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Debate? What debate?

Michael F. Brown 15 January 2007


There is a misperception in various world locales of Washington’s debate on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Namely, that substantive debate exists at all. In fact, the debate in the power corridors of Washington is highly constrained, almost non-existent. Should we engage with President Mahmoud Abbas now or require him to leap through several more hoops — including civil war — first? Serious argument on the injustice of Israel’s long-running occupation simply does not take place other than at the margins. The reason for the silence has become increasingly clear with the publication of President Carter’s courageous book, Palestine Peace Not Apartheid. 

Academic Freedom and Professional Responsibility after 9/11

15 January 2007


The Taskforce on Middle East Anthropology is pleased to announce a practical handbook for those facing politically motivated infringements on their teaching or scholarship. Attempts to undermine professors’ abilities to teach and do research are increasingly directed at scholars who seek to provide a contextualized and critical view of recent international developments and their interaction with US foreign policies and practices. This handbook provides an overview of the range and nature of recent challenges to academic freedom. It provides concrete suggestions for how to respond to such attacks and to avoid them in the first place. 

Palestinian refugees and exiles must have a say-so

Rima Merriman 15 January 2007


Today, Palestinian refugees outside the occupied territories and Palestinian exiles feel completely excluded from the body politic and national debate currently taking place in the occupied territories. They listen to the feuding emanating from the territories in helpless dismay. They watch those on the inside who are caught up in a carefully engineered web of power struggles and passionate rifts that seem incomprehensible in their intensity and misdirection. This fragmentation in the Palestinian political process has long been in the making. 

UNIFIL troop strength and humanitarian activities

15 January 2007


The number of peacekeepers serving in UNIFIL has risen to 11,570, comprised of soldiers from 27 countries, 9,660 ground troops and 1,758 naval personnel. In addition to its core mandated activities UNIFIL continues providing humanitarian assistance to the civilian population. Between 7 - 13 January, there were 213 instances where UNIFIL peacekeepers provided medical assistance, 34 instances where they provided dental care, and 12 occasions in which veterinary services were provided. 

I love life ... with dignity

Mayssoun Sukarieh Beirut 15 January 2007


Yet another set of slogans written also in red and white letters are being trumpeted on billboards around Lebanon. The slogans, written in French, English and Arabic, are installed side by side to the previous set of slogans: “We want to live,” and “I love life.” These new billboards are signed by the Lebanese opposition under a rainbow that includes the colors of all Lebanese parties, for the opposition as well as pro-government. “The campaign is a response to those who are accusing us that we do not want to live and that we do not love life,” say representatives of Hezbollah and Aoun Parties on a NTV television broadcast. 

Leaving Las Vegas, or getting out of Gaza

Bill Dienst Tel Aviv, Israel 14 January 2007


This is the second trip I have made to the Gaza Strip since 2003. I third time, in 2005, I was not permitted to enter. Back in 1985, it was easy to travel from Gaza to Jerusalem and back. In those days, I went back and forth many times. The entrance to Gaza, where a huge grotesque monstrosity of a checkpoint terminal now stands, was then only a few concrete barrels. Palestinian group taxis would weave through the concrete-filled barrels that marked the border and one could easily pass inside or outside, on your way to Gaza City or on your way back to Damascus Gate in Jerusalem. 

Diverse allies in Lebanon

Maria Abi-Habib Beirut 14 January 2007


Ibtisam Jamaleddine stood in the room of her dead son, Maxim. Maxim was 18 years old when he was mistaken for a fighter and killed by an Israeli missile during this summer’s war between Israel and Hezbollah. Pictures of Che Guevara and soccer players as well as a plaque dedicated to Shiite Islam’s most revered imam, Ali, adorn the walls of his room. They tell a story unknown in the West, of the complex nature of forces that fought Israel last summer. 

"Abolish order forbidding Israelis and foreigners to travel with Palestinians"

10 January 2007


Eight Israeli human rights organizations petition High Court of Justice: order is legal basis for targeted, systematic, institutional discrimination, amounting to apartheid. The organizations demand to abolish the order supposed to take effect on January 19. The order issued by OC central command, Major General Yair Naveh, forbids Palestinians to travel with Israelis and internationals in their vehicles within the West Bank. The organizations are demanding the HCJ abolish the order and issue an interim order postponing the implementation of the order until it has ruled on the matter. 

Selectively Terrified

Mary Foster 13 January 2007


Throughout much of the Arab world, Hezbollah is being celebrated as the champion that was, at long last, able to establish a victory over invincible Israel and its omnipotent western backers. In the Middle East, Hezbollah’s victory has energized movements against imperialism and its system of client regimes. In Canada, Hezbollah is a terrorist organization. It is thus illegal to “participate in or contribute to, directly or indirectly, any activity” of this Lebanese political party or even to urge anyone to act in a way that could be construed as benefiting Hezbollah. 

Suspected Citizens: Racial Profiling against Arab Passengers by Israeli Airports and Airlines

12 January 2007

The Arab Association for Human Rights (HRA) and the Center Against Racism (hereinafter “the investigating organizations”) have accumulated numerous complaints submitted by Arab citizens relating to discriminatory security inspections they have undergone at the hands of security personnel, despite the fact that they did not pose the slightest security risk to the other passengers. These travelers have never been suspected of security offenses and nothing in their past could justify such special treatment.