: $26.95;AET: $20. What will happen to everydayAfghan citizens when U.S.-led interna-tional forces finally leave the country?To answer this question, veteran human rights journalistPeter Eichstaedt traveled across Afghanistan interviewingwarlords, Taliban members, female parliamentarians, farm-ers, shopkeepers and villagers. His well-crafted writinggives us a compelling glimpse into the lives of ordinarypeople confronting extraordinary circumstances.

Zionism Unsettled: A Congre-gational Study Guide, by Israel/Palestine Mission Network of thePresbyterian Church, 2014, paper-back with DVD, 72 pp. AET: $10.This first-of-a-kind resource forcommunity leaders in any religiousor educational context provides aninvaluable framework for exploringthe nature of Jewish and Christian Zionism and the Pales-tinian struggle for statehood, dignity and justice. Pub-lished to immediate acclaim and controversy, ZionismUnsettled respectfully questions the theological and ethi-cal exceptionalism that enables continued injustice andprevents true peace and reconciliation in the Middle East.

A Riffian’s Tune, by Joseph M.Labaki, Clunett Press, 2013, pa-perback, 435 pp. AET: $15. Jusefdreams of a future beyond thehardscrabble life of his tribalhome in Morocco’s Rif mountains.This autobiographical novel fol-lows Jusef on his journey fromrural sheepherder to student mak-ing his way through the chaoticstreets of Fez. Labaki’s captivatingstory reveals the complexities of Moroccan culture, thelegacies of colonial rule, the hope of a newly indepen-dent country, and the forces that pushed many tribalyouths out of the hills and into the labyrinth of urban life.

Against Our Better Judgment:How the U.S. was Used to CreateIsrael, by Alison Weir, ifamerican-sknew.org, 2014, paperback, 240 pp.List: $9.93; AET: $8. Journalist AlisonWeir, founder and executive director ofIf Americans Knew, documents the ori-gins of the Zionist movement in theUnited States and how these organiza-tions formed a lobbying effort to pressure U.S. politicians tosupport the creation of Israel. Including extensive endnotes,Against is the result of significant primary and secondary-source research, adding valuable depth to the work of Don-ald Neff, Grant F. Smith, Paul Findley, John Mearsheimer andStephen Walt, and others.

Manufactured Crisis: The Un-told Story of the Iranian Nu-clear Scare, by Gareth Porter, JustWorld Books, 2014, paperback, 312pp. List: $28; AET: $26. Award-win-ning investigative journalist GarethPorter delves into the history ofIran’s nuclear program and the falseintelligence engineered by the U.S.and Israel to spread fear about Iran-ian intentions. The product of many years of research, in-terviews with negotiators and other involved officials,Manufactured Crisis is a groundbreaking work that ex-poses the political machinations behind the blockade ofIran’s rightful interest in nuclear technology.

A Kid's Guide to ArabAmerican History: MoreThan 50 Activities, byYvonne Wakim Dennis & MahaAddasi, Chicago Review Press,2013, paperback, 224 pp. List:$16.95; AET: $13. Through en-gaging prose and fun activities, authors Dennis and Ad-dasi help dispel many stereotypes about Arab Americansin this important guide for educators and children ages 7-9. Each chapter focuses on different Arab immigrantcommunities, including those of Lebanese, Syrian, Pales-tinian, Jordanian, Egyptian, Iraqi and Yemeni descent, aswell as exploring the contributions of famous Arab Amer-icans like Ralph Nader, Paula Abdul and Danny Thomas.

MAY 2014 69THE WASHINGTON REPORT ON MIDDLE EAST AFFAIRS

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70 MAY 2014THE WASHINGTON REPORT ON MIDDLE EAST AFFAIRS

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MAY 2014 71THE WASHINGTON REPORT ON MIDDLE EAST AFFAIRS

South Africa and IsraelTo The Wichita Eagle, Jan. 29, 2014“Not apartheid” (Jan. 22 Letters to the

Editor) revealed ignorance about how SouthAfrican apartheid operated. A very smallnumber of black Africans were permittedto achieve. Most were confined to menialjobs, while professional jobs were reservedfor whites.By the 1960s, “separate development”

was the strategy—divide people into ethnicgroups and assign them to parcels of woe-fully inferior land with white settler com-munities interspersed. This separated thoseethnic group “homelands” into small non-viable areas, keeping the urban industrialareas that produce jobs, the better roads,and the water within the white settlements.Thirteen percent of the people—white set-tlers—received 87 percent of land.How similar is this to hundreds of Israeli

settlements breakingup theWest Bank’sArabcommunities—Christian and Muslim—intosmall, isolated areas, separated from one an-other by highways only Israelis can use. Thesettler boundarieswere drawn to include thewater andprime land, and jobswere reservedfor the residents of Israeli settlements.This is government policy in Israel, and

the U.S. government has not effectivelychallenged it, as it continues sending bil-lions of dollars to Israel every year. This isapartheid.Gretchen Eick, Wichita, KS

Jews Support Israeli BoycottTo The New York Times, Feb. 3, 2014I grew up in a Zionist home. Until Israel

began settling the territory conquered inthe 1967 war, I believed that Israel was jus-tifiably holding the land to trade it forpeace. The settlement activity over the lastdecades, promoted and subsidized by Is-raeli governments, both of the right and ofthe left, should disabuse any rational ob-server of any idealistic belief about Israel’seagerness to trade land for peace.I do not support violence against Israel,

from any quarter—both on themoral groundthat such violence is wrong and on the prac-tical ground that anti-Israel violence hasnever prompted Israel to change its policies.Like a growing number of American

Jews, I support a boycott of products from

the occupied territories as the most effec-tive and moral way to affect the facts on theground.Alan Wagman, Albuquerque, NM

Resorting to Anti-SemitismTo The New York Times, Feb. 18, 2014Ms. [Jodi] Rudoren notes that Mark

Regev, Prime Minister Binyamin Ne-tanyahu’s spokesman, believes the BDSmovement is holding Israel to a higher stan-dard than any other country in the world.Actually, the opposite is true. Israel itselflikes to portray itself as having higher stan-dards than most, while at the same time vi-olating these standards with apparent im-punity. Israel is a signatory to theDeclaration of Human Rights, yet has vio-lated almost all of its articles. Israel, in itsDeclaration of Independence, promised toprovide equal rights and justice to all resi-dents of Palestine-Israel, but apparentlynever had any intention of doing so. Israelpromised, as a provision of the United Na-tions recognition of their state, to adopt aConstitution, but has never done so.In view of the massive unquestioned

support of Israel by the American govern-ment, one might assume that Israel wouldbe more cooperative in the search for peaceand justice. This has obviously not hap-pened. Resorting to proclaiming anti-Semi-tism every time there are questions as to thepolicies of the Israeli government is the fall-back position when all else fails. Thisshould not be allowed.Doris Rausch, Columbia, MD

Preserving a Jewish StateTo The New York Times, Feb. 18, 2014What Mr. Roger Cohen’s argument boils

down to is a belief that civil equality andhuman rights are less lofty ideals than theperseverance of a Jewish majority state. Iwonder, would you ever publish an opin-ion article voicing concern over the end ofAmerica as a white state? What would Mr.Cohen make of the demographic realitieswithin Israel’s 1967 borders: the 20-percent-and-growing population of Arab-Palestin-ian citizens in Israel? What does that real-ity suggest for the sustainability of Israel asa Jewish and democratic state? To preservea Jewish majority, would Mr. Cohen push

his argument further to call for the removalof Israel’s Palestinian population?Bayann Hamid, New York, NY

Water Wars?To The [Santa Rosa, CA] Press Democrat,March 13, 2014Your article about California’s pact with

Israel (“Netanyahu, Brown sign pro-busi-ness pact,”March 6) contained some seriousirony. Gov. Jerry Brown and Israeli PrimeMinister Binyamin Netanyahuwere quotedextolling Israel’s approach to water manage-ment, suggesting it could be a model forCalifornia. Netanyahuwas quoted as saying“Israel has no water problems.” Is this histacit acknowledgment that the West Bank,Gaza and the Golan Heights are not part ofIsrael even though they’re occupied by it?It would appear so, because Palestinians,who make up the vast majority of peopleliving in those areas, are subject to extremewater deprivation and water pollution dueto Israeli government policies.If California were actually to pursue the

Israeli model of water management, itwould behoove Oregon and Nevada to pre-pare to defend their borders. Arizona andMexico, not having any water left to steal,would not have to worry.Wesley Silverthorne, Santa Rosa, CA

Israel’s Christian ExodusTo The Christian Science Monitor, Jan. 27,2014I was shocked but not surprised that the

Dec. 16 cover story, “A Middle East with-out Christians?” didn’t connect the “politi-cal and economic strife” Christians in Is-raeli-occupied Bethlehem “have faced overthe past few decades” to the Israeli occupa-tion under which all Palestinians in the oc-cupied territories have lived, Muslims andChristians alike, since 1967.If looking at the removal of Christians

from the Middle East, one could look as farback as 1948 when Jewish forces expelled85 percent of the Palestinians—Muslim andChristian—who lived in the territory thatbecame Israel.Until decent publications like the Moni-

tor are willing to discuss fully the actuali-ties of the Middle East, Americans will con-tinue to be served what amounts to

Compiled by Dale Sprusansky

Other People’s MailOther People’s Mail

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72 MAY 2014THE WASHINGTON REPORT ON MIDDLE EAST AFFAIRS

knee-jerk, pro-Israel pablum or coverage ofthe region that misleads from a politicalbent rather than tells the truth.Peter Belmont, Brooklyn, NY

Wrong on EgyptTo the Calgary Sun, Feb. 9, 2014[Canadian] Foreign Affairs Minister John

Baird issued a statement on Jan. 16, statingthat the constitutional referendum in Egypton Jan. 14 and 15 “marks an important stepin the country’s road map forward.” Unfor-tunately, I am not sure why Mr. Baird con-sidered the referendum an “importantstep”: is it due to its one-sided result, 98.1percent, which reminds us of the results ofMubarak’s referendums, or is it due to thefact that 12 were killed in protests on thefirst day of the referendum, or that peoplein Egypt were arrested for possessingposters calling for a “no” vote. The state-ment also mentioned hopes that the interimgovernment “strives to meet its ambitioustimetable” while “ensuring adherence to thefundamentals of democratic values.” Butfew in Egypt, either those who opposed orpreviously backed the July 3 military coup,have much hope in any democratic valuesunder the ruling military regime. There isnot much hope when about 50 protesterswere killed on the Egypt Revolution’s thirdanniversary, with liberal activists arrestedand sentenced to jail, and when we knowthere are 20 journalists facing criminalcharges in Egypt, four of them foreigners,and one of them Canadian.Mostafa Elhoushi, Calgary, Alberta,

Canada

Comparing Press FreedomsTo The Washington Post, Feb. 10, 2014The Feb. 5 editorial “No friend of free-

dom” condemned the jailing of journalistsin Egypt, noting that the State Departmenthas also condemned such prosecutions as“egregious disregard for the protection ofbasic rights and freedoms.” Now considerthe views of journalistic freedom offered byDirector of National Intelligence JamesClapper and Rep. Mike Rogers (R-MI), run-ning the same day in the Style article “Re-porters ‘fencing stolen material’?”Mr. Clapper and Mr. Rogers advocate the

prosecution of journalists who reported onthe documents leaked by former NationalSecurity Agency contractor Edward Snow-den. Are these men blind to how similartheir approach is to that of the Egyptianmilitary in seeking any flimsy rational toignore the First Amendment in “egregious

disregard for the protection of basic rightsand freedoms”?Gene Hilborn, Gainesville, VA

U.S. Role in Afghan VoteTo The New York Times, March 7, 2014“Warlords With Dark Pasts Battle in

Afghan Election” (front page, Feb. 27),about the April 5 Afghan presidential elec-tion, says American officials “have takenpains to avoid expressing any preferencefor a particular candidate, sensitive to ac-cusations from Mr. Karzai that they inter-fered in the 2009 vote.”Let the record show that these “accusa-

tions” from President Hamid Karzai are nota figment of his imagination. As RobertGates, the former defense secretary, con-firmed in his memoir, Duty, some Americanofficials were trying “to bring about thedefeat of Karzai in the August 20 elections.”And the result, according to Mr. Gates:

“Our future dealings with Karzai, alwayshugely problematic, and his criticisms of us,are at least more understandable in the con-text of our clumsy and failed putsch.”I hope that we have learned a lesson.Karl F. Inderfurth, McLean, VA

Defending Eviction NoticesTo The Huntington News, March 13, 2014Twoweeks ago, [Northeastern University

Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP)] ac-tivists slipped mock eviction notices underthe doors of students’ dorm rooms, high-lighting the ongoing epidemic of home de-molitions in occupied Palestine. The noticesbegan by telling students that their dorm

was scheduled for demolition, and contin-ued on to explain that every year thousandsof Palestinians have demolition orders ap-plied to their homes solely because of theirethnicity. The notices clearly stated thatthey were not real and invited students tojoin the conversation on Twitter with thehashtag #BostonMockEviction.Citing data from the Israeli Committee

Against Home Demolitions, the noticespoint out that 160,000 indigenous Palestini-ans have been displaced since 1967. In fact,according to data from the United Nations,862 Palestinians were made homeless by Is-raeli demolitions in the first nine months of2013 alone. The Palestinian population inthe occupied territories, including illegallyannexed East Jerusalem, continues toendure violence, displacement, disposses-sion and deprivation as a result of prolongedIsraeli occupation, in violation of theirrights under international law. In the WestBank, including East Jerusalem, demolitionsare amajor cause of the destruction of prop-erty, including residential and livelihood-re-lated structures and displacement.Mock eviction notices have been used at

many other campuses nationwide and haveusually succeeded in inspiring debate oncampus about Israeli policies and the condi-tions underwhich Palestinians live.Most no-tably, last year at Harvardwhen students im-plemented a similar campaign, Zionistorganizations made unsubstantiated claimsthat Jewish students had been targeted orthat the notices forced students into havinguncomfortable political conversations. Stu-dent activists on many campuses have re-sponded that the question of Israel-Palestinehas for too long been the “third-rail” on col-lege campuses, a subject that you were notsupposed to talk about, but that direct ac-tions are important in engaging students ina critical debate about a serious issue im-pacting people’s lives, which themainstreammedia talks about too little or in a biasedway.The timing of this distribution of mock

eviction notices coincided with the start ofthe 10th Annual Israeli Apartheid Week,which seeks to raise awareness of the un-equal treatment of Palestinians in Israel andthe conditions of those people living underIsraeli military occupation, as well as buildsupport for the Boycott, Divestment andSanctions (BDS) Movement. Throughoutthe week activists on campuses nationwidehosted events, such as movie screenings,lectures and creative actions, which raiseawareness about these conditions.Tori Porell, SJP member, Boston, MA ❑

WRITE, TELEPHONE OR E-MAILTHOSE WORKING FOR YOU

President Barack ObamaThe White House1600 Pennsylvania Ave., N.W.Washington, DC 20500Switchboard: (202) 456-1414Comment Line: (202) 456-1111Fax: (202) 456-2461E-mail: <president@whitehouse.gov>

Vice President Joe Biden<vice.president@whitehouse.gov>

Secretary of State John KerryDepartment of StateWashington, DC 20520(202) 647-6575

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

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

E-mail Congress: visit <www.congress.org> forcontact information.

opm_71-72_Other People's Mail 3/20/14 6:04 AM Page 72

MAY 2014 73THE WASHINGTON REPORT ON MIDDLE EAST AFFAIRS

Upcoming Events

The Jerusalem Fund Gallery will host afirst-of-its-kind event: the launch ofNooshTube, a free mobile applicationshowcasing Middle Eastern food and cul-ture, on May 3, 2 to 4 p.m., at 2425 Vir-ginia Ave NW, Washington, DC 20037.Creators Pooya Rezai and Sherean Azarmiwill demonstrate how NooshTube enablesusers to collaborate on humanitarian pro-jects, find recipes, shop at (or “browsearound”) a virtual pantry, and source Mid-dle Eastern vendors or restaurants in theU.S. and worldwide. For more informationvisit <www.thejerusalemfund.org> or call(202) 338-1958.

Join United Palestinian Appeal (UPA) onMay 3 for its Spring Walk for Palestineat Carderock Park in Bethesda, MD, 9 to11:30 a.m. Support Palestine by helpingraise critical funds for health, educationand development programs while walkingalong the historic C&O Canal. For moreinformation, visit <http://www.helpupa.org> or call (202) 659-5007.

American Friends of UNRWA will hold its3rd annual Washington, DC Gaza Soli-darity 5K Walk/Run, May 17 at 8 a.m. inRock Creek Park. Proceeds from the eventwill benefit UNRWA’s mental health pro-gram for children in Gaza suffering frompsychological trauma and PTSD. For moreinformation, visit <www.unrwausa.org/gaza5k> or call (202) 223-3767.

The Islamic Circle of North America andthe Muslim American Society will hostthe 39th Annual ICNA-MAS Conven-tion, May 24 to 26 at the Baltimore Con-vention Center, 1 W. Pratt St, Baltimore,MD 21201. The event will feature speak-ers, competitions, a youth conference, en-tertainment, and a large bazaar. For moreinformation visit <www.icna.org> or call(718) 658-1199.

AnnouncementsIn an effort to help the U.N. Committee onthe Exercise of the Inalienable Rights of thePalestinian People connect with civil soci-ety organizations active on the Palestiniancause, the U.N. Platform for Palestine

(UNPfP) has launched a new website andFacebook page, which supporters are en-couraged to visit and help them make theironline presence an important resource.Visit these pages at <www.unpfp.un.org>and <www.facebook.com/UNPfP>.

The Yemen College of Middle EasternStudies (YCMES) will host its annualSummer Term Arabic Language &Area Studies Program in Sana’a fromJune 8 to July 10, July 13 to Aug. 21, andAug. 24 to Sept. 25. Students can study atYCMES for 5, 10, 15 or more weeks, in oneof the world’s few remaining places whereArabic is spoken exclusively. The programaccepts applicants on a rolling basis, andpayments must be received a month beforeclasses begin. To learn more visit <http://ncusar.org/study-abroad/ycmes>.

The Summer Institute for IntensiveArabic Language and Culture, hostedeach year at the Lebanese American Uni-versity (Beirut campus), is currently accept-ing applications for its six-week summerprogram, June 23 to Aug. 1. Courses in-clude introductory through advancedArabic and Lebanese dialect. Applicationsare due by May 16. For more informationvisit <www.lau.edu.lb/centers-institutes/sinarc/index.html>.

ObituariesHunein Maassab, 87, a Syrian Americanscientist and developer of a groundbreakingflu vaccine, died Feb. 1 in North Carolina.Born in Damascus, Maassab enrolled in theUniversity of Missouri in 1947 and earned adoctorate in epidemiology in 1956 from theUniversity of Michigan, joining its School ofPublic Health faculty in 1957 and becominga full professor of epidemiology in 1973. In-spired by the success of the polio vaccine,Maassab first isolated a strain of flu virus in1960, then spent nearly 50 years developinga nasal spray version of the flu vaccine,during which he and a team of researchersconducted more than 70 studies and trials.In 2002 the FDA approved his FluMist forgeneral use, and it has since become an in-ternationally used alternative to injectedvaccines. By the late 1990s, the vaccine wasshown to successfully prevent flu infections85 percent of the time, and later tests have

revealed that the spray is more effective thancomparable injected vaccines.

Ibrahim Mohammed Saleh, 83, the rev-olutionary Palestinian poet and folkloricsongwriter popularly known as “AbuArab,” died March 2 in the Syrian city ofHoms after a long illness. Born in al-Shajaravillage in British Mandate Palestine in 1931,his family was forced to flee their ancestralhome after his father was killed while fight-ing Israeli forces in 1948. The family cycledthrough several refugee camps until settlingin Homs. Saleh, who formed his first musicensemble in 1980, lost one of his sons inIsrael’s 1982 invasion of Lebanon. Duringhis 63 years of exile, he wrote poetry abouthis home and the struggle of the Palestinianpeople. He began singing on radio programsin 1959 and is considered by some to be thegrandfather of Palestinian revolutionarysong. He was allowed to briefly return toPalestine to participate in a 2011 cultural fes-tival, and played to a full house in Ramallah.

Shulamit Aloni, 85, Israeli politician, co-founder of the dovish Meretz party and fre-quent critic of Israel’s treatment of Pales-tinians, died Jan. 24 at her home near TelAviv. Born in Tel Aviv to Polish immigrants,she fought as part of the underground Pal-mach militia in Jerusalem and was capturedby Jordanian forces in 1948. She was firstelected to the Knesset in 1965, and startedher own party, the Citizens’ Rights Move-ment, in 1973. Initially focused on the sep-aration of religion and state, the party laterbecame critical of Israeli actions in Lebanon,human rights abuses in the occupied WestBank and Gaza, and the construction of set-tlements on Palestinian land. She helpedfound Meretz in 1992 and served briefly aseducation minister, but was forced to resignafter speaking out against Jewish religiousleaders. She retired from party politics in1996. In 2005 Aloni joined the board ofYesh Din, which provides legal assistance toPalestinians in the West Bank. She publiclydefended President Jimmy Carter’s use ofthe word Apartheid in his book about thePalestine-Israel conflict. At the age of 80,Aloni wrote her sixth book, Israel: Democ-racy or Ethnocracy? a stern assessment of theJewish fundamentalist movement in Israelipolitics. ❑

Upcoming Events, Announcements & Obituaries —Compiled by Andrew Stimson BulletinBoardBulletinBoard

bulletin_board_73_May 2014 Bulletin Board 3/20/14 6:58 PM Page 73

HUMMERS ($100 or more) Jeffrey M. Abood, Silver Lake, OHRev. Fahed Abu-Akel, Atlanta, GAMike & Pat Ameen, Kingwood, TXEdwin Amidon, Charlotte, VTSylvia Anderson de Freitas, Phoenix, AZ Mr. & Mrs. Sultan Aslam, Plainsboro, NJNabil Bahu, Athens, GreeceJamil Barhoum, San Diego, CAAllen & Jerrie Bartlett, Philadelphia, PAJohn Carley, Pointe-Claire, QuebecRichard Curtiss, Boynton Beach, FLTareck Elass, Washington, DCM.R. Eucalyptus, Kansas City, MORenee Farmer, New York, NYMr. & Mrs. Majed Faruki,Albuquerque, NM

Douglas A. Field, Kihei, HIEileen Fleming, Clermont, FL

Joseph & Angela Gauci, Whittier, CAShirley Hannah, Argyle, NYMrs. Frances Hasenyager, Carmel, CAJoan & Edward Hazbun, Media, PADr. Colbert & Mildred Held, Waco, TXMohamad Kamal, North York, Ont.Edwin Kennedy, Bethesda, MDAlfred & Dina Khoury, McLean, VAJoseph Korey, Reading, PAMary Lou Levin, Mill Valley, CAStanley McGinley, The Woodlands, TXColleen Mitchell, Fresno, CABassam Rammaha, Corona, CANeil Richardson, Randolph, VTMs. Brynhild Rowberg, Northfield, MNBetty Sams, Washington, DCRussell Scardaci, Cairo, NY *John V. Whitbeck, Paris, FranceDarrell & Sue Yeaney, Scotts Valley, CANadim & Alicia Zacharia, San Diego, CA

ACCOMPANISTS ($250 or more) Dr. Majid Azzedine, Lakewood, WAPaul N. Kirk, Baton Rouge, LAKendall Landis, Media, PARachelle Marshall, Mill Valley, CAYasir Shallal, McLean, VA

TENORS & CONTRALTOS($500 or more) Dr. Abdullah Arar, Amman, JordanGraf Herman Bender,North Palm Beach, FL

Rev. Ronald C. Chochol, St. Louis, MORafeek Farah, New Boston, MIRonald & Mary Forthofer, Longmont, COHind Hamdan, Hagerstown, MDBrigitte Jaensch, Carmichael, CAGerald & Judith Merrill, Oakland, CAMary Norton, Austin, TX Gabrielle Saad, Oakland, CADr. Robert Younes, Potomac, MD*

BARITONES & MEZZOSOPRANOS ($1,000 or more) Asha A. Anand, Bethesda, MDThomas D’Albani & Dr. Jane Killgore,Bemidji, MN

Linda Emmet, Paris, FranceDr. & Mrs. Clyde Farris, West Linn, OREvan & Leman Fotos, Istanbul, Turkey* Judith Howard, Norwood, MAShafiq Kombargi, Houston, TXJack Love, San Diego, CAJohn Mahoney, AMEU, New York, NYBob Norberg, Lake City, MNJohn Van Wagoner, McLean, VA

CHOIRMASTERS ($5,000 or more)Henry Clifford, Essex, CTDonna B. Curtiss, Kensington, MDJohn & Henrietta Goelet, New York, NYAndrew I. Killgore, Washington, DCVincent & Louise Larsen, Billings, MT*, **Mahmud Shaikhaly, Hollywood, CA

*In Memory of Richard H. Curtiss**In Honor of Andrew I. Killgore ❑

AET’s 2014 Choir of AngelsFollowing are individuals, organizations, companies and foundations whose help between Jan. 1, 2014 and March 4, 2014 ismaking possible activities of the tax-exempt AET Library Endowment (federal ID #52-1460362) and the American Educa-tional Trust, publisher of theWashington Report on Middle East Affairs. Some Angels helped us co-sponsor the March 7 Na-tional Summit to Reassess the U.S.-Israel “Special Relationship.” We are deeply honored by their confidence and profoundlygrateful for their generosity.

Help make sure that the Washington Report on Middle East Affairs will be here for thenext generation. By remembering the Washington Report in your will, you can:

• Make a significant gift without affecting your current cash flow;• Direct your bequest to a vital purpose—educating readers about U.S. foreign policy in the Middle East;

• Receive a charitable estate tax deduction;• Leave a legacy for future generations.

Bequests of any size are honored with membership in the American EducationalTrust’s “Choirmasters,” named for angels whose foresight and dedication ensuredthe future of the Washington Report and AET Book Club.

For more information visit www.wrmea.com/donate/bequests.pdf, contact us at circulation@wrmea.com, write: American Educational Trust, PO Box 91056 • Long Beach, CA 90809-1056, or telephone our new toll-free circulation number 888-881-5861 • Fax: 714-226-9733

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American Educational TrustThe Washington Report on

Middle East AffairsP.O. Box 53062

Washington, DC 20009

May 2014Vol. XXXIII, No. 3

Syrian refugee children pose for a photo during the “Light Against Darkness” exhibition of art by Syrian refugee children inBeirut, Feb. 21, 2014. The exhibit was the culmination of a three-month workshop supervised by artists to provide psychological support for Syrian refugees. ANWAR AMRO/AFP/Getty Images

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