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On Middle East Affairs

8 Netanyahu’s Speech to Congress Causes Tremors inThe “Unshakable” Alliance—Rachelle Marshall

11 CIA Sued for “Thousands” of Files on Israeli TheftOf U.S. Weapons-Grade Uranium—Grant F. Smith

12 What Does the Israeli Election Mean for a Future Palestinian State?—Two Views

—George S. Hishmeh, Gideon Levy

14 Only Palestinian Village Remaining in Central IsraelThreatened With Demolition—Jonathan Cook

16 What Looms Ahead for the Forgotten Heroes of Gaza?—Delinda C. Hanley

18 Banksy Murals a Rare Source of Pleasure forBesieged Gazans—Mohammed Omer

20 Three New Amigos: Graham, Netanyahu andBlair—Ian Williams

22 The Speech: Netanyahu Harangues the U.S.Congress—Uri Avnery

24 Boehner/Netanyahu Spectacle Injects Politics IntoU.S.-Israel Relations—Shirl McArthur

27 Pro-Israel PACs Already Working to Re-elect Sen. Mark Kirk (R-IL) in 2016—Janet McMahon

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

SPECIAL REPORTS34 Eighty-Three Percent of Lights Have Gone Out

In Syria—Josh Butler36 Malaysian Opposition Alliance Loses Two Key

Leaders in Three Days—John Gee

Volume XXXIV, No. 3 May 2015

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:Malak al-Khatib, 14, who was arrested Dec. 31, 2014 on charges of throwing stones and carry-ing a knife and sentenced to two months in prison, flashes a victory sign during a Feb. 17 rally in Ramallah calling forthe release of Palestinian children held in Israeli jails, four days after she herself was released.

ABBAS MOMANI/AFP/GETTY IMAGES

A group of remarkable young ladies, the parliament of Jalazone Girls’ School in theWest Bank, welcomed UNRWA USA staffmembers Laila Mokhiber (l), Abby Smardon(back row, second from l) and UNRWAboard member Elizabeth Kucinich (back row,second from r) during their visit in March.

UNRWA USA

toc_3-4_May 2015 TOC 3/26/15 8:27 PM Page 3

5 LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

7 PUBLISHERS’ PAGE

38 NORTHERN CALIFORNIA CHRONICLE: Bus Ads HighlightU.S. Taxpayer Funding of“Israel’s War Crimes”—Elaine Pasquini

40 NEW YORK CITY AND TRI-STATE NEWS:UNRWAPhotos Document Palestinians’“Long Journey”—Jane Adas

42 SOUTHERN CALIFORNIACHRONICLE:Muslims Mourn,Call for Hate Crime Probe IntoMurder of Three Chapel Hill Students—Pat and Samir Twair

44 ISLAM IN AMERICA:U.S. Deports Never-ConvictedProfessor and Activist—A Statement by Dr. Sami al-Arian

45 CHRISTIANITY AND THEMIDDLE EAST:The Plight of Iraq’s AncientChristian Communities—Philip Davies

48 ISRAEL AND JUDAISM:Netanyahu’s Calls for Jews toFlee Europe Are Rebuffed as“Posthumous Victory” for Hitler—Allan C. Brownfeld

50 ARAB AMERICAN ACTIVISM:Arab America, UDC Commemo-rate the Struggle for Justice

50 MUSIC & ARTS:Film Examines Malcolm X andAfrican-American History

52 HUMAN RIGHTS:New America Conference Explores the “Future of War”

55 WAGING PEACE:#OneStruggle Panelists Inspire

67 DIPLOMATIC DOINGS:A Conversation With Qatar’sSheikh Tamim

68 BOOK REVIEWS:Oh, Salaam!Syria Speaks: Art and CultureFrom the Frontline—Reviewed by Kevin A. Davis

69 MIDDLE EAST BOOKS ANDMORE

70 THE WORLD LOOKS AT THEMIDDLE EAST — CARTOONS

71 OTHER PEOPLE’S MAIL

73 BULLETIN BOARD

74 2015 AET CHOIR OF ANGELS

46 INDEX TO ADVERTISERS

Who Can Save Israel Now?,Philip Weiss, www.mondoweiss.net OV-1

Netanyahu Won. Now What?,Avigail Abarbanel, www.mondoweiss.net OV-3

European Jews Moving to Israel Are Trading Anti-Semitism for Racism,Zvi Bar’el, Haaretz OV-3

Israel’s Foreign Minister Calls for Beheading Arab Citizens and It’s not Anywhere in The New York Times,Scott Roth & Philip Weiss, www.mondoweiss.net OV-4

Netanyahu Unmasks Israel, Robert Parry, http://consortiumnews.com OV-4

Why Israel Lobby Is Biggest Casualty of Feud Over Binyamin Netanyahu’s Speech, Nathan Guttman, The Forward OV-6

What About Israel’s Nuclear Bomb? William Greider, www.thenation.com OV-7

Iran Schools GOP Senators on International Law,Akbar Shahid Ahmed, TheHuffingtonPost.com OV-8

Rand Paul’s Munich,Justin Raimondo, www.antiwar.com OV-9

Is the Time for Enmity Over?, Trita Parsi, Le Monde diplomatique OV-11

Ghosts of Saddam, Saladin & Khomeini: The Historical Meaning Behind the Tikrit Campaign, Juan Cole, www.juancole.com OV-14

Why Obama’s Hopes of Decapitating the Islamic State Won’t Work,Andrew Cockburn, www.counterpunch.org OV-14

The U.S. Sells Out a Brave, Democratic Muslim Leader—AgainJames North, www.mondoweiss.net OV-16

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

toc_3-4_May 2015 TOC 3/26/15 8:27 PM Page 4

Kudos From Down UnderI was sent a Washington Report articlewhich impressed me as to its apparenttruthfulness, which after witnessing thehumiliations of your country on 3 March,was a somewhat refreshing experience. Iwould be pleased to think that your articlesare also read by the 477 members of yourJoint Houses who attended the Netanyahupolitical circus on that day, such numbersunfortunately reflecting what seems to bethe state of play in the USA, 2015. You may not be surprised to know that

such analysis of Middle East matters is seri-ously lacking in this country exceptthrough the online articles fromGlobal Research, on occasions.Any reports which do appear inprint have the corrupt stamp ofthe Murdoch empire, devoid ofany real facts and which are, morethan likely, reproduced from thepages of the Jerusalem Post.Perhaps you may advise me of

the procedures necessary to beable to receive your digital publi-cations. I did find your webpageto be somewhat convoluted andunresponsive to my efforts inthis regard. As you probablyknow, everything in this part of the world,down under so to speak, is back-to-front. Rex Williams, Canberra, AustraliaThanks to the ministrations of our web-

master, we’re pleased to welcome you as adigital subscriber. The $10 annual rate en-ables subscribers to view each new issue assoon as the print version is mailed, and is theperfect solution for our readers abroad. Andwe’re glad you do not seem to equate allAmericans with those members of Congresswho applauded a foreign leader as he under-mined their president and State Department.As the Israeli activist Uri Avnery notes on p.22, “Nothing like this could have happenedin the Knesset.”

“The Israel Lobby” ConferenceWe would love to be present at your April10 conference on the Israel lobby. You cer-tainly have some great speakers.Enclosed is our check for $5,000 to assist

your magazine in telling the truth aboutour deplorable pro-Israel Congress.Vince and Louise Larsen, Billings, MTWe are so grateful for your generous sup-

port over the years, which has helped keep thismagazine alive, and we know you will be withus in spirit on April 10. It’s our hope that C-SPAN will air the conference live, as it didlast year’s “National Summit to Reassess theU.S.-Israel ‘Special Relationship.’” (Calls en-

couraging them to do so might help make thathappen.) A video of the conference proceedingsshould be available the following day at<http://IsraelLobbyUS.org>.

A Fickle MistressI have high hopes for this conference if ithonestly addresses the subjects you haveon the agenda.Too much tiptoeing around “feelings”

and not enough scrutiny of decisions mas-querading as “objective.” Guilt is a fickle mistress. Gladys Pfaff, Philadelphia, PABetter to be master of one’s own fate.

Now More Than EverI am writing with a heartfelt “thank you”for your many years of bringing to light theissues, insights, strategies and programs thataffect justice in Palestine and Israel and, in-deed, throughout the Middle East. TheWashington Report is “must-reading” forthose who want a wholistic view of the com-plex factors that make for U.S. foreign policyin the region and what we can do, what wemust do, to be forces for positive change inour country. We who labor “in the trenches”through our various organizations aroundthe country desperately need your clarioncall for education, but, even more, for advo-cacy and action now more than ever.We at the Indiana Center for Middle East

Peace are celebrating our 10th year of edu-cation, engagement and empowerment forjustice in the Middle East, especially Pales-tine and Israel, this year. And as a thankyou for your partnership, for supplyingcomplimentary copies of the WashingtonReport for our constituents, please acceptthis gift of $250 to continue your coura-geous witness. Like I said earlier, we needthe Washington Report now more than ever.Michael Spath, Executive Director, Indi-

ana CMEP Inc., Fort Wayne, INCongratulations on your decade of achieve-

ment! And thank you so much for your kindwords and generous contribution. It’s wonder-

Publisher: ANDREW I. KILLGOREManaging Editor: JANET McMAHON

News Editor: DELINDA C. HANLEYAssistant Editor: DALE SPRUSANSKY

Middle East Books and More Director: KEVIN A. DAVIS

Finance & Admin. Director: CHARLES R. CARTER

Art Director: RALPH U. SCHERERExecutive Editor: RICHARD H. CURTISS

(1927-2013)

Washington Report on Middle East Affairs(ISSN 8755-4917) is published 8 times a year,monthly except Jan./Feb., March/April and June/Julycombined, at 1902 18th St., NW, Washington, DC20009-1707. Tel. (202) 939-6050. Subscription prices(United States and possessions): one year, $29; twoyears, $55; three years, $75. For Canadian and Mexi-can subscriptions, $35 per year; for other foreignsubscriptions, $70 per year. Periodicals, postage paidat Washington, DC and additional mailing offices.POSTMASTER: Send address changes to Wash-ington Report on Middle East Affairs, P.O. Box91056, Long Beach, CA 90809-1056.

Published by the American 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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Printed in the USA

LetterstotheEditor

MAY 2015 5THE WASHINGTON REPORT ON MIDDLE EAST AFFAIRS

lte_5-6r_Letters to the Editor 3/26/15 2:43 PM Page 5

6 MAY 2015THE WASHINGTON REPORT ON MIDDLE EAST AFFAIRS

ful to know that people and organi-zations such as yours are workinghard throughout the country to edu-cate their fellow citizens about justicefor the Palestinians and the need foran independent U.S. foreign policy.

Spreading the KnowledgeAs-salaamu alaykum. Respectful greetings;and may this find you all with the verybest of health and faring well in every re-gard.This is just a brief note to kindly re-

quest—if possible—an extension on theWashington Report subscription that youhave so generously provided us with (itexpires with the next issue). We benefitfrom it beyond what these mere wordscan express! There are around a dozenregular readers of the issues that yousend, and we use them as resources forthe dialogues we have with unaware indi-viduals who have no real clue as to what’sgoing on overseas.At any rate, if you could extend the

subscription, it would be most highly ap-preciated, to say the very least; and in theevent that you’re unable to do so or oth-erwise constrained, my thanks to you allthe same! Please do keep up the goodwork, and may God be pleased with youfor it. Abdul Bari, Allen Correctional Institu-

tion, Lima, OH P.S. Please disregard the name on the re-

turn address of the envelope that this ar-rives in. Another prisoner gave me hismonthly “free envelope” to use.

On behalf of our angels, we are pleased toextend your subscription—and impressedwith your 12:1 ratio of readers to each issue!

Reliable AmmunitionIn the late ’60s, while I was on a Fulbrightto Germany, I decided to go to Israel afterfinishing my commitment. During the sixmonths or so I was there, I worked on var-ious kibbutzim, choosing ones of differentpolitical persuasions.Though I saw things which troubled me,

I assumed I was misinterpreting them. Allmy life, I had admired Jews—their sense ofjustice, their erudition, the value theyplaced on sophisticated culture. In short, Iwas heavily biased. But what I observed,and experienced, was evidence of an over-weening prejudice—and this by govern-ment fiat. Hardly a “democracy” asclaimed. Indeed, even among Jews, therewas an established “pecking order,” withimmigrants from certain countries (Mo-rocco, when I was there) given the worstjobs and housing. In addition, it was obvi-ous that only Jews had intrinsic value. Onone kibbutz, a worker (Danish) lost toes onone foot when medical attention was de-layed while those in charge argued overwho would get to drive him (cars werescarce and the opportunity to drive themhighly prized) to the doctor. Another acci-dent led to a similar disastrous outcome. I,myself, while working on a kibbutz next tothe Syrian border which was periodicallybombed, learned by accident when I wasleaving that there were bomb shelters rou-tinely used by kibbutz members, yet we

were not informedof this. We, appar-ently, were ex-pendable.After I came

home, I educatedmyself—both re-garding the his-tory of the regionand current condi-tions. I still remem-ber my shock onreading The Holo-caust Industry, andof course, sincethen, your excel-lent publication.Over the years

I’ve worked withlocal PJP groupsand also writtencountless letters tovarious newspa-pers, magazines,

called talk shows, etc. In addition,I’ve conducted a weekly Quaker-style vigil with signs in front ofthe local synagogue, where I wasroutinely called names (“Naziwhore” was a favorite, and “cow-ard”—which I was never able to

figure out), spat on, and threatened with abeating. The degree of venom was astonish-ing. I’ve discontinued these vigils becausethe synagogue has removed itself to a spaceoutside the city, remote enough to make itunsafe for me to continue.Please accept my gratitude for your in-

telligent and untiring efforts on behalf ofthe Palestinians. And for supplying me, allthese years, with ammunition for my ownefforts. Knowing that ammunition was reli-able has made all the difference—it ren-dered me unafraid.I am 85 years old. And while it may be too

ambitious to hope for justice for the Pales-tinians before my death I know, in my gut,that it will come.Iowa City, though not as “liberal” as it

believes, is not a bad place to live. I’velanded here (as well as many college townsacross the country) several times becauseof my profession. I’m a classically trainedcomposer, and oddly Iowa City was, formany years, a mecca for avant-garde com-posers. No longer true, alas.Wilhelmine Bennett, Iowa City, IAYour story is fascinating and, we suspect,

true of many Americans who admired Israeluntil they went there and had their eyes (andears) opened. We applaud your courage anddetermination, and thank you most sincerelyfor your generous contribution. As we like tosay, we’re all in this together!

Pleasure and IndignationI was thrilled to get the article on the Wen-dell Phillips exhibition (see March/April2015 Washington Report, p. 40) and readthrough your marvelous magazine withpleasure (and indignation of course forwhat I was reading!) and was remindedthat I have been meaning to subscribe. Iwill do so. Anyone who cares about theMiddle East should be one of your readers. Jane Fletcher Geniesse, via e-mail We thank our mutual friend Dr. Michael

Hudson, who recently retired from George-town University, for bringing the article toyour attention, knowing as he did that youare writing a book on Wendell Phillips. Weknow it will be as excellent as your previousworks on Freya Stark, Passionate Nomad,and the founder of the American ColonyHotel in Jerusalem, American Priestess. Notonly do we look forward to reading it our-selves, but we hope to make it available toothers through AET’s Middle East Booksand More. ❑

Keep Those Cards and Letters Coming!Send your letters to the editor to the Washington Report, P.O. Box 53062, Washington, DC 20009

or e-mail <letters@wrmea.org>.

Other Voices is an optional16-page supplement avail-able only to subscribers ofthe Washington Report onMiddle East Affairs. For anadditional $15 per year (seepostcard insert for Wash -ington Re port subscrip-tion rates), subscribers will

receive Other Voices inside 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 toP.O. Box 91056, Long Beach, CA 90809-1056.

lte_5-6r_Letters to the Editor 3/26/15 2:43 PM Page 6

MAY 2015 7THE WASHINGTON REPORT ON MIDDLE EAST AFFAIRS

Publishers’ Page Publishers’ PageRe-Evaluating Life-SupportFor IsraelAfter Israel’s recent elections,Americans, especially Jews, areengaging in some tough con-versations about the self-pro-claimed Jewish state. Can theU.S. continue to support anever more belligerent, less sec-ular, less liberal and increas-ingly inevitable apartheidstate? A growing number ofAmericans are calling for aboycott of goods produced inthe settlements and supportingPalestinian bids at the U.N.They’re calling for the Obamaadministration to present itsown peace plan, and topunish—yes, punish—the Israeli govern-ment for rejecting it, according to a March27 editorial published in the Jewish weeklyForward. So we wonder if we’ve been...

Living in a Bubble.As our assistant editor Dale Sprusanskysearched newspapers for worthy candidatesto include in “Other Peoples Mail” (see p.71), he was horrified by the glut of publishedletters attacking President Barack Obama’sforeign policy, especially the potential for a“bad deal” with Iran—even before detailsare announced. Other letter writers heapedpraise on Binyamin Netanyahu for his speechin defiance of a sitting president at a joint ses-sion of Congress. They criticized the 60 mem-bers of Congress who skipped the speech (seep. 25). Stunningly, still more applauded there-election of a prime minister who courtedright-wing voters by vowing there would beno Palestinian state under his watch andpromising more illegal settlements on Pales-tinian land, and who railed against Arab cit-izens of Israel because they came out “indroves” to vote. Are increasing numbers ofAmericans, like Israelis, becoming more rad-ical? Is this nation truly as polarized as ourCongress? Do these letters, we wonder...

Reflect American Values?Or do editors choose to print only lettersthat reflect the Rupert Murdoch/Fox Newsworld view? Murdoch and his ilk havelong used the power of the media to makeor break political leaders. And millionairecasino tycoon Sheldon Adelson and bil-lionaire Tea Party donor David Koch alsowork as king-makers or -breakers. The pro-Israel PAC charts (and Arab American PAC

donations) on pp. 27 should provide awakeup call to our readers—and to U.S.voters. And 2014 wasn’t even a…

Presidential Election Year!Calling All Troops...This is an excellent time for pro-MiddleEast peace Americans—Christians, Jews,Muslims and others—to step on the gasand go full speed ahead. President Obamahas taken Netanyahu (not to mention Israelivoters) at his word that there will be nomore useless peace talks, and his adminis-tration is hinting that it may be time foroutside international pressure. A growingnumber of conscientious Americans objectto our support-Israel-right-or-wrong policy.Since Israel’s last invasion of Gaza, JewishVoice for Peace has added 25 chapters andthousands of new members (see p. 57).

Miracle Grow on Grassroots Activism.Let’s take this opportunity to redouble ourefforts to make a sea-change in Mideastpolicy, by contacting elected officials, in-cluding President Obama, who is virtuallybegging for our help, and sharing ourviews with editors and talk show hosts.We think the president is this close to sup-porting, not vetoing, Israeli/Arab peaceresolutions at the U.N. Let’s break out ofthe bubble of thinking everything is OK.

Pizza-Sized Potholes vs. GazaHere in the nation’s capital we are grumblingabout lingering cold weather and ubiquitouspotholes. We spent the winter complainingabout snow, slick roads and occasional poweroutages. How long would you and I put up

with an eight-year siege?What would we do if oursalaries weren’t paid becausea foreign government washolding onto U.S. tax rev-enue? How would we reactto having only four hours ofelectricity every day? Andno power to run sewagetreatment plants, and noclean water to drink? Andhaving holes in our homes,as well as on our streets. Wehad just a taste of some ofthis over the winter and…

It Wasn’t Pretty.Thank You, Angels…

For keeping the lights on in our Washing-ton, DC offices and perhaps (we’re keepingour fingers crossed) helping us hire a badlyneeded new staff member. Many of youhave also supported our efforts to....

Shine a Light on the Lobby.As this issue wends its way to your mail-box, local bookstore and library, theWashington Reportwill be co-hosting withthe Institute for Research: Middle EasternPolicy (IRmep) a major conference titled:“The Israel Lobby: Is It Good for the U.S.?Is It Good for Israel?” at the National PressClub on April 10. By shining a light on thetactics and activities of the pro-Israellobby, organizers hope to expose its un-healthy influence on American and Israelipolicies alike.

Read All About It!It wouldn’t surprise us if national and inter-national press, radio, including Murdoch-owned newspapers and TV, decide to boy-cott this unprecedented gathering—asopposed to their sycophantic coverage of theannual conferences of the American IsraelPublic Affairs Committee (AIPAC) and Chris-tians United for Israel (CUFI). But have nofear, you can visit <www.IsraelLobbyUS.org> soon after the April 10 event to watchpanelists discuss the lobby’s attempts to si-lence voices critical of Israel on campus, atthe U.N. and on Capitol Hill. Be sure to readour own report on these important proceed-ings in the June/July issue of the Washing-ton Report. We’re convinced that, now to-gether we can…

Make a Difference Today!

American Educational Trust

publishers_7_May 2015 Publishers page 3/26/15 8:29 PM Page 7

Seldom has a speech bya n I s r a e l i l e a d e r

aroused so much outragebefore the speech was evendelivered. The storm ofcriticism arose shortly afterPresident Barack Obama’sState of the Union addressin late January, whenHou s e Sp e ake r JohnBoehner announced he hadinvited Israeli Prime Minis-ter Binyamin Netanyahu todeliver a rebuttal beforeCongress.

Because the invitationwas arranged by Boehnerand U.S.-born Israeli Am-bassador Ron Dermer with-out the knowledge of eitherthe White House or theState Department, criticscalled it an unprecedentedviolation of diplomatic pro-tocol and an affront to thepresidency. House Minor-ity Leader Nancy Pelosisaid it was an “insult to theUnited States.”

Harsh criticism camefrom Israel as well. “It’s ahuge miscalculation,” saidEytan Gilboa, a professor ofpolitical communication atBar-Ilan University. “I thinkthis exercise might back-fire.”

The backfire came almostimmediately when severalSenate Democrats who hadbeen pushing for stiffersanctions against Iran an-nounced they would sus-pend their efforts until the negotiationswere concluded. The veto-proof majorityfor increased sanctions that AIPAC couldonce count on no longer existed.

Vice President Joseph Biden announcedhe would be out of town during thespeech. Obama declined to meet with Ne-tanyahu on this visit, saying he didn’twant to appear involved in Israel’s parti-san politics. Susan Rice, his national secu-

rity adviser, called Netanyahu’s action “de-structive,” for injecting partisanship intothe U.S.-Israel relationship. Only U.N. Am-bassador Samantha Power, a staunch de-fender of Israel, remained noncommittal.“The U.S.-Israel relationship transcendspolitics and always will,” she said.

It was a mystifying remark consideringNetanyahu’s open support for Mitt Rom-ney in 2012, his close relationship with Re-publican billionaire Sheldon Adelson, andthe worshipful support for the Israeliprime minister on the part of congressionalRepublicans. Power also ignored the factthat 60 members of Congress planned to

boycott the speech. Ver-mont Sen. Patrick J. Leahycalled Boehner’s invitation“a t awdry and h i gh -handed stunt.”

Nevertheless, Netanya -hu’s loyal supporters in theRepublican-dominated Con-gress gave him a rapturouswelcome as he walked to thepodium, greeting him as ifthe messiah had returned. Aweek later, Republican sen-ators answered Netanyahu’scall by attempting to blowup the negotiations in Lau-sanne just as they seemedclose to culminating in anagreement. The letter,signed by 47 Republicansand addressed to “leaders ofthe Islamic Republic ofIran,” warned that anyagreement not ratified byCongress could be reversedby the next president “witha stroke of a pen.” Thatstatement was immediatelychallenged by experts in in-ternational law who pointedout that, under the Consti-tution, executive agree-ments with other nationshave the force of law. Factsaside, however, the worldwas treated to the odd spec-tacle of right-wing Republi-can senators making com-mon cause with Iranianhard-liners who regard theU.S. as “the Great Satan.”

In addressing Congress,Netanyahu made it clear

that his true goal is ousting the Islamicregime that replaced the shah. He accusedIran of “gobbling up” other countries onits “march of conquest, subjugation andterror,” and charged Iran’s rulers with hav-ing a “voracious appetite for aggression”—even though Iran, unlike Israel, has neverin recent years invaded a neighboringcountry. He warned that “the ideology ofIran’s revolutionary regime is deeplyrooted in militant Islam, and that’s whythis regime will always be an enemy ofAmerica.”

In fact, far from being an enemy, Iran iscurrently a vital ally in Obama’s effort to

SpecialReportSpecialReport

Netanyahu’s Speech to Congress CausesTremors in the “Unshakable” AllianceBy Rachelle Marshall

8 MAY 2015THE 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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Sunni Iraqi refugees return to the town of Al-Alam, northeast of Tikrit, onMarch 17, 2015, after the town was recaptured from the Islamic State bySunni and Shi’i fighters from the Iranian-backed Asaib Ahl al-Haq group.

marshall_8-10_Special Report 3/26/15 8:28 PM Page 8

contain ISIS forces in Iraq and Syria with-out sending U.S. ground troops. While Ne-tanyahu was demonizing Iran and its “ten-tacles of terror,” Iran’s army was helpingthe Iraqis hold off ISIS forces until U.S. mil-itary advisers can finish training Iraqi sol-diers. Vali Nasr, dean of Johns HopkinsUniversity’s School of Advanced Interna-tional Studies, said, “The U.S. strategy inIraq has been successful so far largely be-cause of Iran.”Administration officials argue that the

agreement Netanyahu and his allies in Con-gress are opposing would delay Iran’s pro-duction of a bomb for 10 years, and mean-while its nuclear facilities would be subjectto intrusive inspections and other strictlimitations. They point out that Netanyahuhas offered no feasible alternative to sucha deal, and that in the absence of an agree-ment Iran would be able to pursue a nu-clear weapon free of all controls. Suggest-ing that war would be the inevitable resultif Netanyahu got his way, Democratic Rep.Jared Huffman of California commented,“This is a prime minister who has neverseen a war he did not want our country tofight.”Equally sharp criticism came from Ne-

tanyahu’s political opponents in Israel, whocalled Netanyahu’s appearance before Con-gress a political ploy to gain votes in Israel’sMarch 17 election. Israelis are not as enam-ored of their prime minister as are Amer-ica’s Republican party leaders. Pre-electionpolls showed Netanyahu’s Likud party run-ning slightly behind the Zionist Union, acentrist party headed by Isaac Herzog andformer Likud member Tzipi Livni. Netanyahu was undoubtedly counting

on television shots showing members of

Congress giving him one standing ovationafter another to give him a boost in do-mestic support. Martin Indyk, former U.S.ambassador to Israel, observed that “Ne-tanyahu is using the Republican Congressfor a photo-op for his election campaign,and the Republicans are using Bibi fortheir campaign against Obama. Unfortu-nately, the U.S. relationship will take thehit.”Herzog drew the same conclusion,

charging on Israeli Army Radio that“What Netanyahu is doing with this vio-lent behavior is to harm the security inter-ests of Israel.” Since U.S. military anddiplomatic support is assumed to be vitalto Israel’s security, the accusation wasclearly aimed at undermining Netanyahu’sclaim to be the candidate best qualified tosafeguard Israel’s security. That claim plusNetanyahu’s repeated assertions of opposi-tion to a Palestinian state proved effectiveenough to counter voters’ widespread dis-satisfaction with Israel’s sky-rocketinghousing costs and increasing economic in-equality. Netanyahu insisted that his speech to

Congress was far from being a campaignploy but a sincere effort to convince Amer-icans that any nuclear agreement with Iranshort of dismantling Iran’s entire nuclearprogram would endanger Israel’s survival,and by implication the survival of the Jew-ish people. Accordingly, he went to Wash-ington, he said, “not just as the prime min-ister of Israel but as a representative of theentire Jewish people.” That stunningly presumptuous state-

ment prompted more than 2,400 AmericanJews, including many rabbis, to sign a full-page ad in The New York Times on March 2

headed “No, Mr. Netanyahu—you do notspeak for American Jews.” The ad, spon-sored by the Tikkun community in Berke-ley, California cited polls showing that amajority of Jews in the U.S. favor nuclearnegotiations with Iran, and said the sign-ers oppose “any attempt to drag the Amer-ican people into another war.” In Israel,200 former military and intelligence offi-cials warned that Netanyahu’s policieswere bringing Iran closer to a nuclearbomb. Meir Dagan, a former chief ofMossad, dismissed Netanyahu’s speech as“bull----.”Whether or not Netanyahu’s appearance

before Congress was intended to gain himvotes at home, his claim to represent theworld’s Jews was only slightly furtherfrom reality than a Likud campaign videosuggesting a vote for the Zionist Unionwould leave the way open for violent ji-hadists. The video shows black-hoodedgunmen waving ISIS flags asking a mo-torist, “Which way to Jerusalem?’” “Turn left,” the driver says. The ad con-

cludes, “The left will surrender to terror.It’s us or them. Only Netanyahu.”The word “left” hardly describes the

Zionist Union, whose ads accused Ne-tanyahu of not hitting Hamas hard enoughlast summer. “Did you destroy Hamas?”one ad asked, and answered, “Youstrengthened Hamas.” Although Herzog expressed support for

a two-state solution, pursuing peace withthe Palestinians was not a priority. Likud,on the other hand, is firmly opposed tosuch a solution. Netanyahu pledged onMarch 8 that “There will be no with-drawals” from the occupied territories, and“no concessions” to the Palestinians. He

MAY 2015 9THE WASHINGTON REPORT ON MIDDLE EAST AFFAIRS

Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu, who was running for his fourth termas Israel’s leader, was awarded a gratifying endorsement of his policies in theelections for the Knesset on March 17, when his Likud party won 30 seats tothe Zionist Union’s 24. Since neither party gained a majority of seats in the120-member Knesset, Israel’s president, Reuven Rivlin consulted with theheads of 10 smaller parties and determined that Netanyahu had the backingof 67 members of the Knesset, a clear majority. The prime minister now hasuntil May 7 to form a government.Netanyahu was certain to have the support of Israel’s several right-wing

parties, but the deciding factor was the choice made by Moshe Kahlon, headof a new party called Kulanu (“all of us”) that won 10 seats. Isaac Herzog,head of the Zionist Union, could have sought support from the alliance ofArab parties known as the Joint List, with its 13 seats, but no Zionist partyhas ever invited an Arab party to join in a coalition, and no Arab party wantsto be seen as supporting a Zionist agenda.The Joint List is headed by political veteran Ayman Odeh, who advocates

coexistence with Israel, as well as equality for Arab citizens of Israel in educa-tion, employment, public services and land allocation. Odeh, who frequentlyquotes Martin Luther King, said he would support Herzog if he becameprime minister, but that possibility has become remote with Netanyahu’s suc-cess at the polls. If the Joint List can maintain a degree of unity among Israel’s

1.3 million Arab citizens, it will be a strong voice for reason in the Knesset.Jafar Farah, director of the advocacy group called the Mossawa Center,

said, “The discourse of separation, the discourse of racism, the discourse ofincitement, that have been promoted by Bibi Netanyahu and [Foreign Min-ister Avigdor] Lieberman is the discourse we are challenging.” If there is any good news to be had from Israel’s election it is that Ne-

tanyahu’s last-minute pandering to right-wing voters may have permanentlyended America’s automatic support for Israel at the U.N. The prime minis-ter’s outright rejection of a two-state solution fatally exposed the myth thatnegotiations between Israel and the Palestinians could lead to peace. That be-lated revelation, and Netanyahu’s racist warning to right-wing Israelis that Arabvoters were streaming to the polls “in droves,” apparently so angered Obamathat administration officials hinted the U.S. might support a U.N. SecurityCouncil resolution calling for the establishment of an independent Palestinianstate.With the Republican Congress squarely behind Netanyahu, there is no

chance the $3 billion-plus the U.S. gives Israel every year in military aid willbe reduced. It is equally certain that without active intervention by the U.S.and the international community to end Israel’s occupation of Palestine, Is-rael’s growing extremism will fuel more of the turmoil currently plaguing theregion. —R.M.

Israelis Re-Elect Netanyahu

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10 MAY 2015THE WASHINGTON REPORT ON MIDDLE EAST AFFAIRS

explained that “terror organizations sup-ported by Iran” would seize any territoryIsrael relinquished. He repeated that asser-tion on March 16, the day before the elec-tion.Although the continuing occupation

was virtually a non-issue in the electioncampaign, just over Israel’s border atragedy of heart-breaking proportions wascontinuing to take place. Six months aftera cease-fire brought a respite in fightingbetween Israel and Hamas, much of Gazaremains in ruins, with little hope of recon-struction. Oxfam estimates that as long as Israel

maintains its crippling blockade, it willtake a hundred years to repair the damagecaused by Israeli air and artillery attacks.Because Israel allows only an inadequateamount of building materials to enter,more than 100,000 Gazans, half of themchildren, remain in shelters or in houseswithout roofs or windows to protect themfrom freezing winds. Little of the promised$5 billion in aid has been delivered, andthe U.N. has had to suspend cash paymentsto families because of lack of funds.In late January several human rights

groups reported evidence that Israel haddeliberately targeted civilians in Gaza. TheIsraeli group B’Tselem investigated 70cases in which more than 600 Palestinianswere killed, and found that most of thevictims were inside their homes and a ma-jority of the dead were women, children,and men over 60. Amnesty Internationaland Physicians for Human Rights-Israel is-sued similar reports (see p. 54), accusing

the Israelis of bombing water and sewersystems, shelling ambulances and shootingat medical crews.The reports described Israel’s use of

“flechette” bomblets that spew out barbedsteel darts over large areas and have beenbanned under international law as an in-discriminate weapon. “There was no guar-anteed safe place in Gaza, or escape routesfrom it,” according to Physicians forHuman Rights. These findings were madepublic just as a new documentary film,“Censored Voices,” was released containingaccounts of similar brutalities by the Israeliarmy after it captured Gaza from Egypt in1967. One soldier says, “The brigade com-mander said to kill as many as possi-ble...we all became murderers.” Today, nearly half a century later, con-

ditions in Gaza are so wretched that an in-creasing number of young Palestinians tryto cross the border into Israel simply out ofdesperation. In a 3-month period this win-ter, 84 young Palestinians were arrested atthe border, and several others were shot.“The prison in Israel is like a five-starhotel” compared with life in Gaza, saidYousef Abbas, 21, who has been jailedtwice. In February, Ibrahim Awawda climbed a

9-foot fence to get into Israel. After beinginterrogated by soldiers, he spent a monthin prison. “The war shook me,” he said, re-ferring to Israel’s latest assault. “I told my-self I might find a better life. They servedme good food, but later they threw meback to Gaza.” Ibrahim is 15, and has livedthrough 3 wars.

Conditions in the West Bank are onlyminimally better. The army continues tocarry out nightly raids, ransacking homesand arresting dozens of residents, many ofthem children suspected of throwingstones. On Feb. 26 The New York Timespublished a blistering report by columnistNicholas Kristof describing the extensivedamage done by West Bank settlers whoconstantly harass Palestinian farmers bydestroying their fruit trees, injuring theirlivestock, and preventing them from har-vesting their olives.Kristof calls Israeli settlement policy a

“landgrab,” and concludes: “The occupa-tion is particularly offensive to me becauseit is conducted by the United States’ ally,underwritten with our tax dollars, sup-ported by tax-deductible contributions tosettlement groups, and carried out byAmerican bulldozers and weaponry.” Hiscolumn appeared just days after Israel an-nounced plans to build 450 new housingunits in the West Bank. According to aU.N. report, in 2014 Israel demolished 590Palestinian homes to make way for settlers.In an added bit of gratuitous cruelty this

winter, Israel’s state-owned electricitycompany temporarily cut off the powersupply to Palestinians in the northern WestBank because the Palestinian Authoritywas unable to pay its bill. The Authoritywas unable to pay because Israel is with-holding $127 million in the Palestinians’monthly tax revenues as punishment fortheir decision to join the InternationalCriminal Court. On March 5, the Palestinian Liberation

Organization’s central council retaliated forIsrael’s actions by voting to suspend “allforms of security coordination, given Is-rael’s systematic and ongoing noncompli-ance with its obligations under signedagreements.” Citing the daily military raidsby the Israeli military and “attacks againstour civilians and property,” the councilalso endorsed a boycott of all Israeli prod-ucts, reaffirmed its refusal to recognize Is-rael as a Jewish state, urged further recon-ciliation with Hamas, and called for na-tional elections as soon as possible.The PLO’s action called attention to the

major omission in Netanyahu’s speech toCongress. In stressing the danger to Israel’ssecurity he did not once mention the Pales-tinians. Yet Israel can never be secure aslong as it continues to seize Palestinianland and condemns two million Gazans todestitution and despair. Israel’s permanentsecurity does not depend on its monopolyof nuclear bombs. It depends, as it alwayshas, on a just peace with the Palestiniansand continued American support. In con-tinuing the occupation and opposing a nu-clear agreement with Iran, Netanyahu isjeopardizing both. ❑

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Palestinian protesters throw stones at an Israeli army bulldozer following a weekly demon-stration against Israel’s theft of Palestinian land in the village of Kfar Qaddum, near theWest Bank city of Nablus, March 20, 2015.

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On Sept. 10, 1968 an eliteIsraeli covert operations

team visited the Nuclear Mate-rials and Equipment Corpora-tion (NUMEC) in Apollo, PA atthe invitation of its president,Zalman Mordecai Shapiro.Rafael Eitan was a Mossad op-erative who later ran con-victed spy Jonathan Pollard.Avraham Bendor (aka Shalom)was a long-time Shin Bet (in-ternal Israeli intelligence) op-erative. Ephraim Biegun washead of Mossad’s TechnicalDepartment. The three men used their

real names, but presented falsecredentials as scientists andengineers to the Atomic En-ergy Agency in order to be al-lowed to enter the plant. Ac-companying them was Avra-ham Hermoni, scientific at-taché at the Israeli Embassy.At the time it was generallyunknown that Hermoni notonly was a spy, but was alsohead of Israel’s nuclear bombprogram at RAFAEL, the Is-raeli armaments developmentauthority.Between 1957 and 1978

NUMEC “lost” 337 kilograms of weapons-grade uranium. Two percent of NUMEC’stotal throughput—the uranium NUMECreceived from the government and the fuelpellets into which it was converted forNavy reactors—disappeared before Shapirowas forced out. Only then did plant lossesreturn to the industry norm of .2 percent orless. This was the amount of material unac-counted for (MUF) even after the plant wasdecommissioned in 1992 and material wasrecovered from walls, flooring and ac-counting for heavy environmental losses. Itrepresented the largest MUF of any nuclear

processing plant in U.S. history, accordingto a 2001 Energy Department report.Officials at the Central Intelligence

Agency were unequivocal about what hadhappened. John Hadden, CIA’s Tel Avivstation chief, oversaw collection of samplesoutside Israel’s Dimona nuclear weaponsfacility. The samples matched the special-ized signature of the government-ownedenriched uranium provided to NUMEC.Hadden later told members of Congressthat NUMEC was “an Israeli operationfrom the beginning.” He believed thatsmall amounts were removed from theplant over time and disguised in sloppybookkeeping. Hadden’s analysis was bol-stered by the fact that NUMEC’s key fi-nancial backer was David Lowenthal, whoworked as a smuggler during Israel’s warof independence and was a close confidantof top Israeli intelligence officials.

Carl Duckett, chief of theCIA’s Directorate of Operations,also was unequivocal aboutNUMEC, telling a Nuclear Reg-ulatory Commission’s safe-guards group in 1976 thatthe CIA believed NUMEC di-verted the material to Israel.However, efforts by the JusticeDepartment, CIA, FBI andcongressional committees togenerate criminal prosecu-tions under the Atomic EnergyAct and hold Israel account-able were stymied by a seriesof White House cover-ups.When in 1968 CIA Director

Richard Helms told PresidentLyndon B. Johnson that theCIA believed Israel had assem-bled an arsenal with NUMECmaterial, LBJ replied, “Don’ttell anyone else, even [Secre-tary of State] Dean Rusk and[Defense Secretary] RobertMcNamara.” Nixon administration Na-

tional Security Adviser HenryKissinger, referring to NUMEC,stated, “There is circumstantialevidence that some fissionablematerial available for Israel’sweapons development was ille-

gally obtained from the United States about1965…This is one program on which the Is-raelis have persistently deceived us…andmay even have stolen from us.”This did not keep Israeli Prime Minister

Golda Meir and President Richard Nixonfrom beginning a policy of “ambiguity”under which neither the U.S. nor Israelwould officially confirm the existence ofIsrael’s arsenal. Recently declassified filesreveal that Nixon’s main motivation was toavoid a “Zionist campaign to try to under-mine” him, rather than national securityissues.The Gerald Ford administration re-

opened a criminal investigation intoNUMEC violations of the Atomic EnergyAct—and possible government cover-up—only to have it buried by the administra-tion of Ford’s successor, President Jimmy

SpecialReportSpecialReport

CIA Sued for “Thousands” of Files on IsraeliTheft of U.S. Weapons-Grade UraniumBy Grant F. Smith

The Army Corps of Engineers has estimated that it will cost more than$400 million to clean up the NUMEC site, which has been called one ofthe country’s worst nuclear waste dumps.

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Grant F. Smith is director of the Institute forResearch: Middle Eastern Policy, Inc.(IRmep) in Washington, DC. Filings in thislawsuit and other actions may be found atIRmep’s Center for Policy and Law Enforce-ment page at <http://IRmep.org/CFL.htm>. Continued on page 35

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Time for the U.S. to Crack theWhipBy George S. Hishmeh

What has been most surprising, andpleasing, about the recent Israeli

parliamentary elections was the success ofthe large Palestinian community in Israel,which numbers about 20 percent of thepopulation, in launching a significant par-liamentary bloc in the Knesset.This bloc, officially known as the Joint

List, emerged as a result of a new Israeli ruleraising the minimum threshold for entryinto the Knesset to 3.5 percent of the votescast. Even though the Arab Israeli turnoutwas reportedly lower than Jewish Israeliturnout, it was still higher than usual, grab-bing 13 seats in the 120-member Knesset.Exit polling had placed the Joint List, a blocof a few smaller Arab factions and oneJewish member, in third place, and madethe party, according to JTA news service,“one of the election’s biggest winners.” Though the re-election of Israeli Prime

Minister Binyamin Netanyahu was ashocking surprise, his performance on theeve of the national election was disgustingby any measure. He then announced in amedia interview that, if elected, he willoppose the creation of a Palestinian Arabstate in the (Israeli-occupied) West Bankand the Gaza Strip, underlining that Israelalready is facing international calls for “thereturn of Israel to the 1967 borders.”Netanyahu declared: “I think that

anyone who is going to establish a Palestin-ian state today and evacuate lands is givingattack grounds to the radical Islam againstthe state of Israel,” obviously a reference toHamas, the militant Palestinian Islamistgroup that dominates the Gaza Strip, whichIsrael attacked last year for 51 days. This public admission regarding Pales-

tinian statehood was in direct oppositionto a statement the Israeli prime ministermade in 2009 at Bar-Ilan University inIsrael that he supported a two-state solu-tion to end the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.Saeb Erekat, the lead Palestinian negotia-

tor with Israel and executive member ofthe Palestine Liberation Organization, re-sponded that this was not something newto the Palestinians, since “Netanyahu has

done everything possible to bury the two-state solution.” He added, “Netanyahudared to utter his words whilst countingon full impunity from the internationalcommunity. The time has come for theworld to learn and understand that im-punity will not bring peace, only justicewill”—a probable reference to the failureof the Obama administration to crack thewhip since Secretary of State John Kerryspent eight months fruitlessly handling thepeace negotiations last year.Consequently, Ayman Odeh, the Joint

List’s charismatic leader, had committedhimself to working on improving the livesof Palestinian Israelis, but vowed not to joina coalition led by either Netanyahu’s LikudParty or the Zionist Union, led by IsaacHerzog and Tzipi Livni.Netanyahu’s statement prompted The

New York Times to run a very critical edi-torial the day after the Nov. 17 poll, underthe headline “An Israeli Election TurnsUgly.” Its lead editorial said in its openingparagraph that Netanyahu’s “outright re-jection of a Palestinian state and his racistrant against Israeli Arab voters on [electionday] showed that he has forfeited any claimto representing all Israelis.”

What Does the Israeli Election Mean for aFuture Palestinian State?

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12 MAY 2015THE WASHINGTON REPORT ON MIDDLE EAST AFFAIRS

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George S. Hishmeh is a Washington-basedcolumnist. He is the former editor-in-chief ofThe Daily Star of Lebanon.

Members of the Joint List, including (standing, l-r) Aida Touma Suleiman, Dov Khenin, leader Ayman Odeh and (seated, second from left) MKHaneen Zoabi, announce the bloc’s formation at a Jan. 23 press conference in Nazareth.

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MAY 2015 13THE WASHINGTON REPORT ON MIDDLE EAST AFFAIRS

It went on:“His behavior in the past six years—ag-

gressively building Israeli homes on landthat likely would be within the bounds ofa Palestinian state and never engaging se-riously in negotiations—has long con-vinced many people that he has no inter-est in a peace agreement. But his statementthis week laid bare his duplicity, confirmedPalestinian suspicions and will make iteven harder for him to repair his poisonedrelations with President Obama, who hasinvested heavily in pushing a two-state so-lution.”

Another columnist at the Times, RogerCohen, observed: “A Netanyahu-led right-wing government will face growing inter-national isolation, especially because of theprime minister’s open commitment to stopthe emergence of a Palestinian state. Re-pairing relations with President Obamawould be arduous. A hardening of Amer-ica’s position toward Israel at the UnitedNations cannot be ruled out, if West Banksettlements continue to expand….A gov-ernment of the right would more likely ex-acerbate than overcome that estrangementover the next couple of years.”

It is definitely time for the Obama ad-ministration that seems close to an agree-ment with Iran over its nuclear stance tocrack the whip against Israel.

Netanyahu Will Be Remembered for SpeakingIsrael’s TruthBy Gideon Levy

Iwould like to say thank youto Prime Minister Binyamin

Netanyahu. Thank you fortelling the truth. Last weekyou were revealed as the firstIsraeli prime minister to tellthe truth. For at least 25 yearsmost Israeli statesmen havebeen lying, misleading theworld, the Israelis and them-selves, until Netanyahuarose—he of all statesmen—and told the truth. If only thistruth had been told by an Is-raeli prime minister 25 yearsago, maybe even 50 years ago,when the occupation wasborn. Still, better late than

never. The public rewarded him for thistruth, and Netanyahu was elected for afourth term.

Netanyahu said last week that if he wereto be re-elected, a Palestinian state wouldnot be established on his watch. Plain andsimple, loud and clear. This simple, puretruth was the case for all his predecessorsas well—all the prime ministers, peacelovers and justice seekers from the centerand the left, who gave false promises. Butwho thought to admit it before him? Whohad the courage to reveal the truth? Thelatest of these deceivers was Zionist Unionleader Isaac Herzog: His daring plan in-cluded five years of negotiations. Thepublic rewarded him for that.

After all, one had to deceive the Ameri-cans, bluff the Europeans and cheat thePalestinians, fudge things for the MideastQuartet and lie to some Israelis. One alsohad to play for time, to build settlementsand get rid of every possible Palestinianpartner—Yasser Arafat, who was toostrong; President Mahmoud Abbas, who istoo weak; and Hamas, which is too ex-treme. One has to play for time, so thePalestinians become more extreme andeveryone understands that there’s no oneto talk to.

Now comes the man who is considered abluffer, and only he tells the fateful, his-toric truth: there will be no Palestinianstate. Not during his term, which nowseems eternal. And not after it, because by

then it will be too late. The end of negoti-ations, the end of games. No more shuttlediplomacy, Quartets, emissaries, processes,outlines, mediators and plans. That’s it; itwill not happen.

It had no chance from the very begin-ning. In Israel, there was not one singleprime minister—including the two NobelPeace Prize laureates—who intended forone second to let a Palestinian state be es-tablished. But the bluff of the century wasconvenient for everyone. Now Netanyahuhas put an end to it.

If Israel had played its cards openly fromthe outset, as Netanyahu has done now, per-haps we would be in a different place, abetter place.

If only Israel had told the truth: that itcovets the occupied territory for itself andwill never give it up; that hundreds ofthousands of Jews are living there and ithas no intention of evacuating them; thatit does not care about international law,and cares nothing for what the wholeworld thinks; that the Palestinians haveno rights there; that Abraham our patri-arch is buried there; that Rachel our ma-triarch weeps there; that Israel’s securitydepends on it, and that the Holocaust isat the door. The reasons are many andvaried, and they all say one thing—nowand forever, from Hebron to Jenin. Yes toautonomy, to self-administration, to vil-lage leagues or a Palestinian Authority.But no to a state. Never.

If an honest leader like Ne-tanyahu had arisen years ago,we Israelis would haveknown, the Palestinianswould have known, and sowould the whole world: it willnot be. Then it would havebeen possible to deal withother solutions, instead ofwasting time cheating, time inwhich hatred only grew andblood spilled for nothing. Wecould have begun long ago tothink of alternatives to thetwo-state solution—andthere’s only one: one state.And we could have begun de-bating what regime it wouldhave—and there are only two:democracy or apartheid. In-stead, we were misled.

Now Binyamin Netanyahuhas come and put an end to allthis. We must be grateful tohim for this. History will re-member that he was the firstIsraeli prime minister to speakthe truth. ❑

Gideon Levy writes for the Israelidaily Haaretz, where this columnfirst appearedMarch 21, 2015.Copyright © Haaretz DailyNewspaper Ltd. All rights re-served.

Couldn’t make it in person? Watch The Israel Lobby conference

online at <IsraelLobbyUS.org>or read all about it in the June/July

issue of the Washington Report.Find out where the Lobby came from,

what it really doesand its impact on America and Israel.

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views_election_12-13_Two Views 3/26/15 6:24 PM Page 13

According to Israel’s official records,the 600 inhabitants of Dahmash vil-

lage live a single building—one that nolonger exists. The villagers’ story may sound like the

basis for a sinister fairy tale, but theirplight is all too real. For decades officials have refused to rec-

ognize the village’s 70 actual homes,trapped between the towns of Ramle andLod, and only 20 minutes’ drive from Tel

Aviv, Israel’s most vibrantcity. Arafat Ismail, the village’s

leader, said that while indus-trial parks, shopping mallsand estates of luxury villashad sprung up all aroundthem, Dahmash’s residentshad been treated like “illegalsquatters.”Deprived of recognition in

their own village, all thefamilies have been registeredas living in a building on theedge of the neighboringtown of Ramle. However,that house was destroyedyears ago as nearby rail androad arteries expanded.“Now, unless we can stop

them, the authorities willwipe our real homes off themap too,” said Ismail, aged54.What distinguishes Dah-

mash from the communitiesaround it is that it is Arab—an apparently unwelcomerelic from a time when thecountry was called Palestine. Dahmash’s residents be-

long to Israel’s large Palestin-ian minority, descendants of

those who managed to remaininside the borders of the newstate of Israel in 1948. Today,

these 1.5 million Palestinian citizens com-prise a fifth of Israel’s population, but com-plain of systematic discrimination. Most of their deprived communities are

to be found in Israel’s so-called peripheries,in the north or south, out of view of mostIsraeli Jews. But located in the midst of TelAviv and its satellite towns, “Dahmash islike a stick in their throat,” explained AliShaaban, who raises sheep and goats in thevillage. His own smartly appointed, two-story

home is one of 16 that face immediate de-molition if the villagers lose a legal battlein Israel’s Supreme Court. A hearing in March offered Dahmash’s

residents a small ray of hope. The judgesurged the parties to find a solution that

would lead to the village’s recognition, ei-ther as a new neighborhood of the city ofLod or as part of the Lod Valley RegionalCouncil. The court instructed the govern-ment, Lod and the regional council to sub-mit their responses by September. It didnot in the meantime, however, lift thethreat of demolitions. Were Dahmash to be recognized by the

regional council, as it wants, it would beable to submit a master plan and get per-mits for the houses under threat of demoli-tion. However, Lod Valley has previouslyrejected the idea of including Dahmash.Lod municipality has also refused to incor-porate the village’s houses. Since the families were moved by the Is-

raeli authorities to this location from otherparts of the country shortly after the 1948war, they have found Dahmash turned intoan embattled enclave. “It’s like they are slowly trying to

squeeze us until we reach breaking pointand leave,” said Shaaban, aged 53. Such fears have only been heightened

by bellicose statements from local officials.Yoel Lavi, Ramle’s long-time mayor, told ajournalist in 2006 that the governmentshould send in special armed units andmilitary bulldozers as it does in the occu-pied territories. “When you give the firstshock with the crane everyone runs fromtheir houses, don’t worry,” he said. Surrounded on all sides by the towns of

Ramle and Lod and by an exclusively Jew-ish farming community called Nir Zvi tothe north, Dahmash can be reached onlyby crossing a series of railway lines, alonga potholed dirt track that floods during thelong winter months.Large piles of trash litter the streets and

have to be burned by residents, said Is-mail, because the Lod Valley council,which has jurisdiction over the area, re-fuses to take responsibility for the village. A maze of jerry-rigged electricity and

water lines, connected to a handful of theoriginal buildings in Dahmash, provide athreadbare link to modern convenience.“Imagine running six or seven homes off asupply line designed for just one,” saidShaaban.

TheNakbaContinuesTheNakbaContinues

Only Palestinian Village Remaining in Central Israel Threatened With DemolitionBy Jonathan Cook

14 MAY 2015THE 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 (avail-able from AET’s Middle East Books andMore).

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Ali Shaaban stands outside his home, which is under threatof demolition.

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Parents, meanwhile, have had to battlein the courts to get their children—withno recognized address—accepted into localschools. Petitions for a kindergarten, play-ground, park, health clinic and a cemeteryhave all been rejected.Various businesses run by the families,

including a scrap metal yard, car repairgarages, taxi service and building mer-chant, have been issued closure orders.“It’s like we are invisible here, except

when they want to make trouble for us orto demolish our homes,” said Shaaban.He and the 20 other members of his fam-

ily who share the same house have beenliving with just such a threat for the pastdecade. In 2007 they were tipped off be-fore massed ranks of police arrived to en-force the demolition of 13 homes. He andthe other families managed to foil the effortby locking themselves into their houses. In recent months the threat has returned

in full force, as officials hope to exhaustthe villagers’ last legal avenues before thecourts. “You go to bed, and you neverknow whether in the morning you willwake to find your house is about to beturned into rubble,” Shaaban said.The authorities’ hostility, according to

the villagers, derives from Dahmash’s ex-ceptional status: it is the only Palestiniancommunity that survived in central Israelfrom the period of the 1948 war.Israeli historians have documented how

Israel destroyed more than 500 Palestinianvillages to prevent the return of some750,000 refugees who had been expelledduring the fighting.But allowing a Palestinian community to

survive so close to Tel Aviv appears to havebeen an oversight.Yitzhak Rabin, who would later become

prime minister, recounted his experiencesas the area’s military commander in 1948.In a censored section of his memoirs, re-vealed in The New York Times, he recalledhow Israel’s first prime minister, DavidBen-Gurion, responded when asked whatto do with the 50,000 surrendering Pales-tinians of Lydda and Ramleh—later to bereinvented as the Jewish towns of Lod andRamle, neighboring Dahmash. “Ben-Gurion waved his hand in a ges-

ture that said: ‘Drive them out!’” In an influential 2013 article published

in The New Yorker, Israeli commentatorAri Shavit admitted that Israeli soldiersmassacred hundreds of Lydda’s residentsand drove out tens of thousands more on aforced march to the West Bank.In an historic assessment that appears to

inform the authorities’ current concerns

about Dahmash, Shavit concluded that thesurvival of Palestinian communities in thearea was incompatible with the Jewishstate’s success.“From the very beginning,” he wrote,

“there was a substantial contradiction be-tween Zionism and Lydda. If Zionism wasto exist, Lydda could not exist. If Lyddawas to exist, Zionism could not exist.” Ismail said: “What they carried out in

1948 was the ethnic cleansing of the TelAviv area. They left only Dahmash—nowsix decades later they are trying to com-plete the ethnic cleansing by destroyingour village.” According to Shaaban, the villagers al-

ready would have lost the legal battle hadthey not had the “tabu”—land deeds—showing they are the owners. “Withoutthose documents, we’d have been finishedlong ago,” he said.

Separate and UnequalAccording to Kais Nasser, a lawyer repre-senting Dahmash, the village’s difficultiesstem from a refusal by the planning au-thorities to discuss rezoning the land fromagricultural to residential use, even thoughthis had been done for neighboring Jewishcommunities, including Nir Zvi, next doorto Dahmash.The planning authorities have rejected

the villagers’ appeals for recognition, in-cluding the submission of a master plan in2007 to allow for building. Nasser said theInterior Ministry had failed to respond tohis letters.In their official response to the Supreme

Court petition, government lawyers hadcalled for the villagers to “move else-where.” Nasser said the implication is thatthey should buy homes in either Ramle orLod.Both are among a half-dozen so-called

“mixed cities” in Israel. In practice, theyare Jewish towns with small “ghetto-like”Arab neighborhoods, where unemploy-ment, crime and drugs prevail. Recent research suggested that 70 per-

cent of Arab homes in the two towns are il-legal and under threat of demolition. Yoav Beirach, a local academic who is

among a group of Jewish solidarity ac-tivists supporting Dahmash’s struggle,said: “The issue of justice aside, movingfrom Dahmash to Lod or Ramle wouldprobably be like jumping out of the fryingpan into the fire.” In 2010, the central region’s planning

committee concluded that there was “nojustification for the creation of a new vil-lage in central Israel.”

“Officials say they are against encourag-ing new communities, but that only seemsto apply to Arab communities,” saidNasser. “I have found five examples of thegovernment establishing new communitiesfor Jews in the last few years.”Suhad Bishara, a planning expert with

the Adalah legal center in Haifa, said Israelhad refused to create a single new Arabcommunity since Israel’s establishment, de-spite a near 10-fold increase in the Pales-tinian population over that time. Overcrowding and poor infrastructure

were rife in the minority’s communities,she added.Dahmash is one of several dozen Arab

“unrecognized villages” across Israel, al-though the only one in the country’s cen-ter. Most are Bedouin communities in theNegev. In late 2013, after Israel’s Palestinian mi-

nority mounted mass protests, the govern-ment officially shelved the Prawer Plan toforcibly move tens of thousands of theBedouin off their ancestral lands in theNegev. A 2010 report on Dahmash by the New

York-based Human Rights Watch criticizedthe Israeli authorities for treating residents“as if they don’t exist.” It also noted that the planning process

lacked transparency. Ramle Mayor Lavi saton the planning committee that rejectedDahmash’s master plan, despite his own ef-forts to initiate a new “flagship” neighbor-hood of Ramle in 2004 over Dahmash’sonly access road.The report included comments from

Lavi to Israeli TV in 2004 in which hewarned that allowing Arabs to live nearbywould “harm the ability to market the pro-ject since people [i.e., Jews] won’t want tolive there.” He added that “93 percent ofthe Jewish population clearly prefers notto live in a mixed building.”Ismail said the authorities had signifi-

cantly stepped up their campaign of ha-rassment in Dahmash after Lavi announcedhis plan.Dahmash’s children have traditionally at-

tended school in Ramle, where nearly aquarter of residents are from the Palestin-ian minority, whose children attend a sep-arate Arab education system. However, in 2005 Lavi refused to pro-

vide Dahmash’s children with school trans-port, and a year later stopped registeringfirst graders. Lavi’s decision was over-turned by the courts. Both the Interior Ministry and Lavi’s

spokesman, Roni Barzeli, were unavailablefor comment. ❑

MAY 2015 15THE WASHINGTON REPORT ON MIDDLE EAST AFFAIRS

cook_14-15_The Nakba Continues 3/26/15 2:42 PM Page 15

United Nations Relief and WorksAgency for Palestine Refugees in the

Near East (UNRWA) USA invited represen-tatives from other Washington, DC-basednon-profit organizations working in theMiddle East to a March 19 roundtable dis-cussion with UNRWA Commissioner-Gen-eral Pierre Krähenbühl. He provided asobering update on the unmet criticalneeds of Palestinian refugees in Gaza sixmonths after the end of Israel’s 2014 as-sault on the besieged enclave. Krähenbühldescribed the obstacles to reconstruction,the slow pace of donor contributions, andwhat this portends for the near future inGaza. Geneva-born Krähenbühl is accustomed

to seeing the devastating consequences ofarmed conflicts. Before coming to UNRWA

in April 2014, he worked for 12 years withthe International Committee of the RedCross (ICRC), directing its response tofighting in Afghanistan, Bosnia and Herze-govina, Kosovo, Iraq, Syria and other war-torn hot spots. Krähenbühl earned a repu-tation for breaking with ICRC’s tradition-ally discreet diplomacy, and speaking pub-licly about wars’ heavy toll on civilians.Krähenbühl noted that when UNRWA

was formed in 1949, it was tasked with aid-ing more than 700,000 Palestinian refugeesdisplaced the previous year. TodayUNRWA provides assistance—includingeducation, health care, camp infrastructureand improvement, and protection—tomore than five million refugees: almost aquasi-state, with the population of Norwayor Singapore. In Gaza alone, UNRWA is re-sponsible for 1.26 million refugees, run-ning 8 refugee camps, educating 240,000students and operating 21 health centers,

funded almost entirely by voluntary con-tributions from U.N. member states. Krähenbühl was on his way to Gaza to

re-open Khuza’a Eleme ntary Co-ed A&Bschool in eastern Khan Younis, one of 83schools damaged during last summer’sbombardment. Thanks to internationaldonors, including Nobel Peace Prize Lau-reate Malala Yousafzai—who contributedher entire World’s Children’s Prize award of$50,000—students finally were able to re-turn to their repaired classrooms in mid-March. Krähenbühl explained that it was im-

possible to adequately describe what hap-pened last summer in Gaza, the physicaldestruction and destroyed neighborhoods.No matter how good the photographer, hesaid, no picture can capture the personalexperiences of war. How do you expressthe trauma of someone whose family livesnext door to an apartment bombed in Is-

SpecialReportSpecialReport

What Looms Ahead for the Forgotten Heroes of Gaza?By Delinda C. Hanley

It’s been more than six months since Israel’s devastating assault on Gaza, and international funds for reconstruction aid have dried up.

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Delinda C. Hanley is news editor of theWashington Report on Middle East Affairs.

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rael’s seven-week attack on Gaza—the manwho told him he’d spent every day “won-dering if the next bomb is for me”?Sadly, we communicate in numbers. Ac-

cording to the U.N. Office for the Coordi-nation of Humanitarian Affairs, 2,200Palestinians were killed in Gaza, including490 children and 253 women. Another11,000 Palestinians were wounded, includ-ing 3,000 children. Horrifying as they are,these numbers do not count the humancost of war. “We cannot accept anonymityin death and injury,” Krähenbühl empha-sized. “We’re talking about families likeour own with the same expectations of life.Palestinians are not statistics. How do weconvey what happened in Gaza and is stillgoing on in Syria?”This is not a natural disaster, Krähen-

bühl added, and it occurred after eightyears of a blockade imposed by Israel,which has resulted in an average unem-ployment rate of 44.1 percent for refugeesin Gaza in 2014.Turning briefly to Syria, Krähenbühl

said that of the 560,000 Palestinianrefugees living there, 80,000 to 100,00left the country and more than 50 per-cent are displaced within Syria. UNRWArecently resumed aid distribution in theYarmouk refugee camp in Damascus. “Tosee people queuing up for food hurtsvery much,” Krähenbühl said. Pregnantwomen fainting, hungry children. Theseare people who were forced from theirvillages in Palestine in 1948. Now they’vehad to flee from their apartments andabandon the businesses they built upover the years.

Palestinians havebeen waiting for alasting resolutionfor more than 60years. “This is a

community deeply traumatized, Krähenbühlsaid. “The war in Syria has renewed their senseof dispossession. They’ve lost their point of ref-erence in life.”While it’s hard to look for signs of

progress in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict,Krähenbühl said the courage of UNRWAstaff gives him real hope. UNRWA lost 11staff members in Gaza and 14 in Syria, andanother 25 are detained or missing inSyria. UNRWA’s staff are paying a hugeprice and exposing themselves to constantthreats, he said. Those men and womenworkers are making a major contributionday after day. They’re heroes, along withother Palestinians who are continuing tofunction. Krähenbühl described them notas victims, but as “actors in their own des-tiny.” We should all be so brave. Ambassador Ted Kattouf, president of

America-Mideast Educational and Train-ing Services (AMIDEAST), said that Amer-icans need to put a face on human tragedy.Dr. Izzeldin Abuelaish, an obstetrician andgynaecologist who spent years in Israelihospitals delivering Jewish babies, wasthat face during Israel’s 2008 war on Gaza.Dr. Abuelaish’s three daughters, 13, 15 and21, were killed and another seriouslywounded in that earlier assault. Desperatefor medical assistance, he called his friendShlomi Eldar, a presenter on Israel’s Chan-nel 10, who broadcast live Dr. Abuelaish’scries for help in a mixture of Hebrew andArabic. This time, Israeli gunboats killed four

cousins playing football on a Gaza beach infront of TV reporters. But Americans

quickly forgot those little faces, and theirpersonal stories didn’t get told. One sur-vivor, Muntasser, 11, whose brother waskilled on the beach, cannot forget (accord-ing to a December 2014 Agence France-Presse story, an extremely rare follow-upreport). In fact, Muntasser is haunted bymemories and dreams about his playmatesevery night. Since the bombing, the boy is“in another world” and refuses to go toschool, according to Muntasser’s father.“He becomes extremely violent, he breakseverything and then he starts banging hishead against the walls. He even tried tothrow himself off the roof.” After three wars in six years, how can

these children lead a normal life? “We haveto get better at telling their stories,”Krähenbühl acknowledged. Then he de-scribed a scene he’ll never forget fromShifa hospital during the war. “I saw a 5-month-old baby who had been shelled inan UNRWA school,” he recalled. “It wassomething you never want to see in yourlife. I turned to look at the parents. Theyhad such a look of despair as they watchedthe child they were not able to protect.” Reporters kept asking Krähenbühl why

Gaza civilians didn’t just leave as Israelibombs dropped. “It’s obscene,” he toldthem. “They had nowhere to go.” As forthe investigations of the seven Israelishellings of UNRWA schools in the GazaStrip, which killed at least 46 civilians,“we’ll wait to see the findings of the inves-tigations,” Krähenbühl said. If Israel isn’theld accountable the same thing will hap-pen again. “This is beyond politics,” Krähenbühl

emphasized, saying we have to convey thehuman cost of war. Come to Gaza and seefor yourself, Krähenbühl urged his listen-ers, and tell your countrymen Palestinians’

MAY 2015 17THE WASHINGTON REPORT ON MIDDLE EAST AFFAIRS

UNRWA Commissioner-General Pierre Krähenbühl (l) and Ambas-sador Philip Wilcox, chair of UNRWA USA’s board of directors.

Continued on page 74

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“We must not fail in Gaza” is the title of a statement issuedFeb. 26 and signed by 30 international aid agencies working inGaza, including UNRWA. The agencies expressed their concern about the slow pace

of reconstruction and the worsening living conditions in Gaza,as well as the ongoing economic blockade imposed by Israeland the prevailing political stalemate. The 30 agencies warnedthat tensions are increasing, further fueled by the non-paymentof salaries for public employees. The statement mentions thenearly one million children in Gaza who have experienced“unimaginable suffering” in three major conflicts in the past sixyears, with an estimated 400,000 in need of psychological sup-port. The signatories request Israel, as the occupying power,to comply with international law. Furthermore, the statementcalls on all parties to resume peace negotiations. “We must re-alize the vision of making Gaza a liveable place and a corner-stone of peace and security for all.” —D.C.H.

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18 MAY 2015THE WASHINGTON REPORT ON MIDDLE EAST AFFAIRS

Residents of Gaza woke up one morningin late February to discover that the fa-

mous British underground street artistBanksy had posted a short video about Gazaon his website (<http://banksy.co.uk/index5.asp>). Taking the form of a satiricaltravelogue—“Make this the year YOU dis-cover a new destination. Welcome to Gaza.Well away from the tourist track.”—thevideo shows a Gaza still in ruins after Is-rael’s 51-day assault last summer.Four new Banksy artworks adorned

some of the walls that remained standing:a graffito in red ink read, “If we wash ourhands of the conflict between the powerfuland the powerless we side with the power-ful—we don’t remain neutral.”Other images show the silhouettes of

children swinging from an Israeli militarywatchtower and a portrait of the Greekmythological figure Niobe, queen ofThebes, whose 14 children were murderedin a jealous rage. Another shows a kitten

playing with scrap metal like a toy. (“Iwanted to highlight the destruction inGaza by posting photos on my website,”Banksy explained, “but on the Internetpeople only look at pictures of kittens.”) The images resonate with Gazans and are

popular on Gaza’s social media—makingpeople smile, for a change, in the midst oflives characterized by occupation, oppres-sion and poverty. The people of Gaza feelsolidarity with the elusive, anonymousartist. The initial social-media buzz reflect-ing the joy of Banksy’s artwork graduallyfaded away, but still his images spoke toGazans as they try to cope with their dailyreality. “The cat tells the whole world that she

misses the joy in her life,” a Palestinian manexplains in Banksy’s video. “The cat foundsomething to play with. But what about ourchildren? What about our children?”Later that week the debate shifted to the

decision by the Cairo Court for Urgent Mat-ters to label the Palestinian resistance move-ment Hamas a terrorist organization. Thedecision was based on allegations thatHamas is responsible for multiple attacksagainst Egyptian security forces in the Sinai.

Hamas spokesman Dr. SamiAbu Zuhri condemned the de-cision as “political” and de-signed to transfer Egypt’s inter-nal security issues onto Hamas.He described the decision as “ablot [on] Egypt’s reputation.”In December 2013, Egypt’s

interim government officiallydeclared the Muslim Brother-hood—of which Hamas is anoffshoot—a terrorist group,banning its activists and arrest-ing its members, includingousted President MohamedMorsi. Last April Egypt facedinternational criticism after is-suing death sentences to 648Muslim Brotherhood members.Another example of the cur-

rent Egyptian government’svendetta against the MuslimBrotherhood was legislationasking the court to designateTurkey a state supporter of ter-rorism, after Turkish PresidentRecep Tayyip Erdogan criti-cized the government of Presi-dent Abdel Fattah el-Sisi and

expressed his support for the MuslimBrotherhood. Hamas described the Cairo Court’s desig-

nation as “a coup against history” and an“abuse of the Palestinian cause and resis-tance.” The decision was received withstrong criticism and mass demonstrationsin Gaza. Egypt subsequently invited the Palestin-

ian Islamic Jihad to Cairo for talks. Labeleda terrorist group by Washington, IslamicJihad now is playing the role of mediator.Meanwhile, Egypt and Hamas are waginga war of words on their respective mediaoutlets. Hamas leader and former Prime Minister

Ismail Haniyeh said during March 6 Fridayprayers that Egyptian officials had in-formed him personally that they were notin agreement with the decision to desig-nate Hamas a terrorist group. “Egyptian officials informed the move-

ment that the decision of the court is judi-cial,” Haniyeh said, “and has not beenadopted politically.” Emphasizing that Egypt is a sister coun-

try and the gateway to the Gaza Strip, hestated, “We don’t have any security or mil-

Banksy Murals a Rare Source of PleasureFor Besieged Gazans By Mohammed Omer

Palestinian youths practice their Parkour skills around a mural painted by the British street artistBanksy on the ruins of a house in Beit Hanoun destroyed during Israel’s 51-day assault on Gaza, March13, 2015.

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Award-winning journalist Mohammed Omerreports from the Gaza Strip, where he main-tains the Web site <www.rafahtoday.org>.Follow him on Twitter: @MoGaza.

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MAY 2015 19THE WASHINGTON REPORT ON MIDDLE EAST AFFAIRS

itary role in Sinai or any spot of Egyptianland.”

Regarding the West Bank, Haniyeh de-scribed the decision of the Central Councilof the Palestinian Liberation Organizationto stop security coordination with Israel asa step in the right direction.

In Hamas’ view, security coordinationwith Israel means targeting Palestinian re-sistance against the occupation.

Meanwhile, back at home, Gaza still suf-fers from huge shortages of constructionmaterials, as winter storms swept acrossthe region and reports indicated that thereconstruction of Gaza is unlikely to hap-pen anytime soon.

In a statement issued at the end of Feb-ruary—six months after Israel’s latest waron Gaza—the leading British charityOxfam estimated that unless Israel lifts itssiege, reconstruction of Gaza could take upto a century. Oxfam’s regional directorCatherine Essoyan called the situation “de-plorable.”

The Oxfam statement went on to de-scribe how “the situation in Gaza is be-coming increasingly desperate” and calledfor the lifting of Israel’s eight-year block-ade, as well as a resumption of peace talks.This, of course, was before the election eve

statement by Israeli Prime MinisterBinyamin Netanyahu that he opposed theestablishment of a Palestinian state,thereby removing any remaining pretensefor negotiations.

“Only an end to the blockade of Gazawill ensure that people can rebuild theirlives,” said Essoyan. With the blockade in

place, there is no flow of construction ma-terials in or of agricultural produce out,which has a crippling effect on the lives ofPalestinians.

According to Oxfam, new figures showeda January drop in delivery of the construc-tion materials vital to reconstruction efforts.“Less than 0.25 percent of the truckloads ofessential construction materials needed haveentered Gaza in the past three months,” theaid group reported. More than 800,000truckloads of such materials are still neededto repair the infrastructure damaged in lastsummer’s assault alone.

As far as food and trade are concerned,the Oxfam report states that “Exports ofagricultural produce from Gaza have fallenin the last year to just 2.7 percent of thelevel before the blockade was imposed.Fishermen are still restricted to an enforcedfishing limit of four nautical miles—farshort of where most fish are—and farmersare restricted from accessing much of themost fertile farmland.”

Commented a vegetable seller in Gaza’sShati refugee camp, “The one counting thewhip-lashes is never the one being lashed.

“We are being grilled,” he lamented,“and new generations are being born, withno chance for peace, only more hatred.” ❑

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20 MAY 2015THE WASHINGTON REPORT ON MIDDLE EAST AFFAIRS

“It’s déjà vu all over again,”as Yogi Berra famously

said. Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) recently put in a bid formore campaign funding fromSheldon Adelson and hisfriends. At the AIPAC annualconference and on Fox, the sen-ator threatened to reopen thetedious tactic of threateningWashington’s payment of its$654 million in dues to the U.N.Once a hardy perennial on theHill, the issue had gone awaysince the relatively benign rela-tions between the world bodyand Israel seemed to havedulled the edge of Washing-ton’s constant grating chorus. Despite their professed dis-

dain for the U.N., Israeli diplo-mats and politicians clearlywallow in the reflected glory ofevery minor committee mem-bership the state has achievedsince it became a de facto mem-ber of the West European andOther Group.As on those earlier occasions,

it is pro-Israel activists ratherthan Israel itself trying to scoredonations and points by bash-ing the U.N. This time it is notjust Palestine, but the Iranianissue that has them exercised.Graham knows that there are major dona-tions to be had from deranged Likud sup-porters like Adelson. “All the money that goes in to support

the State Department comes through mycommittee,” Graham, chairman of the Sen-ate Appropriations Committee’s Subcom-mittee on State, Foreign Operations andRelated Programs, told Fox, adding, “I’mgonna put the United Nations on notice.”He warned that he would slash U.S. fund-ing to the U.N. if that body decided to liftsanctions on Iran as part of a nuclear agree-ment. “Twenty-two percent of the fundingfor the United Nations comes from the

American taxpayer and I’m in charge ofthat account,” Graham stated.“If they go to the U.N. Security Council,

and the U.N. Security Council lifts all sanc-tions before we ever get a chance to look atthis deal, absolutely I would suspendfunding the United Nations, because Idon’t think your money should go to anorganization that irresponsible,” he af-firmed. “I’m not going to allow the UnitedNations to be used as a way to get aroundthe United States Congress for a deal thataffects the very existence of Israel and ourown national security,” he vowed.Since there is no way the Council could

consider lifting sanctions on Iran withoutthe support and vote of the U.S. delegation,which has a veto there, the senator reallyis talking about using his assumed legisla-

tive prerogatives to thwart anagreement by his own country’spresident and diplomats. It isan act similar to that of the 47Republican senators who wroteTehran on behalf of Israelthreatening not to honor anyagreement with Iran, which ishardly surprising since Grahamwas one of the signatories.The tentacles of Likud-USA,

as AIPAC has become, areeverywhere. Bereft of direct in-fluence over President BarackObama and the State Depart-ment, they are using their bullypower everywhere else.Binyamin Netanyahu’s electionrally in front of an adoringCongress might have helpedhim win back home with thevoters—but it was much lesseffective with the WhiteHouse.When Netanyahu gauchely

topped his Washington perfor-mance with his election evespeech to hard-line settlers ex-plicitly denouncing recognitionof any Palestinian state, hemade it even more difficult towin over the White House.What little diplomatic credibil-ity the U.S. has had globally onthe issue was that it was pulling

Israel along toward the stated goal of atwo-state solution, as enshrined in all pre-vious declarations from Oslo onwards.However, Netanyahu’s promise should

not have come as much of a surprise tomost observers. Anyone who looked at Ne-tanyahu and Likud could see the uncon-vincing hollowness of their protestationsof support for a Palestinian state. They hadput so many conditions on recognition thatit clearly said “Bukra fil mishmish” (whenpigs fly) to any recognition. However, itsuited American leaders and their diplo-matic hangers-on to overlook all this andpretend that Israeli leaders sincerelywanted peace. Otherwise they would haveto confront their Israeli “ally” publicly,with all the fraught consequences for do-mestic politics that would entail.

United NationsReport

United NationsReport

Three New Amigos: Graham, NetanyahuAnd BlairBy Ian Williams

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

International Quartet special envoy Tony Blair at a July 15, 2014press conference in Jerusalem with Israeli President Shimon Peres.Still criticized in Britain for his role in helping George W. Bushlaunch the 2003 war on Iraq, Blair more recently has been attackedfor focusing more on his own economic interests than in bringingpeace to Palestine and Israel.

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In order to win re-election, Netanyahuwent farther than usual in dropping thepretense of cooperation in peace talks. Analready exasperated President Obama de-liberately delayed telephoning him to con-gratulate him on his victory, and when hedid, reminded the Israeli leader of U.S. pol-icy on the two-state solution and the U.S.view of settlement building.Similarly, at the United Nations, U.N.

spokesperson Farhan Haq read a preparedstatement from Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon saying, “It’s incumbent on the newIsraeli government, once formed, to createthe conditions for a negotiated final peaceagreement with the active engagement ofthe international community that will endthe Israeli occupation and realize the cre-ation of a viable Palestinian state living inpeace and security alongside Israel. Thisincludes the cessation of illegal settlementbuilding in the occupied Palestinian terri-tory. The secretary-general firmly believesthis is also the best and only way forwardfor Israel to remain a democratic state.”It was not exactly casting down the

gauntlet, but in diplomatic terms, andcoming from the low-key Korean secretary-general, it was quite a strong rebuke.

An Opportunity Not to Be MissedThis is an opportune juncture for the sec-retary-general to withdraw from the hol-low charade of the Middle East Quartet,the U.S./Russia/EU and U.N. body thatepitomizes all the problems of a committee.The “consensus” of the Quartet is ofcourse dominated by the U.S. When it wasset up, it was almost a breakthrough thatthe U.S. and Israel allowed the United Na-tions any role at all in the “peace process.” The U.S. has had the strictly limited

virtue of consistency over the years, em-phasizing the importance of bilateral nego-tiations between Israel and the Palestini-ans, and thereby seeking to exclude inter-national law and the whole body of U.N.resolutions as a basis for peace. Somehow,however, the U.N. is now bound by thisQuartet consensus and, with no decisionor discussion among U.N. members, U.N.officials in Gaza and the West Bank werebarred, for example, from talking toHamas. The U.N. secretary-general becamethe Quartet spokesperson, charged withreading their increasingly anodyne state-ments marking the complete lack ofprogress in negotiations and steadfastly re-fusing to put the blame where it belonged,on the settlement builders and occupiers.Instead of the U.N. position being taken tothe Quartet, Washington’s view of consen-

sus has taken over U.N. policy!It would be unfair to say that the Quar-

tet served absolutely no purpose. It didprovide a job and networking opportuni-ties for former British Prime Minister TonyBlair, whom George W. Bush wanted to re-ward for his loyalty in helping engineerthe Iraq invasion disaster. By all accounts,Blair has used his time well—securing con-tracts from unsavory potentates all overthe world and being much favored by Is-raeli interests.With a new regime in Washington that

does not feel overmuch gratitude for Blair’spart in turning the Fertile Crescent into asectarian inferno and increasing pressscrutiny of the former prime minister’s en-trepreneurial activities, Blair’s position isunder severe challenge. American officialsare briefing that he has “no credibility atall,” while the Palestinians call him “use-less, useless, useless.” So, in a sense, Blairis a unifying factor for the Quartet and thePalestinians. They all regard him as a wasteof space.Blair became special envoy to the Middle

East Quartet the same day he resigned asprime minister, replacing James Wolfen-sohn, the World Bank official who had theintegrity to resign when he found hisevery effort to restart the Palestinian econ-omy blocked by the Israelis, who couldcount on automatic diplomatic cover fromthe U.S. There was certainly a stark con-trast in their approaches. Blair has beencareful not to criticize Israel, whose sup-porters have bankrolled his career almostfrom the beginning. Blair won’t be missed at the Quartet, and

his departure is the right time to put thestake through the heart of this shamblingcadaver of an organization. The U.N. has al-ready charted the real road map, with thefull force of international law: Israel shouldwithdraw from the occupied territories,allow refugees to return or compensatethem. Under international law, the settle-ments that Netanyahu is expanding evenas Blair shakes his hand are illegal, a pointreinforced by Security Council resolutionsand a decision of the International Court ofJustice. It is indeed time that the U.N. separated

from the man who would not listen to it onIraq.

Talk Also Cheap in Western SaharaInterminable peace talks with no progressare also a reminder of Western Sahara,where the Moroccan attempts to covertheir own non-cooperation stoked a minordiplomatic flurry in March. Just as no

country recognizes the Israeli annexationof Jerusalem, no one accepts the legality ofMorocco’s occupation of Western Sahara.So Morocco hosted a conference of an al-leged NGO in the territory in the occupiedcity of Dakhla, and wasted no opportunityto emphasize U.N. connections.To some extent it backfired, since claim-

ing that a U.N. adviser speaking at theforum implied United Nations support forthe lavishly funded event prompted theU.N. to disavow the conference and statethe official position. The U.N. statementsaid:“The secretary-general was invited to

this Forum, but informed its president thathe could not attend. He did not delegateMr. Philippe Douste-Blazy or anyone elseto represent him or the United Nations.Mr. Douste-Blazy, who serves as a specialadviser to the secretary-general on innova-tive financing, is attending exclusively inhis private capacity.“While Dakhla is described in Forum

materials as a city in Morocco, the defini-tive status of Western Sahara is the objectof a negotiating process being conductedunder the auspices of the secretary-generalin accordance with the relevant United Na-tions resolutions.”This was a gentle but firm put-down of

Morocco, which has shown all the assiduityof Israel in abiding by U.N. decisions. It isnow more than 40 years since Morocco wastold to pull out of the territory and to coop-erate in holding a referendum on its future.It is a telling reminder of the weaknesses

of the U.N. that after all these decades, theMoroccans and the Israelis continue to oc-cupy territory in defiance of U.N. resolu-tions. But it is also a reminder of thestrength of the organization that after allthis time no country recognizes the legiti-macy of their occupations. There is hopeyet. ❑

MAY 2015 21THE WASHINGTON REPORT ON MIDDLE EAST AFFAIRS

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Suddenly it reminded me of some-thing.

I was watching The Speech by BinyaminNetanyahu before the Congress of theUnited States. Row upon row of men insuits (and the occasional woman), jumpingup and down, up and down, applaudingwildly, shouting approval.It was the shouting that did it. Where

had I heard that before?And then it came back to me. It was an-

other parliament in the mid-1930s. TheLeader was speaking. Rows upon rows ofReichstag members were listening raptly.Every few minutes they jumped up andshouted their approval.Of course, the Congress of the United

States of America is no Reichstag. Mem-bers wear dark suits, not brown shirts.They do not shout “Heil!” but somethingunintelligible. Yet the sound of the shout-ing had the same effect. Rather shocking.But then I returned to the present. The

sight was not frightening, but ridiculous.Here were the members of the most pow-erful parliament in the world behaving likea bunch of nincompoops.Nothing like this could have happened

in the Knesset. I do not have a very highopinion of our parliament, despite havingbeen a member, but compared to this as-sembly, the Knesset is the fulfillment ofPlato’s dream.Abba Eban once compared a speech by

Menachem Begin to a French soufflé cake:a lot of air and very little dough.The same could be said about The

Speech.What did it contain? The Holocaust, of

course, with that moral impostor, ElieWiesel, sitting in the gallery right next tothe beaming Sarah’le, who visibly relishedher husband’s triumph. (A few days be-fore, she had shouted at the wife of amayor in Israel: Your man does not reachthe ankles of my man!)The Speech mentioned the Book of Es-

ther, about the salvation of the PersianJews from the evil Persian minister Haman,who intended to wipe them out. No one

knows how this dubious com-position came to be included inthe Bible. God is not mentionedin it, it has nothing to do withthe Holy Land, and Esther her-self is more of a prostitute thana heroine. The book ends withthe mass murder committed bythe Jews against the Persians.The Speech, like all speeches

by Netanyahu, containedmuch about the suffering of theJews throughout the ages, andthe intentions of the evil Irani-ans, the New Nazis, to annihi-late us. But this will not happen,because this time we haveBinyamin Netanyahu to protectus. And the U.S. Republicans, ofcourse.It was a good speech. One

cannot make a bad speechwhen hundreds of admirershang on every word and ap-plaud every second. But it willnot make an anthology of theworld’s Greatest Speeches.

Netanyahu considers himself a secondChurchill. And indeed, Winston Churchillwas the only foreign leader before Ne-tanyahu to speak to both houses of Con-gress a third time. But Churchill came tocement his alliance with the president ofthe United States, Franklin Delano Roose -velt, who played a big part in the Britishwar effort, while Netanyahu has come tospit in the face of the present president.What did the speech not contain?Not a word about Palestine and the

Palestinians. Not a word about peace, thetwo-state solution, the West Bank, theGaza Strip, Jerusalem. Not a word aboutapartheid, the occupation, the settlements.Not a word about Israel’s own nuclear ca-pabilities.Not a word, of course, about the idea of

a nuclear-weapon–free region, with mutualinspection.Indeed, there was no concrete proposal

at all. After denouncing the bad deal in themaking, and hinting that Barack Obamaand John Kerry are dupes and idiots, he of-fered no alternative.Why? I assume that the original text of

SpecialReportSpecialReport

The Speech: Netanyahu Harangues theU.S. CongressBy Uri Avnery

Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu accepts the accolades of Americans’ elected representativesfollowing his speech to a joint session of Congress, March 3, 2015.

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

22 MAY 2015THE WASHINGTON REPORT ON MIDDLE EAST AFFAIRS

avnery_22-23r_Special Report 3/26/15 2:29 PM Page 22

The Speech contained a lot. Devastatingnew sanctions against Iran. A demand forthe total demolition of all Iranian nuclearinstallations. And in the inevitable end: aU.S.-Israeli military attack.All this was left out. He was warned bythe Obama people in no uncertain termsthat disclosure of details of the negotia-tions would be considered as a betrayal ofconfidence. He was warned by his Repub-lican hosts that the American public was inno mood to hear about yet another war.What was left? A dreary recounting ofthe well-known facts about the negotiations.It was the only tedious part of the speech.For minutes no one jumped up, nobodyshouted approval. Elie Wiesel was shownsleeping. The most important person in thehall, Sheldon Adelson, the owner of theCongress Republicans and of Netanyahu,was not shown at all. But he was there,keeping close watch on his servants.By the way, whatever happened to Ne-tanyahu’s war?Remember when the Israel DefenseForces were about to bomb Iran tosmithereens? When the U.S. military mightwas about to take out all Iranian nuclear in-stallations?Readers of this column might also re-member that years ago I assured them thatthere would be no war. No ifs, no buts. Nohalf-open back door for a retreat. I assertedthat there would be no war, period.Much later, all Israeli former militaryand intelligence chiefs spoke out againstthe war. The army chief of staff, BennyGantz, who finished his term in March, hasdisclosed that no draft operation order forattacking Iran’s nuclear capabilities wasever drawn up.Why? Because such an operation couldlead to a world-wide catastrophe. Iranwould immediately close the Strait of Hor-muz, just a few dozen miles wide, throughwhich some 35 percent of the world’s sea-borne oil must pass. It would mean an im-mediate world-wide economic breakdown.To open the Strait and keep it open, alarge part of Iran would have to be occu-pied in a land war, boots on the ground.Even Republicans shiver at the thought.Israeli military capabilities fall far shortof such an adventure. And, of course, Is-rael cannot dream of starting a war with-out express American consent.That is reality. Not speechifying. EvenAmerican senators are capable of seeing thedifference.The centerpiece of The Speech was thedemonization of Iran. Iran is evil incarnate.Its leaders are subhuman monsters. All

over the world, Iranian terrorists are atwork planning monstrous outrages. Theyare building intercontinental ballistic mis-siles to destroy the U.S. Immediately afterobtaining nuclear warheads—now or in 10years—they will annihilate Israel.In reality, Israel’s second-strike capabil-ity, based on the submarines supplied byGermany, would annihilate Iran withinminutes. One of the most ancient civiliza-tions in world history would come to anabrupt end. The ayatollahs would have tobe clinically insane to do such a thing.Netanyahu pretends to believe they are.Yet for years now, Israel has been conduct-ing an amiable arbitration with the Iraniangovernment about the Eilat-Ashkelon oilpipeline across Israel built by an Iranian-Israeli consortium. Before the Islamic rev-olution, Iran was Israel’s stoutest ally in theregion. Well after the revolution, Israelsupplied Iran with arms in order to fightagainst Saddam Hussain’s Iraq (the famousIran/Contra affair). And if one goes back toEsther and her sexual effort to save theJews, why not mention Cyrus the Great,who allowed the Judean captives to returnto Jerusalem?

Iran’s Rational BehaviorJudging by its behavior, the present Iran-ian leadership has lost some of its initial re-ligious fervor. It is behaving (not alwaysspeaking) in a very rational way, conduct-ing tough negotiations as one would ex-pect from Persians, aware of their immensecultural heritage, even more ancient thanJudaism. Netanyahu is right in saying thatone should not trust them with closedeyes, but his demonization is ridiculous.

Within the wider context, Israel andIran are already indirect allies. For both,the Islamic State (ISIS) is the mortal enemy.To my mind, ISIS is far more dangerous toIsrael, in the long run, than Iran. I imaginethat for Tehran, ISIS is a far more danger-ous enemy than Israel.(The only memorable sentence in TheSpeech was the enemy of my enemy is myenemy.)If worse comes to worst, Iran will haveits bomb in the end. So what?I may be an arrogant Israeli, but I refuseto be afraid. I live a mile from the Israeliarmy high command in the center of TelAviv, and in a nuclear exchange I wouldevaporate. Yet I feel quite safe.The United States has been exposed fordecades (and still is) to thousands of Russ-ian nuclear bombs, which could eradicatemillions within minutes. They feel safeunder the umbrella of the balance of terror.Between us and Iran, in the worst situation,the same balance would come into effect.What is Netanyahu’s alternative toObama’s policy? As Obama was quick topoint out, he offered none.The best possible deal will be struck.The danger will be postponed for 10 yearsor more. And, as Chaim Weizmann oncesaid: The future will come and take care ofthe future.Within these 10 years, many things willhappen. Regimes will change, enmities willturn into alliances and vice versa. Any-thing is possible.Even—God and the Israeli voters will-ing—peace between Israel and Palestine,which would take the sting out of Israeli-Muslim relations. ❑

(Advertisement)

MAY 2015 23THE WASHINGTON REPORT ON MIDDLE EAST AFFAIRS

avnery_22-23r_Special Report 3/26/15 4:32 PM Page 23

On Jan. 21, the day after PresidentBarack Obama’s State of the Union ad-

dress to Congress, House Speaker JohnBoehner (R-OH) delivered a direct slap toObama by announcing that he had invitedIsraeli Prime Minister Binyamin Ne-tanyahu to address Congress, with the ob-vious goal of convincing Congress to scut-tle the six-nation (P5+1) negotiations withIran by passing new sanctions and otherpunitive measures. Boehner did not give the White House

advance notice of the invitation and indi-cated that he intends to challenge Obamaon Iran and other foreign policy issues. Ne-tanyahu gave his speech on March 3, dur-ing AIPAC’s annual meeting to lobby forpro-Israel, and generally anti-U.S., legisla-tion, and only two weeks before Israel’sMarch 17 general elections.The blatantly political move by both

Boehner and Netanyahu was seen as suchby most members of Congress as well as bypolitical observers. Many Democrats, as wellas some Republicans, decried the fact thatBoehner seemed to be injecting partisanshipinto what generally had been non-partisan,blind congressional support for just about

anything Israel wanted. As a result, 51 De-mocratic and 1 Republican representativeand 8 Democratic senators announced thatthey would not be attending the Boehner/Netanyahu event (see box). Even amongthose attending, many Democrats decriedthe speech, both the way it came about andwhat it contained. House Minority LeaderNancy Pelosi (D-CA) said she was insultedand “saddened” by the insult to the U.S.and by the “condescension toward ourknowledge of the threat posed by Iran.”Underlining how partisan the issue had

become, several Republican members ofCongress spoke on the House and Senatefloors applauding the invitation. On Feb. 12Sen. John Cornyn (R-TX) introduced S.Res.76 “welcoming the Prime Minister of Israelto the U.S. for his address to a joint meetingof Congress.” The measure passed by voicevote on Feb. 26 with 51 co-sponsors includ-ing Cornyn, all Republicans. On the otherside, on Feb. 19, 23 Democratic representa-tives signed a letter to Boehner, originatedby Reps. Steve Cohen (TN) and Keith Ellison(MN), urging him to postpone the speech.The letter noted that “this appears to be anattempt to promote new sanctions legisla-tion against Iran that could undermine crit-ical negotiations,” and that the invitation“enlists a foreign leader to influence a pres-idential policy initiative.”

In the end Netanyahu’s extravaganza mayhave backfired. Injecting partisan politicsinto the issue of how to deal with Iran’s nu-clear program has made it more difficult forthe AIPAC-promoted measures aimed atscuttling the negotiations (see below) togain enough Democratic support to pass theSenate, and almost impossible to override alikely presidential veto.

AIPAC Pulls Out All Stops to ScuttleNegotiations With IranAfter Netanyahu’s speech AIPAC membersswarmed over congressional offices to lobbyfor measures designed to scuttle any agree-ment with Iran. Their focus was on S. 269,introduced Jan. 27 by leading Iran hawksSens. Robert Menendez (D-NJ) and MarkKirk (R-IL), which would impose new Iransanctions if no deal is reached, and S. 615, in-troduced Feb. 27 by Sen. Bob Corker (R-TN).Both bills would require congressional ap-proval of any deal and impose congressionalconditions on the implementation of anyagreement. S. 269, the “Nuclear Weapons Free Iran”

bill, is long and complicated. Essentially itwould require the president to submit toCongress the text of any agreement and a“verification assessment report.” However,even if there is an agreement, there is also aprovision prohibiting the president from ex-ercising any waiver or any other action tolimit the application of sanctions “until thedate that is 30 days of continuous session ofCongress after the president transmits thesecomprehensive solution and assessment re-ports.” Since Congress rarely is in session for30 continuous days, this means that, evenwith an agreement, no new sanctions couldbe waived until mid-November.If there is no final agreement by July 6,

the sanctions imposed on Iran during the“interim agreement” would be reimposed,and an escalating series of new sanctionswould be imposed each month for the re-mainder of 2015. The section includes apresidential waiver provision, but only sub-ject to a report and certification that it is inthe national security interest of the U.S., orif the waiver would make a long-term agree-ment with Iran more likely. The bill has 50co-sponsors, including Kirk and Menendez.Corker’s S. 615 “to provide for congres-

sional review and oversight of agreements

CongressWatchCongressWatch

Boehner/Netanyahu Spectacle Injects Politics Into U.S.-Israel RelationsBy Shirl McArthur

24 MAY 2015THE WASHINGTON REPORT ON MIDDLE EAST AFFAIRS

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

mcarthur_24-26_Congress Watch 3/26/15 2:44 PM Page 24

relating to Iran’s nuclear program,” intro-duced with 12 co-sponsors, is similar to hisS. 2650, the “Iran Nuclear Negotiations”bill, which he introduced last July butwhich was not brought to a Senate floor fora vote.But on March 3, Senate Majority Leader

Mitch McConnell (R-KY) revised and rein-troduced Corker’s bill as S. 625, with thesame title as S. 615. It, too, is very long andcomplex, requiring numerous presidentialreports and assessments, apparently de-signed to kill any agreement that might bereached. Then, on March 4, McConnell an-nounced that he was “fast-tracking” his S.625, and he submitted a “cloture motion” tocut off debate. A cloture motion in the Sen-ate requires 60 yes votes, meaning it will re-quire the support of at least six Democrats. All three, S. 269, S. 615, and S. 625, by re-

quiring the president to submit any agree-ment with Iran to Congress for its approvalor disapproval, would overturn a long his-tory of precedents, by presidents of bothparties, of using sometimes secret agree-ments to make national security commit-ments. Washington Post columnist WalterPincus cited a list of such past agreements.A more reasonable measure, S.Res. 40,

had been introduced by Sen. Dianne Fein-stein (D-CA) on Jan. 26. It “supports thediplomatic efforts of the U.S. and the mem-bers of the P5+1 countries to reach a com-prehensive agreement with Iran that pre-vents Iran from acquiring a nuclearweapon.” It also notes that “support for thereimposition of suspended sanctions as wellas the imposition of additional sanctions

against Iran would be strong” if negotia-tions with Iran fail, Iran violates the jointplan of action, or violates any final compre-hensive agreement. The measure has 14 co-sponsors, including Feinstein.And on March 4 Sen. Barbara Boxer (D-

CA) with six co-sponsors introduced themore reasonable S. 669, which would sim-ply “provide for the consideration of legis-lation to respond to a violation by Iran of anarrangement relating to its nuclear pro-gram.”On Jan. 27 Congressional Progressive

Caucus members Raul Grijalva (D-AZ), Elli-son and Barbara Lee (D-CA) wrote to thechairmen and ranking Democrats of theSenate Banking Committee and the HouseForeign Affairs Committee urging them topostpone enacting any new sanctions onIran. They point out that “enacting newsanctions legislation now undermines theefforts of the P5+1 and is contrary to apeaceful solution.”The widely-reported and condescend-

ing, if not insulting, “open letter to theleaders of the Islamic Republic of Iran,”signed by 47 Republican senators led bySen. Tom Cotton (AR), was an egregiousshow of contempt not only toward Obamabut also toward the office of the presi-dency. Purportedly an effort to “enrich”Iranian leaders’ “knowledge of our consti-tutional system,” it was, in fact, a blatant,transparent attempt to scuttle the negotia-tions with Iran and push the two countriescloser to war. Among other questionablestatements, it said that any agreementsigned by Obama would be an executive

agreement that could be revoked bythe next president “with the stroke ofa pen.” The seven Republicans notsigning the letter were Sens. LamarAlexander (TN), Dan Coats (IN), ThadCochran (MS), Susan Collins (ME),Corker, Jeff Flake (AZ) and LisaMurkowski (AK).

New Bills Would Target BDSMovement Against IsraeliColoniesAnother bill being strongly pushed byAIPAC is H.R. 825, introduced Feb. 10by Rep. Peter Roskam (R-IL) and mis-leadingly titled the “U.S.-Israel Tradeand Commercial Enhancement” bill. Infact it is aimed directly at the “boy-cott, divest and sanction” (BDS) move-ment by individuals, companies andorganizations in response to Israel’s ac-tivities in the occupied territories. Itwould require far-reaching reportingregarding “politically motivated” BDS

activities against “Israel, entities owned orcontrolled by Israel, or entities operating inIsrael or Israel-controlled territory” (mean-ing Israel’s colonies and the occupation).The bill states that it is among U.S. tradenegotiating objectives for trade agreementsto discourage trading partners from BDS ac-tions. It would also prohibit any U.S. courtfrom recognizing or enforcing any judg-ment by a foreign court enforcing BDSlaws. The bill, featured on AIPAC’s website,has 26 co-sponsors, including Roskam.Similarly, Sens. Benjamin Cardin (D-MD)

and Rob Portman (R-OH) on March 2 intro-duced S. 619, more honestly entitled “to in-clude among the principal trade negotiatingobjectives of the U.S. regarding commercialpartnerships trade negotiating objectiveswith respect to discouraging activity thatdiscourages, penalizes, or otherwise limitscommercial relations with Israel.”The two previously described bills that

would “recognize Jerusalem as the capitalof Israel and relocate to Jerusalem the U.S.Embassy in Israel” have gained co-spon-sors. The House bill, H.R. 114, introducedby Rep. Scott Garrett (R-NJ) in January,now has 15 co-sponsors, including Garrett.The Senate bill, S. 117, also introduced inJanuary by Sen. Dean Heller (R-NV), hasgained six co-sponsors and now has eight,including Heller.On Feb. 2, 28 representatives, led by

Reps. Mark Meadows (R-NC) and GraceMeng (D-NY), wrote to U.N. Secretary-Gen-eral Ban Ki-moon charging that the failureto enforce Security Council resolutions al-lowed Hezbollah’s Jan. 28 firing of anti-tank

MAY 2015 25THE WASHINGTON REPORT ON MIDDLE EAST AFFAIRS

Sixty members of Congress—8 senators and52 representatives, including one Republican—announced prior to Israeli Prime MinisterBinyamin Netanyahu’s March 3 address toCongress that they would not attend theBoehner/Netanyahu political event. The eightsenators were Al Franken (MN), Tim Kaine(VA), Patrick Leahy (VT), Bernie Sanders (I-VT), Brian Schatz (HI), Martin Heinrich (NM),Elizabeth Warren (MA) and Sheldon White-house (RI).From the House, North Carolina Republican

Walter Jones joined Democratic Reps. KarenBass (CA), Earl Blumenauer (OR), CorrineBrown (FL), G.K. Butterfield (NC), Lois Capps(CA), Andre Carson (IN), Joaquin Castro (TX),Katherine Clark (MA), Lacy Clay (MO), JamesClyburn (SC), Steve Cohen (TN), Bonnie Wat-son Coleman (NJ), John Conyers (MI), ElijahCummings (MD), Danny Davis (IL), Rosa De-Lauro (CT), Peter DeFazio (OR), Diana

DeGette (CO), Lloyd Doggett (TX), DonnaEdwards (MD), Keith Ellison (MN), Chaka Fat-tah (PA), Marcia Fudge (OH), Raul Grijalva(AZ), Luis Gutierrez (IL), Denny Heck (WA),Ruben Hinojosa (TX), Eddie Bernice Johnson(TX), Hank Johnson (GA), Marcy Kaptur (OH),Rick Larsen (WA), Barbara Lee (CA), JohnLewis (GA), Dave Loebsack (IA), Zoe Lofgren(CA), Betty McCollum (MN), Jim McDermott(WA), Jim McGovern (MA), Jerry McNerney(CA), Gregory Meeks (NY), Gwen Moore(WI), Eleanor Holmes Norton (DC), BetoO’Rourke (TX), Chellie Pingree (ME), DavidPrice (NC), Cedric Richmond (LA), JanSchakowsky (IL), Adam Smith (WA), BennieThompson (MS), Mike Thompson (CA), andJohn Yarmuth (KY).

—S.M.

—Thanks to The Hill and the National IranianAmerican Council

60 Members of Congress Boycott Netanyahu’s Speech to Congress

mcarthur_24-26_Congress Watch 3/26/15 2:44 PM Page 25

missiles into Israel, resulting in injuries anddeaths to IDF members. It is no surprise thatthe letter makes no mention of Israel’skilling of Hezbollah members on the GolanHeights the previous week.On a positive note, on Feb. 25 Lee intro-

duced H.Res. 126, “expressing the sense ofthe House of Representatives regarding U.S.efforts to promote Israeli-Palestinian peace.”It would, among other things, reaffirm theHouse’s commitment to supporting U.S. ac-tions that promote peace between Israel andthe Palestinians; call on Hamas to recognizeIsrael’s right to exist, denounce violence,abide by existing agreements, and stop fir-ing missiles and rockets into Israel; and callon the Israeli government to “cease supportfor and to prevent further settlement ex-pansion in the Occupied Territories.”

New Bills Prohibit Aid to PalestiniansThe previously described S. 34, introduced inJanuary by Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY) to cut aidto the Palestinians, still has no co-sponsors.However, three new such bills have been in-troduced. On Jan. 12 Rep. Alcee Hastings (D-FL), with two co-sponsors, introduced H.R.277. On Jan. 14 Rep. Curt Clawson (R-FL),with four co-sponsors, introduced H.R.364,and on March 3 Paul again introduced a bill,S. 633, prohibiting aid to the PA.On Jan. 22, 13 chairs and ranking De-

mocrats of the House Foreign Affairs Com-mittee and subcommittees signed a letterto Secretary of State John Kerry expressing“their concern about the PA’s decision tojoin the International Criminal Court.” Aweek later, 75 senators signed a similar let-ter to Kerry. Both letters say the only path

to Israeli-Palestinian peace is through di-rect negotiations, ignoring the fact that Ne-tanyahu’s government is not negotiating ingood faith.

Bills Introduced to Authorize Use ofMilitary Force Against ISISOn Feb. 11 Obama formally requested Con-gress for authorization for the use of militaryforce (AUMF) against ISIS “and associatedforces.” The requested authorization wouldinclude no geographic limitations, would notauthorize “enduring” use of U.S. groundforces, and would expire after three years.There is considerable debate in Congress

over the request, with some members say-ing it is too restrictive and others saying itis not restrictive enough. So congressionalleaders have indicated that it may takemonths of debate before an AUMF ispassed. However, that hasn’t stopped somemembers from introducing AUMF mea-sures. On Feb. 2 Rep. Adam Schiff (D-CA)introduced H.J.Res. 27, and on Feb. 13 Rep.Adam Kinzinger (R-IL) and three co-spon-sors introduced H.J. Res. 33.Both measures would repeal the AUMF

against Iraq resolution of 2002. On March 4Lee, with two co-sponsors, introduced H.R.1304 to repeal the 2002 AUMF against Iraq.But H.R. 120, introduced in January byGarrett “to repeal the War Powers Resolu-tion,” still has no co-sponsors.Separately, on Feb. 10 Lee introduced H.J.

Res. 30, directing the president “to developand submit to Congress a comprehensivediplomatic, political, economic and region-ally-led strategy to degrade and dismantle”ISIS. It has eight co-sponsors, including Lee.

Republicans Still Looking for a Benghazi “Scandal”Two and a half years after the tragic Sep-tember 2012 attack on U.S. facilities inBenghazi, Libya, many Republican mem-bers of Congress are still looking for a cover-up or a scandal, even after the Republican-led House Intelligence Committee issued areport in November that rejected the long-running conspiracy theories.Incredibly, the House Select Committee

on Benghazi was reinstituted for the 114thCongress and, after learning that HillaryClinton used her personal e-mail accountduring her time as secretary of state, thecommittee on March 4 issued subpoenas“for all communications of former Secre-tary of State Hillary Clinton related toLibya and to the State Department forother individuals who have informationpertinent to the investigation,” accordingto a committee spokesman. ❑

26 MAY 2015THE WASHINGTON REPORT ON MIDDLE EAST AFFAIRS

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MAY 2015 27THE WASHINGTON REPORT ON MIDDLE EAST AFFAIRS

It’s not uncommon for pro-Israelpolitical action committees (PACs)to donate a stray thousand dollarsor so to senators who aren’t up forre-election in a given year. In the2014 election cycle these recipientsincluded Joseph Donnelly (D-IN),who received $500; Charles Grass-ley (R-IA), $1,000; Barbara Mikul-ski (D-MD), who has since an-nounced her retirement, $1,000;Amy Klobuchar (DFL-MN), $1,000;Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid(D-NV), $1,000; Kelly Ayotte (R-NH), $1,000; Charles Schumer (D-NY), $2,000; Ron Wyden (D-OR),$1,000; and Ted Cruz (R-TX), whohas since announced his candidacyfor president, $2,500.But favorite son (of Israel, at any

rate) Sen. Mark Kirk (D-IL) was thebeneficiary of a whopping $12,100toward his 2016 bid for re-election.Kirk—who raked in enough pro-Is-rael PAC money as a member of theHouse to earn a place as one of theSenate’s top 10 career recipients be-fore he even took his oath of of-fice—currently is hard at work try-ing to undermine any nuclear agree-ment with Iran, via his co-author-ship with a fellow top 10 Senate re-cipient of the Kirk-Menendez bill.Now that he’s been outed as an Is-rael-firster (on his 2010 campaignwebsite he posted his name in He-brew in the color of the Israeli flag),it will be interesting to see how muchKirk touts that allegiance. In her unsuc-cessful 2012 Senate bid, Rep. ShelleyBerkley (D-NV), the House’s high priest-ess of pro-Israel PAC contributions beforeKirk came on the scene, barely mentionedthe self-proclaimed Jewish state. Onewould have thought that she actuallycared more about the citizens of Nevada!

Hedging Their BetsHaving read the writing on the wall—and apparently all reading the samewall—in 2014 pro-Israel PACs gave to

both incumbents and challengers in sometwo dozen races, far more than usual. Asis their wont, they typically gave more totrustworthy incuments: $67,798 to Sen.Mark Begich (D-AK) vs. $5,000 to chal-lenger Daniel Sullivan; $45,000 to Sen.Mark Pryor (D-AR) vs. $8,000 to (thenow notorious) Thomas Cotton; $65,550to Sen. Mark Udall (D-CO) vs. $6,000 toCory Gardner; $84,000 to Sen. Mitch Mc-Connell (R-KY) vs. $6,500 to AlisonGrimes; $80,079 to Sen. Mary Landrieu(D-LA) vs. $12,000 to William Cassidy;$46,500 to Sen. Al Franken (DFL-MN) vs.$5,000 to Michael McFadden; $52,075 toSen. Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH) vs. $5,000to former Sen. Scott Brown; and $60,800

to Sen. Kay Hagan (D-NC) vs. $5,000 toThom Tillis. Hedging their bets turned out to be a

good thing in these states: of the aboveincumbents, only McConnell, Frankenand Shaheen still take to the Senate floor.Meanwhile, pro-Israel PACs have estab-lished relationships with five Republicanfreshman senators, who now find them-selves in the majority party. No need fora chorus of “Getting to Know You.”More true to form, pro-Israel PACs did

not contribute to Senate challengers inAlabama, Delaware, Illinois, Kansas,Maine, Massachusetts, Mississippi, NewMexico, Oregon, Rhode Island, SouthCarolina, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia and

ELECTION WATCH

Pro-Israel PACs Already Working to Re-elect Sen. Mark Kirk (R-IL) in 2016

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

Janet McMahon is managing editor of theWashington Report.

By Janet McMahon

HOUSE: CURRENT RACES

Royce, Edward R. (R-CA) $43,450Engel, Eliot L. (D-NY) 43,000Schneider, Bradley S. (D-IL) 30,350Boehner, John A. (R-OH) 28,700Deutch, Theodore E. (D-FL) 25,500Hoyer, Steny H. (D-MD) 21,000Lowey, Nita M. (D-NY) 20,650Ros-Lehtinen, Ileana (R-FL) 20,500Pallone, Frank Jr. (D-NJ) 18,500Granger, Kay (R-TX) 18,500Garcia, Jose A. (Joe) (D-FL) 17,445

House: Career Totals

Engel, Eliot L. (D-NY) $352,418Ros-Lehtinen, Ileana (R-FL) 294,240Hoyer, Steny H. (D-MD) 288,025Lowey, Nita M. (D-NY) 223,888Pelosi, Nancy (D-CA) 149,150Levin, Sander M. (D-MI) 134,827Boehner, John A. (R-OH) 129,200Andrews, Robert E. (D-NJ) 112,025Crowley, Joseph (D-NY) 109,457Pallone, Frank Jr. (D-NJ) 107,050

SENATE: CURRENT RACES

McConnell, Mitch (R-KY) $84,251Landrieu, Mary L. (D-LA) 80,079Begich, Mark (D-AK) 67,798Udall, Mark E. (D-CO) 65,550Hagan, Kay R. (D-NC) 60,800Graham, Lindsey O. (R-SC) 56,000Shaheen, Jeanne (D-NH) 52,075Franken, Al (DFL-MN) 46,500Pryor, Mark L. (D-AR) 45,000Roberts, Pat (R-KS) 41,300

Senate: Career Totals

McConnell, Mitch (R-KS) 582,392Durbin, Richard J. (D-IL) 401,171Reid, Harry (D-NV)* 394,001Kirk, Mark S. (R-IL)* 349,486Wyden, Ronald L. (D-OR)* 349,462Boxer, Barbara (D-CA)* 279,044Sessions, Jefferson B. (Jeff) (R-AL) 229,325Mikulski, Barbara (D-MD)* 214,099Menendez, Robert (D-NJ) 211,318McCain, John (R-AZ)* 206,000

*up for re-election in 2016

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28 MAY 2015THE WASHINGTON REPORT ON MIDDLE EAST AFFAIRS

KEY: The “Career Total” column represents the total amount of pro-Israel PAC money received from Jan. 1, 2009 through Nov. 4, 2014. S=Senate, H=House ofRepresentatives. Party affiliation: D=Democrat, R=Republican, Ref=Reform, DFL=Democratic Farmer Labor, Ind=Independent, Lib=Libertarian, WFP=WorkingFamilies Party. Status: C=Challenger, I=Incumbent, N=Not Running, O=Open Seat (no incumbent), P=Defeated in primary election. *=Senate election year, #=Housemember running for Senate seat, †=Special Election. Committees (at time of election): A=Appropriations (D=Defense subcommittee, FO=Foreign Operationssubcommittee, HS=Homeland Security, NS=National Security subcommittee), AS=Armed Services, B=Budget, C=Commerce, FR=Foreign Relations (NE=NearEastern 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

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Wyoming. And mirabile dictu! the in-cumbent senator won in all 15 states.In the 16 House races where pro-Israel

PACs contributed to both the incumbentand challenger, nine were won by the in-cumbent, all but two of whom were De-mocrats, and seven by the challenger, allbut one of whom were Republicans.As with the Senate races, however, even

when it played both sides of the aisle thelobby didn’t always get its way. This wasparticularly the case in Illinois, where Re-publican challenger Robert Dold (who re-ceived $8,000) defeated Democratic in-cumbent Bradley Schneider ($30,350); Re-publican challenger Michael Bost ($2,500)defeated incumbent Bill Enyart ($11,000);and Republican incumbent Rodney Davis

($800) defeated Democratic challengerAnn Callis ($3,018). The only Democraticincumbent to hold on to her seat wasCheri Bustos ($5,000), who defeated Re-publican Bobby Schilling ($2,000).Countering the 30-some pro-Israel PACS

were the Arab American PAC and theArab American Leadership Council PAC,which together gave a total of $3,500 tofour candidates (see p. 33)—slightly overone-tenth of one percent of the pro-IsraelPACs’ total of $2,720,869. Indeed, thetotal contributions of Arab- and Muslim-American PACs since 1978—$715,920—isless than the career total of pro-Israel PACcontributions received by a single formersenator, Carl Levin (D-MI), who amassed$729,937 before he retired last year.

Mark Kirk has his work cut out forhim, but he’ll undoubtedly make up a lotof ground by November 2016.However, as seen by many of this

year’s results, as well as by Rand Paul’s(R-KY) election to the Senate in 2010,when voters are dissatisfied with the sta-tus quo, they will not automatically votefor the favored candidate. The task, then,is to make sure they have a choice.Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Ne-

tanyahu’s March 3 speech to Congressupset the bipartisan applecart. Perhapsmore candidates will appear who don’tfeel the need to automatically genuflectto Israel and its American enforcers. As the ancient Romans used to say,

carpe diem—seize the day. ❑

Alabama S Sessions, Jefferson B. (Jeff)* R I 5,000 229,325 AS, BH 1 Byrne, Bradley R. R I 2,500 2,500 ASH 2 Roby, Martha R I 2,500 5,000 AH 4 Aderholt, Robert B. R I 2,500 23,000 A(D)H 5 Brooks, Mo R I 2,500 2,500 AS, FR

Alaska S Begich, Mark* D I 67,798 74,298 A(FO, HS), C, HSS Sullivan, Daniel S.* R C 5,000 5,000

Arizona H 1 Kirkpatrick, Ann D I 5,000 12,000H 1 Tobin, Andy R C 2,500 2,500H 2 Barber, Ronald D I 5,500 7,500 AS, HSH 2 McSally, Martha E. R C 2,500 2,500H 3 Grijalva, Raul M. D I 3,500 13,500H 5 Salmon, Matt R I 2,500 9,000 FRH 7 Pastor, Ed L. D N 1,000 9,800 A, IH 8 Franks, Trent R I 4,600 5,600 ASH 9 Sinema, Kyrsten D I 3,000 3,000

Arkansas S Pryor, Mark L.* D I 45,000 103,000 A(D), HSS Cotton, Thomas*# R C 8,000 10,500 FR(NE)

California H 2 Huffman, Jared D I 3,000 6,500 BH 3 Garamendi, John D I 5,000 16,500 ASH 5 Thompson, Mike D I 5,000 8,500 I, WH 7 Bera, Amerish (Ami) D I 5,750 19,450 FRH 7 Birman, Igor A. R P 3,000 3,000H 7 Ose, Doug R C 2,500 2,500H 8 Cook, Paul R I 2,500 2,500 AS, FRH 11 Miller, George D N 1,000 14,193H 12 Pelosi, Nancy D I 16,350 149,150 Min. LeaderH 13 Lee, Barbara D I 3,000 5,000 A(FO), BH 14 Speier, Jackie D I 1,000 8,000 ASH 15 Swalwell, Eric M. D I 9,500 24,000 HSH 16 Costa, Jim D I 3,500 27,000H 17 Honda, Mike D I 11,000 24,500 AH 18 Eshoo, Anna G. D I 4,000 10,750 CH 19 Lofgren, Zoe D I 3,500 8,750H 20 Farr, Sam D I 5,000 17,150 AH 21 Renteria, Amanda D C 3,025 3,025

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MAY 2015 29THE WASHINGTON REPORT ON MIDDLE EAST AFFAIRS

California H 22 Nunes, Devin G. R I 5,000 5,000H 23 McCarthy, Kevin R I 12,000 21,000 Maj. LeaderH 24 Capps, Lois G. D I 5,306 40,723 CH 25 Strickland, Anthony A. R O 2,500 6,500H 26 Brownley, Julia D I 12,250 16,650H 26 Gorell, Jeff R C 2,500 2,500H 27 Chu, Judy D I 1,000 2,000H 28 Schiff, Adam D I 13,000 93,917 A(FO), IH 29 Cárdenas, Tony D I 6,000 8,600 BH 30 Sherman, Brad D I 16,000 106,430 FRH 31 Aguilar, Pete D O 3,150 5,650H 33 Carr, Elan S. R O 6,500 6,500H 33 Waxman, Henry A. D N 5,000 57,932 CH 33 Lieu, Ted D O 1,100 1,100H 34 Becerra, Xavier D I 1,000 5,000 WH 36 Ruiz, Raul D I 11,550 11,550H 38 Sanchez, Linda D I 3,500 26,450 WH 39 Royce, Edward R. R I 43,450 52,950 FRH 41 Takano, Mark D I 1,000 6,000H 46 Sanchez, Loretta D I 2,500 68,950 AS, HSH 47 Lowenthal, Alan D I 4,500 14,700 FRH 52 DeMaio, Carl D. R C 2,500 2,500H 52 Peters, Scott D I 2,250 2,650 ASH 53 Davis, Susan D I 2,000 19,163 AS

Colorado S Udall, Mark E.* D I 65,550 113,800 AS, IS Gardner, Cory*# R C 6,000 6,000 CH 1 DeGette, Diana L. D I 3,000 7,500 CH 2 Polis, Jared D I 1,000 1,000H 5 Lamborn, Douglas L. R I 5,000 10,500 ASH 6 Coffman, Mike R I 2,500 4,750 AS

Connecticut H 5 Greenberg, Mark R C 2,500 2,500H 5 Esty, Elizabeth D I 1,000 2,500

Delaware S Coons, Christopher A.* D I 31,000 50,000 A(FO, HS), B, FR(NE)Florida H 1 Miller, Jefferson B. R I 7,000 13,500 AS

H 2 Graham, Gwen D C 7,550 7,550H 2 Southerland, William S. (Steve) II R I 3,000 3,000H 3 Yoho, Theodore S. (Ted) R I 5,500 5,500 FR(NE)H 4 Crenshaw, Ander R I 3,000 3,000 A(D, FO)H 6 DeSantis, Ronald D. R I 3,500 3,500 FR(NE)H 6 Stearns, Clifford B. R N 1,500 21,500H 8 Posey, Bill R I 4,000 5,000H 9 Grayson, Alan M. D I 500 8,000 FR(NE)H 10 Demings, Valdez (Val) D N 1,000 3,000H 11 Nugent, Richard B. R I 5,000 22,100 ASH 12 Bilirakis, Gus M. R I 7,500 51,816 CH 13 Sink, Adelaide A. (Alex)† D N 5,500 5,500H 13 Jolly, David W.† R I 3,500 3,500H 13 Young, C.W. (Bill) R N 1,000 2,250H 14 Castor, Kathy D I 5,200 27,600 B, CH 17 Rooney, Tom R I 1,000 2,000 A(FO), IH 18 Murphy, Patrick D I 16,000 23,500H 19 Radel, Henry J. III R N 6,000 8,500H 21 Deutch, Theodore E. D I 25,500 83,350 FR(NE)H 22 Frankel, Lois J. D I 6,500 13,000 FR(NE)H 23 Wasserman Schultz, Debbie D I 0 74,300 A(FO)H 24 Wilson, Frederica S. D I 500 10,000H 25 Diaz-Balart, Mario R I 14,500 68,250 A(FO)H 26 Garcia, Jose A. (Joe) D I 17,445 36,445H 26 Curbelo, Carlos R C 10,500 10,500H 27 Ros-Lehtinen, Ileana R I 20,500 294,240 FR(NE)

Georgia S Perdue, David* R O 20,000 20,000S Nunn, Mary M.* D O 16,150 16,150S Kingston, John H., Sr.*# R P 2,000 7,500 A(D, HS)

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30 MAY 2015THE WASHINGTON REPORT ON MIDDLE EAST AFFAIRS

Georgia H 4 Johnson, Henry C. (Hank) D I 5,000 43,200 ASH 13 Scott, David A. D I 1,000 14,000

Hawaii S Schatz, Brian† D I 35,200 35,200 CS Hanabusa, Colleen Wakako#† D P 18,000 23,000 ASH 1 Takai, Kyle M. D O 3,500 3,500H 1 Djou, Charles K. R O 2,500 9,500H 2 Gabbard, Tulsi D I 1,000 1,500 FR, HS

Idaho S Risch, James E.* R I 39,500 53,000 FR(NE), IIllinois S Durbin, Richard J.* D I 25,750 401,171 A(D, FO), FR(NE)

S Kirk, Mark S. R I 12,100 349,486 A(FO)H 2 Kelly, Robin L. D I 2,100 2,100H 3 Lipinski, Daniel W. D I 1,500 12,400H 4 Gutierrez, Luis V. D I 5,750 37,561H 5 Quigley, Mike D I 1,250 2,750 AH 6 Roskam, Peter R I 7,750 29,500 WH 7 Davis, Danny K. D I 5,000 15,250 WH 8 Duckworth, L. Tammy D I 3,500 20,974 ASH 9 Schakowsky, Janice D. D I 3,250 37,395 C, IH 10 Schneider, Bradley S. D I 30,350 32,950 FR(NE)H 10 Dold, Robert J. Jr. R C 8,000 30,500H 11 Foster, G. William (Bill) D I 4,700 23,700H 12 Enyart, William L. Jr. D I 11,000 11,000 ASH 12 Bost, Michael R C 2,500 2,500H 13 Callis, Ann D C 3,018 3,018H 13 Davis, Rodney L. R I 800 1,800H 14 Hultgren, Randy R I 1,500 3,500H 16 Kinzinger, Adam R I 3,250 10,250 C, FR(NE)H 17 Bustos, Cheri D I 5,000 10,000H 17 Schilling, Robert T. (Bobby) R C 2,000 6,300H 18 Schock, Aaron J. R I 4,750 24,750 W

Indiana S Donnelly, Joseph S. D I 500 25,000 ASS Coats, Daniel R. R I 0 69,060 A(D, FO, HS), C, IH 1 Visclosky, Peter J. D I 750 17,450 A(D)H 2 Walorski Swihart, Jackie R I 13,700 13,700 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 S Braley, Bruce L.*# D O 33,150 50,150S Ernst, Joni K.* R O 28,500 28,500S Grassley, Charles E. R I 1,000 161,323 BH 2 Loebsack, David W. D I 5,000 21,000 ASH 3 Young, David R O 2,500 2,500

Kansas S Roberts, Pat* R I 41,300 92,300H 4 Pompeo, Michael R. R I 3,000 3,000 C, I

Kentucky S McConnell, Mitch* R I 84,251 582,392 A(D, FO)S Grimes, Alison Lundergan* D C 6,500 6,500H 1 Whitfield, W. Edward R I 2,500 8,000 CH 3 Yarmuth, John A. D I 5,020 20,520 B, CH 5 Rogers, Harold D. (Hal) R I 6,700 22,700 A

Louisiana S Landrieu, Mary L.* D I 80,079 287,968 A(D, FO, HS), HSS Cassidy, William M.*# R C 12,000 27,000 CH 1 Scalise, Steve R I 10,000 40,500 C, Maj. WhipH 2 Richmond, Cedric L. D I 6,000 8,500 HSH 4 Fleming, John C. Jr. R I 2,000 14,000 ASH 5 Abraham, Ralph L. Jr.† R C 3,000 3,000H 5 McAllister, Vance M. R P 2,500 2,500H 5 Riser, Hartwell N. (Neil) Jr. R N 2,000 2,000H 6 Graves, Garret R O 3,000 3,000

Maine S Collins, Susan M.* R I 32,900 145,900 A(D), IH 1 Pingree, Chellie M. D I 5,000 10,676 A

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 4 Edwards, Donna F. D I 3,000 12,500H 5 Hoyer, Steny H. D I 21,000 288,025 Min. Whip

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MAY 2015 31THE WASHINGTON REPORT ON MIDDLE EAST AFFAIRS

Maryland H 7 Cummings, Elijah E. D I 2,000 24,500Massachusetts S Markey, Edward J.* D I 22,500 34,750 C, FR

S Gomez, Gabriel† R N 2,500 2,500H 2 McGovern, James P. D I 3,500 14,075H 3 Tsongas, Nicola S. D I 5,000 12,000 ASH 6 Tierney, John F. D P 1,000 3,000H 6 Moulton, Seth D C 100 100H 7 Capuano, Michael E. D I 3,000 9,000

Michigan S Peters, Gary*# D O 25,600 64,100S Land, Terri L.* R O 16,000 16,000H 3 Ellis, Brian R. R P 13,250 13,250H 5 Kildee, Daniel T. D I 5,000 32,500H 8 Bishop, Michael D. R O 12,750 12,750H 8 Rogers, Michael J. R N 5,000 11,000 C, IH 9 Levin, Sander M. D I 1,000 134,827 WH 12 Dingell, John D. D N 1,000 18,700 CH 13 Conyers, John Jr. D I 5,000 10,000

Minnesota S Franken, Al* DFL I 46,500 52,180S McFadden, Michael* R C 5,000 5,000S Klobuchar, Amy DFL I 1,000 81,835 CH 2 Kline, John P. Jr. R I 4,500 27,500 ASH 3 Paulsen, Erik R I 3,500 18,000 WH 4 McCollum, Betty DFL I 4,000 12,750 AH 5 Ellison, Keith M. DFL I 2,000 7,500H 8 Nolan, Richard M. DFL I 2,500 3,500

Mississippi S Cochran, Thad* R I 28,950 49,950 A(D, HS)H 3 Harper, Gregg R I 1,000 4,500 CH 4 Palazzo, Steven McCarty R I 6,000 8,000 AS, HS

Missouri H 1 Clay, William L. (Lacy) Jr. D I 5,000 22,500H 5 Cleaver, Emanuel II D I 5,000 18,000H 7 Long, Billy R I 5,000 12,500 C

Montana S Daines, Steven*# R O 17,500 17,500 HSS Baucus, Max* D N 10,000 362,648S Walsh, John E.* D N 7,500 7,500 CH At-L. Zinke, Ryan K. R O 4,500 4,500

Nebraska S Sasse, Benjamin E.* R O 27,000 27,000S Osborn, Shane* R P 5,000 5,000

Nevada S Reid, Harry D I 1,000 394,001 Maj. LeaderH 1 Titus, Alice C. (Dina) D I 2,500 16,600H 4 Innis, Niger R P 5,000 5,000

New Hampshire S Shaheen, Jeanne* D I 52,075 94,175 A(FO), FRS Brown, Scott P.* R C 5,000 32,000S Ayotte, Kelly A. R I 1,000 17,500 AS, B, HSH 1 Guinta, Frank R C 2,500 5,000H 2 Garcia, Marilinda R C 2,500 2,500H 2 Kuster, Ann McLane D I 500 7,000

New Jersey S Booker, Cory A.* D I 37,327 37,327 CH 1 Andrews, Robert E. D N 5,000 112,025H 2 LoBiondo, Frank A. R I 5,000 35,750 AS, IH 3 Belgard, Aimee D O 10,500 10,500H 3 MacArthur, Thomas R O 3,500 3,500H 4 Smith, Christopher H. R I 7,000 65,750 FRH 6 Pallone, Frank Jr. D I 18,500 107,050 CH 8 Sires, Albio D I 10,000 11,000 FRH 9 Pascrell, William J. D I 2,000 17,853 B, WH 11 Frelinghuysen, Rodney P. R I 2,000 14,350 A(D, HS)H 12 Coleman, Bonnie Watson D O 8,000 8,000H 12 Greenstein, Linda D P 500 500

New Mexico S Udall, Tom* D I 33,500 75,000 A, FRS Wilson, Heather A. R N -2,000 49,750H 1 Lujan Grisham, Michelle D I 1,000 2,000 BH 3 Lujan, Ben R. D I 4,500 4,500 C

New York S Schumer, Charles E. D I 2,000 85,885

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32 MAY 2015THE WASHINGTON REPORT ON MIDDLE EAST AFFAIRS

New York H 1 Zeldin, Lee M. R C 5,000 5,000H 4 Blakeman, Bruce R O 5,000 5,000H 4 Rice, Kathleen D O 1,000 1,000H 8 Jeffries, Hakeem D I -700 19,600 BH 10 Nadler, Jerrold L. D I 2,500 32,500H 11 Grimm, Michael R I 2,000 2,000H 12 Maloney, Carolyn B. D I 1,000 30,970H 13 Rangel, Charles B. D I 5,000 33,000 WH 14 Crowley, Joseph D I 300 109,457 WH 15 Serrano, Jose E. D I 1,000 6,750 AH 16 Engel, Eliot L. D I 43,000 352,418 C, FRH 17 Lowey, Nita M. D I 20,650 223,888 A(FO)H 18 Maloney, Sean P. D I 7,500 12,500H 18 Hayworth, Nan R C -4,500 -1,500H 19 Eldridge, Sean D C 1,000 1,000H 20 Tonko, Paul D. D I 4,000 9,000 CH 21 Stefanik, Elise M. R O 2,500 2,500H 21 Woolf, Aaron D O 2,000 2,000H 23 Reed, Thomas W. II R I 1,000 2,000 WH 23 Robertson, Martha D C 1,000 1,000H 24 Maffei, Daniel B. D I 1,000 24,500 AS

North Carolina S Hagan, Kay R.* D I 60,800 68,800 ASS Tillis, Thom R.* R C 5,000 5,000H 2 Ellmers, Renee Jacisin R I 3,000 3,000 CH 3 Griffin, William T. R P 5,000 5,000H 3 Jones, Walter B. R I 5,000 5,000 ASH 4 Price, David E. D I 5,000 65,827 A(HS)H 5 Foxx, Virginia Ann R I 2,000 7,000H 11 Shuler, Joseph H. D N 4,000 13,250

Ohio H 1 Chabot, Steve R I 10,000 30,000 FR(NE)H 6 Johnson, Bill R I 1,000 1,000 CH 7 Gibbs, Robert B. R I 2,500 2,500H 8 Boehner, John A. R I 28,700 129,200 House Spkr.H 11 Fudge, Marcia L. D I 9,200 12,200H 13 Ryan, Timothy J. D I 2,500 11,000 A(D), BH 14 Joyce, David P. R I 5,000 6,000 AH 15 Stivers, Steve E. R I 1,500 10,000

Oklahoma S Inhofe, James M.* R I 7,000 135,800 ASS Lankford, James P.†# R O 28,500 28,500 A, HS, IS Shannon, Tahrohon W. (T.W.)† R P 2,500 2,500

Oregon S Merkley, Jeffrey A.* D I 17,050 38,650 A, BS Wyden, Ronald L. D I 1,000 349,462 B, IH 1 Bonamici, Suzanne D I 3,500 10,500H 3 Blumenauer, Earl D I 4,000 13,000 B, WH 4 DeFazio, Peter A. D I 5,000 16,600

Pennsylvania H 2 Fattah, Chaka D I 5,000 6,500 AH 6 Costello, Ryan A. R O 3,000 3,000H 8 Fitzpatrick, Michael G. R I 5,000 25,000H 13 Margolies-Mezvinsky, Marjorie D P 2,000 27,190H 13 Schwartz, Allyson Y. D N 1,500 66,650 WH 14 Doyle, Mike D I 2,500 7,500 CH 15 Dent, Charles W. R I 1,000 14,750 A(HS, FO)H 17 Cartwright, Matt D I 4,500 4,500

Rhode Island S Reed, Jack F.* D I 17,000 175,850 A(D), ASH 1 Cicilline, David N. D I 4,000 32,000 FR(NE)H 2 Langevin, James R. D I 6,500 39,500 AS, I

South Carolina S Graham, Lindsey O.* R I 56,000 118,500 A(D, FO), AS, BS Scott, Timothy E.† R I 23,600 27,600 CH 1 Colbert-Busch, Elizabeth† D N 2,000 2,000H 1 Sanford, Marshall C. (Mark) Jr. R I 750 750 HSH 6 Clyburn, James E. D I 8,500 29,100

South Dakota S Rounds, Marion M. (Mike)* R O 17,500 17,500S Pressler, Larry* Ind. O 10,000 132,100

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MAY 2015 33THE WASHINGTON REPORT ON MIDDLE EAST AFFAIRS

South Dakota H At-L. Noem, Kristi L. R I 2,000 5,000 ASTennessee S Alexander, Lamar* R I 13,500 21,500 A(D)

H 5 Cooper, James H.S. D I 4,500 34,750 ASH 9 Cohen, Stephen I. D I 4,000 30,500

Texas S Cornyn, John* R I 21,100 88,580S Cruz, Rafael E. (Ted) R I 2,500 18,500 AS, CH 12 Granger, Kay R I 18,500 40,000 A(D, FO)H 13 Thornberry, Mac R I 2,500 2,500 AS, IH 23 Gallego, Pete D I 5,000 5,000 ASH 25 Williams, Roger R I 500 500 BH 30 Johnson, Eddie Bernice D I 4,500 7,000H 33 Veasey, Marc A. D I 4,100 5,100 ASH 35 Doggett, Lloyd D I 3,500 9,000 W

Utah H 3 Chaffetz, Jason R I 6,500 17,500 HSVermont S MacGovern, John R N 1,000 1,000

H At-L. Welch, Peter D I 4,000 13,000 CVirginia S Warner, Mark R.* D I 24,000 65,500 B, I

H 2 Rigell, Edward S. R I 2,000 4,500 AS, BH 4 Forbes, J. Randy R I 2,000 4,000 ASH 6 Goodlatte, Robert W. R I 6,500 11,000H 7 Cantor, Eric R P 12,875 237,605H 8 Beyer, Donald S. (Don) Jr. D O 2,000 2,000H 10 Comstock, Barbara J. R O 2,500 2,500H 10 Wasinger, Robert K. R P 1,000 1,000H 11 Connolly, Gerald E. D I 5,000 21,500 FR(NE)

Washington H 1 DelBene, Suzan K. D I 1,000 7,000H 5 McMorris Rodgers, Cathy R I 2,500 3,850 CH 6 Kilmer, Derek D I 4,000 9,000 ASH 7 McDermott, James D I 4,000 10,000 B, WH 9 Smith, D. Adam D I 13,600 39,925 AS

West Virginia S Capito, Shelley Moore*# R O 13,500 21,750S Tennant, Natalie* D O 3,500 3,500H 2 Mooney, Alexander X. R O 3,750 3,750H 2 Casey, George N. (Nick) Jr. D O 1,000 1,000H 3 Jenkins, Evan H. R C 6,500 6,500H 3 Rahall, Nick J. II D I 6,000 12,223

Wisconsin H 1 Ryan, Paul D. R I 9,700 31,450 B, WH 2 Pocan, Mark D I 3,500 6,000 BH 3 Kind, Ronald J. D I 1,500 7,500H 7 Duffy, Sean R I 3,500 11,000 BH 8 Ribble, Reid J. R I 1,000 2,000 B

Wyoming S Enzi, Michael B.* R I 24,000 50,250 B, HS

2013-2014 Total Contributions: $2,720,869Total Contributions (1978-2014): $56,489,927Total No. of Recipients (1978-2014): 2,438

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Michigan S Peters, Gary*# D O 1,000 1,000H 3 Amash, Justin R I 1,000 3,000

New Jersey H 12 Holt, Rush D. Jr. D N 1,000 2,500West Virginia H 3 Rahall, Nick J. II D I 500 39,943

2013-2014 Total Contributions: $3,500Total Contributions (1978-2014): $715,920Total No. of Recipients (1978-2014): 287

2011-12State Office District Candidate Party Status Contributions Career Committees

ARAB-AMERICAN PAC CONTRIBUTIONSTO 2014 CONGRESSIONAL CANDIDATES

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Asingle image can be more powerful,more descriptive and more potent

than an entire essay—“a picture says athousand words,” as the cliché goes.So it is in Syria, where despite the un-

doubted millions of words penned aboutatrocity after atrocity, bombing afterbombing, a newly released set of satelliteimages spell out the true devastationwrought on the nation.Since the start of the conflict in 2011,

more than four-fifths of lights across Syriahave gone out.With Syria [<www.withsyria.com>], a

coalition of 130 non-governmental organi-zations, launched the sobering statisticMarch 11. Research by Dr. Xi Li, of WuhanUniversity in China, showed betweenMarch 2011 and February 2015, the num-ber of lights visible over Syria has fallen al-most 83 percent.“I have analyzed other countries, but

Syria is the worst case I’ve ever seen ofnighttime lights going out like this,” Litold IPS. “It is very similar to the figures ofthe Rwandan genocide. Rwanda and Syria

are the two most impacted and most suf-fering countries I’ve seen.”Figures vary nationwide. In Damascus,

only 33 percent of lights have gone out;while in war-ravaged Aleppo, Idlib and Al-Raqqah, up to 97 percent of lights havebeen extinguished.Li says the astonishing lack of light in

the country is due to three factors: the dis-placement of citizens from towns andcities, the destruction of buildings andtheir lights, and disruption of electricitysupply, all of which have hugely damagingand potentially deadly effects.“Electricity is one of the basic needs for

people, but basic supplies have been cutoff. Most people there are living in dark-ness,” Li said.Destruction and disruption of power

supply is not unfamiliar for Dr. ZaherSahloul. President of the Syrian AmericanMedical Society (SAMS), Sahloul—a Syr-ian himself, with family still in the coun-try—and his organization provide medicalcare in trauma centers and clinics aroundthe country.SAMS also provides diesel, to fuel power

generators in areas without steady electric-ity supply. Sahloul said a lack of basic util-

ities is one of the biggest issues faced bycitizens and aid groups looking to assist onthe ground, claiming that areas like Gh-outa—near Damascus—have been withoutpower for over 860 days.“Some of the shortages are intentional,

by fighting groups. When they circle anarea, or start a siege, they cut off thepower. Some government-controlled areashave electricity a few hours a day, usuallyafter midnight, because of rationing,” hetold IPS. “Aleppo and Ghouta have a com-plete dependence on generators and dieselfuel.”Sahloul said SAMS provides funding for

facilities to purchase diesel fuel, but it isscarce and expensive—up to $12 per gal-lon, “the highest in the world,” he claims.“People are functioning the same way as

in the Middle Ages. Modern technology,which we take for granted, cannot be used.Even the lucky ones with a generator haveto ration it. Many functions have stoppedin the cities under siege,” Sahloul said.“The basic functions of any village, like

garbage management, water, bakeries andschools—with no power, how can you dothose? It is a formula for disaster.”Syria has just shivered its way through

a harsh winter, with temperatures plung-ing to -7 degrees Celsius (20 degreesFahrenheit). Many Syrians battled the coldin tents in refugee camps, or in the shellsof destroyed houses, with no way to keepwarm. Sahloul’s family was one of those.“They have been trying to get fuel for

months, but have not been able to, so theycan’t use the heating in their house,” hesaid.“Tens of thousands of displaced people

have no heat. There were children dying,freezing to death. Nowadays, nobody canlive without electricity.”Sharif Aly, advocacy counsel for Islamic

Relief USA, said his group’s recent effortshad also focused on helping Syrians sur-vive a brutal winter without heat, poweror even secure shelter. Due to security con-cerns, Islamic Relief was only able to pro-vide basic blankets and coats in some partsof the country.“People being displaced have to brave

the elements, a very cold winter with snowand ice. There were deaths from freezing,”

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Aly told IPS. “Our winter work has beento try and provide gas or fuel to families.Hopefully the problems are starting to al-leviate with spring, but it has been a bigchallenge.”Aly said a lack of electricity, as well as

ongoing dangers from gunfire, bombingsand other military activity, had made pro-viding medical care hugely difficult; butwhile emergency trauma care for woundsis the most obvious medical emergency, hesaid psychological and emotional injurieswere all but ignored in the region.“There are huge mental health problems,

a lot of psychological impact for these in-nocent people caught in the conflict,” hesaid.“Getting health aid is challenging. We

recently started a kidney dialysis service inLebanon, because due to the situation inSyria and a lack of health services, there isnot a lot of opportunity to get good treat-ment for urgent things like dialysis.”Sahloul said many members of the med-

ical community are fleeing Syria as theconflict becomes even bloodier. FormerU.S. Secretary of State Madeleine Albright,addressing a telebriefing on the release ofthe “lights out” figures, said 2014 was “thebloodiest year yet” of the conflict, bring-ing the total death toll since 2011 to over200,000 lives.“Every physician I know in Syria is

thinking about leaving, even in so-calledstable areas,” Sahloul said.“The continuation of violence is adding

strain to the medical community. There hasbeen systematic targeting of health facili-ties by fighting groups. There is a flight ofdoctors and nurses out of Syria.”A report released March 11 by Physi-

cians For Human Rights claimed 610 med-ical staff had been killed in Syria since2011, with 233 attacks on 183 medical fa-cilities.The group said the Syrian government

“committed the vast majority of these at-tacks,” responsible for 97 percent of med-ical personnel killings, including 139 bytorture or execution.Sahloul said the exodus of medical staff

has led to the spread of diseases such as ty-phoid and tuberculosis, parasites includinglice and scabies, malnutrition, and chronicdiseases going untreated due to a lack ofaccess to healthcare and medication.March 2015 marks four years since the

beginning of the Syrian conflict. Despite adeath toll in the hundreds of thousands, 11million people displaced, and an untoldnumber of wounded, an end to the vio-lence is not in sight.

“People on the ground are not hopeful.There are rumblings in the NGO commu-nity that this could be an 8- or 10-yearconflict,” Aly said. “There is no expecta-tion of a resolution anytime soon.”Li, drawing another parallel between

Syria and the Rwanda, said he hoped theinternational community would act beforethe Syrian conflict became as infamous asthe 1994 genocide.“The international community ignored

Rwanda, and after, they regretted it. Idon’t want people to have any more regretsafter this conflict ends,” he said.Sahloul expected a similarly grim future.“In areas like Aleppo, the situation is as

bad as always, or even worse. Nobody isoptimistic, and nobody is taking the crisisas seriously as they should be,” he warned.“They are thinking Syria can be con-

tained. It is not contained. This is the tipof the iceberg. If it continues, the situationin the whole region will explode.” ❑

Carter. According to records from the Na-tional Archives and Records Administra-tion, the Justice Department reviewed“thousands” of CIA files on NUMEC dur-ing its investigation. Members of Carter’sNational Security Council fretted that thepresident “did not have deniability” overthe NUMEC diversion given the strengthof CIA’s classified information. Carter’s na-tional security adviser, Zbigniew Brzezin-ski, thwarted Senate access to intelligenceon the diversion. When asked by The WallStreet Journal in 2014 why he covered upNUMEC, Brzezinski was dismissive:“What are we going to say to the Israelis,‘Give it back?’”The federal government—not to men-

tion Israel—has presumably been contentto see NUMEC’s diversion secrets bottledup forever. But now the U.S. Army Corpsof Engineers will begin a cleanup ofNUMEC’s waste dump estimated to cost ahalf-billion dollars, to be paid by Americantaxpayers. It is this insult to injury thattriggered IRmep’s second major lawsuit infederal court.Based largely on research compiled for

the book Divert! (available from AET’sMiddle East Books and More), the Freedomof Information Act lawsuit asks the courtto compel release of sufficient classifiedCIA material on the diversion to allow sub-sequent lawsuits against the Israeli govern-ment for cleanup and heath-related costs.

Although the initial CIA lawsuit mayseem like a long shot, late in FebruaryIRmep’s separate court action against theDepartment of Defense (DoD) produced astunning report that officially confirms—for the very first time—the advanced stateof Israel’s nuclear weapons program (seeJan./Feb. 2015 Washington Report, p. 28).A major premise of the DoD lawsuit wasthat U.S. taxpayers were being forced topay for aid packages to a state that is sim-ply not eligible. Amendments made in1976 to the Foreign Aid Act of 1961 pro-hibit U.S. foreign aid to states with nuclearprograms operating outside the NuclearNon-Proliferation Treaty (NPT). Becausethe 1987 report is unequivocal that Israelis a nuclear weapons power, under theSymington and Glenn amendments it is in-eligible for U.S. foreign aid.Publicly known U.S. aid to Israel since

1976 amounts to, adjusted for inflation,$234 billion. This means America’s 122million taxpayers are currently owed$1909.54 each if the aid were to be prop-erly “clawed back” and redistributed.While each taxpayer’s projected share ofthe NUMEC cleanup (but not health-re-lated costs) would be only $4.10, the courtbattle for the evidence that can shift liabil-ity to Israel is worthwhile. The public ed-ucation of high-profile court action is alsohighly beneficial.The optics of three highly-paid Justice

and Defense Department lawyers with un-limited resources fighting a solitary pro se(not represented by an attorney) litigant inthe DoD lawsuit were terrible. In the caseof the CIA they will be even worse. TheJustice Department and CIA lawyers mustexplain to a judge why damning, ancientfiles of toxic crimes against Americans byforeign agents must be withheld forever.They must make that argument one yearafter a National Archives declassificationauthority (the ISCAP) swatted aside CIAintransigence and compelled the release ofdamning evidence of the above-cited LBJand Carter administration NUMEC cover-up actions. All while backhoes driven byworkers in biohazard suits will be con-verging on Apollo and Parks Township inPennsylvania to commence the cleanup.The timing also is not favorable for the

defendants since the court action is takingplace while nuclear-tipped Israel continuesto lobby for military action and sanctionsagainst NPT signatory Iran. Americans’need for a more accurate assessment of nu-clear proliferation in the Middle East—andthe heist that jumpstarted it—could not bemore obvious and urgent. ❑

MAY 2015 35THE WASHINGTON REPORT ON MIDDLE EAST AFFAIRS

NUMEC…Continued from page 11

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Anwar Ibrahim, leader of the opposi-tion alliance that deprived Malaysia’s

ruling Barisan Nasional coalition of itsusual two-thirds parliamentary majority inthe 2008 general election, lost a seven-yearstruggle against sodomy charges on Feb.10, when the Federal Court threw out hisappeal against conviction. He faces a five-year prison term. Two days later, Nik Abdul Aziz NikMat, the “spiritual leader” of PAS, the Is-lamic Party of Malaysia, died of prostatecancer at the age of 84. Before Nik Azizand his allies took over the leadership ofPAS in 1982, the party had been a negligi-ble force in Malaysian politics, but hesought to broaden its appeal and modern-ize its organization. In the 1990 election,PAS won control of the northern state ofKelantan, the first serious breach in theruling coalition’s monopoly of power sinceindependence in 1957. Nik Aziz was itsmenteri besar (senior minister) for the next

23 years until his retirement in 2013, fend-ing off every attempt by the governmentcoalition to recapture the state. He was re-spected by mainstream Islamist movementselsewhere in the world, including by theMuslim Brotherhood in the Arab coun-tries. Such was his standing that, on hisdeath, tributes were paid to him not onlyby friends and allies, but by governmentleaders, including Prime Minister NajibRazak, who attended his funeral. The two leaders played a complementaryrole in the Malaysian opposition, thoughtheir perspectives on Malaysia’s future dif-fered in quite basic ways. The president ofPAS, who took his party into the PakatanRakyat (PR-People’s Alliance) in 2008, isAbdul Hadi Awang, but Nik Aziz sup-ported the move, and this counted for a lot.In other Malaysian parties, the highest de-cision-making body is a central committeeor a supreme council. PAS has a CentralWorking Committee that makes most of itsdecisions, but the final word is with theMajlis Syura, or consultative council. Thisis composed of religious leaders and high-ranking party veterans, including Abdul

Hadi Awang. Nik Aziz waspresident of that council.Under Nik Aziz’s guid-ance, PAS remained commit-ted to asserting a strongerrole for Islam in Malaysia, in-cluding the implementationof syariah (sharia) law. Anetwork of religious schoolswas established in Kelantanunder Nik Aziz’s leadership. The insistence of PAS onpromoting its policy evenwhile taking part in a coali-tion with non-religious par-ties led to friction with its al-lies, but Nik Aziz was carefulto speak to the demands ofhis party’s rank and file andelectoral base while assuag-ing the anxieties of PAS’ elec-toral allies. The individualsand groups that have cam-paigned to ban the use of theword “Allah” in Malay-lan-guage Christian texts, claim-ing it would “confuse believ-ers,” have generally been

aligned with the main party of government,the United Malays National Organization(UMNO), rather than PAS, and Nik Aziz didnot support their campaign. UMNO hasmade overtures to PAS to form a united frontin defense of Malay rights, and so detach itfrom the opposition alliance, but this wouldgo against Nik Aziz’s views: he told The Starnewspaper in 2008 that he disagreed withthe idea of “Malay supremacy,” and said ofIslam: “It is a religion above race. We cannotquantify race with Islam, such as Malayswith Islam. There are also Chinese and In-dian Muslims.” He was, however, conservative when itcame to women. Back in 1999, he advisedKelantan’s civil service to hire women whoare not good-looking, as those with goodlooks could find rich husbands and wouldnot need to work. In 2003, Kelantan orderedthat advertising billboards should cease toshow images of women “even if clad in atudung” (headscarf). For decades, PAS hadno female parliamentary candidates, believ-ing that women should not be involved inthe rough and tumble of politics. In thecourse of the past 10 years, however, it de-

Islam and the Near Eastin theFar East

Islam and the Near Eastin theFar East

Malaysian Opposition Alliance Loses TwoKey Leaders in Three DaysBy John Gee

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John Gee is a free-lance journalist based inSingapore, and the author of Unequal Con-flict: The Palestinians and Israel.

Malaysian opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim (l) speaking with PAS “spiritual leader” Nik Abdul Aziz NikMat at a Jan. 6, 2009 election rally in northeastern Terengganu state.

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cided to accept them, and 2 of its current 21members of parliament are women. Anwar Ibrahim was the leader of the

Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR-People’s JusticeParty). The party aimed to appeal toMalaysians of all national origins, whetherfrom the Malay majority, the large Chineseminority or others. The fact that the PKRwas headed by a politician who had beena leading member of UMNO and thatMalays predominated in its leadershiphelped it to draw support away fromUMNO’s political base, from Malays whowould not endorse PAS and its policies.Anwar and the PKR provided a bridge be-tween PAS and the third component of theopposition PR alliance, the predominantlyChinese Democratic Action Party (DAP),which previously had been unable to finda basis for cooperation with PAS. It has been argued that Anwar may yet

be able to play a role in Malaysian politics,exercising an influence even while heserves his prison sentence; indeed, follow-ing the rejection of his appeal, his partydubbed him its “de facto leader.” There isalso the possibility that he could be givena royal pardon by Malaysia’s king, thoughhe has not requested one personally. How-

ever, the PR’s member parties are acting asif they are in a post-Anwar era. His wife,Wan Azizah Wan Ismail, already was serv-ing as the president of PKR, and she andher colleagues will have to handle the dailyrunning of the party without Anwar. Both PAS and DAP have debated how the

PR can be sustained in the future. Theywould not see any of the PKR’s leaders asbeing strong candidates to step into Anwar’sshoes as coalition head if not for the fact thatmost of their members recognize how diffi-

cult it would be to sustain a coalition if theirown experienced and capable party leaderslaid claim to the role. A strong minoritywithin PAS has argued in the past for AbdulHadi Awang to be made head of the PR.Winning 40 percent of the seats and just

over 50 percent of the popular vote in the2013 national elections, the PR has edgedtantalizingly close to winning office. Itfaces an uphill struggle to hold togetherand build on that result over the next cou-ple of years. ❑

MAY 2015 37THE WASHINGTON REPORT ON MIDDLE EAST AFFAIRS

(Advertisement)

(Advertisement)

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Advertisements callingattention to Israel’s bru-

tal 51-day military assault onGaza last summer, as well asits continuing illegal occupa-tion and confiscation ofPalestinian land, went on dis-play on San Francisco munic-ipal buses Feb. 2.Israel’s ruthless military as-

sault on Gaza from July 7 toAug. 16, 2014 killed 2,131Palestinians, including 1,473civilians—501 of them chil-dren; wounded 11,000; andleft at least 110,000 peoplehomeless.The ads, reading “IS-

RAEL’S WAR CRIMES,YOUR TAX DOLLARS AT WORK,” were ajoint project of the Free Palestine Move-ment and Seattle Mideast Awareness Cam-paign (SeaMAC). The Free Palestine Move-ment has been organizing and participatingin public advertising of this kind for morethan two years, placing ads on buses andBay Area Rapid Transit trains in San Fran-cisco, a billboard in Sacramento, and busesin Denver.These ads counter hateful anti-Muslim

advertisements pur-chased by right-wingblogger Pamela Geller’sAmerican Freedom De-fense Initiative whichran on the same busesin January. San Fran-cisco Mayor Ed Lee,Dis t r ic t AttorneyGeorge Gascón andother city leaders con-demned Geller’s adver-tisements, calling themracist and Islamopho-bic, but acknowledgedthey were protectedfree speech.The website <www.

notaxdollarstoisrael.com>) was created toaccompany the adver-tisements and bringattention to—and con -

demn—the more than $3 billion in Amer-ican taxpayer dollars the U.S. gives to Is-rael every year. The site features news andinformation about this use of U.S. taxpayermoney and efforts to end the funding, in-cluding tax exemptions for projects in Is-rael that support human rights abuses. SeaMAC (<www.seamac.org>) utilizes

direct education through public forums,church and school presentations, and otherface-to-face events to point out how U.S.support for Israel enables Israel’s continuedoppression and subjugation of the Palestin-ian people.

Candlelight Vigil Honors Slain StudentsDeah Barakat and Yusor and Razan Abu-Salha were remembered in a Feb. 12 can-dlelight vigil in San Francisco’s UnionSquare. The three Muslim students weremurdered Feb. 10 inside their condo-minium near the University of North Car-olina in Chapel Hill. Memorials were heldthroughout Northern California cities, in-cluding Berkeley, San Jose, Santa Clara,Stanford, Fremont and Sacramento.After a moment of silence, Zaynah

Hindi, programs assistant and youth coor-dinator at the Arab Cultural and Commu-nity Center, which organized the vigil, ad-dressed the crowd of about 200. “We’rehere to mourn the loss and honor the livesof the three very bright, very talentedyoung people who were dedicated to giv-ing back to their community,” Hindi said.“As organizers of the national campaign‘Take on Hate,’ we emphasize that anti-

Arab and anti-Muslim big-otry is unacceptable, and wemust come together to bringan end to racially, culturallyor religiously motivated hatecrimes.”Speaking spontaneously,

many in the crowd expressedtheir feelings on the tragicshootings, urging everyoneto pull together regardless offaith or ethnicity.

Do Muslim Lives Matterin America?In light of the Feb. 10 killingsin North Carolina of DeahBarakat and Yusor and RazanAbu-Salha, “Arab Talk” radiohost Jamal Dajani devoted his

Feb. 12 one-hour program to the subject ofIslamophobia.Dajani engaged his guests—Rabab Ibra -

him Abdulhadi, associate professor of eth-nic studies/Arab and Muslim ethnicitiesand Diaspora initiative at San FranciscoState University; the Arab Cultural andCommunity Center’s Zaynah Hindi; andWashington Report staff photographer PhilPasquini—in an emotional discussion onthe question “Do Muslim lives matter inthe U.S.?”“All human life should count equally,”

Abdulhadi asserted. “But in the daily real-

Bus Ads Highlight U.S. Taxpayer Funding of“Israel’s War Crimes”By Elaine Pasquini

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

Northern CaliforniaChronicle

Northern CaliforniaChronicle

Advertisements on San Francisco buses call attention to Israel’shuman rights abuses.

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ity it doesn’t seem likeMuslim, Arab or Pales-tinian lives matter. I’mconcerned about theease with which peopletrivialize this matter.And it’s an issue for allhumanity.”Dajani and his guests

also discussed the dou-ble standards, imbalanceof media reporting andgovernment response tosimilar tragedies. Abdul-hadi commented on thelack of coverage of thefour young Palestinianboys killed by the Israeli militarywhile playing on a Gaza beach lastJuly. An adequate investigation intothe boys’ killings was never con-ducted by the Israeli government,she pointed out.Dajani and Pasquini compared the

immediate coverage of the CharlieHebdo murders in Paris in January tothe mainstream media’s 24-hourdelay in reporting the murders of theMuslim students in Chapel Hill.“Why does this not cause the samekind of outrage?” Abdulhadi asked.“Everyone should be outraged!”

Student Senates Voteto Divest From IsraelOn Jan. 29, a resolutioncalling for the University ofCalifornia at Davis to divestfrom companies that profitfrom doing business withIsrael—specifically Cater-pillar, Veolia, G4S andRaytheon—was passed bythe student senate with atwo-thirds majority vote.This divestment resolu-

tion is part of the globalBoycott, Divestment andSanctions (BDS) Movementthat calls for the end of theIsraeli occupation of thePalestinian people, equalrights for all Palestinian cit-izens of Israel, and recognition of Palestin-ian refugees’ right to return as stipulatedin United Nations Resolution 194.The passage of this divestment resolu-

tion makes Davis the seventh UC campusto have voted to divest from Israel, follow-ing Berkeley, Los Angeles, San Diego,Irvine, Santa Cruz and Riverside.“We are proud of the senate and of our

campus for finally taking the right deci-sion for justice, racial equality, and humanrights for all, including the Palestinian

people,” Students for Justice in Palestinesaid in a statement.In addition, UAW 2865, the union repre-

senting teaching assistants and tutors inCalifornia, recently held a statewide mem-bership vote which resulted in nearly two-thirds in support of divestment.Similarly, on Feb. 17, Stanford Univer-

sity’s undergraduate senate also voted topass a resolution to divest from multina-tional corporations facilitating humanrights violations in the occupied Palestin-

ian territories.The StanfordOut of Oc-

cupied Palestine (SOOP)coalition introduced theresolution. This diverse al-liance consists of 19 stu-dent groups, includingthe Black Student Unionand Stanford Students forQueer Liberation. SOOPwill work with the sena-tors to pressure the Boardof Trustees to implementthe resolution.

PhotojournalistSpeaks on Islamic

Architecture In AmericaThe Well, a Stockton-based commu-nity organization, and the MuslimStudent Association of the Universityof the Pacific hosted photojournalistPhil Pasquini Feb. 14 at the Verescha-gin Alumni House to speak about hisbook, Domes, Arches and Minarets: AHistory of Islamic-Inspired Buildingsin America (available from AET’sMiddle East Books and More). In hisvisual presentation, the WashingtonReport staff photographer showedimages of buildings located through-out the country which feature themany elements of Islamic architec-

ture and discussed the sto-ries behind their origin. Inaddition to domes andminarets, the structures inPasquini’s book featurehorseshoe arches, ogee archwindows, crenellations andcelosía screens (see Nov./Dec. 2012 Washington Re-port, pp. 38-39).In a March 2 presentation

at Whittier College, Pasquiniaddressed students in IrfanaHashmi’s classes “Islam andthe City” and “Introductionto New Religious Movementsin Southern California.”The students enjoyed

Pasquini’s stories relating tothe Southern California

homes and businesses included in hisbook, including Aimee Semple McPher-son’s “castle” in Lake Elsinore, built in1926. A famous religious evangelist in the1920s, McPherson was inspired to buildher unique home by a trip to the HolyLand. “My book contains information about

our history as a nation—not how differentwe are, but how much we have shared, es-pecially with the Muslim world,” Pasquiniconcluded. ❑

MAY 2015 39THE WASHINGTON REPORT ON MIDDLE EAST AFFAIRS

TOP: Zaynah Hindi (l) and Rabab Ibrahim Abdulhadi; MIDDLE: Ahuman rights activist in San Rafael urges boycotting Israeli goods; ABOVE:Aimee’s Castle in Lake Elsinore, CA.

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More than half a mil-l i o n im age s o f

Palestinian refugees, dat-ing from 1948 to the pre-sent, have been stored inan UNRWA warehouse inGaza. To be precise:430,000 negatives, 10,000prints, 85,000 slides, 75films and 730 videocas-settes taken by UNRWAphotographers. Accord-ing to John Sakakini,outreach off icer forUNRWA-USA, this is thelargest collection of im-ages of post-Nakba Pales-tinian history and is “theunofficial archive of ourcountry.” In 2009, UN-ESCO insc r ibed theUNRWA archive in theMemory of the Worldregister. Because the negatives

are in danger of decay-ing, UNRWA has under-taken to digitize the en-tire collection, made pos-sible by grants from thePalestinian private sectorand from the govern-ments of France and Den-mark. Most of this isbeing done at the DanishRoyal Library, and about10 percent by trainedUNRWA staff in Gaza. UNRWA organized the

first group of digitizedphotos as an exhibitionentitled “The Long Jour-ney,” which “tells thestory of a Palestinianheritage full of dignityand hardship.” The exhi-bition has been dis-played in Gaza, Jerusa -lem and the West Bank.Its U.S. debut was at the United Nationson Nov. 29, 2014, the 67th anniversary of

the U.N. resolution to partition Palestineand the Day of International Solidaritywith the Palestinian People. Followingthat, some 50 photos were displayed forthree weeks at Alwan for the Arts in

lower Manhattan. Thesereflect all aspects of thel ives o f Pa l e s t in i anrefugees—fleeing andsorting through bombed-out rubble, to be sure,but also working, danc-ing, studying and living.The photos were thensold by charity auction,with the proceeds goingto UNRWA’s Gaza Emer-gency Fund. Accordingto Sakakini, the nextstep is to find financialsponsors to exhibit thephotos at the nationall e ve l . UNRWA h a slaunched a website forthe images: <http://archive.unrwa.org>.

Columbia Panel Discusses Israel, Palestine and the ICCOn Jan. 2 the Govern-ment of Palestine ac-ceded to the RomeStatute, thus acceptingthe jurisdiction of the In-ternational CriminalCourt (ICC). On Jan. 16ICC Prosecutor FatouBensouda initiated a pre-liminary examinationinto the situation inPalestine. Columbia Uni-versity hosted a Feb. 11panel to discuss the im-plications of these movesfor Israel and Palestine.Lori Damrosch, profes-

sor of international lawand diplomacy at Colum-bia Law School, describedthe genesis of the ICC.The post WW-II Nurem-berg and Tokyo trialswere criticized as “vic-

tors’ justice” and the Security Council-mandated Yugoslavia and Rwanda Tri-bunals of 1993 and 1994 for lacking theconsent of the states involved. In 1998 theframework for a new court was established

UNRWA Photos Document Palestinians’“Long Journey”By Jane Adas

40 MAY 2015THE WASHINGTON REPORT ON MIDDLE EAST AFFAIRS

New York City andTri-StateNews

New York City andTri-StateNews

Jane Adas is a free-lance writer based inthe New York City metropolitan area.

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to overcome political and legal challengesto international trials and tribunals. TheICC went into force in 2002 with jurisdic-tion over a small number of crimes: geno-cide, crimes against humanity, war crimes,and a fourth not yet in force—aggression.Key principles are consent, with the onlyexception being referral by the SecurityCouncil, complementarity, meaning theICC is a court of last resort and investigatesonly when national courts have failed, andgravity, which has to do with whether theactions under examination are large-scaleand/or systematic.Claus Kress of the University of Cologne

said the ICC’s preliminary examination onIsrael/Palestine is the most challenging inits 15-year history. If Palestine qualifies as astate, its territory may not be deemed toextend to Gaza. In his opinion, a minorityon the panel, it will be easier to indictGazan than Israeli decision makers. Hamashas carried out no internal investigationand, according to Kress, thousands of rock-ets launched from Gaza meet the definitionof crimes against humanity. Israel, on theother hand, has initiated national investiga-tions. As to the issue of gravity, the courtwould have to find that Israel carries out asystematic policy of causing disproportion-ate civilian casualties. Kress acknowledgedthat Israeli politicians are critical of theICC’s preliminary investigation and evenasked Germany to stop funding the ICC. Inhis opinion this is unwise, because it leadsto the impression that Israel has lost thelegal case.Jamil Dakwar, director of the ACLU’s

human rights program, addressed Wash-ington’s evolving relationship with theICC. The Clinton administration signedthe Rome Statute in 2000, but the Bushadministration disassociated itself from

the ICC out of concern that U.S. militarypersonnel might be subject to it. TheObama administration has shown a moreconstructive engagement with the court,Dakwar continued, but prefers direct ne-gotiations when it comes to Palestine andIsrael. He characterized the U.S. posi-tion—that seeking accountability iscounter to peace—as “regrettable” and as-serted that neglecting the issue of ac-countability over the years is preciselywhy Palestine has gone to the ICC. Dakwarquestioned whether Israel’s past internalinvestigations were conducted in goodfaith or rather were designed to avert in-ternational action. At the least, he con-cluded, Palestine acceding to the RomeStatute might have the deterrent effect offorcing Israel to improve its system.Columbia Law School professor Kather-

ine Franke noted that Palestine’s turningto law when politics and negotiationsfailed is entirely legal and peaceful. By

contrast, in response to Palestine’s acces-sion to the ICC, Israel has acceleratednon-legal tactics, such as withholdingPalestinian tax revenues, cutting off elec-tricity periodically, shutting down maildelivery in East Jerusalem, and massivelyexpanding settlements. She consideredthese actions collective punishment.Franke predicts that as an internationalbody criticized for thus far prosecutingonly Africans, the next non-African casewill not be Jews. She also expects moreattention to be paid to Israel’s settlementproject than to its violence in Gaza, inpart because Israel has never carried outan internal investigation on the matter.One tactic she envisions would be to pairsettlements in the West Bank with Turk-ish settlements in Cyprus as a way to dealin a collective way with populationtransfer in order for the ICC to avoidcharges of politically selective enforce-ment and racism.

Tariq Ali on “The State of Palestine” Tariq Ali delivered the 12th annual Ed-ward Said Memorial Lecture at PrincetonUniversity on Feb. 23. The novelist, po-litical commentator and prolific author,whose books include Conversations withEdward Said (available from AET’s Mid-dle East Books and More), began by ex-amining the changing context of thePalestinian struggle for liberation. The 1967 war led to the death of secular

Arab nationalism and, with the realizationthat Palestinians no longer could rely onfriendly Arab governments, the rise ofPalestinian liberation movements. Ali ob-served that the Israeli victory also con-vinced the United States, and especially itsJewish population, that the only trustwor-thy power in the region is Israel, thusdeepening the special relationship and gal-vanizing the Israel lobby. “Without Amer-ican blind support,” he added, “there is noway Israel could act as it does.” Ali noted the ease with which the West

accepts Israel’s portrayal of itself as the vic-tim, linking itself with the Judeocide ofWWII. Yet, he continued, Israel’s army isthe sixth largest in the world. It has a hugearmory plus nuclear weapons. How, then,is Israel existentially threatened by itsneighbors? The real victims, he insisted,are Palestinians. Ali traced Israel’s attempts to write them

out of history: “First Palestinians didn’texist; then okay, they existed, but left ontheir own accord; then, okay—we drove

MAY 2015 41THE WASHINGTON REPORT ON MIDDLE EAST AFFAIRS

Tariq Ali.

(L-r) Katherine Franke, Jamil Dakwar and Lori Damrosch.

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Hours after the Feb. 10 execution-stylemurders of three Muslim students in

Chapel Hill, NC, more than 100 Muslim or-ganizations called for a full Federal HateCrimes investigation of the triple slayingand announced plans for memorialsthroughout the country. The victims wereDeah Barakat, 23, a second-year dental stu-dent at the University of North Carolina,his wife, Yusor Abu-Salha, 21 and her sis-ter, Razan Abu-Salha, 19.All three were of Palestinian descent.

Barakat was a Syrian American, and theAbu-Salha sisters were Jordanian Amer-cans. A neighbor, Craig Hicks, 46, was in-dicted as their killer. Why did he single out his Muslim

neighbors? That was the question askedby Muslims around the world. The three

honors students had volunteered by pro-viding canned food to the homeless. Deahhad planned to join dentists on a missionto Turkey this summer and provide dentalcare to Syrian refugees.On Feb. 12 in Southern California, can-

dlelight vigils were conducted at UCLA,University of California at Irvine and Cali-fornia State University at Long Beach andPomona for the three students so callouslyand senselessly shot in the head. At the Is-lamic Center of Southern California, SalamAl-Marayati expressed grief over the tragicloss of three young people who wouldhave contributed to the welfare of societyfor decades to come. Among the otherspeakers were senior Pastor Garry Ansdellof the Christian Emergency Network,Rabbi Joshua Grater of Pasadena JewishTemple, and LAPD Deputy Chief MichaelP. Downing.

First Women’s Mosque in U.S.On Jan. 30, the first women’s mosque inthe U.S. opened services near downtownLos Angeles at the Pico-Union Project in-terfaith chapel, the culmination of thehopes and aspirations of co-presidentsHasna Maznavi and Sana Muttalib.The media and foreign reporters were still

curious about the Muslim women’s project

and turned out Feb. 20 for the second ser-vice. The co-founders weren’t wearing hi-jabs as they spoke to journalists. There is nodress code during the service, attorneyMuttalib said. “The women can wear what-ever they feel comfortable in, since there areno men present,” she explained.Maznavi, 29, a filmmaker, said that from

her childhood in Southern California shehad wanted to build a mosque. She beganto express her ideas for a women’s mosqueon the Internet and eventually assembleda board of nine to establish guidelines.Two board members are men.Area mosques have been favorable to

their concept, and three have invited Maz-navi and Muttalib to initiate women’s ser-vices in their places of worship. They alsoplan to go to Washington, DC and NewYork—or wherever they are asked. Womenwho preside as a khateeba (preacher) willrotate in order to give an opportunity to allwho wish to guide services.

Egyptians Mark DateMore than 500 activists gathered Feb. 6 atthe Anaheim Plaza Hotel to commemoratethe 4th anniversary of Egypt’s January 25Revolution with one speaker from the pre-vious first-ever-elected parliament, Dr. Mo-hamed Gamal Heshmat. “We had military rule for 60 years,” said

Cairo Judge Waleed Sharaby, “and theygrabbed power, the courts, resources andthe vision of Egypt, there is no terrorismin Egypt but the regime’s terrorism.” Hewent on to assert that from Jan. 25, 2011 toJuly 3, 2013, when democratically electedPresident Mohamed Morsi was ousted in acoup, the military kept killing and jailingEgyptians, and is still doing it today. One of the main organizers, former mem-

ber of parliament Dr. Abdul MawgoudDardery, urged Egyptian Americans tovisit their congressmen and reach out tothe media whenever possible. He notedthat women in Egyptian jails plead withtheir mothers to bring them birth controlpills because of high rate of rapes byprison guards.

SAC-LA General MeetingGuest speakers at the Jan.31 general meet-ing at the Yorba Linda community center

Southern CaliforniaChronicle

Southern CaliforniaChronicle

Muslims Mourn, Call for Hate Crime ProbeInto Murder of Three Chapel Hill StudentsBy Pat and Samir Twair

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

42 MAY 2015THE WASHINGTON REPORT ON MIDDLE EAST AFFAIRS

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Salam Al-Marayati (l) and Rev. Garry Ansdell spoke at a Feb. 12 vigil for thethree Muslim students murdered in ChapelHill, NC.

Women’s Mosque co-presidents Sana Muttalib(l) and Hasna Maznavi.

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were Dr. Mazen Hashem and Dr. AmmarKahf. Dr. Hashem, who teaches at two uni-versities in Istanbul, spoke about the Syr-ian revolution. “Bashar Assad is no longerin control,” he stated. “Iran is.” He wenton to say that “the Syrian people are fight-ing more than one enemy: Assad and hisallies on one hand and the Islamic State ofIraq and Syria (ISIS) on the other hand.The Syrian people are going through es-sential change, and will win at the end.” Dr. Kahf, who has been living in the Arab

Gulf and Turkey for two years, outlined thehistory of the Syrian revolution. ”During thefighting the rebels started rebuilding a newSyria,” he said. “The role of the local Syriancommunity councils is very important.” Responding to questions from the audi-

ence, Kahf said that U.S. aid should beredirected to the Syrian local councils, andthat the country needs the expertise ofSyrians who live abroad.

CD Release GalaMore than 100 friends and fans of MESTO(the Multi-Ethnic Star Orchestra) gatheredFeb. 24 in the group’s rehearsal hall at St.Andrew’s Lutheran Church in West Los An-geles for a celebration of Maestro NabilAzzam’s latest compact disc album, “Ah YaZain” (Oh, Zain). Festivities included a per-formance by Dr. Azzam of three numbers onthe new CD, an introduction of the album,and a catered dinner co-hosted by Dr. Ray-mond Jallow, Friends of MESTO chairman.MESTO manager Frank Antonelli ex-

plained that Azzam performs on the oud in-stead of the violin for the 16 selections onthe new CD, the title of which is the sameas that of a classic Egyptian song. Zain alsois the name of the maestro’s grandson, An-tonelli disclosed. Scott Fraser, the soundengineer for the album, which wasrecorded in his studio, said he’s seen manyCD release parties, but this was the biggest.

Hatem Mounir, who added percussion tothe tracks, commented that Azzam is such aperfectionist he insisted on 270 correctionsto the mixing, and when he replayed it, hedemanded even more tweaking. Before heperformed, Azzam noted that his fathernever allowed him to touch his prized oud,which was made in Syria, but he picked upthe instrument, a virtual work of artisticcraftsmanship, and began to strum. T.J. Troy, MESTO’s principal percussion-

ist, was congratulated on his new Grammyaward. The evening wound up with the pre-

sentation of a complimentary copy of the CDto each guest. For more information on con-certs and the CD, visit <www.mesto.org>. ❑

them out, but it was necessary, just as itwas for Americans to clear out the Indians.This is what colonial settler states do.”When the whole world assumed the

Oslo negotiations would lead to a Pales-tinian state, Edward Said called the peaceprocess a fraud, the “Palestinian Ver-sailles.” Ali declared this Said’s most mag-nificent moment, although the situationhas become much worse than even Saidhad predicted. This was the first time, Alipointed out, when a Palestinian intellec-tual criticized not only the occupation,but also the Palestinian leadership, which“mimics the worst aspect of Arabregimes.” He noted that Palestinians werenot even allowed to elect their own gov-ernment in 2006. Now, Ali concluded,“there is no state of Palestine, but Pales-tine is in a bad state.”The only just outcome Ali sees is what

Edward Said advocated in his last months:a single state, even though each side as-sumes the other side won’t accept it. Thiswill require that Palestinians recognizethat Israeli Jews, unlike the French in Al-geria, now constitute a permanent popula-tion in the Arab world. It will also requirethe de-Zionization of Israel, but Ali arguedthat the behavior of Israel has made noother option possible. In a world of defeat,he sees a small sign of hope in the Boycott,Divestment, and Sanctions campaign. Itssuccesses are discussed in Israeli cabinetmeetings and they’ve spent a lot of moneyto stop the campaign. Ali thinks Israel’sconcern about BDS is not for fear of eco-nomic harm, but for its moral harm to Is-rael’s image in the world. ❑

MAY 2015 43THE WASHINGTON REPORT ON MIDDLE EAST AFFAIRS

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TOP LEFT: Speakers on the Egyptian revo-lution (l-r) Abdul Mawgoud Dardery, JudgeWaleed Sharaby, Dr. Mohamed GamalHeshmat and Sheikh Ebrahim Mohammad;TOP RIGHT: Dr. Mazen Hashem: ABOVE:Dr. Nabil Azzam performs on the oud.

New York City…Continued from page 41

twair_42-43_Southern California Chronicle 3/25/15 7:08 PM Page 43

Feb. 4, 2015To my dear friends and supporters,

After 40 years, my time in the U.S. hascome to an end. Like many immigrants ofmy generation, I came to the U.S. in 1975to seek a higher education and greater op-portunities. But I also wanted to live in afree society where freedom of speech, as-sociation and religion are not only toler-ated but guaranteed and protected under

the law. That’s why I decided to stay andraise my family here, after earning my doc-torate in 1986. Simply put, to me, freedomof speech and thought represented the cor-nerstone of a dignified life.

Today, freedom of expression has be-come a defining feature in the struggle torealize our humanity and liberty. Theforces of intolerance, hegemony, and ex-clusionary politics tend to favor the stiflingof free speech and the suppression of dis-sent. But nothing is more dangerous thanwhen such suppression is perpetrated andsanctioned by government.

As one early American once observed,“When the people fear their government,there is tyranny; when the governmentfears the people, there is liberty.” Becausegovernment has enormous power and au-thority over its people, such control must bechecked, and people, especially those advo-cating unpopular opinions, must have ab-solute protections from governmental over-reach and abuse of power. A case in point ofcourse is the issue of Palestinian self-deter-mination. In the United States, as well as inmany other Western countries, those whosupport the Palestinian struggle for justice,and criticize Israel’s occupation and brutalpolicies, have often experienced an assaulton their freedom of speech in academia,media, politics and society at large. Afterthe tragic events of Sept. 11, such actionsby the government intensified, in the nameof security. Far too many people have beentargeted and punished because of their un-popular opinions or beliefs.

During their opening statement in mytrial in June 2005, my lawyers showed thejury two poster-sized photographs of itemsthat government agents took duringsearches of my home many years earlier. Inone photo, there were several stacks ofbooks taken from my home library. Theother photo showed a small gun I owned atthe time. The attorney looked the jury inthe eyes and said: “This is what this case isabout. When the government raided myclient’s house, this is what they seized,” hesaid, pointing to the books, “and this iswhat they left,” he added, pointing to thegun in the other picture. “This case is notabout terrorism but about my client’s rightto freedom of speech,” he continued.

Indeed, much of the evidence the gov-ernment presented to the jury during thesix-month trial were speeches I delivered,lectures I presented, articles I wrote, maga-zines I edited, books I owned, conferencesI convened, rallies I attended, interviews Igave, news I heard, and websites I nevereven accessed. But the most disturbing partof the trial was not that the government of-fered my speeches, opinions, books, writ-ings and dreams into evidence, but that anintimidated judicial system allowed them tobe admitted into evidence. That’s why weapplauded the jury’s verdict [not to convicton any of 17 charges]. Our jurors repre-sented the best society had to offer. Despiteall of the fear-mongering and scare tacticsused by the authorities, the jury acted asfree people, people of conscience, able tosee through Big Brother’s tactics. One hardlesson that must be learned from the trial isthat political cases should have no place ina free and democratic society.

But despite the long and arduous ordealand hardships suffered by my family, Ileave with no bitterness or resentment inmy heart whatsoever. In fact, I’m verygrateful for the opportunities and experi-ences afforded to me and my family in thiscountry, and for the friendships we’ve cul-tivated over the decades. These are lifelongconnections that could never be affectedby distance.

I would like to thank God for all theblessings in my life. My faith sustained meduring my many months in solitary con-finement and gave me comfort that justicewould ultimately prevail.

Our deep thanks go to the friends andsupporters across the U.S., from universityprofessors to grassroots activists, individ-uals and organizations, who have stoodalongside us in the struggle for justice.

My trial attorneys, Linda Moreno andthe late Bill Moffitt, were the best advo-cates anyone could ask for, both inside andoutside of the courtroom. Their spirit, in-telligence, passion and principle were in-spirational to so many.

I am also grateful to Jonathan Turleyand his legal team, whose tireless effortssaw the case to its conclusion. Jonathan’scommitment to justice and brilliant legal

Islamin America

Islamin America

U.S. Deports Never-Convicted ProfessorAnd Activist Dr. Sami al-ArianA Statement by Dr. Sami al-Arian

Dr. Sami al-Arian at a Feb. 1 farewell din-ner in northern Virginia.

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Dr. Sami al-Arian is a Palestinian-Ameri-can civil rights activist who was also a com-puter engineering professor at the Universityof South Florida. A documentary film abouthis and his family’s ordeal, “USA vs. Al-Arian,” can be viewed online at <www.snagfilms.com>. He and his wife, Nahla,now live in Turkey. Continued on page 46

al-arian-letter_44_Islam in America 3/26/15 7:57 PM Page 44

In January, I spent two weeks in north-ern Iraq (Kurdistan) conducting an as-sessment of the impact of the Syrian crisison vulnerable groups there, including theChristian population displaced in recentfighting. During my trip, I met Christianleaders, community leaders, Kurdish Re-gional Government officials, and local andinternational organizations providingemergency relief assistance. I visited withinternally displaced persons (IDPs) in in-formal settlements, as well as in churches,villages, and U.N. camps.Northern Iraq is the historic heartland of

Christianity. The Christians who live therecome from the ancient Assyrian andChaldean empires, making them one of theoldest Christian communities in the world.St. Thomas is credited with bringing Chris-tianity to ancient Mesopotamia. The SyriacOrthodox Church traces its history to thefirst Christian communities in Antioch, es-tablished by St. Peter in AD 37. Two-thirdsof Iraqi Christians belong to the ChaldeanCatholic Church, while one-fifth follow theAssyrian Church of the East. Syriac andAramaic, the language of Christ, are stillspoken here and used in liturgies.During the last 10 years, Iraq’s Christian

population has plummeted from more thana million to around 300,000, according toAshur Eskrya of the Assyrian Aid Society-Iraq. The decline follows years of persecu-tion and repression by local authoritiesand violence against Christians, includingkidnapping, bombings and killings. Anumber of families and church leaders Imet fled Baghdad years ago for the relativesafety of Ainkawa. The residents of onevillage I visited, Bandiwye, had returnedafter being forcibly re-located by SaddamHussain in the 1980s. Residents of anothervillage, Anishki, reclaimed a large tract ofland that had been expropriated by Sad-dam to construct one of his many lavishpalaces which he rarely used. Matters took a dramatic turn for the

worse last summer, when ISIS fighters tookover a large swath of northern Iraq. Chris-tians who remained were ordered to pay a

tax (Jizya). In Mosul, ISIS took over Chris-tian businesses and garnished wages, ef-fectively blocking income from reachingChristian families. Ancient churches inMosul were vandalized, looted and con-verted to mosques and prisons. Pricelessancient relics were lost. ISIS preventedChristian residents of Mosul from sellingtheir property and businesses, which weredeclared assets of the Caliphate.As ISIS advanced, Iraqi soldiers in

Mosul abandoned their posts in droves andretreated without putting up any resis-tance. Kurdish Peshmerga forces defendingsurrounding villages were too lightlyarmed and poorly equipped to stop ISIS,which used U.S. weapons and supplies cap-tured from the retreating Iraqi army.Many families fled their homes with only

the shirts on their back and were strippedof cash, valuables and ID papers at ISIScheckpoints before reaching safety. As a re-sult, for the first time in more than a thou-sand years, the Ninawa Plain and Mosul,Iraq’s second largest city, have been emp-tied of Christians. Displaced families toopoor or unwilling to leave have found tem-porary refuge in and around the Kurdishcities of Erbil, Dohuk and Suleimaniyeh. During my visit, I was struck by the

scope and nature of the humanitarian crisis

in Kurdistan which, I discovered, has beenunder-reported in the U.S. media. Thefocus on Yazidis trapped on a mountain,and on air strikes to dislodge ISIS from theMosul Dam overlooked the fact that onemillion persons, including Christians,Turkomen, Shabak and even Sunnis, weredisplaced from their homes in a matter ofweeks during the summer of 2014. Yazidis, who make up the majority of the

IDP population, have been treated theworst by ISIS because they are not “peopleof the book” and therefore are consideredapostates. Vian Dakhil, a Yazidi member ofthe Iraq Council of Representatives, toldme that ISIS has enslaved 1,700 Yazidiwomen for their own purposes, with somenow being trafficked. Those who have es-caped have recounted horrendous storiesof utter depravity at the hands of theircaptors. Recently, ISIS released a group ofelderly, sick and disabled captives in re-turn for money, and because ISIS no longerwanted to care for them.Many Yazidis were farmers living in vil-

lages with mud houses that ISIS bulldozedin order to prevent their return. Likewise,the water, electric and sanitation infra-structure in many Christian villages hasbeen damaged for the same reason. Homeshave also been cleverly booby-trapped

The Plight of Iraq’s Ancient ChristianCommunitiesBy Philip Davies

Displaced Iraqi Christian children living in the Ainkawa refugee camp.

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MAY 2015 45THE WASHINGTON REPORT ON MIDDLE EAST AFFAIRS

Philip Davies is a humanitarian with morethan 30 years’ experience with nonprofit re-lief and development programs in the MiddleEast.

Christianityand the Middle East

Christianityand the Middle East

davies_45-46_Christianity and the Middle East 3/26/15 7:55 PM Page 45

with IEDs to complicate families’ returnand inflict further casualties, if possible. Today, there are 500,000 internally dis-

placed persons living in cramped andcrowded conditions in Dohuk and 175,000in Ainkawa (a suburb of Erbil). An averageof five or six persons live in one small roomor partitioned space, and share a commonkitchen and bathroom with dozens ofother families. There is virtually no pri-vacy. Not surprisingly, the U.N. reportsthat one out of three displaced Iraqis hasno adequate shelter. Shelters are frigid inwinter and uncomfortably hot in summer,when temperatures reach 120 degrees. Archbishop Bashar Warda in Ainkawa

says 200,000 Christians are registered asIDPs. This means that at least half of Iraq’sChristians are now IDPs. Host communitiesare also in need of assistance due to the in-creased demand for essential public servicesand basic humanitarian supplies. The emer-gency food packages (rice, lentils, flour,beans, powdered milk, macaroni, vegetableoil, sugar, tomato paste and canned food)provided by aid agencies do not includemeat, chicken, fruit or fresh vegetables,which were previously part of families’diets. Many also requested personal hygienesupplies, which were in short supply.The Assyrian, Chaldean and Syriac Or-

thodox Churches did an incredible job re-sponding to the sudden influx of large num-bers of IDPs in the summer of 2014 and areworking together through local committeesto coordinate relief efforts and maintain listsof affected families. Christian IDPs do notlive in camps set up by the U.N., as theyprefer to live in partially built apartments inAinkawa, or with other families in villagesand informal settlements. ArchbishopWarda, who cites housing as the numberone problem facing IDP families, is raisingfunds to construct a 1,000-unit apartmentbuilding in Ainkawa to stem the flow offamilies emigrating to the West.Half of the IDPs are children who do not

have access to education. Church schoolswhich once operated in areas controlled byISIS are now closed. Meanwhile, Kurdishschools are badly over-crowded and teachin Kurdish, a language IDP children do notspeak. Many children live far from anyschool and have no access to transporta-tion. There are increasing concerns about ageneration of children being shaped by vi-olence, displacement and persistent lack ofopportunity. Many churches still house IDPs and are

providing food packages, personal hygienesupplies, winterization items (clothing,rugs, blankets, heaters and kerosene), and

subsidizing rent payments. But their fi-nancial resources are stretched thin and arerapidly being depleted, as is the case withthe IDP families themselves. Some havestarted small businesses, like grocerystores, to support themselves. While the ideal solution is for IDPs to re-

turn home, this is not likely to happenvery soon. U.S. advisers are preparing theIraqi army for an offensive to reclaim lostterritory under the militants’ control,while a coalition of Arab and other alliesconduct regular air strikes against ISIS tar-gets, and Kurdish Peshmerga forces fightISIS around Singar and Mosul. Until thearea is completely secure, however, dis-placed families say they will not return totheir homes and villages. Accordingly, relief organizations are be-

ginning to move from implementing purelyemergency interventions (like food, shelterand non-food items) to addressing the popu-lation’s longer-term need for basic education,job creation and primary health care. Manyagencies are already anticipating what it willtake to rehabilitate villages damaged by ISISand are carrying out preliminary damage as-sessments. However, with so many othercompeting humanitarian and relief prioritiesin the region, it is not clear where or whenthe funding will come, which leaves thou-sands of IDP families living in terrible con-ditions for the foreseeable future. Finally, when I asked Archbishop Moses

Alshamany about the prospect of reconcil-ing with Sunni neighbors in Mosul who hadturned on Christian families after decades ofliving together, he told me the feeling oftrust had been irrevocably broken. Otherspresent nodded their approval. To furtherdemonstrate the strained relationship be-

tween communities, he told me that Muslimchildren in the apartment building where henow lives did not come by for sweets atChristmas as they had in years past. ❑

representation resulted in the governmentfinally dropping the case. Our gratitude also goes to my immigra-

tion lawyers, Ira Kurzban and John Pratt,for the tremendous work they did insmoothing the way for this next phase ofour lives.Thanks also to my children for their pa-

tience, perseverance and support duringthe challenges of the last decade. I am soproud of them.Finally, my wife, Nahla, h as been a pillar

of love, strength and resilience. She keptour family together during the most diffi-cult times. There are no words to conveythe extent of my gratitude.We look forward to the journey ahead

and take with us the countless happymemories we formed during our life in theUnited States. ❑

46 MAY 2015THE WASHINGTON REPORT ON MIDDLE EAST AFFAIRS

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holy_land_principles_47_Holy Land Principles Advertisement 3/25/15 6:49 PM Page 47

In the wake of terrorist attacks in Paris,Brussels and Copenhagen, Israeli Prime

Minister Binyamin Netanyahu has calledupon Jews to flee to Israel.

After the attack in Paris, he traveled toFrance and urged French Jews to abandontheir country and emigrate to Israel, whichhe called their “real home.” When terrorstruck in Copenhagen, Netanyahu calledupon Danish Jews—and Jews throughoutEurope—to leave their homes and come toIsrael.

This, of course, is classic Zionism, whichdeclares that Israel is the “homeland” of allJews and that those living outside Israelare in “exile.” Israel has repeatedlylaunched campaigns of aliyah, or emigra-tion to Israel, throughout the world, in-cluding the United States. Netanyahuopenly proclaims that he speaks not onlyfor the citizens of Israel, who elected him,but for Jews throughout the world whoare citizens of other countries.

In Israel, even Netanyahu’s political ene-

mies share his Zionist zeal. Yair Lapid, headof a centrist political party, said: “Euro-pean Jewry must understand that there isjust one place for Jews, and that is the stateof Israel.” Boaz Bismuth, a former corre-spondent in Paris, wrote in the newspaperIsrael Today: “I am sorry to tell you thetruth: The terrible crime Netanyahu com-mitted is called Zionism.”

By laying bare Zionism’s contempt forJewish life outside of Israel, Netanyahumay have done the world a service byshowing the narrowness and parochialismof his—and its—worldview. Most Jewsbelieve that Judaism is not a nationalitybut a religion of universal values, and thata full Jewish life can be lived anywhere inthe world—in London, Rome, Paris orNew York, as well as in Jerusalem or TelAviv.

The negative reaction to Netanyahu’s callfor Jews to leave Europe en masse has beenoverwhelming.

French Prime Minister Manuel Valls said,“If 100,000 Jews leave, France will nolonger be France. The French Republic willbe judged a failure.” Danish Prime MinisterHelle Thorning-Schmidt declared: “TheJewish community has been in this coun-try for centuries. They belong to Denmark,they are part of the Danish community and

we wouldn’t be the same withoutthe Jewish community of Denmark.”

Is this the kind of “anti-Semi-tism” which Netanyahu believeswill cause tens of thousands of menand women to abandon their coun-tries?

Jewish reaction to calls to emi-grate to Israel has been swift and al-most uniformly critical. Rabbi Men-achem Margolin, director of the Eu-ropean Jewish Association, said thatfar better than emigration to Israelwould be the preservation and pro-tection of Jewish life in the manycountries Jews call home. He regret-ted that “after every anti-Semitic actin Europe, the Israeli government is-sues the same statement about theimportance of aliyah rather thanemploy every diplomatic and inter-national means at its disposal to

strengthen the safety of Jewish life in Eu-rope. The Israeli government must stopthis Pavlovian response every time there isan attack against any Jews in Europe.”

Philosopher Alain Finkielkraut, ordinar-ily a strong supporter of Israel, said, “Ithink Bibi [Netanyahu] was wrong to ex-press himself as he did. French Jews areFrench and the majority of the French feelsolidarity with their Jewish compatriotsand oppose the Islamists...I hope that thefuture for French Jews is in France.”

Yonathan Arli, vice president of CRIF, anumbrella group of Jewish institutions inFrance, believes Jews should remain inFrance, which is their home. “We have hada Jewish community living here for morethan a thousand years,” he said. “We wentthrough bombing attacks, the Holocaust,acts of terrorism, and we are not about toleave now. We just want to be safe.”

Writing from Paris in the Jan. 16 editionof The Forward, Laurent-David Samamanotes that while some French Jews mightbe considering emigration, “others—in-cluding young Jews like me—feel thatmaking aliyah is a too-easy escape; it’s sim-ply not the answer. Those of us who re-main in Paris, Marseille or Lyon are deter-mined not to let the terrorists win.Throughout French history, Jews have ex-

Netanyahu’s Calls for Jews to Flee Europe AreRebuffed as “Posthumous Victory” for HitlerBy Allan C. Brownfeld

48 MAY 2015THE 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

Newly arrived immigrants from France study Hebrew at Ulpan in Netanya, Israel, March 13,2015.

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perienced many peri-ods of crisis. We’vealways overcomethem, and we willove rc ome t h emagain. Now morethan ever—there isanother communalfaction that believesFrance needs us tostay here, to play therole of social whistle-blower.”Smadar Bar-Akiva,

executive director ofJCC Global, a net-work of Jewish com-munity centers, de-clared that “the callsfor French Jews topack their bags and make aliyah are dis-turbing and self-serving...It will be moreconstructive to help French Jewry con-tinue the educational and social work theyare already doing.”During a February visit to New York

France’s chief rabbi, Haim Korsia, said thatterrorism is “not a Jewish question, it’s aquestion for all France, and it’s very impor-tant.”In Denmark, Chief Rabbi Jair Melchior

said he was “disappointed” by Ne-tanyahu’s call for immigration. He said: “Ifthe way we deal with terror is to runsomewhere else, we should all run to adesert island. Terror is not a reason tomove to Israel.” Jeppe Juhl, a spokesmanfor the Jewish community in Denmark,stated: “We’re very grateful for Ne-tanyahu’s concern but having said that,we are Danish—we’re Danish Jews, butwe’re Danish—and it won’t be terror thatmakes us go to Israel.”Writing in Mondoweiss, Jonathan Cook

points to the similar worldview of Zionistsand traditional anti-Semites: “Israeli politi-cians of both right and left have parrotedhis [Netanyahu’s] message that EuropeanJews know ‘in their hearts that they haveonly one country.’ The logical corollary isthat Jews cannot be loyal to other statesthey live in, such as France...In this regard,Netanyahu and the far-right share muchcommon ground. He wants a Europe freeof Jews. The far-right wants the same...OneIsraeli commentator noted pointedly thatIsraeli politicians like Netanyahu ‘werehelping to finish the job started by theNazis and their Vichy collaborators: mak-ing France Judenrein.”In a Jan. 14 editorial The Forward de-

clared: “Europe needs its Jews as much assome Jews still need and want a place inEurope. Even if immigration to Israel un-derstandably increases, it is our duty to re-

double support for those Jews who wishto remain where they are. Besides, after somany nations in the last century murderedor expelled their Jews, should we reallyencourage more Jews to flee?”Claude Lanzmann, the widely respected

French Jewish filmmaker best known forhis Holocaust documentary film “Shoah,”said that following Netanyahu’s advicewould have only one result: giving Hitler,who did his best to rid France and all ofEurope of Jews, “a posthumous victory.”Indeed, the very idea that anti-Semitism

is a mounting threat in Europe is itselfquestionable. According to a recent Pewpoll, almost 90 percent of people in France,82 percent of Germans and 72 percent ofSpaniards say they have a favorable opin-ion of Jews. Polls in Britain show that atti-tudes toward Jews are about as positive asattitudes toward Christians.According to Uri Avnery, co-founder of

the Israeli peace group Gush Shalom, theidea of mounting anti-Semitism in Europeis “nonsense.” He notes that, “Practicallyall the alarming incidents in Europe re-cently—especially Paris and Copen-hagen—in which Jews were killed or at-tacked—had nothing to do with anti-Semi-tism. All these outrages were conducted byyoung Muslims...They were part of the on-going war between Israelis and Arabs thathave nothing to do with anti-Semitism.They are not descended from the pogromin Kishinev and not related to the Protocolsof the Elders of Zion...When Binyamin Ne-tanyahu does not miss an opportunity todeclare that he represents all the Jews inthe world, he makes all the world’s Jewsresponsible for Israeli policies and actions.”Political economist Bernard Avishai of

Hebrew University asserts that Jews in theWest are not in need of Netanyahu’s pro-tection and “do not conceive of Israel astheir ‘home.’ Life in Europe is just not per-

ilous or alien in theway he implies...For‘mass immigration’ tomake s en s e , t h eplaces where Jewsnow live would haveto be insufferablydangerous for them,or at least I srae lwould have to becomparativelysafer...It is completelyahistoric to believethat Europe is failingJews, or any othergroup, in ways thatare reminiscent of the1930s and ’40s—aperiod from whichNetanyahu draws du-

bious lessons.”In the end the calls for European Jews to

abandon their homes to emigrate to Israeltells us far more about the ethnocentricZionist worldview than it does about devel-opments in Europe. Prime Minister Ne-tanyahu may believe Israel is the real“home” for all Jews. But it does not seemthat the Jews of France, Denmark, Britainand the rest of Europe agree. ❑

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MAY 2015 49THE WASHINGTON REPORT ON MIDDLE EAST AFFAIRS

brownfeld_48-49_Israel and Judaism 3/26/15 2:46 PM Page 49

50 MAY 2015THE WASHINGTON REPORT ON MIDDLE EAST AFFAIRS

Arab America, UDC CommemorateThe Struggle for JusticeA very enthusiastic audience filled the Uni-versity of the District of Columbia’s Theatreof the Arts on Feb. 26 for a lively event co-hosted with Arab America, “From Fergusonto Chapel Hill: Together We Stand for Jus-tice.” Arab America president WarrenDavid said his organization wanted to cele-brate Black History Month because manyArab countries are in Africa and many ArabAmericans and African Americans share theMuslim faith. Sadly, both communities are“denigrated for their ethnicity,” David said.“Last week’s horrific shooting of three ArabAmericans was racially motivated becauseof religion and ethnicity,” he stated, andcalled for both groups to work for “justiceand equality for all.”“The challenge of creating a unified com-

munity belongs to everyone,” said interimUniversity President Dr. James Lyons. Say-ing he was looking forward to hearing thedaughter of Malcolm X speak, Lyons men-tioned that he grew up in a project acrossthe street from a mosque launched by thatcivil rights leader in New Haven, CT. Lyonssaid he enjoyed listening to Malcolm Xspeak about his dreams for his people. “Let’scontinue to lock arms and hold hands as wecontinue this struggle,” Lyons concluded.Lydia Lyon, an African-American student

at Berklee College of Music in Boston, sangin Arabic against a backdrop of movingphotos of the young victims in Fergusonand Chapel Hill. Born in Missouri, thesinger said she has family in Ferguson, andthat it’s not uncommon for the KKK or othergroups to vandalize Arab stores in their areaor commit hate crimes. Lyon’s friends havebeen beaten up for no reason at all. Insteadof feeling hopeless Lyon turned to music,she said, adding that some of her highschool friends were Saudis who taught herabout Arab music and culture.A keynote speech by author, diplomat

and humanitarian Ambassador AttallahShabazz repeatedly brought audience mem-bers to their feet. The eldest daughter ofMalcolm X and Dr. Betty Shabazz said shespent the 50th anniversary of her father’skilling as far from New York City’sAudubon Ballroom as she could, doing hu-manitarian service. After watching “myfirst man taken in front of my own eyes,”Shabazz said, she just couldn’t attend theprevious week’s commemoration. Everyone has a stake in dialogue between

diverse peoples, Shabazz said, emphasizing

that she didn’t grow up in an “anti-any-thing” household. In fact, she urged listen-ers not to misquote her father or take hiswords out of context. “We get to write ourown message. Don’t let someone else defineus. When the headline is wrong—correctit.” Shabazz reminded her audience that the

struggle against injustice isn’t new—it did-n’t start in Ferguson or Chapel Hill. “We’rewalking on behalf of those who came beforeus, every slave, every suffragette set thepace for those who came after,” she noted.She asked listeners, Arab- and African-

Americans, to introduce themselves to thepeople sitting next to them and behindthem. “By the power invested in me, I nowpronounce you brothers and sisters,”Shabazz said. “Work together, stay united,don’t let the next crisis divide you,” sheurged. “We have a responsibility to eachother.” She reflected on the dignity of people in

Haiti, Palestine and others in the “so-calledThird World.” They live in the “FirstWorld“ if you consider their characters andsouls, she said, adding that she feels kinshipwith “Palestinians who just want to bePalestinians despite the atrocities they face.” Shabazz urged listeners to commemorate

her father’s May 19 birthday, not Feb. 21,the day of his death, and to spend that daydoing direct service for others.The following night the theater filled

with part two of the “From Ferguson toChapel Hill” events. Arab America’s Davidwelcomed Emmy-winning filmmaker Con-nie Field and screened her critically ac-claimed film, “Al Helm: MLK in Palestine.”(Read more about the gradual awakening ofseven African-American gospel singers whovisit the Holy Land in the June/July 2014Washington Report, pp. 22-23. This impor-tant film is available from AET’s Middle EastBooks and More.) —Delinda C. Hanley

Film Examines Malcolm X andAfrican-American HistoryWashington, DC residents watched “OurBlack Shining Prince,” a film tribute to HajjMalik El-Shabazz (Malcolm X ) on Feb. 25,at the new Busboys and Poets in the city’sBrookland neighborhood. Fifty years afterhis assassination in Manhattan’s AudubonBallroom in front of his wife and oldestdaughter, the life work of the controversialAmerican Muslim minister and humanrights activist is still relevant. Photographerand documentary filmmaker Phil Portlockspoke about his film, which provides a valu-able lesson on African and African-Ameri-can history. The 40-minute film uses his-toric photos skillfully narrated by Pat Sloan(Portlock’s wife) and clips from El-Shabazz’spowerful speeches. Viewers hear about the activist’s early life:

The son of an outspoken Baptist preacher, alocal leader of the Universal Negro Improve-ment Association, Malcolm Little’s familywas harassed by white racists and his homeburned down. When he was six, his fatherwas killed by a streetcar, although many inhis community believed white racists wereresponsible. Malcolm Little dropped out ofmiddle school after a white teacher told himthat his goal of practicing law was unrealisticbecause of his race. While he was in prisonafter committing a burglary, he became amember of the Nation of Islam in 1952. Afterhis release from prison he became a commu-nity activist and the voice of the Nation ofIslam. He broke from the Nation in 1964 andbegan practicing Sunni Islam. After goingon a hajj to Saudi Arabia, Malcolm X saidthat seeing Muslims of “all colors, from blue-eyed blonds to black-skinned Africans” in-teracting as equals led him to see Islam as ameans by which racial problems could beovercome.

Arab American Activism

Ambassador Attallah Shabazz urges her au-dience to reach out to each other.

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In July 1964, Malcolm X appealed toAfrican leaders for solidarity and sup-port in resolving the plight of AfricanAmericans. He wrote a letter toAfrican heads-of-state in Cairo, saying,“Our problem is your problem. It isnot a Negro problem, nor an Americanproblem. This is a world problem, aproblem for humanity. It is not a prob-lem of civil rights, it is a problem ofhuman rights.” He tried to interna-tionalize the struggle for minorityrights in the U.S.Following the screening, Portlock

engaged viewers in a lively discussionabout education and housing issues,and the mass incarceration of AfricanAmerican men. People agreed that vot-ing rights—for formerly incarceratedindividuals, not to mention DC vot-ers—affect everything in day-to-daylife. Food lines in churches are gettinglonger, participants agreed. “We needto educate our community about thenecessity of going to the polls,” oneman stated. Another called for moreefforts in attaining DC statehood. Another audience member noted re-

cent efforts in Texas, Tennessee andArizona to re-write history in text-books, and to remove the civil rightsstruggle and absolve white guilt forslavery. The discussion turned to thedisrespect expressed by some politiciansand media for the first African-Americanpresident. One person wondered if the con-stant “beating up” on President BarackObama will prevent black or brown chil-dren from aspiring to run for public office.Audience members concluded by brain-

storming about how black Americans couldsurmount current challenges. One partici-pant suggested a massive protest, notingthat if every African American refused towork for even one day their fellow citizenswould notice how vital they are to this na-tion. —Delinda C. Hanley

“Stories My Father Told Me”: HelenZughaib At the Arab American National MuseumWith daily headlines reporting disturbingnews from the Middle East, it is refreshingto reminisce about life’s delights, wherelove of the land, food, culture and traditionrecalls the joys of simpler times. A new soloexhibit by Arab-American painter HelenZughaib at the Arab American NationalMuseum (AANM) in Dearborn, Michiganfeatures her painting series “Stories My Fa-ther Told Me,” capturing her father, Elia’s,childhood memories of Lebanon and Syria.

Narratives accompany each painting—some in print, others in Elia’s voice. Zughaib has been an AANM favorite

since her work was featured in its 2005 in-augural exhibition IN/Visible (see August2005 Washington Report, pp. 50-51). Inconjunction with her exhibit, the AANMlaunched a community story-telling pro-gram, which will be archived. As their very own hakawati (“story-

teller” in Arabic), Elia entertained his chil-dren with fables and personal tales, whichhis daughter captured in colorful tableauxwhen she ultimately became a painter.Working in gouache, an opaque watercolor, Zughaib’s paintings charm audi-ences, offering an engaging peek into Arabculture.This solo exhibition shows for the first

time all 23 paintings, on loan from collec-tors in the United States and overseas. Thepaintings exude nostalgia, depicting gar-den walks, picking fruits, life’s ceremoniesand religious observances, games withgrandmother, fables and, poignantly, herfather’s arrival in America. Zughaib’s style is charming and ani-

mated, with exquisitely detailed figurativeand constructed patterns. Geometric and

scrolling florals anchor the subjects,conveying a playful happiness. Somescenes are depicted in a style echoingancient miniatures, with complexcombinations of detailed patterns asbackdrop to the story. In the painting“Blind Charity,” a curly-tailed catwalks near a maiden standing on adock near flowing water. In the back-ground, curtains and laundry flutter.A man rows by as a special basket isset afloat. In this fable, the gratefulreceiver of good will and generosityis sending forth the basket to who-ever may receive it next. “Coming to America” portrays the

excitement of passengers aboard theItalian ship which brought her fatherto the United States. We see men inred fez hats and women in long skirtslooking eagerly toward the New YorkCity skyline as the ship crests thewaves, with the Statue of Liberty inprominent view.Whether illustrating childhood

tales, intense pattern studies, or socialcommentary about the Middle East,Zughaib’s expression is at once exu-berant and powerful. Her artistrycompels attraction while offeringcross-cultural outreach.Born in Lebanon and raised in the

United States, Zughaib lived in theMiddle East and Europe for several years.Reflecting on her identity as an ArabAmerican, she says: “It is who I am…I feelan emotional connection to it. I can helppeople understand the Arab world, to fos-ter a dialogue.” Zughaib says she seeks to “combat stereo-

types and dispel misconceptions” with herwork. As her focus evolves, she also hopesher work will be appreciated broadly. Thisappears to be happening already, given thather clients span religions and nationalities. Zughaib comments on specific topics

such as Saudi women’s struggles to drive.She is developing a new body of workcalled the “No-Name Project,” a memorialto the deceased in Syria’s civil war. An-other solo exhibition, “Conflict Within,”complete with catalog, just opened at theUniversity of Maryland University College.Her work is also currently on show at Ar-tisphere in Arlington, Virginia. Her exhibitat the AANM runs through April 19.

—Najwa Saad

Algerian-American Author SavesWorld From Chaos With a FairytaleBoualem Bousseloub was born in Algeria toBerber and Arab parents and emigrated be-

TOP: Helen Zughaib at AANM; ABOVE: Blind Char-ity, © Helen Zughaib, Collection of Philip and TerrieStoltzfus.

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fore his country earned its independencefrom France. Eventually, he settled in Pasa -dena, CA and became an avid hiker in theverdant Arroyo Seco Valley. In the late 1980she became a board member of the American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee LosAngeles Chapter and raised two children,but he still hiked in his beloved Arroyo Seconear his home. After retirement and a sec-ond marriage, he started to write fiction.Bousseloub’s first book, a fairy tale, The

Mysterious Kingdom of the Arroyo, centersaround Astor, 10, who has Asperger’s syn-drome. Astor and his mother are mourningthe death of his father in a car accident, andthe two go for Saturday picnics in the Ar-royo Seco. On a walk by himself, Astormeets a human-size white rabbit who tellshim her name is Blanca. She leads him to amagical underground animal world. Each Saturday Blanca introduces Astor to

a magical realm of wonderful characters inthe Palace of the Serene Soul, includingLord Irido and Professor Hoot-Hooty, ahuman-size owl presiding in his Laboratoryof the Perpetual Quest for Knowledge. Theyhave a mission for Astor: to save the worldfrom chaos. This story, written for childrenin the spirit of The Little Prince, is intendedto appeal to readers of all ages, everywherein the world. The Mysterious Kingdom of theArroyo is available from AET’s Middle EastBooks and More. —Pat McDonnell Twair

Author Farha Ghannam DiscussesMasculinity in Urban EgyptFarha Ghannam, author of Live and DieLike a Man: Gender Dynamics in UrbanEgypt (available from AET’s Middle EastBooks and More), discussed her book andher future research plans in a Feb. 27 talkat Georgetown University’s Center forContemporary Arab Studies titled “Doingand Becoming: Masculine Trajectories inUrban Egypt.”

Ghannam described thechallenges she faced whilewriting her book and ex-plained the importance oflooking at masculinity in theArab world. Too often, inher opinion, researchersstudying the Middle Eastfocus on women exclusivelyas the sole subject of genderstudies. Ghannam believesthat looking at men isequally important and canreveal critical elements ofArab societies. In her book,she uses the term “masculinetrajectories” to examine how boys areraised—by parents, siblings and society atlarge—as well as what it means in urbanEgyptian society to be “a man.”Ghannam also discussed her next project,

which will examine food in Egypt. Whilethe exact focus is not yet determined, sheplans to study the way food is producedand consumed, as well as how Egyptiansspoke about food during the 2011 uprising.She hopes that the research will eventuallyresult in her third book. —Kevin A. Davis

Bedouin X Performs Afro-ArabTranceThe Levantine Cultural Center in Los Ange-les was the setting for a Feb. 28 concert bythe Bedouin X Band performing oldBedouin music and songs of Jordan, Syria,Egypt and North Africa. More than 50 peo-ple were on hand to hear Jordanian-Ameri-can vocalist/bandleader Alfred Madain. Theother members of Bedouin X include David

Markowitz on the saz, Mike Gadsby on thebass, percussionists Ava Nahas and DavidMartinelli, and guitarist Dave Cipriani. Thehighly danceable music is driven bypolyrhythms and hypnotic grooves.Madain has recorded 19 one-hour

episodes on the Internet dealing with thehistory of Arab music from 1890 to 1970,featuring such Arab musicians and com-posers as Sayyed Darwish, Sheikh Imamand Ziad Rahabani. For more information,visit <www.bedouinxmusic.com>.

—Samir Twair

New America Conference ExploresThe “Future of War”The New America Foundation and ArizonaState University co-hosted a two-day con-ference on the “Future of War” at theRonald Reagan Building and InternationalTrade Center in Washington, DC on Feb.24 and 25. The event featured more than20 sessions on such topics as drone war-fare, cyber security, the laws of war andhuman rights. Several of these discussions,described below, focused on issues perti-nent to the Middle East.

The Evolution of DronesThe conference began with a discussion ondrones and autonomous weapons. PeterSinger of New America noted that about 85countries now possess drone programs, ahandful of which have a military compo-nent. Drones now come in all shapes andsizes, he pointed out, and are widely avail-able to non-state actors.For example, he noted that ISIS, Hezbol-

lah, the U.S. and the Iraqi government allare utilizing unmanned aircraft in the on-going Syria/Iraq war. “Everybody’s usingthem,” he explained.With the proliferation of drone technol-

52 MAY 2015THE WASHINGTON REPORT ON MIDDLE EAST AFFAIRS

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ogy, the U.S. government is struggling tokeep up with the latest innovations, ac-cording to Missy Cummings of Duke Uni-versity and the Massachusetts Institute ofTechnology. “We have lost the cutting edgein terms of technological development,”she said. “I can promise you that Amazonand Google are far outpacing the U.S. gov-ernment in terms of capabilities.”Even private citizens are able to developadvanced drone technology, Cummingspointed out. “My students can over theweekend build a drone that’s more capablethan many U.S. military personnel have ac-cess to,” she quipped.In terms of governments, the Israelis arethe world leaders in drone technology,Cummings said. Nor, she noted, is this a re-cent development: “They have been for along time.”While some are uneasy about the U.S.selling its drone technology to other gov-ernments, Cummings downplayed thiscontroversy. Any drone information theU.S. sells is not the most up-to-date tech-nology. “We’re not going to sell our bestautonomous technology,” she said.“We also need to realize we are not theonly game in town,” Cummings added.“The Israelis have been selling drones fora long time to other countries, and theirdrones are likely more capable than whatwe’re going to be selling.” Panelists expressed skepticism that auto-mated drones—which carry out lethal at-tacks without human input—will be de-ployed above battlefields anytime soon.“The technology exists, but not to the levelof certainty that I think the public is will-ing to accept,” said Werner Dahm of Ari-zona State University. While technologycan be more accurate than humans, it lacksthe ability to reason, something critical inwar, he said.While combat technology constantlyevolves, Singer noted that the essence of warremains unchanged. “The causes of it arestill the same: our human failings,” he said.

The Ethics of Automated Drones On the second day of the conference, As-sistant Secretary of State for Democracy,Human Rights and Labor Tom Malinowskiaddressed the ethical issues presented byautomated killer drone technology. Drones operating without human judg-ment do have the ability to make more ac-curate decisions and are not prone to mak-ing poor choices due to anger or any otheremotion, he noted.However, he said, for the time being theU.S. government believes that any decision to

use lethal force must be made by a human.“A human being must make the decision tokill another human being,” he stated.Before automated drones become legal,Malinowski said, several vital questionsmust be answered: Could a machine beprogrammed to make ethical decisions onan ever-changing battlefield? “Who wouldbe accountable if a machine makes a mis-take?” What if a rogue government or dic-tator deployed autonomous drones as “en-forcers who would never refuse an order”to quell dissent or commit other humanrights violations?One must also ask if a legal ban wouldbe enforceable. If not, Malinowski said, itmight be more practical to regulate au-tonomous drones.Technology will eventually be able to donearly everything better than humans, heconcluded. The question is, how muchhuman autonomy should we cede? “Whatis the right relationship between humanbeings and machines as this technologyraces ahead?” he asked.

ISIS and the Future of WarThe second day of the conference also fea-tured a discussion on military strategiesthat could be used tocounter ISIS.Maj. Gen. Najim Abedal-Jabouri, a former Iraqicommander who success-fully campaigned againstal-Qaeda in the country’sNinawa province in 2005and 2006, shared lessonslearned from that opera-tion.Al-Qaeda was defeatedin Ninawa for five rea-sons, he said: the abilityof U.S., Iraqi and Kurdishforces to work alongside

each other; the area’s tribes reconciling andturning against al-Qaeda; improved rela-tions between citizens and the securityforces; local civilians becoming willing toprovide good intelligence to militaryforces; and the ability to stop foreign fight-ers from flooding into the area.Terrorists were able to regain power inNinawa after 2006 because these lessonswere quickly forgotten, al-Jabouri said. In order to defeat ISIS today, he believesAmerican and Iraqi forces must relearn thelessons of 2005-2006. “The situation todayis different, but the principles are thesame,” he stated. The forces that liberate Mosul from ISISmust include fighters from the local area,the general said. Operations must also bebased on good intelligence, which willonly come when the local people trust themilitary forces, he explained. “If we winthe people, we win the battle. We have tolisten to their concerns, and we cannothold them guilty for the crimes of ISIS thatthey did not have anything to do with.”Al-Jabouri believes it will be difficult todefeat ISIS in Ninawa without the assis-tance of American forces, due to the stateof the Iraqi military. “The people are des-perate for help and they will be glad forAmerican support,” he said.ISIS is vulnerable, he believes, as it has“made many mistakes that turned the localpeople against them.” Citizens of Ninawawant ISIS gone, “but they are afraid of themilitias that might come north to Mosul,”he explained. “They also don’t trust the[Kurdish] Peshmerga.” Long-term victory, though, will requirea rebuilding of Mosul to ensure that peoplehave jobs, al-Jabouri said. More impor-tantly, he emphasized, there must be an endto the de-Ba’athification law that has beenused to exclude Sunnis. As long as this lawis used against Sunnis, there will not betrue reconciliation in Iraq, he warned.

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Douglas Ollivant of New America ob-served that the disastrous Iraq war andISIS’ subsequent rise are a reminder of thelimitations of military power. The U.S. mil-itary is capable of overthrowing just aboutany non-nuclear armed government, henoted. It cannot, however, ensure thatpeace, security and democracy will takeroot after it has done so. “This is a realm inwhich force is simply impotent,” he said.Ollivant added that groups such as ISIS

are able to prosper in areas where there isdisorder and little rule of law. “It’s cer-tainly no accident that ISIS has risen intwo weak states,” he said.Emma Sky of Yale University agreed

with this assessment, calling ISIS “a symp-tom of a problem.” Until the issues andgrievances that led to the rise of ISIS areaddressed, the cycle of violence will con-tinue, she cautioned.Sky believes that the region’s repressive

regimes are in part to blame for ISIS’ rise.In many ways, she said, ISIS and theregimes justify each other’s existence. For its part, Sky said the U.S. has no

strategy for defeating ISIS. “We’ve gonefrom policy to implementation, withoutstrategy,” she lamented.

—Dale Sprusansky

Report: “No Safe Place” in GazaPhysicians for Human Rights-Israel (PHR-Israel) was the only independent interna-tional body granted permission by Israeliauthorities to enter Gaza during last sum-mer’s deadly war. The organization subse-quently released a report on its observa-tions titled “No Safe Place—Findings of anIndependent Medical Fact-Finding Mis-sion—Gaza 2014.”On Feb. 18, two PHR-Israel members

presented their findings to an audience atthe Human Rights Campaign’s offices inWashington, DC. The event was sponsoredby the Foundation for Middle East Peace.Ran Goldstein, executive director of PHR-

Israel, began by noting the dire humanitar-ian situation that exists in the Gaza Strip.“Every barometer you can think of,Gaza is under capacity,” he said, notingthe poor state of the besieged territory’shealth, water and educational systems.Over 70 percent of Gaza residents relyon humanitarian aid, he added.Turning to the report on last sum-

mer’s war, Goldstein said it determinedthat Israel carried out indiscriminateattacks against civilian targets usingexcessive quantities of explosives. Itwas not uncommon, he noted, for Is-rael to target a large residential build-

ing solely to execute one member ofHamas. Jennifer Leaning, director of the Fran-

cois-Xavier Bagnoud Center for Health andHuman Rights, said most civilian deathswere caused either by shrapnel from ex-plosives or collapsing buildings. Many Gazans were trapped during the

war, Goldstein noted, as they were notgiven clear instructions as to where safezones existed. This was particularly evi-dent in the southern village of Khuza’a, henoted, where several thousand civilianswere trapped—and fired upon—after re-ceiving conflicting messages from Israeliforces. Several of the village’s residents alsoreported being used as human shields bythe IDF for 48 hours. “These testimonialsmust be investigated,” Goldstein urged.While the IDF, which touts itself as the

“most moral army in the world,” boasts thatit provides civilians with warnings before at-tacks, Goldstein said that just 7 percent ofGazans reported actually receiving thesewarnings. Those who were warned reportedhaving little time to evacuate, he added.Leaning noted that many elderly and dis-abled Palestinians had difficulty quicklyevacuating large buildings whose elevatorswere not working due to a lack of power.Goldstein also expressed concern about

Israel’s use of “double tap” attacks, inwhich the IDF launched a second strike ona target shortly after its initial attack. Thisstrategy resulted in the deaths of 23 healthworkers, he noted, most of whom were am-bulance drivers. Furthermore, the reportfound that 17 hospitals and 56 primarycare clinics were destroyed or damaged. Is-rael knows the location of clinics and hos-pitals in Gaza, Goldstein said, as well as theuniforms of ambulance drivers.Leaning stressed that an inquiry inde-

pendent of IDF influence must be con-ducted into last summer’s war. Goldsteinadded that he is not optimistic about Gaza’sfuture. “The only solution we hear fromleaders is to prepare for another war,” hesaid. —Dale Sprusansky

On Ferguson and Palestine: The Issues of Repression and Race

The Palestine Center in Washington, DCinvited three panelists to discuss “TheIssue of Repression and Race” in Ferguson,MO and Palestine on Feb. 24. Institute forPolicy Studies senior scholar Bill Fletcher’stalk focused on the “racialization of re-pression.” He began by sharing his memo-ries as a high school leader shutting downhis own campus in a solidarity protest afterthe May 1970 Kent State killings of whitestudents. A few weeks later, there was asimilar murder at Jackson State, a histori-cally black college, killing two studentsand injuring twelve who also were protest-ing the Vietnam war, as well as the KentState shootings. Fletcher and his friendstried to lead another walkout and, he re-called, “we were met with this sort ofblank look by many of the students....It re-ally started me thinking.”Fletcher discussed the rarely mentioned

“psychological repression aimed at the op-pressor.” In order to exterminate people, asNazis, Hutus and others throughout his-tory discovered, “The victimized popula-tion must be demonized, rendered lessthan human before you can carry out theactual genocide.” Leaders realize it’s “de-moralizing” for the troops to line up andshoot men and particularly women andchildren, Fletcher pointed out. “In the case of both Palestinians and

African Americans, those who are to be re-pressed must first be deprived of their hu-manity,” Fletcher said. “What race offers isa way to explain away the reality and thehumanity of the oppressed.” He pointed tothe 21:1 ratio of “police lynching” in theU.S., where African-American men in theirearly 20s are 21 times more likely to beshot and killed by police than white menof the same age. Americans “can’t easilyexplain this away,” Fletcher pointed out.“You either have decided that blacks de-serve it or, simply, that you’re not going toput an equal value on the lives of African

Americans.”The same has been done to Palestini-

ans, Fletcher said. Any act by a Pales-tinian (whether it’s military, terrorist orthe result of insanity) is transformedby the media into “the worst act inhuman history.” The focus is always onthe victim, with no attempt to under-stand the alleged assailant. Rev. Graylan Hagler of Plymouth

Congregational United Church ofChrist compared two trips to Palestine,one he took in 1974 and the next in

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January 2013. “Things had clearly becomemuch more oppressive, the land had be-come much more divided, people had be-come much more villainized,” he said. “Myeyes were opened to see that this racismthat exists is something that is not just in-herent to the United States of America.”

As Reverend Hagler traveled in Hebronand other places, he could not ignore thecomparisons: “the restriction of movement,the non-personhood, the second- andthird-class status of Palestinians basicallycodified and carried out by the Israeli gov-ernment.” In Israel, he added, Africanrefugees are called “infiltrators.”

Hagler described what happened whenpolice chiefs are trained in tactics by theIDF. You see military equipment on thestreets of America, tear gas, squad cars’lights turned on, and “jump-outs” (a para-military tactic in which unmarked policevehicles carrying plain-clothes officers,stop and intimidate citizens into submit-ting to interrogation or an unwarrantedsearch). Rafael Briscoe, an 18-year-old for-mer track star, ran from DC officers chas-ing him in a “jump-out” car, and was shotdead.

Ramah Kudaimi with the U.S. Campaignto End the Israeli Occupation comparedmedia distortions that blame the victim, in-cluding attempts to vilify Mike Brown,who was killed in Ferguson. Kudaimi askedlisteners who are working to stop violenceand injustice “over there” not to ignorewhat’s happening in “our own backyards.”She read a statement from the Palestinianmovement in the U.S. saying they “will nolonger stand by and watch while this re-lentless epidemic of brutality continues tobe unleashed onto black and brown bod-ies here in the U.S. or in our home-lands...our freedom is incomplete withoutthe freedom of black and brown sisters andbrothers in the U.S.”

Watch this fascinating panel discussionor read the complete transcript at <www.thejerusalemfund.org>.

—Delinda C. Hanley

#OneStruggle Panelists InspireAs thousands of American Israel PublicAffairs Committee supporters descendedon Washington, DC for their annual policyconference March 1 to 3, CODEPINK pre-pared to “Shut Down AIPAC!” But first theactivist organization held a “Know YourRights Civil Disobedience Training” ses-sion on Feb. 28, followed by an inspiringpanel discussion,“#OneStruggle,” at DC’sTrinity Lutheran Church.

Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP) or-ganizer Tareq Radi began by saying that itwas time to “stop mourning and start or-ganizing” following the July 2014 attackon Gaza, Michael Brown’s killing Aug. 9 inFerguson, MO and the Feb. 10 murder ofthree young Muslim students in ChapelHill, NC.

Andrew Curley, a Native American ac-tivist and founder of Indigenous Resis-tance, compared the colonial aspects of Is-rael’s occupation of Palestinian territorieswith America’s takeover of Native Ameri-can lands. When he points out the similar-ities to his fellow Navajo Nation membersin Arizona, Curley said, he gets a hostilereaction, since many of them are Evangeli-cal Christians who believe Palestinianswant to drive Israelisinto the sea. Whenhe discusses the re-cent Israeli attacks onGaza, they believe itwas Israel that wasunder attack.

Legal and policydirector and founderof Dream DefendersAhmad Abuznaid wasborn in East Jeru -salem and moved toFlorida as a youngchild. He thought theU.S. was perfect anddidn’t notice racism.

As a 6-year-old Abuznaid dressed up as anIndian for his Thanksgiving play at school,he said, looking apologetically at Curley. “Iwas sold on the dream.”

In 1990, Abuznaid and his motherlanded in Tel Aviv airport, where theywere both taken to a back room and strip-searched. Abuznaid said he was 9 and liv-ing in Hebron when American-bornBaruch Goldstein massacred 29 Palestinianworshipers and wounded another 125. “Is-rael punished us,” Abuznaid marveled.“There was a curfew, no school for weeks,stores were closed and soldiers raided ourhomes.”

Abuznaid remarked that his family alsolived in East Jerusalem, a most beautifulplace, where his friends were afraid tospeak Arabic in public. When Abuznaidmoved back to Florida he began to see howAfrican American and Latino kids weretreated differently: when they acted out ortook their grandmother’s car for a spinthey were arrested, brutally beaten or evenkilled. When he’s taken African Americansto Palestine, Abuznaid said, “as soon asthey get there, they get it.”

Human Rights lawyer Noura Erakatagreed that “African Americans and Pales-tinians can learn from one another andlabor for each other.” She cited three ele-ments to the dehumanization process goingon in Israel and the U.S.: first, criminaliza-tion of people as opposed to behavior; sec-ond, blaming the victim for the harm theyendure; and third, victimizing the domi-nant power. For example, she said, it wasreasonable that George Zimmerman fearedTrayvon Martin, a child. It is reasonablethat Israelis attack Gazans, who havenowhere to hide. They should have votedfor different leaders.

Erakat urged a joint struggle, and con-cluded by saying, “united together we willnever be defeated.” —Delinda C. Hanley

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Outraged Americans Protest Netanyahu’s Visit Activists braved freezing temperatures for three days, March 1-3, in order to tell AIPAC, Congress andBinyamin Netanyahu that the Israeli prime minister is not welcome. Photos by Phil Portlock and Delinda Hanley

Clockwise From Upper Left: CODEPINK demonstrator; AIPAC attendees have to pass under a Pales-tine Advocacy Project ad as they enter the Convention Center’s Metro stop; As AIPAC attendees, including mem-bers of Congress, go to dinner on March 2, CODEPINK protesters mourn the children killed in Israel’s summerwar on Gaza; A protester shows how she feels about Congress, March 2; ANSWER Coalition protesters marchfrom Upper Senate Park to House Speaker John Boehner’s office on March 3. Jewish Voice for Peace supportershold a protest rally later that evening in the cold rain and snow; CODEPINK protesters say Netanyahu hasblood on his hands, at the #ShutDownAIPAC rally at the Washington Convention Center, March 1.

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Phil Giraldi and Miko Peled CritiqueThe Israel Lobby

After a full day of protesting outsideAIPAC’s annual conference, CODEPINKmembers and supporters gathered at Bus-boys and Poets in Washington, DC on theevening of March 1 for a discussion on theIsrael lobby. The event featured remarksby former CIA case officer and current ex-ecutive director of the Council for the Na-tional Interest Phil Giraldi and peace ac-tivist Miko Peled, author of The General’sSon: Journey of an Israeli in Palestine (avail-able from AET’s Middle East Books andMore).Giraldi began by arguing that the lobby

is destructive for Americans, Israelis andPalestinians alike. The lobby, he explained,pushes the U.S. to pursue pro-Israel poli-cies that harm its image, cause pain andsuffering for Palestinians, and providecover for the Israeli government to enactill-advised and self-defeating policies.Questioning the basis of the U.S.-Israel

“special relationship,” Giraldi said that “Is-rael is no ally and never has been.” He de-scribed the bilateral relationship as“garbage,” as it heavily favors Israel. The self-professed Jewish state has a

massive spying operation in the U.S.,pushes the U.S. into costly wars, and sharesphony intelligence, Giraldi explained. “When I was a CIA officer,” he recalled,

“I used to see the intelligence that Israelpassed to us. It was a joke. Every Israeli in-telligence report that came to the UnitedStates was…essentially pushing an Israelipoint of view, lying about what Arabs andthe Iranians were up to and trying to con-vince Americans that there was some kindof threat coming from that direction. Theonly threat was coming from Israel.” Domestically, Giraldi noted, the lobby

has many levers of power: it maintains astranglehold over Congress and the media,has been able to insert pro-Israel politicalappointees into the State Department, andhelps facilitate close relations between Is-raeli security services and American police.Despite this influence, Giraldi believes

AIPAC’s days are numbered. “In my opin-ion, AIPAC and the rest of the Israel lobbyis basically dead….but will take a longtime to roll over,” he said. “I believe thisbecause the task of defending what Israeldoes is beyond all credibility now. There’sjust no way this thing can be sustained for-ever.”Peled agreed with Giraldi’s assessment

and proceeded to make an even bolderstatement: “I have no doubt that within

the next decade we are going to see the fallof Zionism in Palestine just like we saw thefall of apartheid in South Africa.”This is not soon enough, however, he

said, as “many Palestinians are still goingto die” in the intervening years.How does Peled believe Zionism will col-

lapse? “I think what will bring them downis their arrogance and their stupidity,” hesaid. Israel does not appreciate the stridesbeing made by the nonviolent movementin the West Bank, the significance of theunification of Israeli Arabs, or the momen-tum of the international solidarity move-ment, Peled explained.AIPAC and its allies will not go down

without a fight, however. Peled said thelobby is well versed at vilifying individualsand groups that question the Zionist narra-tive. The likes of Rasmea Odeh and Sami Al-Arian have been successfully depicted asthreats, he pointed out, not only to Zionism,but also to American security. In reality,“the only threat [these individuals pose] isto the Zionist narrative,” Peled opined.Peled also noted that AIPAC always at-

tempts to keep incidents isolated and de-void of context. For instance, the group ig-nores the ethnic cleansing that drove somany Palestinian refugees to Gaza and,

overlooking the ongoingsiege, makes it seem asthough Hamas fires rocketsat Israel for no reason. “Ifthere was no ethnic cleans-ing, there would be norefugee camps,” Peled ex-plained. “If there were norefugee camps, there wouldbe no resistance. Therewould be no Hamas.”Concluding, Peled said

Palestinian activists must re-main united around onegoal: ending the occupationof pre-1948 Palestine and re-placing it with a democracy

that ensures equal rights to all of its citi-zens. “The focal point must be clear to us:ending the Zionist regime and the occupa-tion of Palestine,” he said.

—Dale Sprusansky

“We’re Not Waiting,” Say 600 Participants in JVP National Meeting In a gathering marked by “enormous ur-gency and solemnity,” as their executive di-rector characterized it, a sold-out crowd ofsome 600 advocates of long-overdue justicefor the Palestinians gathered in the HyattRegency at Harbor Place in Baltimore, MDMarch 13-15, for the biennial NationalMembership Meeting of Jewish Voice forPeace (JVP). They proudly proclaimed themeeting’s theme: “We’re Not Waiting.”Even more on their minds than Israeli

Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu’s recentaddress to a joint session of Congress was Is-rael’s egregious 51-day assault on Gaza sevenmonths earlier, with its unspeakable brutal-ity and wanton destruction of human lives,homes, schools and infrastructure. In heropening remarks at the start of the three-daymeeting JVP executive director RebeccaVilkomerson called Gaza “the tension we’reall holding that I want to name.”Since its founding in 2004, Jewish Voice

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for Peace has grown into a national organi-zation with tens of thousands of followersand 65 chapters throughout the U.S. Signif-icantly, 25 of those chapters have been es-tablished since Israel’s assault on Gazalast summer. Despite its name, JVP welcomes all

U.S. residents as members, althoughthe great majority of those participat-ing in the national meeting—probablyat least 500 of the 600 in attendance—were proudly and unabashedly Jew-ish, and there to act on their deeplyheld “Jewish values.”A key feature of the JVP national

meeting was the impressive number ofparticipatory workshops—more than50 in number. Topics included “As-saults on Academic Freedom,” “Mes-saging and Media,” “Brass Tacks andTough Questions about JVP’s Future,”“Starting a Conversation about theNakba” and “Let’s Talk about Zionism.” Ofspecial interest to attendees were the work-shops linking racial and ethnic discrimina-tion and military and police violence in theU.S. against African Americans and Hispan-ics, with the institutional discriminationand violence taking place in the occupiedterritories and in Israel itself. Such work-shops included “From the Southwest Bor-der to Palestine: Occupation, Militarization,and Resistance” and “Organizing AgainstIslamophobia and the Intersection with Is-raeli Politics.” The well-attended “#BlackLivesMatter:

From Solidarity to Liberation” workshopwas led jointly by Palestinian activistAhmad Abuznaid, a U.S.-educated lawyerborn in East Jerusalem who co-foundedDream Defenders, and African AmericanAja Monet, a noted poet and stage per-former born in Brooklyn, New York. Manyother workshops and four of the six plenarysessions included African-American and/orPalestinian speakers.Other workshops explored issues within

the American Jewish pro-Palestinian-justicecommunity. These included the “Jews ofColor Caucus: Racism in the ProgressiveJewish Community,” “Beyond the JewishNon-Profit Philanthropic Complex” and“Demarginalizing/Decolonizing Sephardiand Mizrahi Lives.” Caucuses on the intra-Jewish theme included “’Wherever You GoI Will Go: A Caucus for Jews-by-Choice”and “Non-Jewish Allies in JVP.” Still other workshops explored practical

aspects of the task of ending the occupation,such as “The Art and Science of EffectiveMessaging: How We Can Talk about Boy-cott, Divestment and Sanctions” and “Imag-

ining the Future of a One-State with the Bal-timore One-State Solution Working Group.”

Rev. Dr. Heber Brown III DetailsDiscriminatory Treatment

The voices and views of 16 plenary speak-ers and plenary session moderators wereheard: Jewish Americans, Jewish Israelis,Palestinians and African Americans.Keynoter Rev. Dr. Heber Brown III, the dy-namic African-American senior pastor ofBaltimore’s Pleasant Hope Baptist Church,emphasized during Friday evening’s ple-nary the discriminatory treatment from cus-toms officials he endured at Israel’s Ben-Gu-rion Airport on his 2010 trip to Israel andthe Palestinian territories with InterfaithPeace Builders. “I was the only black manin my group,” he explained. Israeli officials“began to interrogate me with questions,”Reverend Brown said, declaring that he hadbeen “singled out” because of being black.The young African-American pastor said heknows of other black Americans who haveendured similar experiences upon enteringIsrael. Reverend Brown explained that hespeaks out for Palestinian liberation becausehe wants to “advance the cause of justice.”

Dr. Sa’ed Adel Atshan ChallengesAudience to Do MoreSaturday morning’s modera-tor, Rabbi Alissa Wise, co-di-rector of organizing for JVP,recounted the story of thegrandchildren of a Palestin-ian survivor of the 1948Nakba. The young peoplevisited their grandfather’sformer home in Israel, andphoned their much-affectedgrandfather to tell him theyhad found where he hadcarved his name into an an-cient olive tree more than

half a century earlier. Palestinian Sa’ed Adel Atshan, a postdoc-

toral fellow in international studies at BrownUniversity who holds his Ph.D. in anthro-

pology and Middle Eastern studiesfrom Harvard, spoke emphatically infavor of a binational democratic state.Recalling how he had learned from hisPalestinian aunt “to see the humanityin your oppressor and captor,” Dr. At-shan challenged his audience to domore than document the destructionof Palestinian culture and society.“There is always something you cando,” he insisted. He then showed histransfixed audience a slide of the hor-ribly overcrowded Yarmouk Palestin-ian refugee camp in Damascus. Theheartbreaking photo showed thou-sands of Palestinians—refugees theresince 1948-49—waiting for relief dis-tributions. Dr. Atshan credited the

liberation theology of the Rev. Dr. NaimAteek, founder of the Sabeel Palestinian Lib-eration Theology Center in Jerusalem andthe international Sabeel movement, for pro-viding him the moral and motivationalgrounding he’s needed to continue to speakout for Palestinian liberation. “I appreciateyour solidarity,” he then told his mostlyJewish listeners. “What role can JVP play?” he went on to

ask, and enumerated three fears he per-ceived some Jewish Americans as holding.First, he cited their fears of eclipsing Pales-tinian voices. “This has a paralyzing effect,”he cautioned. Second, he said that someJewish students were telling him, “I am re-nouncing my Judaism” because of whatsome Jews in Israel and Palestine are doingto their Palestinian neighbors, and that hehas tried to persuade them not to do so. Fi-nally, Dr. Atshan said he’s noticed a ten-dency on the part of some Jews toward“linking phobias,” e.g. anti-xenophobia,anti-Semitism, and anti-Islamophobia. This

Speakers Dr. Andrea Smith and Rev. Dr. Heber Brownconfer.

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also he has sought to discourage. While hedenounced “Israel’s disproportionate use ofviolence,” he was quick to caution Pales-tinians that “just because violent resistance[to oppression] is justified under interna-tional law doesn’t make it ethical.”

Grappling With the Right of Return The second day’s afternoon plenary high-lighted the interconnection between pastand future, between subjective memoryand objective fact. West Bank PalestinianBasem Sbaih of the Palestinian research-and-advocacy NGO Badil, and Liat Rosenberg ofits Israeli counterpart NGO, Zochrot, grap-pled with the reality that discourse on thePalestinian right of return is often said to betrapped between Jewish-Israeli fears andPalestinian dreams. Both groups agreed withJVP’s assertion that “a deep understandingof 1948 and its contemporary reverbera-tions can help us move beyond clichés andwork for justice.” “Israel has absolutely rejected any right

of return,” plenary moderator MarilynKleinberg Neimark reminded her audience.“Palestinians have insisted on it,” she wasquick to add. “The land is important,” saidSbaih. “Land is something that belongs toour history…the land can be described as[a man’s] soul.” “We need to talk to Israelisabout their greatest fears,” added Rosen-berg. “We don’t need to convince them that[sharing the land] would be better—rather,that it just has to be.”Sunday morning’s plenary featured ex-

tensive opening remarks by Rabbi BrantRosen, co-founder of Jewish Voice forPeace’s Rabbinical Council, and then pro-ceeded to address the galvanizing theme,“The Only Recognizable Feature of Hope isAction.” Plenary participants broke intogroups to discuss and brainstorm criticallyimportant dimensions of JVP’s overall strat-egy as it moves ahead in the “strategic focusareas” of shifting cultural attitudes, build-ing powerful coalitions, influencing WhiteHouse and congressional policymakers,winning BDS campaigns, defending acade-mic freedom, and transforming Jewish com-munities. As the program bulletin put it,“The next stage of effective movement-building for JVP requires all of us to thinkeven more strategically about what kind ofpower we are trying to build, and where.”

Angela Davis Electrifies AudienceJVP saved its biggest draw until the program’svery end: “Welcoming the Future,” an elec-trifying speech by renowned African-Amer-ican academic, author and activist Angela Y.

Davis, Distinguished Professor Emerita of[the] History of Consciousness and FeministStudies at the University of California-SantaCruz. Davis, an alumna of predominantlyJewish Brandeis University, has helped topopularize the concept of the “prison indus-trial complex,” with a persistent theme of herwork being the range of social and ethicalproblems associated with incarceration andthe general criminalization of communitiesmost affected by poverty and racial discrimi-nation—such as the African-American com-munity in the U.S. and Palestinians livingunder discrimination and military occupationin Israel and the occupied territories. “I wholeheartedly embrace this [pro-

gram’s] theme” of “We’re Not Waiting,” sheremarked. Noting that “JVP is rapidly be-coming one of the most progressive organi-zations in the U.S.,” she went on to point outthat “we cannot call for an end of anti-Semi-tism without calling for the liberation ofPalestine.” Furthermore, she maintained,“the justice for Palestine movement” can“globalize” the struggles for racial justice athome. “Protesters in Ferguson are sharingthe slogans of Palestinians,” she said. “Mar-tin Luther King, in his last months, called forthe development of ‘a world consciousness.’”Davis also reminded her listeners that jus-

tice-minded Americans need to “speak outagainst the militarization of the police,” andto be aware of “how much the Israeli policeare involved [in that militarization].” She de-cried the fact that “grants from HomelandSecurity to police departments” are beingmade to get military vehicles into local po-lice departments.On the other hand, the veteran author-ac-

tivist applauded the fact that the Presbyter-ian Church has decided to divest from threecompanies aiding and enabling the Israeli oc-cupation, and noted that the Presbyterianshad contributed $10,000 to her legal defensefund some 40 years ago. Davis applauded thegrowing student involvement in efforts toliberate both Palestinians and African Amer-icans from the bonds of discriminationand unjustifiable incarceration. As she neared the conclusion of her

remarks, Davis decried the seriousproblem some Americans have thatmakes them “Progressive Except forPalestine.” These people, she ex-plained, labor under the unfortunatenotion that “if you could not speak asan expert” on a political problem, “youdo not have the right to speak...Butmovements for justice are never carriedout by experts only,” the veteran ac-tivist explained. “Everyone is urged tospeak out.” —Paul H. Verduin

The Role of U.S. Churches in the BDSMovementFaith-based groups have long been at thefrontlines of human rights movements inthe U.S., observed Samirah Alkassim, pro-gram manager of the Palestine Center, as sheintroduced a Feb. 4 panel examining therole of churches in the Boycott, Divestmentand Sanctions (BDS) movement.David Wildman, executive secretary for

human rights and racial justice of theUnited Methodist Church’s General Board ofGlobal Ministries, began making a Biblicalcase for BDS by noting that it was BlackHistory Month and that the film “Selma”had just been released. The white clergy inBirmingham had asked Dr. Martin LutherKing, Jr. not to bring his “extremist radicalkind of ideas” to their city, Wildman said.Dr. King replied with a letter asking, “Was-n’t Amos an extremist for justice? Wasn’tJesus an extremist for justice?” It’s OK to becalled extremists, Wildman assured his au-dience. He described BDS as “an extremelypassionate action for nonviolent, moral, eco-nomic change.” Churches must do what the U.S. govern-

ment has not, explained Wildman, whohelped found United For Peace and Justiceand the U.S. Campaign to End the Israeli Oc-cupation. When Washington blocks inter-

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Angela Y. Davis, author of nine books, signsher most recent, The Meaning of Freedom.

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national efforts—and uses its vetoes at theU.N. to block apartheid practices in SouthAfrica and Israel—it’s time for civil society(which includes churches) to turn to nonvi-olent actions like boycott and divestment.Churches focus on divestment partly be-

cause they have pension funds and hold-ings, Wildman noted. The first U.S. divest-ment efforts on behalf of Israel/Palestinebegan during the second intifada in 2001and 2002, when Israel used Caterpillar bull-dozers to level homes in the Jenin refugeecamp. If companies are involved in doingharm it is morally responsible not to investin those companies, Wildman argued,adding, “It’s been a 10-year struggle forPresbyterians to get to the point where lastJune of 2014 they did vote to divest fromCaterpillar, Motorola and Hewlett-Packard.”A week earlier, Methodists had divestedfrom G4S, a British company involved inprivate prison work.Wildman noted the efforts of “attack

groups” whose main agenda is to silencemoral nonviolent actions and voices withinthe churches. The answer to naysayers, hesaid, is to explain that “we are against allforms of discrimination,” including anti-Semitism, as well as the identity-based dis-crimination of Israeli checkpoints and lawsthat treat people differently strictly on thebasis of identity.BDS is a way to challenge the whitewash-

ing that happens in our churches, in U.S.media and in the halls of Congress, Wild-man stated. He ended with a fabulous quotefrom the Old Testament Prophet Ezekiel:“Because they lead my people astray, saying‘Peace’ [or peace process] when there is nopeace, and because when a flimsy wall wasbuilt, they cover it with whitewash. There-fore, tell those who cover it with whitewashthat it is going to fall.” Wildman concluded,“That was Ezekiel a long time ago. So theWall today also can’t be covered in white-wash, it cannot stand, and through nonvio-lent actions of boycott, divestment andsanctions, it too will fall.”The next speaker, Philip Farah, a Pales-

tinian American Christian born and raisedin Arab East Jerusalem, described the ori-gins of his organization, the PalestinianChristian Alliance for Peace (PCAP). Aschurch activists proposed divestment reso-lutions they were bombarded from allsides—by Zionists, pro-Israel folks, Christ-ian Zionists and Jewish Voice for Peace—but, church leaders said, they weren’t hear-ing from Palestinians. A group of Americansof Palestinian Christian heritage got togetherin 2013 to rectify that problem. PCAP is anonsectarian, ecumenical alliance of Pales-

tinian American Christians that seeks toprovide a clear voice and presence in U.S.faith-based communities.“We are a very small group,” Farah ad-

mitted, “and Christian Zionists number inthe millions and are extremely well-funded.We focus on the grassroots. Martin LutherKing and others have recognized that his-torically everything that’s good in thiscountry really starts in the streets.” When you are able to reach the church

communities you are in the mainstream,Farah emphasized, and tell the many Pales-tinian Americans who are very reluctant tobe engaged in the struggle, “You are ab-solutely not alone.”Churches often perceive the idea of di-

vestment and boycott as a negative thing,Farah added. They don’t want to do nega-tive things, they want to do positive things,and many want to invest. Also, churchesdon’t want to “rock the boat.” They don’twant to be provocative and they don’t wantto seem anti-Semitic. So when PCAP speak-ers visit churches they describe faith lead-ers who played extremely important roles inthe emancipations of their people, like ChiefJoseph of the Nez Perce and MuhammadAbduh of Egypt, Mahatma Gandhi, Diet-rich Bonhoeffer in Germany, CatholicWorker founder Dorothy Day, Dr. MartinLuther King, Jr., Desmond Tutu, Arch-bishop Oscar Romero and Bishop Abel Mu-zorewa. “They were very provocative,” Farah said.

“They very much rocked the boat. Thesewere not passive leaders. They did not at allavoid controversy.” Churches played a vitalrole in emancipation, the abolition of slavery,the civil rights movement, ending the war inVietnam, the BDS movement againstapartheid in South Africa, the SanctuaryMovement to end the U.S. support for Cen-tral American dictatorships and deathsquads, and many more struggles. Churchescan help end the Israeli occupation. “We are relatively small in numbers and

resources compared to AIPAC and all of itsfriends in Congress,” Farah concluded, “butour voice can carry.” —Delinda C. Hanley

SEC Rejects Exclusion of Holy LandPrinciples by Intel, GE and Corning In February the SEC rejected an attempt byIntel, GE and Corning—3 of the 545 U.S.companies doing business in Palestine-Is-rael—to exclude from their 2015 proxy ma-terials for shareholders to vote on the HolyLand Principles corporate code of conduct(see ad p. 47 and Jan./Feb. 2014 WashingtonReport, p. 20). This precedent-setting decision marks the

first time a U.S. government agency hasmade such a ruling. Intel and GE had argued that the Holy

Land Principles could be excluded because“by seeking to address the Company’s eval-uation of subsidies, tax incentives or otherbenefits, the Proposal [to include the Prin-ciples] interferes with the Company’s ordi-nary business...”But the SEC did not buy their argument,

ruling, “we do not believe that Intel mayomit the proposal from its proxy materials”on that basis. In the case of Corning, the SEC ruled:

“Based on the information you have pre-sented, it appears that Corning’s policies,practices and procedures do not compare fa-vorably with the guidelines of the [HolyLand Principles] proposal and that Corninghas not, therefore, substantially imple-mented the proposal.”Surely signing the Holy Land Principles

would have been, at the very least, an ex-pression of good faith and a first step towardensuring fair employment principles for un-derrepresented minority employees inPalestine-Israel. In its 2012 Corporate Sustainability Re-

port, high-tech industry leader Cisco ac-knowledged that “Arab citizens constitute20 percent of the population in Israel, butmake up less than 0.4 percent of the high-tech industry workforce.” Such 50:1 inequality of outcomes for Is-

rael’s Arab citizens, if operative instead forAfrican Americans, would read: “Black cit-izens constitute 12 percent of the popula-tion of the United States, but make up lessthan 0.24 percent of the high-tech industryworkforce.” Instead, however, Intel, GE and Corning

tried to block the good faith efforts of theHoly Land Principles by appealing to a U.S.government agency. Fortunately, the SECruling has effectively and in principle re-moved all specious arguments against thePrinciples. But we still must win the vote to adopt

the Principles at the companies’ upcomingannual meetings: April 22 for GE, April 29for Corning and May 21 for Intel.Please e-mail the Investor Relations Con-

tact (IRC) at each company—gary.shef-fer@ge.com, nicholsoas@corning.com andlinda.l.qian@intel.com—urging the com-pany to sign the Holy Land Principles. Justaddress them as “Dear IRC.”

—Fr. Sean McManus

Bennis, Wilcox Discuss PA’s U.N. Resolution, Signing of Rome StatutePhyllis Bennis, a fellow at the Institute for

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Policy Studies, and Ambassador PhilipWilcox, former president of the Founda-tion for Middle East Peace, discussed re-cent U.N. initiatives by the PalestinianAuthority on Jan. 29 at the Palestine Cen-ter in Washington, DC. A month earlier,on Dec. 30, the U.S. and Australia had re-jected a U.N. Security Council resolutionto end the Israeli occupation within threeyears. On Jan. 2, 2015 Palestine joined 16international conventions and treaties,including the Rome Statute. These initia-tives won’t change the dire situation onthe ground anytime soon, Bennis warnedthe audience. “That doesn’t mean they’renot important,” she added, “but it doesmean anybody who thinks that this is goingto be ‘the answer’ is going to be sorely dis-appointed.” Bennis described the resolution to end

the occupation as very weak, and said thatif it had passed the “pseudo-state” of Pales-tine would not have had territorial contigu-ity or control over borders, air space, wateror other resources. Nonetheless, Washing-ton pushed hard to make sure the resolutiondidn’t pass, because it would have delegit-imized U.S. control of negotiations, Bennischarged. The U.S. and Israel are determinedthat the U.N. not be the venue for solvingthis longstanding problem.The International Criminal Court is a dif-

ferent matter, Bennis continued. The courtis an independent agency, and its prosecutorhas the right to make her own decisionsabout what investigations she will launch.Palestine has put itself under the jurisdictionof not only the ICC, but of important humanrights treaties like the treaties for the Rightsof the Disabled, the Rights of Women, theRights of Children, and the Geneva Conven-tions. The Palestinian government has said,“Palestine is going to hold itself account-able.” Israeli officials also will be accountablefor their violations of international law. The political will to end the occupation

won’t come from New York or Washington,Bennis concluded. At the end of the day, shepredicted, Israel will see that the cost is toohigh to continue occupation and apartheid.When Israelis start realizing that the call forBDS extends to science and culture—andthat they’re not getting to see the musicians,poets, writers and theater groups they wantto see—that’s going to change the situationon the ground, according to Bennis. Wilcox, who served as ambassador at

large for counterterrorism from 1994 to1997, described the formation of the U.N.Security Council after WWII, “when ourleadership was committed to the idea of amore rule-based international system, in

which international law and the U.N. wouldplay an important part.” The U.S. had“enormous influence in shaping resolutionsthat would protect our interests and protectthe interests of other nations, as well,”Wilcox said, but when it comes to this reso-lution, America reverted to what it’s donefor the past 30 years and didn’t supportPalestinians or U.S. interests. Turning to the ICC bid, Wilcox said he is

“deeply skeptical” that this will producetangible results because of the complexityof the statute, the very limited jurisdictionand the political issues involved. “The courthas had very little success in its decade ofexistence,” he pointed out. It has received“thousands of complaints and has acted onalmost none of them...They do aspire ulti-mately to the U.S. accepting the RomeStatute and I think they are wary of pro-voking the United States by accepting ju-risdiction or investigating and prosecutinga case against Israel.” There is certainly nothing illegitimate

about Palestine joining the ICC, Wilcoxstated. “They are a state as recognized bythe General Assembly. They have a perfectright to do so.” Palestinians saw “no otheravenue to pursue their cause, having failedfor over 20 years to gain anything throughbilateral negotiations.”Thanks to consistent U.S. diplomatic and

military aid—even when it doesn’t serveU.S. interests—Israelis are under the illusionthat “they don’t have to play by the rules ofother nations,” Wilcox said. He predicted afuture full of mayhem, tragedy and disasterfor Palestinians, Israelis and, in some cases,the rest of the world—until the Israeli pub-lic understands that the future of theircountry is at stake. —Delinda C. Hanley

Natural History Under Siege Dr. Steven Salaita described Israel’s destruc-tion of Palestine’s landscape, water resourcesand history at the Palestine Center in Wash-

ington, DC on Feb. 13. The professor’sdepiction of Israel’s “colonization pro-ject” destroyed much of Israel’s myththat Jewish settlers “made the desertbloom” for, as Salaita said, Israel “willnever be decolonized unless it is first de-mythologized.” In 1948 Salaita’s grandmother and all

her neighbors lost their homes in EinKarem, the ancient village where, ac-cording to Christian tradition, John theBaptist was born. Salaita said his home-land now resembles Los Angeles, withthe same palm trees that are ubiquitousto California. The palms in L.A. are notindigenous, Salaita continued, but were

imported from Mexico and North Africa.“Many [California] settlers were Spaniardswith a religious mandate,” he explained, “soa Holy Land symbology emerged,” includ-ing palm trees.Today, Palestine’s natural history is also

profoundly artifical, Salaita pointed out,adding, “Human habitation partners with[Israel’s] military occupation to destroy theenvironment.” Israeli settlements in theWest Bank—an area a bit smaller thanDelaware—consume land and require high-ways, walls and military installations,Salaita noted. “Israel demolishes [Palestin-ian] homes, seizes farmland, rezones cities,clean-cuts forests, flattens hilltops anderects concrete monstrosities within andaround villages,” he said. “Israel has stolenmillions of dunums of Palestinian land, withno sign of abatement.”In 2014, the Netanyahu government

claimed more than 1,000 acres of the WestBank for settlement expansion, Salaita said.“The number of Jewish settlers creeps to-ward half a million. Israel siphons water andreturns it to Palestinians in the form ofsewage. It builds with no regard for the in-fluence of human activity on the land.”Inside Israel, Salaita continued, Arabs are

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Ambassador Philip Wilcox and Phyllis Bennis discuss the U.N. resolution, introduced by Jordan,and the signing of the Rome Statute.

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prevented from re-establishing depopulatedvillages or building homes, and the govern-ment plants new developments in placesthat will ensure Jewish expansion. He citedNazareth-Ilit—new Nazareth—built on thehills overlooking the ancient city, home toMary and Joseph, as an example of Israel’sdesire for an “ethnocentric” city. Zionistsplay “Arab” to inscribe themselves as in-digenous to a foreign geography. Under the guise of an “ancient reclama-

tion project” to “refurbish the Holy Land,”the Jewish National Fund (JNF) developsthe land, “plants trees, sponsors publicworks and manages parkland. The primaryeffect of its work has been to transformPalestine into an Orientalized theme park,open only to those of a certain ethnic back-ground,” Salaita said. “It all makes moresense if we think of Israeli settlement as aform of geostrategic gentrification.” In truth, since 1967, Israel has bulldozed

more than 800,000 olive trees. Settlers rou-tinely destroy orchards, uprooting more than11,000 olive trees last year alone. Govern-ment officials cite “security” as the reasonfor destroying the trees, which take years tobear fruit. Much of the time, however, theyare simply being punitive, Salaita charged. “A Palestinian would never destroy a

healthy olive tree,” Salaita argued, and hisnext words shook the audience: “This real-ity clarifies the so-called complexities of theIsrael-Palestine conflict. Who is indigenous,Jews or Palestinians? A Palestinian wouldnever destroy a healthy olive tree. Who isthe aggressor? A Palestinian would neverdestroy a healthy olive tree. Who has a deephistory on the land? A Palestinian wouldnever destroy a healthy olive tree. Whowrecks the environment with irresponsiblehuman settlement? A Palestinian wouldnever destroy a healthy olive tree.”

—Delinda C. Hanley

Norman Finkelstein Speaks at IowaState UniversityAuthor, activist and university professorNorman Finkelstein spoke about “The Stateof the Promised Land” before a large audi-ence of about 200 in the Great Hall of IowaState University’s Memorial Union in Ameson March 9.Finkelstein, who teaches at Sakarya Uni-

versity’s Center for Middle Eastern Studiesin Turkey, focused his presentation on vio-lence leading up to and during Israel’s 2014assault on the captive civilian population ofGaza, which he referred to as a “massacre”rather than a war.“We’ve never had a war in Gaza. We’ve

had eight massacres in Gaza. We haven’t

had a war. Let’s be clear about that,” de-clared Finkelstein to general applause.“Israeli society doesn’t easily accommo-

date large numbers of [Israeli] combatantdeaths. It’s a kind of Sparta-like society, inwhich civilian deaths are more tolerated,more abided. So, how do you launch aground invasion and yet not have largenumbers of combatant deaths? As thetroops enter, you destroy everything to theright of you, everything to the left of you,everything in front of you, and everythingbehind you,” Finkelstein said.�He pointed out that Israel’s most recent

incursion into Gaza was a continuation ofthe tactics used in Operation Cast Lead in2008-2009, which resulted in only six Israelicombatant deaths compared to some 1,400Palestinian deaths.Israeli military action during the summer

of 2014 killed some 2,400 Gazans, includingmore than 500 children, and wounded be-tween 10,600 and 10,900, while 66 Israeli sol-diers, 5 Israeli civilians, including one childand one Thai civilian were killed; injuredwere 469 Israel Defense Force soldiers and261 Israeli civilians. Gaza Health Ministry of-ficials estimated that 69 to 75 percent of thePalestinian casualties were civilians, but Is-raeli officials put that number at 50 percent.“Netanyahu’s original impetus for enter-

ing Gaza was his rage that the U.S. and theEU were negotiating with Hamas, but bythe end, as several Israeli commentatorspointed out, Israel itself was forced to nego-tiate with Hamas,” noted Finkelstein.“The only victory that Netanyahu could

claim was that once again he was able to sa-tiate, to satisfy, the blood lust of the Israelipopulation, which derives a kind of patho-logical pleasure and joy in watching thepeople of Gaza suffer,” said Finkelstein.During the question-and-answer period

following his prepared remarks, this reporterasked Finkelstein whether religious extrem-ism in Israel, particularly the Third Templemovement, has a significant influence on Is-raeli policy with regard to Palestinians. “In general, it is very difficult to disen-

tangle where rational, practical self-interestends and where a kind of lunatic ideologybegins,” replied the author of The HolocaustIndustry and What Gandhi Says about Non-violence. “So are people motivated by reli-gion, or is religion just a kind of façade be-hind which lurks self-interest and rationalcalculation?” Darul Arqum Islamic Center, the Muslim

Student Association and the Committee onLectures funded by the Government of theStudent Body sponsored the lecture.

—Michael Gillespie

Is Palestinian Activism Effective?Nadia Hijab, executive director of Al-Shabaka Palestinian Policy Network, spokeat the Palestine Center in Washington, DCon March 19 to discuss “The ChallengesPosed by the Vacuum in Palestinian Politi-cal Leadership.”With the Israeli election on everyone’s

mind, Hijab began by examining howPrime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu’s re-election will impact the Palestinian soli-darity movement. In desperate need of the far-right’s vote,

Netanyahu used the final days of his cam-paign to defame Israeli Arabs, state his op-position to a Palestinian state and boastthat he approved the Har Homa settlementin order to “stop the continuation of thePalestinians.”These overtly anti-peace and racially di-

visive statements make the job of Palestin-ian civil society easier, Hijab believes. “Is-rael’s racism and colonialism is now on fulldisplay,” she explained. “Its leaders nolonger bother to hide the core Zionist ob-jective, which is to eliminate the majorityof the Palestinian people from the entireland of Palestine and to reserve it almostexclusively for the Jews.”While this may be an “I told you so”

moment for defenders of Palestinian rights,Hijab stressed that this is not the time tocelebrate. Yes, Netanyahu’s presence makesthe jobs of activists easier, but, shewarned, it will almost certainly make thelives of Palestinians more miserable. Netanyahu’s disavowal of the peace

process also poses a challenge to the U.S.government and the international commu-nity, Hijab said. More forceful action, shebelieves, must be taken against Israel’s con-struction of settlements.

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For its part, the Palestinian Authority(PA) needs to more aggressively use inter-national levers such as the InternationalCriminal Court (ICC) against Israel, shesaid. Mahmoud Abbas’ government mustalso end security cooperation with its Is-raeli occupiers, Hijab added.In Hijab’s opinion, disunity is the great-

est threat to the Palestinian movement.Physically separated for many decades,West Bank and Gaza residents have gradu-ally grown apart and developed differentpolitical views and narratives, she said.Hijab expressed her hope that the successof the Arab Joint List in the Israeli electionwill inspire Hamas and Fatah to reconciletheir differences for the sake of the Pales-tinian cause.Within the U.S., Hijab sees positive de-

velopments in the Palestinian solidaritymovement. Students for Justice in Pales-tine (SJP), she noted, is expanding acrossAmerican campuses and has a diversemembership. American Jews, “sickened byIsraeli policies that are so clearly racist andcolonialist” and “outraged that Israelclaims to be speaking and acting in thename of Jews,” are increasingly joining thePalestinian movement, she noted. “The movement for Palestinian rights

has come of age in the U.S.,” Hijab con-cluded. This, she said, explains the successof the BDS (Boycott, Divestment and Sanc-tions) movement and the growth of organi-zations such as Jewish Voice for Peace(JVP) and the U.S. Campaign to End the Is-raeli Occupation. —Dale Sprusansky

General John Allen Discusses Anti-ISIS CampaignThe Atlantic Council invited Gen. JohnAllen (ret.), special presidential envoy forthe Global Coalition to Counter ISIS, to itsWashington, DC office for a March 2 dis-cussion on the U.S.-led anti-ISIS campaign.

Allen began by noting the scope of thecoalition that is currently fighting ISIS inIraq and Syria. “We’ve assembled a globalcoalition which currently includes 62 na-tions and international organizations, eachcommitted to the counter-ISIS campaign,”he said.The general expressed cautious opti-

mism about the coalition’s ability to driveISIS out of Iraq. After storming throughlarge swaths of the country last summer,ISIS has lost its momentum and is on theedge of collapse in Iraq, he stated.According to Allen, these gains against

ISIS have occurred due to ongoing militaryoperations, but also because of importantreforms being undertaken by the Iraqigovernment. He praised new Prime Minister Haider

al-Abadi for forming an inclusive govern-ment, finally reaching an oil agreementwith the Kurds, devolving more power tolocal governments and speaking out ag-gressively and proactively against all formsof sectarian violence.Despite these positive developments,

Allen cautioned that Iraq still has manyhurdles to overcome. “Make no mistake,Iraq has a tough road ahead” and must befully supported by coalition members, hesaid.Allen described Syria as “more chal-

lenging and much more complex,” becauseof the complicated and deadlocked politi-cal standoff between the government ofPresident Bashar al-Assad and an agglom-eration of opposition forces. “It is difficultto overstate the political complexities andthe challenges in Syria,” he said.Regarding the much-criticized U.S. effort

to train a 5,000-member fighting force inSyria, Allen expressed optimism, notingthat the U.S. has been pleased with thenumber of individuals who have signed upto participate in the force. These fighterswill be sufficiently trained and equippedonce they begin operations, he said, andwill receive any assistance necessary fromthe U.S. or other coalition members.While much media attention has been

given to the military effort to destroy ISIS,Allen stressed the importance of a holisticapproach. “It will ultimately be the aggre-gate pressure of the coalition’s activity overmultiple, mutually supporting lines of ef-fort that will determine whether we willsucceed or fail,” he emphasized.The coalition is organized around five

lines of effort, he explained: the militarycampaign, eliminating the flow of foreignfighters, cutting off ISIS’ financial re-sources, tackling the massive humanitarian

challenge and countering ISIS’ propaganda. Despite the prominent role of the U.S. in

the anti-ISIS campaign, Allen said coalitionmembers agree that ISIS ultimately canonly be defeated by the nations of the re-gion. The Iraqi government, he noted, “hasbeen very clear that the restoration of theterritorial integrity and sovereignty of Iraqis for Iraqis to do.” Meanwhile, King Ab-dullah of Jordan has stated that “this is awar that has to be led ultimately by theArab states in the region.”

—Dale Sprusansky

Former Rep. Jim Slattery Stresses theImportance of Diplomacy with IranAppearing at the Atlantic Council inWashington, DC on Feb. 9, former six-termcongressman Rep. Jim Slattery (D-KS)urged American lawmakers on Capitol Hilland Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Ne-tanyahu not to scuttle nuclear negotiationsbetween the U.S. and Iran. New congressional sanctions legislation

would be “counterproductive,” Slatterywarned, and likely destroy nuclear talks.

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Nadia Hijab believes “the movement forPalestinian rights has come of age in theU.S.”

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The current window forpeaceful reconciliation be-tween the U.S. and Iran is timesensitive and must be em-braced, he stressed. “Theclock is ticking on both sidesof the table,” he explained, asPresident Barack Obama hasjust two years left in office andIranian President HassanRouhani’s legitimacy hinges ona successful resolution of thediplomatic process. Those who suggest negotia-

tions have allowed Iran to buytime to develop a nuclearweapon are “dead wrong,” Slattery said,noting that Tehran has complied with theNovember 2013 interim agreement itsigned with the P5+1. He also pointed outthat as part of a final agreement, Iranwould likely permit intrusive inspectionsof its nuclear facilities. These inspectionsare the best way to ensure Iran never de-velops a nuclear weapon, Slattery believes.The former congressman also questioned

the commonly held belief that sanctions,not diplomacy, have prevented Iran fromadvancing its nuclear program. When theU.S. first imposed sanctions, the countryhad 200 centrifuges, he noted. Today, ithas more than 20,000. “Did sanctionswork? You tell me,” he said.While in Iran in December 2014 to ad-

dress the “World Against Violence and Ex-tremism” conference, Slattery said high-ranking members of the Majlis (Iranianparliament) expressed to him their concernthat the Republican takeover of Congresswill hinder President Obama’s ability tonegotiate a deal. Tehran, he explained,must be confident it will not be humiliatedby Congress vetoing a deal its leaders havesigned-off on.Iranian officials also persistently asked

Slattery if the U.S. would ever agree to adeal opposed by Israel and AIPAC. “Thosequestions are on the minds of Iranians,” hesaid, adding that it would be “a tragedy”if talks collapse because of domestic poli-tics (the Israel lobby). Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu would

be wise not to assume that any final dealwould be disastrous for Israel, Slatterysaid: “We should not prejudge this[deal]….Let’s wait until we see a deal andthen we can discuss what the options are.” While it’s easy for Netanyahu to be crit-

ical of talks, Slattery added, the Americaneffort to build trust with Iran is much moredifficult and valiant.“What happens if the negotiations fail?

That’s the question I would have for BibiNetanyahu,” he continued, warning thatfailure has very dangerous consequencesfor all sides involved. Calling Netanyahu’s decision to address

Congress in March “a mistake,” Slatterysaid he would not attend the speech if hewere still in office due to the Israeli primeminister’s disrespect for the office of theU.S. president. He also suggested that Iran-ian Foreign Minister Javad Zarif be invitedto testify before Congress to offer a rebut-tal. “Why not?” Slattery asked. “Why arewe afraid of information? Why are weafraid to talk to people?”While Congress ideally should be asked

by the president to approve any deal withIran, Slattery said, that might not be pos-sible if lawmakers insist on allowing poli-tics to overwhelm the facts.If U.S.-Iran relations are to improve over

the long-term, Slattery believes, more mustbe done to increase interactions betweenAmericans and Iranians. “One of the greatproblems we have to overcome right nowis ignorance,” he argued, as individuals inboth countries have poor knowledge ofeach other. This is particularly true for elected offi-

cials in the U.S. and Iran, added Slattery,the first former congressman to visit Iransince 1979. Leaders in Washington andTehran would make more informed deci-sions if they interacted with one another,he said.Slattery, who for the past decade has en-

gaged Iranians through the Abrahamic Di-alogue interfaith initiative, also suggestedthat religion—something very importantto many Americans and Iranians—bebrought into the conversation with Iran.Commonalities, such as the shared Christ-ian and Muslim belief in Jesus, ought to beemphasized as a way to reinforce sharedvalues, he said. The U.S. also must find a way to cease its

military involvement in theMuslim world, Slattery em-phasized. The current mili-tarism is unsustainable andabsorbs resources the U.S.ought to be using to confrontcritical economic challenges,he argued, warning that ifperpetual war continues, theU.S. “will wake up in 20 yearsand look like Britain in 1946.”

—Dale Sprusansky

Former Statesmen Call fora Long-Term Strategy forThe Middle East

Three former statesmen gathered at the At-lantic Council in Washington, DC on Feb.11 to discuss the pressing challenges facingthe Middle East—most notably the emer-gence of ISIS. The event was titled “Con-flict and Convergence: Toward CommonInterests in the Troubled Middle East.”Former Palestinian Authority Prime

Minister Salam Fayyad began the conver-sation by explaining that no one factor canexplain why the region is in a state of up-heaval. He noted, however, that one com-mon thread does exist throughout theMiddle East: the existence of strong rulersgoverning weak states.In order to get out of its rut, the region

must embrace inclusive governance andeconomic reforms, Fayyad argued. The re-gion’s citizens are overwhelmed with feel-ings of injustice, he explained, and need tobe reassured that their governments andthe international community understandand are willing to respond to their griev-ances.Former George W. Bush National Secu-

rity Adviser Stephen Hadley, who helpedspread misinformation that led to the 2003U.S. invasion of Iraq, agreed with Fayyad’sassessment. The current unrest is, in part, aconsequence of the region’s governmentsfailing to meet the expectations of theirpeople, he said.While the haphazard creation of the re-

gion’s states by colonial powers certainlyhas not helped facilitate peace and secu-rity, Hadley argued that redrawn borderswould not solve the Middle East’s prob-lems. “It’s more about the quality of gover-nance and the legitimacy of governmentswithin those borders,” he said.Decisive action to stabilize the region

must be taken now, Hadley emphasized,before its problems become more severe.This, he and his co-panelists agreed, re-quires the development of a clear long-term strategy.

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Salam Fayyad (l) and Ambassador Francis Ricciardone discuss the in-ternational campaign against ISIS.

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Former U.S. Ambassador to Turkeyand Egypt Francis Ricciardone notedthat leaders, particularly those whohave been democratically elected,often struggle to develop long-termstrategies. While the Barack Obamaadministration has constantly “putout fires,” in the Middle East, hesaid, it has failed to articulate a clearvision for the region.Nevertheless, Fayyad added, the

U.S. and, more importantly, the re-gion’s governments must think be-yond the next few months or yearsand develop a long-reaching plan tostabilize the region.Critiquing the current interna-

tional anti-ISIS strategy, Fayyad ques-tioned its ability to “degrade and destroy”the militant group. “What we have now isnot a strategy,” he maintained, but “a tac-tical response.” Noting that ISIS has notbeen weakened since the U.S.-led coalitionbegan airstrikes last year, Fayyad called forthe implantation of a fully integrated ap-proach that is not overly reliant on militaryforce.According to Hadley, this will be diffi-

cult given the multi-layer nature of the ISIScrisis. These layers, he said, include the hu-manitarian crisis, the terrorist threat and ageopolitical crisis. The region’s power play-ers view each of these layers differently, henoted, making it a challenge to assemble acoalition. —Dale Sprusansky

The World as Seen by the Arab GulfFormer U.S. Ambassador to Jordan andKuwait Edward “Skip” Gnehm deliveredthe annual George Washington UniversityKuwait Chair lecture at the school’s Wash-ington, DC campus on Feb. 12. The title ofthis year’s speech was “The World as Seenby the Arab Gulf.”The six countries of the Gulf Coopera-

tion Council (GCC)—Saudi Arabia, Oman,Bahrain, the United Arab Emirates, Qatarand Kuwait—perceive the world aroundthem as being in a state of war, Gnehmbegan, and are concerned that this insta-bility could spread to their own nations.Four major developments in recent his-

tory—the 1979 Islamic Revolution, the2003 U.S. invasion of Iraq, the so-calledArab Spring, and the rise of ISIS—loomlarge in understanding the anxieties andconcerns of GCC nations, he explained.Iran, or Persia, has historically been

viewed with suspicion by the Arab Gulfstates, Gnehm noted. During the shah’srule, for instance, the region was con-cerned about Iran’s expanding military ca-

pabilities. Matters became dire, however,when Shi’i clerics toppled the shah in1979, Gnehm said.The new Islamic Republic claimed to

possess superior Islamic credentials and ac-cused Gulf Sunni monarchies, most no-tably Saudi Arabia, of apostasy, he pointedout. Iran also began to meddle in the affairsof the Arab Gulf states, Gnehm said, breed-ing more bad blood between the twocamps.To this day, the GCC states remain con-

vinced that Iran wants to dominate the re-gion, he noted, and believe Iran uses theArab Gulf’s Shi’i minority population tofoment discord. “This feeling remains par-ticularly acute in Saudi Arabia and [Shi’i-majority] Bahrain,” according to Gnehm.Little evidence exists to support the idea

that a significant pro-Iran fifth column ex-ists in the Arab Gulf, the former diplomatadded. “I do not believe the states are ac-curate in seeing the hand of Shi’i Iran be-hind all Shi’i unrest,” he said. “[The Gulfmonarchies’] treatment of their own mi-norities has, in my opinion, more to dowith the unrest than Iran.” As an example, Gnehm said he doubts

Iran is doing much to support Yemen’sHouthi movement, which has gained con-trol over the capital of Sana’a. “They arenot, in religious terms, close to Iran at all,”he said, explaining that the Houthis be-lieve in a version of Shi’i Islam that doesnot resemble the theology promulgated byTehran. Moreover, Gnehm added, the Houthis

are relatively self-sufficient and not inneed of Iranian assistance. Nonetheless, hebelieves Tehran will likely continue tooverstate its ties to the group in an effort toproject power. He also doubts that GCCconcern about the Houthi rise to powerwill subside any time soon. “In Saudi andGulf Arab minds, the Iranians now have a

front on the underbelly of the Ara-bian Peninsula, and more impor-tantly, one immediately adjacent toSaudi Arabia,” he explained.The “catastrophic” 2003 U.S. inva-

sion of Iraq “virtually handed Iraq toIran,” and allowed Tehran to expandits regional influence, Gnehm noted.With Saddam Hussain toppled, aShi’i-majority government came intopower in Baghdad and grantedTehran significant sway over Iraqipolitics. This, he noted, led to thedisenfranchisement of Iraqi Sunnisand to a strain in Iraq-GCC relations. The Tunisian-born Arab Spring

raised a different set of challenges forthe Arab Gulf nations, Gnehm continued,as GCC citizens began questioning the le-gitimacy of their governments and de-manding economic and social reforms.While the GCC nations, with the exceptionof Bahrain, were able to appease protesterswith billions of dollars in economic and so-cial assistance, many of the realities thatdrew people to the streets—unemploy-ment, corruption, lack of transparent gov-ernance, and human rights violations—re-main as issues on the minds of Gulf citi-zens today, he said.The Arab Spring created another prob-

lem for the Arab Gulf, Gnehm noted: theoverthrow of Egyptian President HosniMubarak and the rise of the Muslim Broth-erhood. The Brotherhood is well-embed-ded in the political culture of many Gulfcountries, he explained, and the govern-ments feared the group would pose a threatto their legitimacy. To prevent this, theUAE and Saudi Arabia declared the groupa terrorist organization, he noted.Finally, Gnehm addressed the problem

posed by ISIS, which has directly chal-lenged the legitimacy of the Gulf states.Most people in the region quickly recog-nized the threat ISIS presents, he said.While Iran and the Arab Gulf both are

battling against ISIS, he observed, Iranian-backed Shi’i militias in Iraq are carryingout a dangerous sectarian strategy. Thesegroups have been able to seize territoryfrom ISIS, but there are reports that Sunnisin these “liberated” towns are being eitherkilled or forced to relocate by the militias.This, Gnehm noted, undermines IraqiPrime Minister Haider al-Abadi’s efforts toentice the Sunnis of western Iraq to turnaway from ISIS.Regarding U.S.-Arab Gulf relations,

Gnehm said Washington needs to do a bet-ter job of communicating with its partnersin the region. The U.S. should intensify its

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dialogue with these states, he suggested,and reassure them that Washington is com-mitted to the region and takes its concernsseriously—particularly as it pertains toIranian nuclear negotiations and the Syr-ian civil war.The Gulf Arab states “have real doubts

about U.S. reliability,” Gnehm noted, ex-plaining that Washington’s failure to sup-port Mubarak has raised questions as towhether the U.S. will be there for them intheir time of need. The region is disturbedby the inability of the U.S. to foresee thenegative consequences of overthrowingSaddam, he added, and believes “the U.S.does not think through the consequencesof its actions or inactions.”

—Dale Sprusansky

Iran Nuclear Deal Backed by Majority of AmericansHours after Israeli Prime MinisterBinyamin Netanyahu’s March 3 speechwarning a joint session of Congress toblock a “bad deal” with Iran, distin-guished speakers at the annual AnwarSadat Forum at the University of Mary-land in College Park, held a timely discus-sion on “The Iran Nuclear Issue.” Dr. Shibley Telhami and Steven Kull re-

leased findings from a public opinion pollfielded Feb. 19-25. More than half of a sam-ple of 710 American adults thought Ne-tanyahu’s speech to Congress, without adiplomatic invitation and in opposition tomaking a deal with Iran, was inappropriate.Partisan differences were strong, with two-thirds of Democrats and 55 percent of inde-pendents saying his speech to Congress wasinappropriate and two-thirds of Republi-cans saying it was appropriate.The poll also found that a clear majority

of Americans, 61 percent, support an agree-ment that would limit Iran’s enrichment ca-pacity and impose additional intrusive in-spections in exchange for the lifting of somesanctions. This included 61 percent of Re-

publicans, 66 percent of Democrats and 54percent of independents.The alternative option, being promoted

by some members of Congress, calls for end-ing the current negotiations and increasingsanctions in an effort to get Iran to stop alluranium enrichment. This approach wassupported by 36 percent. A lively discussion followed, featuring

Ambassador Thomas R. Pickering, formerunder secretary of state for political affairs,and Dr. Jessica Tuchman Mathews, formerpresident of the Carnegie Endowment forInternational Peace. Both are members ofthe Iran Project, which was founded in 2002and seeks to improve official contacts be-tween the U.S. and Iranian governments. Dr.Suzanne Maloney, from the Center for Mid-dle East Policy at the Brookings Institutionand a former adviser on Iran to the U.S.State Department, and Dr. Telhami also dis-cussed a potential nuclear deal.Dr. Mathews said the Iran initiative has

been one of President Barack Obama’s mostsignificant international issues since takingoffice. Some Iranians oppose a deal, shesaid, because they profit either politically oreconomically from 34 years of isolation.Others are tired of being international out-casts. “I think both sides are working hardto get a deal,” Dr. Mathews concluded.“The hardest nuts to crack are not in theroom. They’re in Jerusalem and Washingtonand Tehran, the people who oppose a deal.”In Dr. Maloney’s opinion, opposition

from Congress, Israel and other leaders inthe Middle East is more about larger re-gional issues than the deal itself. “It’s aboutthe idea that Iran is going to get out of thepenalty box, that Iran is going to rejoin thecommunity of nations,” she said. If the in-ternational community removes sanctionsand agrees to a nuclear deal without solvingother long-standing issues regarding Iran’sefforts to destabilize its neighbors in the re-gion, those problems could worsen, Mal-oney warned.

Ambassador Pickering called Netanyahu’sspeech to Congress “a mistake” but addedthat it would be an “equally stupid mis-take” to exclude Israel from further talksabout the issue. Telhami asked panelists ifNetanyahu’s remarks that Israel can do italone are true, or if an Israeli strike on Iranwill drag the U.S. into another war.“There are only three alternatives for the

U.S.,” Dr. Mathews replied: 1. Make a deal, a compromise which may

be less than perfect. The agreement will re-quire vigilance.2. Walk away and try to maintain sanc-

tions. In that case, Mathews believes Iranwill absorb the economic pain and respondto more sanctions with more centrifuges.3. The last option is war, Mathews

warned, and not just two weeks of bomb-ing. It will require ground troops to invadea country three times the size of Iraq. Everyfive years there will be another war to pre-vent Iran from getting the bomb. “To my mind these three options clarify

the mind,” Dr. Mathews declared. Keep itsimple and give your views on a nucleardeal to your representatives in Congress, sheadvised. —Delinda C. Hanley

How the Arab Gulf Views an Iran DealThe Atlantic Council held a March 16event at its Washington, DC headquarterstitled “A Nuclear Deal: Iran’s Regional Roleand U.S. Relations with the Gulf.” Former U.S. Ambassador to Kuwait

Richard LeBaron began the conversationby noting that Saudi Arabia is more con-cerned about Iran’s regional activities inSyria, Iraq, Lebanon, Yemen and elsewherethan about its nuclear program. “I’ve neverspoken to a Saudi who brought up the nu-clear issue as his or her primary concernabout Iran,” he noted. LeBaron doubts the Saudis would

counter an Iran agreement by beginning anuclear program of their own. “I don’tthink the Saudis are eager to obtain nuclearweapon capabilities,” he said.The Gulf states, and the Saudis in par-

ticular, oppose a nuclear deal because theyview it as a signal that the U.S. is launch-ing a “pivot to Persia,” noted Ilan Golden-berg of the Center for a New American Se-curity. LeBaron added that many Gulfelites are convinced the U.S. is conspiringwith Shi’i Iran to hold down Sunni ambi-tions. According to Goldenberg, Gulf Arab

states need U.S. assurances that its negotia-tions with Iran are meant to tackle the vitalnuclear issue and are not the beginning ofa U.S.-Iran alliance.

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“I don’t think we’re going to have thisstrategic pivot,” Goldenberg commented,noting that it’s hard to imagine the U.S. andIran coming to some kind of an agreementon issues such as Syria.However, Goldenberg believes success-

ful nuclear talks could open the door to co-operation between the U.S. and Iran onseveral fronts, including Afghanistan andmaritime security. The importance of thedirect channel that has opened betweenWashington and Tehran in the past yearmust not be overlooked, he said.Alireza Nader of the Rand Corporation

said Iranian President Hasssan Rouhaniwould like to decrease his country’s isola-tion and improve its relationship with theSaudis. To do this, Rouhani would needthe country’s powerful conservative ele-ment to cede him greater control over theSaudi portfolio. This could potentially hap-pen, Nader said, if Rouhani gains credibil-ity as a result of a positive conclusion tothe nuclear talks.While there are no indications of a new

Saudi approach to Iran, and both countriesbelieve they are engaged in a zero-sumgame, Nader believes “there is room for dé-tente between the two countries.”Speaking of détente, Nader stressed the

vital role the next U.S. president will play indetermining the future of the U.S.-Iran rela-tionship. The strides made over the pastyear could be quashed if Barack Obama’ssuccessor decides to reinstate a regional pol-icy centered around crippling the IslamicRepublic, he said. —Dale Sprusansky

Our Scottish Cousins—HadeelMiddle East Books and More in Washing-ton, DC’s Adams Morgan neighborhood justdiscovered long-lost Scottish relatives! Wediscovered that longtime subscriber RossCampbell is assistant manager of Hadeel, aFair Trade shop in Edinburgh, Scotland.Campbell sent photos of the shop and gaveus an idea of what Hadeel is all about:

“We are owned by the Scottish charity‘Palcrafts,’” he told us. “Any surplus wemake on the sale of goods is gift aided toPalcrafts, which distributes small develop-ment grants to our producers [like a sewingmachine or computer]. We are a Fair Tradeshop and so are committed to long-term re-lationships with our producers, who consistof community-based groups and social en-terprises in Palestine. Next time you are in Scotland, visit

Hadeel at 123 George St., Edinburgh EH24JN, Scotland, UK. Their telephone numberis +0131 225 1922. Or if you are tied to yourdesks, like we are, visit their Web site,<www.hadeel.org>, or e-mail them at<info@hadeel.org>. —Delinda C. Hanley

A Conversation with Qatar’s SheikhTamim On his first trip to the U.S. since becomingthe ruler in June 2013, Sheikh Tamim BinHamad Al-Thani, emir of the State of Qatar,addressed Georgetown University’s faculty,students and guests on Feb. 26 at GastonHall. Georgetown President John J. DeGioia

welcomed the emir to the historic venue,where national and international dignitarieshave spoken since the turn of the last cen-tury. Sheikh Tamim said he believes hopeless-

ness and the denial of freedom and dignityto youths are at the root of current terroristthreats in the world. He reminded his audi-ence that the young Syrian boys who wroteon a wall that President Bashar al-Assadshould go were jailed and some were tor-tured. What do you expect when a regimestarts killing its own people? he askedrhetorically. “It creates the terrorist move-ment that we are facing now,” he answered.If Assad doesn’t find a solution, we will befacing terrorist movements that no one cancontrol, he warned. The young emir said he’d met with Presi-

dent Barack Obama on Feb. 24 and dis-cussed various bilateral interests, includingQatar’s role in the U.S.-led coalition againstISIS. The fight against ISIS and extremismrequires more than military might, the twoleaders agreed. A long-term strategy to cre-ate opportunities and jobs and improve ed-ucation will defeat radicalization, SheikhTamim emphasized, reiterating that “theproblem isn’t Islam—it’s hopelessness.” Noting the 10th anniversary this year of

Georgetown’s School of Foreign Service inDoha, Sheikh Tamim said, “We realize howimportant it is when we see our studentsgraduate from there and playing a biggerrole in my country and also in the region.”Responding to a question about Qatar

winning the opportunity to host the 2022World Cup, he teased his American audi-ence: “I know that you guys, people herewere very upset that, ‘how come this smallcountry can beat this great country’…but Ithink that…you can lose sometimes,” hesaid to laughter and applause.

—Delinda C. Hanley

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(L-r) Ambassador Richard LeBaron, Alireza Nader and Ilan Goldenberg.

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BooksReviewed by Kevin A. Davis

Oh, Salaam!By Najwa Barakat, translated by LukeLeafgren, Interlink Books, 2015, paper-back, 207 pp. List: $15; MEB: $12.

I n a n a m -biguously post-civil war Arabcountry, Luq-man strugglesto create a lifefor himself. Allhe has knownhas been war,a n d i t w a st h rough t h ewar that he be-came a success-

ful man. Luqman himself was a bomb-maker, and in this newly translated novelby Najwa Barakat he reunites with hiswartime friend Najeeb, a former sniper,to start a rat extermination business.As the dark story progresses, Luqman

falls in love with a foreign aid worker,negotiates a long relationship with aRussian prostitute, and constantly rene-gotiates his relationship with Salaam, thewife of another friendwho died during thewar, the Albino. He isforced to face his pastcrimes, as well as thoseof his wartime friends.The plot spirals out ofcontrol as Salaam devel-ops a relationship withNajeeb, Najeeb becomesobsessed with his rat ex-periments, and Luqmandesperately tries to usehis newfound love to es-cape the country, wheredaily life without warhas become nearly im-possible. Barakat’s novel is a tes-

tament to the dysfunc-tion of peacetime in acountry that has knownlittle other than war. De-spite the stability, thecharacters struggle tosurvive and cope withtheir environment, re-veal ing the complexlong-term consequencesof violence on people

and society. Oh, Salaam! pays special at-tention to gender and violence, critiquingsocial ills through the complex characterof Salaam.In the end, Barakat’s story is engross-

ing and compelling, forcing readers tolaugh and cringe at the same time. It isimpossible to explore this plot withoutmaking obvious parallels to the realworld, yet the fictional setting adds asurreal element to the ominous novel.

Syria Speaks: Art and CultureFrom the Frontline

Edited by MaluHalasa, ZaherOmareen andNawara Mah-f o u d , S a q iBooks, 2014,paperback, 312pp. List: $18.95;MEB: $16.During times

of war and vio-lence, it can be

difficult to find space for discussions of artand culture. In Syria, the ongoing conflictis subsumed with political ideologies, mili-tary analyses and coverage of the worseninghumanitarian crisis. Despite all this, how-ever, there is another story at work here,

one that is not independent of the politics,but perhaps equally as powerful and im-portant. Syria Speaks aims to capture thatstory of art and the voices behind it whichhave been such an integral part of the fabricof Syrian society.Syria Speaks is at once an art collection, a

series of essays, and a narrative to war. It isa stunning testament to the Syrian peoplewho are caught between an entrenchedregime, a confused armed opposition, and ahost of other actors and forces who do notspeak to them. This book allows Syrians tospeak for themselves through numerous artpieces, sometimes with accompanying anec-dotes. Short stories and essays complement the

collection of art. Jarring narratives are sand-wiched between short essays examiningcertain aspects of the war. The reader isforced to confront the reality of a very com-plex situation, where lives on all sides of theissue are affected. It is not just governmentagainst rebels, but family against family,friends against friends, and communitiestorn apart by a seemingly endless conflict. Highlights of the book include Hassan

Abbas’ useful discussion of sectarianism,an interview with Assad Alachi on the ac-tivities of Local Coordinating Committees,a photo essay by the group Lens Young, acomic strip by Comic4Syria, a collabora-

tion between poet GolanHaji and artist MohamadOmran, and work fromthe Facebook page “Art &Freedom.” This is just asampling of the ground-breaking work found inSyria Speaks, highlight-ing the diversity of theproject. In the end, thebook covers art, photog-raphy, graffiti, poetry,fiction, nonfiction, musicand cinema.If there is one positive

from the war, it was thedismantling of regimecontrol over the expres-sive arts, and Syriansfrom all walks of life andpolitical backgroundshave found new spaces tocope with the daily vio-lence and the horror oflife in today’s war-tornSyria. ❑

Kevin A. Davis is directorof AET’s Middle EastBooks and More.

68 MAY 2015THE WASHINGTON REPORT ON MIDDLE EAST AFFAIRS

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The Moor’s Account: A Novelby Laila Lalami, Pantheon Books,2014, hardcover, 324 pp. List:$26.95; MEB: $22. While based on atrue story, this incredible work of fic-tion in memoir form narrates thestory of Mustafa al-Zamori, knownin the book as Estebanico, a blackMoroccan slave taken on a voyagewith a Spanish conquistador in 1527to the Americas. The story becomes a subaltern retellingof the early exploration of the Americas and suggests theimportant role of slaves, allowing us to revisit historyfrom a unique perspective.

Middle East Books and More

The Lives of Muhammad by KeciaAli, Harvard University Press, 2014,hardcover, 342 pp. List: $29.95; MEB:$24. From the Danish cartoon contro-versy to the Charlie Hebdo attacks inParis, the character of Muhammad in-creasingly has been understood fromvarious differing perspectives. In thiseye-opening new book, Kecia Alitraces the diverse manifestations of the story of Muham-mad across cultures and shows how many of the waysthat Muslim populations evoke the story of Muhammadare born out of a long historical relationship with West-ern depictions and stories.

The Last Refuge: Yemen,Al-Qaeda, and America’sWar in Arabia by Gregory D.Johnsen, W.W. Norton, 2014,paperback, 356 pp. List: $17.95;MEB: $16. In the first completeaccount of America’s ongoingwar on terror in Yemen, Johnsenprovides a detailed and meticu-lously researched story of al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula(AQAP). In this largely misunder-stood country that is continuing to make headlines, TheLast Refuge answers questions about drones, AQAP, andAmerica’s role in Yemen. This book is critical for anyoneinterested in this ongoing and constantly evolving war.

Flavours of Aleppo: Cele-brating Syrian Cuisine byDalal Kade-Badra and ElieBadra, Whitecap Books, 2013,paperback, 152 pp. List:$29.95; MEB: $24. In a timewhen Aleppo is a city in aseemingly endless war, it is im-portant to appreciate other as-pects of the city and its history. Flavours of Aleppo doesjust that, featuring dishes for every part of a meal. Thebook also features anecdotes from the Badra family, Syr-ian expats living in Canada. Each recipe is clearly laidout and accompanied by beautiful pictures of both foodand the great city of Aleppo.

Land of No Rain by AmjadNasser, Bloomsbury Qatar Founda-tion Publishing, 2014, 199 pp. List:$19.99; MEB: $17. In a fictionalpost-coup Arab country, the maincharacter is returning from exileafter a failed assassination at-tempt on a military leader. On hisjourney home, he struggles to re-connect with his friends and fam-ily, as well as his own identity,after years of exile. Nasser, a poet, writes with an un-matched eloquence that evokes dramatic experiences ofexile and return. The book features an introduction byElias Khoury.

Thirteen Days in September:Carter, Begin, and Sadat atCamp David by Lawrence Wright,Knopf, 2014, hardcover, 345 pp. List:$27.95; MEB: $22. The 1978 CampDavid accords were one of the mostimportant developments in thePalestine-Israel conflict, removingEgypt as a dominant force in the re-gion. Acclaimed journalist LawrenceWright goes into painstaking depth, exploring the days ofnegotiations, the multiple recurring issues, and the per-sonalities that contributed to the accords. Wright detailsthe behind-the-scenes chaos, providing insight into thenegotiations themselves and the implications that theycontinue to have on negotiating a Palestinian state.

The Tahrir of Poems byMaged Zaher, Alice Blue Books,2014, paperback, 64 pp. List:$15; MEB: $12. This stunningcollection of Arabic poems,translated by Maged Zaher,documents the prominence ofpoetry during the later years ofthe Mubarak regime in Egypt.The collection is incredibly di-verse, addressing multiple themes and comprising multi-ple forms. Including multiple poems from each of sevenyoung revolutionary poets, the book is a result of Zaher’sown trips to Cairo and his collaboration with this groupof poets.

Palestine: The Legitimacyof Hope by Richard Falk,Just World Books, 2014, pa-perback, 237 pp. List: $24;MEB: $18. Since its inception,the Palestinian resistancemovement has struggled toestablish itself as a legitimateforce in the eyes of the inter-national community. Falk,who recently ended his termas U.N. special rapporteur onoccupied Palestine, traces thislong history of resistance, employing his expertise in in-ternational law to highlight the evolution of the multi-faceted resistance movement and its quest to gain legiti-macy.

Syria: A History of the LastHundred Years by John McHugo,New Press, 2015, hardcover, 320pp. List: $26.95; MEB: $22. With aconstant barrage of confusingheadlines coming out of Syria,McHugo’s new book is the perfectcompanion for anyone trying tomake sense of the complex Syrianwar. Tracing back a century of Syr-ian history, this book takes the reader from colonialismto the present, explaining in rich detail the events andactors that have led Syria to this current tumultuouspoint.

MAY 2015 69THE WASHINGTON REPORT ON MIDDLE EAST AFFAIRS

L i t e r a t u r e * M u s i c * F i l m * P o t t e r y * M o r e

S p r i n g 2 0 1 5

S h i p p i n g R a t e s

L i b r a r y p a c k a g e s (list value over $240) are available for$29 if donated to a library, or free if requested with a library’spaid subscription or renewal. Call Middle East Books and Moreat 800-368-5788 ext. 2 to order. Our policy is to identify donorsunless anonymity is specifically requested.

U . S . S h i p p i n g R a t e s : Please add $5 for the first item and$2.50 for each additional item. Canada & Mexico shipping charges:Please add $15 for the first item and $3.50 for each additional item.International shipping charges: Please add $15 for the first itemand $6 for each additional item. We ship by USPS Priority unless other-wise requested.

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70 MAY 2015THE WASHINGTON REPORT ON MIDDLE EAST AFFAIRS

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MAY 2015 71THE WASHINGTON REPORT ON MIDDLE EAST AFFAIRS

Netanyahu’s “Costly Victory”To The Baltimore Sun, March 22, 2015 The editorial, “Bibi’s costly victory”

(March 19), describes the re-election of Is-raeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahuas having come “at the cost of a deeply di-vided society, a badly frayed relationshipwith the U.S. and growing international iso-lation.” Now, the U.S. must immediately re-spond to Israel’s election of Mr. Netanyahu,who has tried to undermine U.S. foreignpolicy by attempting to drag us into a dis-astrous war in Iran, who opposes any peacesettlement with the Palestinians andpromised to continue expanding Israel’s il-legal settlements in the occupied Palestin-ian territories.It is time to end all U.S. financial, military

and diplomatic aid to Israel, while endingour “special relationship” with them,which has caused our country so muchharm and expense. Ambassador Charles W.Freeman Jr. stated, “It is time for the U.S. tostop shielding Israel from the consequencesof its actions and justifying its assaultsagainst Palestine.” Israeli columnist GideonLevy summed it up: “The election laid thefoundation for the apartheid state that is tocome.”Ray Gordon, Bel Air, MD

Equality for Palestinian IsraelisTo The New York Times, March 18, 2015Binyamin Netanyahu’s rejection of a

Palestinian state and his racist incitementagainst Israeli Arab voters on Election Dayshow clearly where his new government isheaded: more settlements and annexationof Palestinian land across the border, andfewer civil rights and democratic integra-tion for the Arab citizens inside. Netanyahutook Israel’s right-wing ideology back towhere it started: the denial of Palestinians’

right to statehood, and the portrayal of Is-raeli Arabs as the enemies from within.As an Arab Palestinian citizen of Israel,

and despite the impressive achievement ofthe alliance of Arab parties known as theJoint List in the elections, I am quite pes-simistic. If simply by practicing my basicdemocratic right of voting (I was not ableto do so because absentee ballots were notpermitted), I am posing a threat to Israel’spolitical order, then I can only imaginewhere my struggle for equal rights standsright now, to say nothing about my fellowPalestinians across the border.Seraj Assi, Washington, DC

Israeli Leaders and Hate SpeechTo The Topeka Capital-Journal, March 17,2015On Oct. 3, 2001 then-Israeli Prime Min-

ister Ariel Sharon said to Shimon Peres:“One million Arabs are not worth a Jewishfingernail.”Last week, Israeli Prime Minister

Binyamin Netanyahu spoke to Congress.His speech was a flagrant, derisive and in-sulting interference in U.S. foreign policy.Israeli Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieber-

man recently said: “Anyone’s who’s againstus [Israel], there’s nothing to do—we shouldraise an axe and cut off his head.”The comparisons to ISIS terrorism are ob-

vious and too easy to claim. Some of uswho often oppose such Israeli policies asthe occupation of the West Bank and thesiege of Gaza could also shudder in fear andanger over what we could see as a personalthreat. But I am more concerned with theviolent words of a foreign minister from the“democracy” of Israel aimed at the Pales-tinian citizens of the occupied territoriesand, especially, the 1.5 million Palestinianswho are nominal citizens of Israel, citizenswith a vote, all of whom face a frighteningescalation of legal and social discrimination.It is a continuation of the ethnic cleans-

ing, the Nakba (“catastrophe” in Arabic) of1948 with the goal of starving the Pales-tinians in Gaza and annexing all of Pales-tine, from the Jordan River west to theMediterranean Sea. And the words we hearfrom the Israeli leadership are not mererhetoric.It is hard to negotiate for peace with an

axe coming down on your neck.Michael Poage, Wichita, KS

Speech Ignored the OccupationTo the Boston Herald, March 6, 2015I am grateful that U.S. Sen. Elizabeth

Warren along with U.S. Reps. KatherineClark and Jim McGovern were among the

members of Congress who skipped PrimeMinister Binyamin Netanyahu’s address toCongress. This was a principled choice.Netanyahu’s speech was an attempt to un-

dermine U.S. diplomacy with Iran, employ-ing xenophobic tropes to sow distrust.While Obama pursues a reasonable attemptto de-escalate tensions in the Middle East,Netanyahu escalates tension, despite the as-surance of nuclear experts that Iran posesno imminent threat.In doing this, Netanyahu distracts us from

a more urgent political issue: Israel’s militaryoccupation, illegal settlement construction,and human rights violations targeting Pales-tinians.By skipping Netanyahu’s speech, Warren

challenged the double standard present inU.S.-Israeli relations. The U.S. gives Israelmore than $3 billion in military aid eachyear and invaluable diplomatic protection,yet Netanyahu has refused to back downfrom settlement construction.U.S. leaders must hold Israel accountable.Elizabeth Behrendt, Boston, MA

Remember Bibi’s Iraq PromiseTo the Rochester Democrat and Chronicle,March 5, 2015Kudos to Jon Stewart and the “Daily

Show” for revealing the wisdom and fore-sight of Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu.They showed a 2002 videotape of him

testifying before Congress as a cheerleaderfor the invasion of Iraq. He literally guaran-teed that toppling Saddam would lead to“enormous positive reverberations through-out the region, very well including the im-plosion of the Iranian regime.”I have no idea how he will deliver on his

guarantee now that his prediction hasproven totally false but I do realize onething. Netanyahu may very well be the Is-raeli version of Dick Cheney. He sounds in-sightful but he is totally clueless.William Wagner, Penfield, NY

Netanyahu Asking for WarTo the Sun-Sentinel, March 5, 2015It is quite extraordinary to have a prime

minister of another nation come to thiscountry and speak from the dais of theHouse of Representatives—from wherethe president gives his State of the Unionaddress—to attack President Obama’s ne-gotiations with Iran. Binyamin Netanyahu wants us to in-

crease sanctions on Iran, which would in-evitably lead us to war—a war at our ex-pense. Netanyahu is very generous withAmerican lives and American money.Meanwhile, he continues his brutal occu-

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72 MAY 2015THE WASHINGTON REPORT ON MIDDLE EAST AFFAIRS

pation of Palestinian land, and blatantlyconfiscates great swaths of Palestinian landfor settlements against international law. How could this possibly happen? That

another country’s prime minister couldcome and attack our president in the U.S.Congress and ask us to go to war? He isdelirious with the atomic weapons in hisarsenal, the billions of dollars we havegiven him, the latest military equipmentwe have supplied him, and above all, theinfluence he has gained with Congresswho do not dare to speak against Israel.They fear retaliation from the Israel lobbyand the powerful American Israel PublicAffairs Committee at election time. If Obama had guts, he would send him

back to Israel and cut his military aid.Shame on Speaker Boehner for invitingNetanyahu in the first place. Leonard Torres Jr., Fort Lauderdale, FL

A Plea on Western SaharaTo The New York Times, Feb. 27, 2015“Fighting Is Long Over, but Western

Sahara Still Lacks Peace” (Tifariti Journal,Feb. 23) was an all-too-rare account ofUnited Nations hypocrisy and internationalneglect that have left my people languish-ing in desert camp exile for nearly 40 yearswhile Morocco illegally occupies our home-land in Western Sahara. When the Security Council next consid-

ers the dispute in April, it is time for it tosay “enough.” If the United States is com-mitted to international law and what isright, it will take the lead. The Security Council can no longer allow

France to cover up Morocco’s derailing ofnegotiations, the abuse of our human rights,

and the theft of the precious oil, gas andfishery resources that belong to my people. More than anything, the Security Coun-

cil must instruct the U.N. presence in West-ern Sahara, known as Minurso (the U.N.Mission for the Referendum in WesternSahara), to prepare for the referendum onindependence that was promised by the in-ternational community to my people in1991. It is time to let us vote. Ahmed Boukhari, New York, NY. The

writer represents the Polisario Front at theU.N.

Preserving Iraq’s HistoryTo The New York Times, March 11, 2015Re: “Race to Record and Shield Art

Falling to ISIS” (front page, March 9):The Islamic State has caused irreparable

harm to the cultural heritage of Iraq, and,indeed, that of the world, through the de-struction of the ancient Assyrian capital ofNimrud, Assyrian sculptures at Ninevehand archaeological works of art in theMosul Museum and elsewhere. Our insti-tutions have released a joint statement de-ploring these heinous acts.Iraq is one of the birthplaces of human

civilization. Damage to its cultural heritagethrough wanton destruction of archaeolog-ical sites and artifacts, as well as looting andtrade in archaeological materials, is repre-hensible and shows a blatant disregard forour shared humanity. Tolerance of theseacts can only lead to further losses of a sim-ilar or even greater magnitude.As difficult as it is in these troubled

times, we join in calling on internationalauthorities to do what they can to protectthe world’s archaeological and cultural ma-terials. We also call on museums and theglobal archaeological community to alertthe appropriate international authorities ifthey believe they have information regard-ing objects recently stolen from Nimrud,Mosul and elsewhere in the conflict zone ofnorthern Iraq and Syria.We support the efforts of the legitimate

antiquities authorities in the region to mit-igate the damage to the archaeological andhistoric heritage. We pledge to augment ourefforts to educate the wider public aboutthe significance of this heritage to hu-mankind. Only through greater under-standing of the value of this legacy formodern societies can we hope to stem theseterrible losses.Andrew Moore, President, Archaeologi-

cal Institute of America, Boston, MA

U.S. Weapons in Iraq and Yemen To The Washington Post, March 22, 2015

So now a significant number of U.S.-funded arms have gone absent withoutleave in Yemen (“U.S. loses track of armssent to Yemen,” front page, March 18). Andearlier, an incredible amount of U.S.-sup-plied arms and equipment found their wayto the Islamic State. Where are the ac-countability and oversight? Are there anyadults in the room?We desperately need a major congres-

sional investigation into poor decision-making and misappropriation. There is cer-tainly no need for increased funding. Raymond E. Meyer, Falls Church, VA

President Sisi the Radicalizer?To The Washington Post, March 20, 2015 In the March 15 Outlook commentary

“Sisi: ‘Do you want Egypt to become afailed state?,’ ” Egyptian President AbdelFattah el-Sisi asserted his adherence to the“rule of law” and said he “reflects the pop-ular will of Egyptians.” He extolled his gov-ernment’s alleged march to democracy andinsisted on stability and respect for basiccivic and political liberties. Unfortunately,none of this is true.Deepening repression in the country is

typified by the imprisonment of 40,000 ormore charged with political crimes. Thereis galloping erosion of freedoms of speechand assembly, often under the rubric oflaws criminalizing criticism of state insti-tutions and leaders. A crackdown againstnongovernmental organizations and theimprisonment of activists, bloggers andhuman rights figures means closure of po-litical space and its freedoms. The suppres-sion of the Muslim Brotherhood and itssupporters has contributed to the explo-sion of terrorism.Mr. Sisi’s policies contribute to radical-

ization in Egypt and his “near abroad.” Thestrategy hurts prospects for stability. Andit should not give confidence to the inter-national investors who attended the recentSharm el-Sheikh conference on Egypt’s eco-nomic future about the safety of invest-ments in a land where the rule of law andthe security environment have been se-verely compromised. Doubling down onarms sales, aid and unqualified support forMr. Sisi’s government is not what Egyptneeds. Renewed international commitmentto press Cairo to amend its human rightsabuses and establish transparent legal andpolitical frameworks to guarantee the rightsof all will, in the long run, do much moreto establish stability, a favorable investmentclimate and a strong partnership with theUnited States. Charles W. Dunne, Washington, DC ❑

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MAY 2015 73THE WASHINGTON REPORT ON MIDDLE EAST AFFAIRS

Upcoming EventsIyad Burnat, coordinator of the PopularCommittee for Freedom and Justice inBil’in, Palestine, will speak at the 5th andK St. Busboys and Poets in Washington,DC on April 8. Burnat will discuss thedeath of his son at the hands of the Israelimilitary, life under occupation, and hisnonviolent resistance work. Visit <www.busboysandpoets.com> for more informa-tion.

Omar Shakir of the Center for Constitu-tional Rights will speak April 13 at theCenter for Contemporary Arab Studies atGeorgetown University in Washington,DC. His talk, based on a new HumanRights Watch report, is titled All Ac-cording to Plan: The Rab’a Massacreand Mass Killings of Protesters inEgypt. For more details, visit <www.ccas.georgetown.edu>.

Zachary Lockman of NYU will discuss Ad-ventures in Field-Building: On the His-tory of Middle East Studies in the UnitedStates on April 16 at the Center for MiddleEast Studies at UC Berkeley in Berkeley, CA.Visit <www.cmes.berkeley.edu> for moreinformation.

The UNRWA Gaza Solidarity 5K will beheld May 17 at Rock Creek Park in Wash-ington, DC. Proceeds will go towardUNRWA’s Community Mental Health Pro-gram in Gaza, which supports children suf-fering from PTSD and trauma. Visit <www.unrwausa.org/gaza5k> for information andregistration.

The Arab-American Cultural Festivalwill take place May 17 in Orlando, FL. Or-ganized by the Arab American CommunityCenter, the event will feature Arabic art,food, live music and other entertainment.Visit <www.aaccflorida.org> for more in-formation.

The American Federation of Ramallah Pales-tine will host its 57th Annual RamallahConvention from July 2-4 at the OakbrookHills Resort in Chicago, Illinois. Visit<www.chicagoramallahconvention2015.com> for updates and registration. Dis-counted rates for registration before May 1.

AnnouncementsAs part of its fund-raising effort towardopening a museum in the Washington, DCarea, the Nakba Museum Project ofMemory and Hope will host an exhibitfrom June 12 to 27 titled Reclaiming theLost Future at the Festival Center in Wash-ington, DC. Visit <www.nakbamuseumproject.com> for more information and alink to its Indiegogo campaign.

After 30 years of planning, the BethlehemMuseum for Heritage and Cultureopened its doors on Feb. 28, 2015. A jointventure by the Arab Women’s Union ofBethlehem and the Holy Land Christian Ec-umenical Foundation, the museum featuresPalestinian art and artifacts representingthe history of Palestine.

ObituariesNassib Bulos, 95, a prominent journalistand lawyer, died Feb. 2 at his Beirut home.Born in Kafr Yassif, Palestine, he graduatedfrom the Jerusalem School of Law andpracticed law in Beirut. Following the 1948Nakba, he worked for UNRWA and wassecretary to the delegation on Arabrefugees at the 1949 Lausanne Conference.He was a constant advocate for releasingbank accounts owned by Palestinians andseized by Israel after its founding. In his legal work, Bulos represented

many American and English corporationsworking in the Middle East. Later in life,inspired by his wife, golf champion ClaudeAyoub, he cofounded the Golf Club ofLebanon and served as its vice president. Aprominent journalist as well, Bulos wrotefor Life and Time and reported for Ramal-lah’s Near East Broadcasting Radio. In addi-tion to his blog, “Wizard of Beirut,” hewrote a memoir, A Palestinian Landscape,and a novel, Jerusalem Crossroads.

Naseer Aruri, 81, a noted Palestinianscholar, died Feb. 10 from complications re-lating to Parkinson’s disease. Born inJerusalem, he moved to the U.S. to earn hisB.A. in political science from the Universityof Massachusetts-Amherst. From 1965 to1998, he was a professor of political scienceat the University of Massachusetts-Dart-mouth. In addition to being a respectedacademic, Aruri was known for his ac-

tivism, and was a member of the PLO’sCentral Council, the Palestinian Parliamentin Exile, the Palestinian National Council,the Independent Palestinian Commissionfor the Protection of Citizen Rights, theArab Organization for Human Rights,Human Rights Watch-Middle East,Amnesty International, the Jerusalem Fundand the International Institute for CriminalInvestigations. He also helped draft theArab Covenant of Human Rights in 1986.In 1968, Aruri founded the Association ofArab-American University Graduates, thelargest organization of Arab academics out-side the Middle East, and served twice asits president. He also co-founded the Trans-Arab Research Institute, and was the au-thor of numerous books, including Dishon-est Broker: The U.S. Role in Israel and Pales-tine. He will be remembered for his schol-arly contributions, his support of humanrights around the globe, and his relentlesscommitment to the Palestinian cause.

Luca Ortelli, age unknown, died at hishome in Bergamo, Italy after a long battlewith lung cancer. The humanitarian doctorworked with the Palestine Children’s ReliefFund as a surgeon and served missions inJericho, Gaza and Hebron in Palestine, in-cluding time during the second intifada.

Entissar El-Hasaari, 35, a Libyan culturalactivist, was assassinated Feb. 24 in Tripoli.She was the founder of the EnlightenmentGroup, an organization that protested mili-tia control of Tripoli. El-Hasaari’s was thelatest in the growing number of assassina-tions in Libya in recent years, with 230 re-ported in 2014 alone.

Harith al-Dhari, 74, chairman of the As-sociation of Muslim Scholars, died March12 in Amman, Jordan. Known as “the Spir-itual Leader of the Iraqi Resistance” follow-ing the 2003 U.S. invasion and occupation,he was forced to flee Iraq in 2006 after anarrest warrant was issued for him. He sub-sequently lived in Cairo and Amman. Awell-respected Sunni cleric, he was outspo-ken against Western imperialism and thegovernment of former Prime MinisterNouri al-Maliki, as well as violent extrem-ism in Iraq. ❑

Upcoming Events, Announcements & Obituaries —Compiled by Kevin A. Davis BulletinBoardBulletinBoard

bulletin_board_73_May 2015 Bulletin Board 3/25/15 7:16 PM Page 73

AET’s 2015 Choir of AngelsFollowing are individuals, organizations, companies and foundations whose help between Jan. 1, 2015 and March 11, 2015is making possible activities of the tax-exempt AET Library Endowment (federal ID #52-1460362) and the American Edu-cational Trust, publisher of the Washington Report on Middle East Affairs. Some Angels helped us co-sponsor the April 10conference, “The Israel Lobby: Is It Good for the U.S.? Is It Good for Israel?” We are deeply honored by their confidence andprofoundly grateful for their generosity.

74 MAY 2015THE WASHINGTON REPORT ON MIDDLE EAST AFFAIRS

HUMMERS ($100 or more) Fatima Abdulla, Oak Hills, CA Dr. Bishr Al-Ujayli, Troy, MIAhmed Ayish, Arlington, VADr. & Mrs. Roger Bagshaw, Big Sur, CANader Barakat, Moorpark, CAJohn Carley, Pointe-Claire, CanadaRoger W. Carpenter, Westminster, COLynn Ellen Dixon, Woodward, PAKassem Elkhalil, Arlington, TXM.R. Eucalyptus, Kansas City, MOClaire Bradley Feder, Atherton, CAWilliam Gefell, Turnbridge, VTDr. Fawwaz Habbal, Cambridge, MAShirley Hannah, Argyle, NYLoretta Krause, Little Egg Harbor Twp., NJ Allen J. MacDonald, Washington, DCAmal Marks, Altadena, CAShirley O’Neil, Cleveland Hts., OHPeter P. Pranis, Jr., McAllen, TXNeil Richardson, Randolph, VTDr. Wendell E. Rossman, Phoenix, AZHenry & Irmgard Schubert, Damascus, ORMahmoud Zawawi, Amman, Jordan

ACCOMPANISTS ($250 or more) Anace & Polly Aossey, Cedar Rapids, IA Dr. & Mrs. Issa Boullata, Montreal, CanadaJohn Dirlik, Pointe-Claire, Canada Eugene Fitzpatrick, Wheat Ridge, CO Indiana Center for Middle East Peace,

Fort Wayne, INMaury Keith Moore, Seattle, WAMr. & Mrs. W. Eugene Notz, Charleston, SC

TENORS & CONTRALTOS($500 or more) Mr. & Mrs. John P. Crawford, Boulder, CO Richard H. Curtiss, Boynton Beach, FL*Gregory DeSylva, Rhinebeck, NY Gary Richard Feulner, Dubai, UAERonald & Mary Forthofer, Longmont, COBrigitte Jaensch, Carmichael, CALouise Keeley, Washington, DC**William Lightfoot, Vienna, VAWilliam & Flora McCormick, Austin, TXGerald & Judith Merrill, Oakland, CAMary Norton, Austin, TXDr. Robert Younes, Potomac, MD

BARITONES & MEZZOSOPRANOS ($1,000 or more) Wilhelmine Bennett, Iowa City, IADr. & Mrs. Clyde Farris, West Linn, OREvan & Leman Fotos, Istanbul, TurkeyDr. & Mrs. Hassan Fouda, Berkeley, CAGeorge Hanna, Santa Ana, CAJudith Howard, Norwood, MAJack Love, San Diego, CAJohn Mahoney, AMEU, New York, NYSahar Masud, Mill Valley, CA Bob Norberg, Lake City, MNJohn Van Wagoner, McLean, VA

CHOIRMASTERS ($5,000 or more)Donna B. Curtiss, Kensington, MDJohn & Henrietta Goelet, New York, NYAndrew I. Killgore, Washington, DCVince & Louise Larsen, Billings, MT

*In Memory of Richard H. Curtiss**In Loving Memory of Bob Keeley

stories. Or help Palestinian refugees comehere and tell their own stories.

Nihad Awad, executive director of theCouncil on American-Islamic Relations(CAIR), thanked Krähenbühl for his workhelping the Palestinian people help them-selves. He’d attended UNRWA schools him-self, Awad said, and now his daughterworks for UNRWA in Jerusalem. He wenton to ask if there was a strategic plan toimprove education in the camps.

“Everywhere I speak there is someone inthe audience who graduated from UNRWAschools,” Krähenbühl responded with asmile. Then he told another story, about aPalestinian refugee from Syria now livingin Lebanon’s Ein el Helwe camp—which,incidentally, has a 100 percent success ratein baccalaureate exams. The girl, who losther father and brother during the family’sescape to Lebanon, put her heart and soulinto studying for the baccalaureate andearned the highest possible marks on herexam. Of course, obtaining a job aftergraduation is another challenge for Pales-

tinian refugees, especially in Lebanon, henoted.

Krähenbühl commended President Mah-moud Abbas for visiting Gaza after the Is-raeli attack, but said that since then therehas not been enough cooperation betweenthe West Bank and Gaza. Attendees agreedthat the Palestinian Authority should beon the ground showing solidarity and sus-tained engagement.

At the October 2014 Cairo conference in-ternational donors pledged $5.4 billion torebuild Gaza. U.S. Secretary of State JohnKerry pledged $212 million in immediateassistance, saying that the residents of theGaza Strip “need our help, desperately.” Is-rael damaged or destroyed dozens of facto-ries and major infrastructure, includingroads, bridges, water treatment plants andGaza’s only power station.

UNRWA has distributed $93.1 million toassist some 60,000 Gaza families to repairdamage to their homes. In January, due toa lack of funds, and unfulfilled pledges,the agency was forced to suspend the cashassistance program. Contributions fromdonors “dried up,” Krähenbühl said, per-haps because donors fear that Gaza is a

“money pit.” They may be worried that ifthey rebuild Gaza, it will be destroyedagain in another six months.

The future is unsustainable, said BillCorcoran, president of American Near EastRefugee Aid (ANERA). NGOs can’t keepup with the deteriorating situationthroughout the Middle East. People are en-titled to basic services, but the number ofpeople who need these services has grownwhile the rhythm of donor contributionshas slowed. Even the bad exchange rate fordollars has had a profound effect, Corcoransaid. We need more assertive fund-raisingand more work with our own government,roundtable attendees agreed.

The world can’t hold back on either po-litical or humanitarian support, Krähenbühlstated: “Gaza needs both.” He urged NGOsand their supporters to advocate for Pales-tinian rights, not just services, and helpreinvigorate the international community.Gaza cannot continue to live for years undera blockade. It’s a catastrophic situation. Anempty peace process is not enough. Peoplein the region deserve better.

For more information, please visit <www.www.unrwausa.org>. ❑

Forgotten Gaza…Continued from page 17

angels_74_May 2015 Choir of Angels 3/26/15 7:15 PM Page 74

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May 2015Vol. XXXIV, No. 3

The aftermath of a March 20, 2015 suicide attack on the Al-Hashush mosque in northern Sana’a, Yemen. The Islamic Stateclaimed responsibility for the bombing, one of two in the capital city that day which killed at least 142 people during Fri-day prayers. MOHAMMED HUWAIS/AFP/Getty Images

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