Author Archives: Arab America

A dirty look, a glare, people muttering under their breath. Imagine all of this happening simply because you’re Muslim or you’re wearing a hijab.

According to the Pew Research Center, there are 1.6 billion Muslim citizens around the world, which makes up 23 percent of the world’s population. Additionally, 13.7 percent of all religious-based hate crimes in 2013 were motivated by anti-Muslim bias, according to the FBI’s hate crime statistics.

That bias has hit close to home for some UCF students.

For Amirah Mathin, a sophomore biomedical sciences major, the discrimination hit while she was helping a man involved in a vehicle collision during her time as an EMT. As she was extracting the man from the vehicle, he asked not to be touched by her and threw in a racial slur or two about her hijab, or head scarf.

Mathin, raised Muslim, actually went to a Catholic high school because of its reputation, and when she began to wear her hijab three years ago, no one really said anything negative toward her.

Source: www.centralfloridafuture.com

The Israeli military opened fire on a mass march of civilians who were carrying white flags and calling out “peaceful, peaceful” as they tried to exit Khuzaa village in southern Gaza, which had been under siege for three days, corralling them back into the village. 

Those who were trapped in the village had tried to coordinate a safe evacuation with the International Committee of the Red Cross, but Israel’s shelling would not let up. 

This is one of the many disturbing findings from one of the only international and independent fact-finding missions that Israel has allowed to access the Gaza Strip since the 26 August ceasefire that ended 51 days of intensive bombing.

Last week the mission published “No Safe Place,” a more than two hundred-page report on their findings from their forensic investigation. The mission’s aim was to assess the types, causes and patterns of injuries and deaths and to collect evidence for potential use in local or international justice mechanisms.

The investigation devotes special attention to the siege on Khuzaa, detailing the attempts civilians made to flee Israeli fire and finding that the army used people as human shields, executed civilians at close range, and intentionally neglected mortally wounded children. During the four days of heavy bombardment of the village, scores were critically injured. While the report refers to twelves deaths specifically, it says the total number of casualties remains unknown.

The report also finds that most of those who were killed during the summer assault were crushed to death, frequently in their homes, and often with other members of their family by their side. More than 142 families lost at least three members in a single strike. Recent casualty counts estimate the total killed as at least 2,257 and as high as 2,310.

Organized by Physicians for Human Rights-Israel and Gaza-based Al Mezan Center for Human Rights, the investigation team consisted of international experts from the fields of forensic pathology, emergency medicine, pediatrics and health and human rights. 

The delegation interviewed 68 injured patients and reviewed 370 digital images and records of those killed and the report includes transcripts of interviews with injured civilians and medical professionals. While limited in scope and access, the report concludes that evidence suggests several serious violations of human rights and international humanitarian law.

All of Gaza a battlefield

The report confirms what was reported at the time: indiscriminate and total bombardment of the Gaza Strip.

While in some cases the Israeli military dropped warning leaflets or sent “warning strikes” or “roof taps,” this did not save lives as there were no clear boundaries of where the battlefield was. The army targeted possible escape routes, ambulances carrying wounded people, and individuals attempting to flee.

Source: electronicintifada.net

10 Must-Read Female Writers from the Middle East
The tradition of female writers from the Middle-East has been vastly growing in the twentieth century, with new generations of writers determined to give women a voice and represent issues of feminism, identity and class from a female perspective. From fiction to non-fiction writers, we profile 10 fantastic writers from the Middle-East.

Layla Baalbaki

Widely acknowledged to be a pioneer in women’s writing in the Middle-East, Layla Baalbaki was one of the first writers to give women a voice in Arab literature, focusing primarily on female issues and concerns. Her 1958 novel I Live is a work far ahead of its time, revolving around a young Lebanese woman as she attempts to negotiate her place in the world, striving for political, social and financial independence. Sadly, Baalbaki’s honest exploration of women’s innermost emotions was met with controversy and hostility – she was charged with obscenity and immorality. Although eventually acquitted, Baalbaki wrote no works of fiction after 1964 and turned instead to journalism.

Assia Djebar © Michel Georges Bernard/Wikicommons
Assia Djebar

A noted Algerian feminist author, Assia Djebar is well known for examining the plight of Algerian women within a post-colonial context. Her works include the collection of short stories Women of Algiers in Their Apartment (1980), inspired by Delacroix’s famous The Women of Algiers (1834), which responds to the Orientalist and patriarchal structures surrounding contemporary Algerian society, attempting to demonstrate the ongoing inequality which defines women’s lives. Djebar was elected to the Académie Française – a historic organisation which seeks to uphold and protect French heritage and language – in 2005, the first Magreb writer to receive this honour.
Inaam Kachachi

Born and raised in Baghdad, where she studied journalism at university, Inaam Kachachi moved to Paris in 1979, where she has lived ever since. As well as regularly writing pieces for Arabic-language newspapers, Kachachi has published several novels which examine issues of displacement and homeland, as well as the brutal reality of Iraq today. Frustrated by the religious and didactic turn literature in Iraq has taken, Kachachi attempts to authentically portray complex characters in the Iraq which she experienced – her most recent novel Tashari (2013) stretches back to the 1950s and explores the changing sociopolitical dynamic of the country through one family and their eventual dispersal across the globe. This novel was shortlisted for the International Prize for Arabic Fiction.
Sahar Khalifah

One of Palestine’s first and foremost feminist writers, Sahar Khalifah is known for her complex portrayal of women in contemporary Palestinian society. Set against the background of the Palestinian occupation, Khalifah’s works show an unflinching portrayal of the realities of life in the occupied territory from a specifically female point-of-view, giving frequently unheard women a voice in the ongoing conflict. One of her most well-known novels, The Inheritance (1997) tells the story of various Palestinian women who sacrifice everything for their men and their country, only to never be acknowledged or remembered.
Fatema Mernissi

One of the world’s leading Islamic feminists, Fatema Mernissi concentrates in her work on Islam’s attitudes to women and the role women play within the religion. Her first work Beyond the Veil (1975), is an unmissable text in the field of feminism and Middle-Eastern studies, exploring concepts of female sexuality within the historic context of Islam. Many of her works examine women’s spheres and physical spaces, and Doing Daily Battle: Interviews with Moroccan Women (1991) saw her interview a range of women from different socioeconomic backgrounds and lifestyles, in order to present an authentic, rounded picture of the realities of womanhood in Morocco.
Azar Nafisi

Born in Iran, Azar Nafisi was educated in Switzerland and the United States, before returning to Iran as a professor of literature in 1979. Her novel Reading Lolita in Tehran (2003) is an account of her experiences teaching in post-revolution Iran, centring on a book group of female students who secretly meet at Nafisi’s house to discuss forbidden works, mostly of Western literature. Nafisi’s novel devastatingly depicts the gradual loss of freedom in post-revolution Iran, the worsening situation for women and the tragedy of the Iraq-Iran war, while simultaneously revealing the power and comfort of great literature. As such, Reading Lolita in Tehran acts not only as her own memoirs, but as a portrayal of cultural and national memory.
Nawal El-Saadawi

A greatly prominent feminist novelist, critic and human rights advocate, Nawal El-Saadawi was born in Egypt in 1931 and trained as a doctor of medicine. Through this work, she observed first-hand the hardships and physical burdens women, particularly those of lower classes, underwent, and began to posit connections between women’s psychological and physical problems and the oppressive patriarchal structures they lived in. Many of these concepts are discussed in her book Women and Sex (1972), a hugely influential work which became a seminal text of second-wave feminism, depicting women’s bodies as a battleground in the struggle for equality. As well as her non-fiction texts, El-Saadawi has written a number of short story collections and novels, many of which discuss contemporary women’s sociocultural circumstances.
Ghadah Al-Samman

Ghadah Al-Samman’s work spans a variety of genres, from poetry to novels to journalism. She was born in Damascus in 1942, but left Syria for Lebanon in the 1960s and never returned. As such, her work has a distinctly Lebanese focus, with some of her most famous works including Beirut 75 (1974), a novel exploring contemporary social issues in the city, and Beirut Nightmares (1977), a devastating portrayal of the Lebanese Civil War. Although the execution of her work varies, Al-Samman depicts a series of running themes throughout her work – a rejection of Arab bourgeois values, the importance of individual liberty and the quest for women’s emancipation, which Al-Samman views as fundamental to humanity’s overall search for freedom.

Perspolis/Jonathan Cape Publishers
Marjane Satrapi

Although Marjane Satrapi’s name might not be widely known, her stunning graphic novel Persepolis (2000), adapted into an award-winning film of the same name, has become a classic of the graphic novel genre and is lauded for its honest and witty insight into life in post-revolution Iran. As part of the first generation to experience their youth and adolescence during the new, oppressive regime, Satrapi’s novel portrays the tension between the youthful culture of freedom and rebellion and the regime’s strict moral codes and censorship, while also showing the wider implications of these laws for groups such as women, political activists and artists.
Hanan Al-Shaykh

An internationally recognised writer, Hanan Al-Shaykh’s work questions the position of women in Arab society, and criticises the deep-rooted patriarchal structures which continue to dictate women’s lives. Her fiction depicts many traditionally taboo subjects, including homosexuality, abortion and female infidelity, making Al-Shaykh a groundbreaking writer in the Arab world. Al-Shaykh also explores concepts of identity and belonging, with her recent novel Only in London (2001) portraying intersecting storylines of characters in London’s Arab diaspora. Through her novel, Al-Shaykh reveals the frustration and uncertainty of migrant identity, the tension between one’s native culture and that of a new country, and the difficulty of finding one’s place in a transnational and intercultural setting.
By Anahit Behrooz

Source: theculturetrip.com

The federal government is considering allowing those of Middle Eastern and North African descent to identify as such on the next 10-year Census, which could give Arab-Americans and other affected groups greater political clout and access to public funding, among other things.

The U.S. Census Bureau will test the new Middle East-North Africa (MENA) classification for possible inclusion on the 2020 Census if it gets enough positive feedback about the proposed change by Sunday, when the public comment period ends.

Arab-Americans, who make up the majority of those who would be covered by the MENA classification, have previously been classified by default as white on the Census, which helps determine congressional district boundaries and how billions of dollars in federal funding are allocated, among other things.

Those pushing for the MENA classification say it would more fully and accurately count them, thus increasing their visibility and influence among policymakers.

The Census Bureau plans to test it later this year by holding focus group discussions with people who would be affected by the proposed change. Congress would still have to sign off on the proposal before the change could be added to the 2020 Census.

“We know the challenges,” says Hassan Jaber, who runs a Detroit-area social services group and serves on a census advisory board formed to evaluate Americans’ changing racial and ethnic identities. “It really does take rethinking … who we are as a population and what our needs are, (but) there are specific needs for Arab Americans that are not being recognized and not being met.”

Jaber’s group, ACCESS, and others that serve U.S. Middle Eastern communities have been pushing for the new Census classification, which could also allow people to identify under sub-categories such as Assyrian or Kurdish.

“Frankly, being under MENA will also give us a chance for the first time for minorities within the Arab communities, such as Chaldeans, Berbers and Kurds, to self-identify,” said Jaber, a Lebanese-American who serves on the U.S. Census’ National Advisory Committee on Racial, Ethnic and Other Populations.

Arabs have been coming to America in large numbers since the late 19th century and their ranks have grown in recent decades due to wars and political instability in the Middle East, with many settling in and around Detroit, New York and Los Angeles. The Census’ 2013 American Community Survey, which had a sample size of about 3 million addresses, estimated that 1.5 million people were of Arab ancestry in 2006-10.

Although Jaber thinks the public comment and testing periods should go well, he said it could be difficult getting congressional approval. Some Republican lawmakers are generally critical of the expense and intrusion of the Census and have sought to eliminate the community surveys, which, unlike the main decennial count, aren’t constitutionally mandated.

There also isn’t universal support for the proposed Census change among those who could identify as Middle Eastern or North African.

Some have expressed concern about sharing such information with the government in a post-9/11 world. And some have said that keeping the status quo would let them feel more American.

“I’m not for it. … I feel I’m a Mayflower American,” said Eide Alawan, a 74-year-old son of a Syrian immigrant whose roots are mostly Arab.

Alawan, a diversity liaison at a Detroit hospital and interfaith outreach coordinator at the area’s largest mosque, said he knows there are benefits to having the category, but that he thinks the change would be divisive.

“We’re broken down into villages and countries (where we come from)” — I don’t like that.”

Some older Middle Eastern immigrants or their descendants live with the legacy of U.S. laws in the early 20th century that excluded Asians from entry and at one point included Syrians and others from the eastern Mediterranean. Groups were formed to fight those decisions and eventually the Middle Eastern immigrants were deemed white and were allowed to become citizens.

Sally Howell, an associate professor at University of Michigan-Dearborn and author of several books on Arabs and Muslims in Detroit, said that argument is common among “people that were raised in an America that was more polarized along black and white lines.” But she added younger people generally are “less eager to see the world in those binary terms,” and the Census should reflect that.

No matter what happens, identity would remain a choice, but she said an evolving population requires asking new questions.

“We need to kind of rethink who Arab-Americans are, really. The community has changed radically over the last 25-30 years,” she said. “The only way we’re going to have a good sense of the changes is if we have good data to work with.”

Source: hosted2.ap.org

The creation of the ISIL terrorist group was part of a “false flag operation” by the United States and Israel to spread “Islamophobia” against Muslims, a journalist says.

“The US and Israel have been involved in the whole creation of the ISIS/ISIL myth… trying to lay the blame on the Muslim nations,” said Arthur Topham from Cottonwood, British Columbia.

“As far as I can see, it’s another false flag attempt to build up more Islamophobic hatred towards all the Arab states in the Middle East,” Topham told Press TV during a phone interview on Thursday.

The US and Israel are using scapegoats like Osama bin Laden to connect terrorism to people in the Middle East in order to “justify all sorts of violent actions against various nations” in the region, he said.

The rise of ISIL in Iraq and Syria is another example of “fraudulent efforts to attack the Muslim nations,” Topham noted.

According to a report by a leading Pakistani newspaper, an ISIL leader has confessed to getting funds via the United States.

The ISIL operative, identified as Yousaf al-Salafi, told Pakistan’s law enforcement agencies that he received funding through the US, The Express Tribune reported on Wednesday.

Salafi, a Pakistani Syrian, was taken into custody in December 2014, according to the paper, although other reports say he was arrested on January 22.

The ISIL terrorists, who were initially trained by the CIA in Jordan in 2012 to destabilize the Syrian government, are engaged in crimes against humanity in the areas under their control.

They have been carrying out horrific acts of violence such as public decapitations and crucifixions against all communities, including Shias, Sunnis, Kurds, and Christians.

Source: www.presstv.ir

Qinza Najm doesn’t want to behead anyone. After all, she’s an artist, not a jihadist.

But she’s also a Muslim — and in the wake of the Charlie Hebdo attacks in Paris and ongoing conflicts in the Middle East, she and other New York Muslims are feeling pressure from non-Muslims to condemn evildoers.

“I believe 100% that people should not be killed, but when a white guy commits a crime, not every white person is asked to defend himself,” said Najm, a Lower East Side artist of Pakistani descent.

She’s hardly the only person of Islamic faith to deal with this demand to apologize for the actions of people who live on other continents and whom she has never met.

“Every time a tragedy happens, we pray, ‘Please don’t let it be a Muslim, please don’t let it be a Muslim,’” says Wajahat Ali, the co-host of Al Jazeera America’s talk show “The Stream.” “As soon as we find out it is a Muslim, everyone says, ‘F— my life.’ You realize the criminal actions of a few who are completely unrelated to you will be used (against) your entire community.”

Source: www.nydailynews.com

Editor’s note: The city of Beirut has long inspired Elie Saab’s creations and with his latest collection, the prominent Lebanese couturier wished to celebrate Lebanon’s capital for all the creativity and elegance it has instilled in him.

In an exclusive for The Daily Star, Saab shared the intimate story behind his Spring-Summer 2015 Couture collection, unveiled at Paris Fashion Week, which he dubbed: “Beirut, chasing a dream.”

Foreword

A beautiful memory of Beirut often visits me in a dream. A loving, giving and tolerant Beirut. A glamorous one too. A beautiful memory that never ceased to inspire me – that inspired this collection. This is a tribute to the city that I love. My Beirut.Looking back at the eventful history of Lebanon, through its flourishing periods and its downfalls, I feel hopeful, I feel grateful. Vivid images overtake me: the golden age of the ’60s. The typical elegance of the Beirut woman. Distressing times quickly forgotten. The glorious reconstruction of the ’90s. Ups and downs. A dream that gets lost, sometimes, before emerging again, always stronger. And immortal. When these images overtake me I know for certain that the Beirut of my dreams will forever be alive, magnetic, festive and charming. I know for certain that I want to contribute to its glory. And when I close my eyes and think of Beirut, I know for certain that this dream is mine.

When I sit back and reflect on my journey, I’m always transported to the city where I was born, somewhere between the Mediterranean Sea and the mountains. Back then, Beirut seemed to be constantly adorned for a party that would never end. I was instantly enthralled by beauty and wanted to ensure it remained untainted. To this day, I’m still enchanted by a clear vision: my mother in an evening gown. Curved at the waist. Flared like a corolla. Tulips printed on silk. A vision that fueled my flare as a designer. And with every new collection I conceived, the striking image of my mother in this tulip print silk dress reappeared endlessly.

These memories and Beirut were the steppingstone of my passion for design. It was these things, along with the courage, the grace and the elegance of the women of my city, that influenced the person I am today. And if there were to be a message behind my couture collection, it would be: Thank you.

A Riviera in the Levant

As a child in the ’60s, I pranced around medlar and laurel trees, playing beneath the purple billows of the jacarandas. The oak and olive trees sprawled around this runway are vivid resurgences of the gardens of my past. Under the sun, jasmine and oranges dotted the streets, as a humid gust rose from the sea.

These memories still inspire my colors and my scents. The ethereal fabric of this collection embodies my childhood’s summer breeze. Just like the soft green of my blooming springs, the pale blue of the misty horizon, the yellow of the mimosas, the brown of the damp soil. Flash-forward to the ’70s, women in ankle length dresses, trapeze dresses, high waist skirts, embroidered and sheer tops wading through downtown. And as the sun shimmered on the pavement and as the days went by, I simply stood there and stared, fascinated by their demeanour, struck by their style.A lifestyleSegueing images on television and in magazines delighted me, carrying me through the daily life of my country. Its warm oriental traditions, its Swiss mountains, its French Riviera beaches, its Parisian culture, its Las Vegas shows and some of the most stunning festivals in the world.

Source: www.dailystar.com.lb

The terror attacks in Paris, which killed 17 people, have reignited a debate in Western media on the threat of Islamic extremism to the western civilization. Following attacks on the satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo and a kosher grocery store, Rupert Murdoch declared all “moderate Muslims responsible for the jihadist cancer due to their inaction.” Such comments in the media reinforce the perception that Muslims condone violence, that Islam is inherently violent or that a clash of civilizations is taking place.

The truth is fewer than 1 percent of Muslims worldwide have engaged in terrorism.

Muslims in America are highly assimilated and have offered a lot to this country as physicians, engineers, entrepreneurs and teachers, yet the incessant negative portrayal of Muslims in the media would suggest otherwise.

While we have heard about the Kouachi brothers repeatedly on TV and radio, we’ve heard far less about Ahmad Merabet, the Muslim policeman who died heroically in Paris fighting the terrorists, or Lassana Bathily, the Muslim kosher market employee who led a group of people to safety during the assault. It appears Muslims are mentioned on TV only if there is a negative story attached to them, and every time that happens I see the anguish on the faces of my children who feel deeply hurt and insulted by this unfair caricature of Muslims.

Imagine being a Muslim, particularly a young Muslim male, in today’s America. You are bombarded with media images that show Muslim men as bad guys. Imagine always fearing what others in your school, college and workplace think about you because of your name or how you may look. Imagine carrying the constant burden of defending your religion, of always being hypervigilant since any of your opinions or protests may be misconstrued as supporting terrorism.

Source: www.cincinnati.com

Former President Bill Clinton and his wife former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton had announced last September in New York the holding in Morocco in the spring of 2015 of the event, recalled Rickert.

The Clinton Global Initiative, Middle East and Africa is intended to offer a venue for businessmen in Africa and the Middle East to forge partnerships. The Event will also bring together actors from the public and private sectors as well as the civil society to take stock of the opportunities and responsibilities for prosperity, Rickert went on to say in a statement to MAP.

The social, economic and environmental challenges facing the region along with issues relating to education, health and employment will feature prominently in the event’s agenda, said Rickert.

Established in 2005 by President Bill Clinton, the Clinton Global Initiative (CGI), an initiative of the Clinton Foundation, convenes global leaders to create and implement innovative solutions to the world’s most pressing challenges.

Source: www.moroccoworldnews.com

Amal Clooney is definitely one of our newest style icons. But getting asked fashion questions while she’s working? Amal is obviously SO over it.

Amal Clooney (née Alamuddin) is an accomplished human rights lawyer who has previously represe…

Source: www.huffingtonpost.com

The only Palestinian Orthodox Christian bishop in the Holy Land speaking about the suffering of Palestinian Christians, their unity with Muslims in the Palestinian struggle, about Orthodox Christian martyrs, and Ukraine.

Archbishop Sebastia Theodosios (Atallah Hanna), 49, is the only Orthodox Christian archbishop from Palestine stationed in Jerusalem and the Holy Land, while all other bishops of the Patriarchate of Jerusalem are Greeks. The Israeli authorities had detained him several times, or stopped him at the border, and taken away his passport. Among all Jerusalem clergymen he is the only one who has no privilege of passing through the VIP gate in the airport – because of his nationality. “For the Israeli authorities, I am not a bishop, but rather a Palestinian,” explains his Beatitude. When talking on the phone he says a lot of words you would normally hear from a Muslim: “Alhamdulillah, Insha’Allah, Masha’Allah”. He speaks Arabic, and the Arabic for ‘god’ is Allah, whether you are a Christian or a Muslim.

Your Beatitude, what’s it like being the Palestinian bishop in the Holy Land?

Firstly, I’d like to confirm that I am the only Palestinian bishop in the Orthodox Patriarchate of Jerusalem. A fellow bishop is serving in the city of Irbid in the north of Jordan; and there are also several Palestinian priests.

I take pride in belonging to this great religious institution that’s over 2,000 years old.

My church has been protecting the Christian presence in the Holy Land and the sacred items related to the life of Christ and Christian Church history.

I am proud of my religion and nationality, I am proud to belong to my fatherland. I am a Palestinian, and I belong to this religious people who are fighting for the sake of their freedom and dignity to implement their dreams and national rights.

I support Palestinians and share their cause and their issues. We the Palestinian Orthodox Christians are not detached from their hardships.

The Palestinian issue is a problem that concerns all of us, Christians and Muslims alike. It’s a problem of every free intellectual individual aspiring for justice and freedom in this world.

We the Palestinian Christians suffer along with the rest of Palestinians from occupation and hardships of our economic situation. Muslims and Christians suffer equally, as there is no difference in suffering for any of us. We are all living in the same complicated circumstances, and overcoming the same difficulties.

As a church and as individuals we protect this people, and we hope a day will come when Palestinians get their freedom and dignity.

Source: rt.com

Martin Indyk, the former peace negotiator for the State Department, says that the invitation to Benjamin Netanyahu to speak to Congress and rebut Obama’s policy on Iran threatens to drive a wedge between Obama and “the Jewish lobby,” turning the battle into “the President versus Israel and its supporters.”

After all, the president has taken on the Cuba lobby, Indyk said. So this is the true danger of the invitation, that it will turn Israel lobby in the U.S., which Israel needs for its survival, into an open political issue in the U.S.

Indyk made his comments on Day 1 of the scandal, in a January 21 conversation with New York Times columnist (and author) Roger Cohen at the 92d Street Y in New York. Indyk, a longtime supporter of Israel who served under Obama, already saw that the invitation was generating rage in the White House, and this was a terrible strategic error by Netanyahu, endangering the “precious” US-Israel relationship:

So it’s an approach which is bound to create a good deal of anger in the White House. So why would you do that? I mean the president is going to be there for two more years. He’s just taken on the Cuba lobby. And he’s basically saying that I’ll veto any effort to impose new sanctions. So there’s a potential here for him to take on the Jewish lobby. Because I assume that AIPAC and the pro-Israel community will get behind the Prime Minister. And so we’re going to move from a kind of what was– a Democrat versus Republican argument with some Democrats supporting the Republicans on this issue of sanctions, to the President versus Israel and its supporters, and that’s not a place where we want to be. Anybody  who cares about the Israel US relationship should not want to be there.

This is the wisest analysis I’ve seen about the fiasco. “Anybody who cares about the Israel US relationship should not want” this speech. It is why so many segments of the lobby, centrists, liberal Zionists, even neocon Robert Kagan now in the Washington Post, have thrown themselves into opposing the speech. The only ones who want the speech are diehard neocons who seem to think this is the only way to get a war with Iran– and the left and national interest types, people who want the speech to come off so that America will have to watch as the Congress jumps up and down to give repeated standing ovations to a foreign prime minister who opposes our president, so that America will ask why? As Scott Horton tweeted:

Source: mondoweiss.net