Fear is nothing new in human affairs. It has been with us since the dawn of time. Now, however, we live in a world that is both increasingly intertwined and alarmingly disjointed. Globalization has dramatized a fundamental reality for the fortunate citizens living in the rich world: If you want to subject the rest of the planet to your models of consumption and personal freedoms, expect responses and reverberations. By no moral, legal, or cultural calculus will it ever be acceptable that some live in comfort and splendor while the majority of Earth’s human denizens suffer hunger, oppression, want and despair.” George E. Irani offers some insights into the dynamics underlying fear of Arabs and Muslims in the West in the pages of Beirut’s Daily Star. Read more about Living "the other," fearing "the other"
Survivors of the 1982 Sabra and Shatila massacre won’t be able to testify against Israeli Prime Minister Sharon at the Belgium Supreme Court on Wednesday, as the Belgian Embassy didn’t grant them “emergency” visas. The embassy told the victims’ lawyer, Chibli Mallat, that there “wasn’t enough time” to get the visas ready before their date of departure. The Beirut Daily Star’s Hala Kilani reports on the good news and the bad news about the case against Sharon and others in Belgium. Read more about Visa delay will prevent massacre survivors from testifying before Belgian court
“Without justice there will be no peace in the region, and as long as people like Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon and Iraqi President Saddam Hussein — both believed to be responsible for crimes against humanity — remain in power, the region’s problems will not be solved.” These are arguments put forth by leading international legal expert Chibli Mallat, who is also behind two initiatives aimed at bringing justice to the region. Maha Al-Azar reports in Beirut’s Daily Star. Read more about Lawyer for massacre victims calls for implementing justice throughout Middle East
“Israelis have scoffed at Prime Minister Ariel Sharon�s war crimes trial in Belgium, but, despite it all, the legal process continues. Indeed, on Tuesday it received a valuable shot in the arm.” The Daily Star’s Michael Young examines the legal and political background of a possible resumption of the war crimes case against Sharon and others in Belgium Read more about Universal Jurisdiction in Belgium: The Trial Continues
As overseas students have trouble getting visas and special interest groups target academics who speak their minds, Abdelwahab El-Affendi argues that American academia is one of the victims of September 11 in the following article in The Daily Star.Read more about American academia may be principal casualty of Sept. 11
When Israeli authorities declared Ramallah a closed military zone early this week, the army decreed that the media would also be banned from the city. What they failed to recognize is that the media is no longer limited to those with press passes. In the age of the internet, anyone can become a journalist. Read more about Life and Death in Palestine
