Author Archives: Arab America

Washington (CNN)A large majority of Americans believe that Republican congressional leaders should not have invited Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to speak to Congress without consulting the White House, according to a new CNN/ORC survey.

The nationwide poll, released Tuesday, shows 63% of Americans say it was a bad move for congressional leadership to extend the invitation without giving President Barack Obama a heads up that it was coming. Only 33% say it was the right thing to do.

And as the Israeli-Palestinian conflict continues to simmer in the Middle East, the survey found that a similar majority thinks the U.S. should stay out of that fight altogether.

House Speaker John Boehner’s invitation to Netanyahu sparked a minor international incident and further strained already tense relations between the U.S. and Israeli leaders. Netanyahu is expected to make the case to Congress next month for increased sanctions on Iran, a key point of contention between the Israeli leader and Obama, who has been urging Congress to hold off on further sanctions for fear of jeopardizing nuclear talks with the nation.

Obama has said he will not meet with Netanyahu during his visit because the trip comes too close to Israel’s elections. A growing number of Democrats in both chambers have announced over the past two weeks that they won’t be attending the speech, prompting some to question whether the Israeli leader should cancel or move his speech.

Though the speech has become a partisan issue on Capitol Hill, even Republicans are split on whether it was a good idea for leadership to invite Netanyahu without alerting the White House, with a slight majority — 52% — backing the move. Just 14% of Democrats say it was the right thing to do, and just over a third of independents support the move.

But Americans overall believe the U.S. should stay out of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, with 66% in the new poll advocating the U.S. remain neutral. Of those who do support picking a side, the majority, 29%, back Israel, while only 2% support Palestine.

Even Republicans, typically seen as the party offering the strongest defense of Israel, are split on whether the U.S. should officially support Israel in the conflict. Forty-nine percent support backing the nation, while 47% say the U.S. should stay out of it.

And a significant age gap suggests U.S. sentiment may, in the long term, be moving further in favor of neutrality in the conflict. While 56% of those age 50 or older believe the U.S. should stay out of the Israeli-Palestinian fight, that number skyrockets to 75% of Americans under age 50.

The survey was conducted among 1,027 adult Americans from Feb. 12-15 and has a margin of error of 3 percentage points.

Source: www.cnn.com

The Middle Eastern art scene, historically patriarchal in nature, boasts some of the most influential female artists recognized on the global stage. Contributing to the evolving cultural landscape in the region, these artists work in a diverse range of media and engage with personal, as well as local and universal issues. Here are 10 of the best female artists from the Middle East.

Source: theculturetrip.com

The day before three young Muslims were shot and killed in their apartment building in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, a Muslim man in Canada suffered a similar fate. Mustafa Mattan, 28, was fatally shot Monday night inside the apartment he shared with his brother and roommates in Fort McMurray, Alberta.

No arrests have been made in the case, and Muslims on both sides of the border have expressed their outrage on Twitter. Some have indicated Mattan’s death was the result of a hate crime and therefore have voiced concern for the safety of members of the Muslim community. Others have decried the comparative lack of media coverage of Mattan’s death relative to that of the Chapel Hill shooting:

Source: www.ibtimes.com

Leaders of a Perth mosque say they have had to consider installing electric fences around the property to help protect against escalating attacks from anti- Muslim extremists.

In the past three months alone, the Masjid Ibrahim in Southern River has been the target of an attempted firebombing, damage and offensive graffiti and pigs’ heads have even been dumped on a driveway.

The most recent attack occurred early on Saturday when vandals painted the letters KKK – representing the Ku Klux Klan – on several of the mosque’s walls and doors.

Mosque spokesman Talha Patel said it was the 12th time that an incident had been reported to police in just over 12 months, yet no one had been arrested or charged.

“The behaviour of these individuals, it is just un-Australian in my view and it is only getting worse for us,” he said.

“We’ve even had people posting on Facebook about blowing this place up . . . but when we report it to the police, nothing seems to happen.”

Source: au.news.yahoo.com

This Wednesday, I’ll be attending a White House summit on violent extremism. Yes, we need to talk about Islam—but a lot more besides.
Will Wednesday’s White House “Summit on Countering Violent Extremism” focus just on Muslims? Or will the summit look at combatting extremist violence of all types including those related to white supremacists, “Patriot groups,” and even violence that is Christian inspired? If we truly want to save American lives, it needs to be the latter.

I will be attending the summit. In advance of this event, I spoke to several Muslim American leaders about their views of and concerns with it. The responses ranged from some having strong fears that it could further the false but often heard narrative that terrorism is committed only by Muslims. Others, however, unreservedly welcomed this summit as an opportunity to partner with the government to counter radicals.

There is agreement among all the Muslims leaders I reached out to that countering the radicalization of Muslims in the United States and abroad, together with the threats posed by ISIS and al Qaeda, must be addressed. Not only are innocent people being slaughtered by these groups in the name of our faith, but a poll released just last week alarmingly found that 27 percent of Americans believe that ISIS accurately represents Islam. 

Source: www.thedailybeast.com

A cynical liar or a president fighting for the best interests of his country? As Syria enters its fifth year of conflict, how much responsibility does President Bashar al-Assad believe he bears for his nation’s crisis?

I have been wondering why Bashar al-Assad said something to me that was patently not true.

In the interview that we did in Damascus for the BBC I asked him about the barrel bombs that the Syrian armed forces have been dropping on areas held by rebels, which also happen to be places where civilians live. The barrels contain a lethal cocktail of explosive and projectiles. Assad said that the suggestion barrel bombs were killing civilians was childish.

But there is plenty of video of barrel bombs being dropped and exploding. You can see some of it on the BBC website. And there’s lots of testimony from eye witnesses.

Like many others, I have seen the aftermath of attacks. In my case, it was in Douma, which is a rebel held suburb of Damascus. The explosion wrecked two blocks of flats, opposite each other on either side of a residential street.

Barrel bombs get dropped, not aimed. That makes them an indiscriminate weapon. International humanitarian law tells belligerents to do all they can to protect the lives of civilians. Dropping unguided barrels of explosive doesn’t count as trying very hard.

Source: www.bbc.com

The Nile River is one of the most important resources in Africa and supports the livelihoods of millions of people. Recently, though, efficient and equitable utilization of the waters of the Nile River has become an increasingly contentious issue, with many of the riparian countries demanding a revision of what they believe is an inappropriate legal regime. Currently, allocation and utilization of the waters of the Nile River is governed by the colonial-era Nile Waters Agreements, which were negotiated and entered into with the help of Great Britain, but without the participation of most of the river’s riparian states. These agreements allocated most of the waters of the Nile River to the downstream riparians—Egypt and Sudan—largely ignoring the development needs of the upstream riparians, like Ethiopia, whose highlands provide most of the water that flows into the Nile River. The upstream riparians contend that they were not party to the Nile Waters Agreements and thus should not be bound by them. As such, they want these agreements set aside and a new, more equitable legal regime. Egypt, however, considers the existing legal regime binding on all the Nile River riparian states and, thus, is opposed to any changes that might interfere with or reduce its “historically acquired rights.” Already the decision by Addis Ababa to proceed with the construction of the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam on the Blue Nile has caused significant deterioration in relations between Cairo and Addis Ababa.

With significant increases in population and pressure to deliver development, especially in the upstream riparian states, the demand for water has become a very important policy imperative in the region. In fact, earlier this year Egypt claimed that, in order to meet its growing water needs by 2050, it will need to add 21 billion cubic meters of water per year to its current water allocation of 55 billion cubic meters. Thus, there is a fear that if this issue is not fully resolved soon, it could morph into a military crisis.

In our new book, Governing the Nile River Basin: The Search for a New Legal Regime, we argue that the current legal regime governing the allocation and utilization of the waters of the Nile River is not tenable, and there is an urgent need for all the Nile River riparian states to enter into a mutually agreed upon legal regime. Issues pertaining to transboundary water resource management, the evolution of current agreements and the role and interests of colonial powers, theories of treaty succession, and the recent attempts by the riparian states to formulate a new legal agreement, are thoroughly examined. We conclude that the most effective way to deal with conflict arising from the allocation and utilization of the Nile River’s waters is for all the downstream and upstream riparians to engage in fresh negotiations to design and adopt a new legal regime. Through a fully consultative process, these countries can provide the Nile River Basin with a legal regime that enhances equitable allocation and utilization. 

Source: www.brookings.edu

This February 14, many Palestine advocates and good people around the world have chosen to celebrate “Happy Palestine Day” in place of the traditional Valentine’s Day.  It’s not because people have decided to forego love, candies, cuddly teddy bears, and cards.  Celebrating Palestine’s Day is simply a way for people to show their solidarity with the people of Palestine who live under the world’s most brutal occupation. 

As the Israeli government, with American complicity, continues to build up illegal settlements in the West Bank (which cut through Palestinian villages separating families and communities), and the almost eight year siege of Gaza creates the world’s largest open air prison — Palestine’s Day is one of the simplest ways to celebrate the Palestinian people by standing with them on this, the day of love.

Source: mondoweiss.net

Last week there was important news in the Rachel Corrie case: the Israeli Supreme Court ended the ten-year-effort by her family to hold the Israeli army to account for her death in March 2003, under the treads of an Israeli bulldozer as she was attempting to prevent a house demolition in Gaza.
The Israeli court affirmed a lower court ruling 2-1/2 years ago that the Israeli Defense Ministry could not “be held accountable for events that take place in a war zone,” as Al Jazeera reported in a long article. And we published the Corrie family’s statement that the ruling “amounts to judicial sanction of immunity for Israeli military forces when they commit injustices and human rights violations.”
But neither the New York Times nor the Washington Post reported on the Israeli Supreme Court decision. Jamil Dakwar, the director of the ACLU’s human rights program, tweeted the Al Jazeera story above and asked the NY Times:

American citizen was denied justice in Israeli courts. Is that not “news that’s fit to print”?

Michael Slackman, international managing editor of the Times, responded:

appreciate your noting this but it did run in the NYT on Feb. 12

Slackman is referencing this AP story posted at the Times site on Feb. 12: “Israel Court Rejects Appeal in Death of American Activist.” The same short piece appeared in the Washington Post online, too.

As Dakwar reminds the Times: “It wasn’t published in the print version, was it?”

No; and the matter is not a trivial oversight. As the Corries pointed out, the U.S. government continues to call for an open and transparent investigation by Israel, but there has never been one– and there have never been consequences to Israel for its inaction. The Israeli court decision did not come up at the State Department briefing last week– even at a time when the killing of Kayla Mueller, one country over, is seen as a cause for the U.S. to go to war. And both Kayla and Rachel had served in the International Solidarity Movement that works for Palestinian human rights.

Source: mondoweiss.net

Alternative News 15 Feb — The West Bank settlement council of Samaria is targeting potential Jewish immigrants from France, encouraging them to move to five specially selected settlements in the northern West Bank — The settler-affiliated news site Arutz 7 reports that Gershon Mesika, Head of the Samaria regional council, and his deputy, Yossi Dagan, held home meetings in Paris last week, during which they provided practical information about the area, the settlements and their characters, educational systems and housing possibilities. Following these home meetings, an in-depth tour of the northern West Bank settlement area is being conducted this week for potential immigrants. Gershon Mesika, who is under police investigation for alleged acts of corruption, stated that “Numerous settlements are interested in absorbing immigrants from France, with the knowledge that this is Zionism and a true mission. We conducted in-depth examinations concerning the demands of the immigrants and participating settlements, such that the absorption will be positive both amongst the immigrants and residents of the settlements themselves”. Last summer a group of ten immigrating families from France were taken directly from the airport to the northern West Bank settlement of Yakir, where a system of “community immigrant absorption” was implemented in which the immigrants were adopted by local residents. The project was judged a success, and Mesika ordered expansion of the project to include four additional settlements.

Source: mondoweiss.net

Two weeks ago Angela Davis gave a heavily-attended speech on “Racism, Militarism, Poverty: From Ferguson to Palestine” at an annual Martin Luther King Jr event at the University of California at Santa Cruz. Some pro-Israel Jewish students protested the speech, and the school’s chancellor defended the invitation. This letter of congratulations was posted on the International Jewish Anti-Zionist Network website.

The undersigned organizations write in support of UC Santa Cruz Chancellor George Blumenthal for his office’s selection and sponsorship of the Black feminist theorist and activist Angela Davis, a luminary of our movements and our region, who delivered a speech on “Racism, Militarism, Poverty: From Ferguson to Palestine” at UCSC’s 31st annual Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial Convocation. The event was attended by 1,000 people with 500 more spilling outside, and closed with a standing ovation. This gathering’s great appeal is indicative of the growing power of movements resisting state violence – from communities challenging prisons and policing to those fighting imperialism and global repression.

In particular, we congratulate the chancellor for not bowing to the pressure of the Amcha Initiative – an organization that exists to attack and attempt to silence professors, students and others who dare speak out in support of the Palestinian cause. Amcha uses unscrupulous and relentless tactics to advance its racist program: attacking professors for establishing academic relationships with Palestinian institutions and accusing Palestinian student activists of being tied to “terrorist” organizations. Amcha has a long history of harassing student activists at UCSC in particular, and its 2011 Title VI complaint alleging anti-Semitism at UCSC (which was declared unfounded by the Department of Education) had a chilling effect on student and faculty speech.

We write specifically in support of the movements and individuals, like Angela Davis, who are exposing the role of the U.S. government and its partnership with Israeli state agencies and corporations to police. This partnership has expanded repressive policing, which criminalizes Black, Brown, immigrant, poor, queer and transgender communities. The U.S. wields the world’s largest and most powerful military, which it employs to gain access to resources and geopolitical influence, targeting Third World people. It trains police and militias around the world in order to monitor and repress populations and movements, and funds and supports the state of Israel to do the same. Israel has developed its military and surveillance infrastructure through its repression of Palestinians and the colonization of their land; in turn, Israel markets its products and shares its repressive tactics and technologies with the United States, Europe, and regimes across the Third World/Global South, bolstering its militarized economy and geopolitical stature.

The United States and Israel work together on targeting communities of color/Third World people in order to maintain U.S. economic and political power globally and to support Israel’s occupation and colonization of Palestine. In one example of this U.S./Israeli partnership, the Anti-Defamation League (ADL) – an organization promoting support for and collaboration with the Israeli state in numerous sectors across the U.S. – and the U.S.-based Jewish Institute for National Security Affairs (JINSA) have facilitated Israeli military training of more than 14,000 U.S. law enforcement officials. The “counterterrorism” and “population control” techniques U.S. police departments learn are used to target communities and repress popular protest. These partnerships build up Israel’s capacity for the repression of Palestinians as well as its military and surveillance industries. Those trained by Israel include the former St. Louis County Police Department chief (whose jurisdiction includes Ferguson), the New York and Oakland Police Departments. In fact, ADL defended the St. Louis police in their murder of Michael Brown and the NYPD in their murder of Eric Garner.

Source: mondoweiss.net

The leader of Lebanon’s Hezbollah movement acknowledged for the first time Monday that the Shiite militia has sent fighters to Iraq, and he urged Arab states throughout the region to set aside sectarian rivalries to confront the threat posed by the Islamic State.

In a videotaped speech delivered to followers in Beirut’s southern suburbs, Hasan Nasrallah called on the region’s traditional American allies to abandon their reliance on the United States and instead align with Hezbollah — and by implication with its sponsor Iran — to defeat the Sunni extremists.

“He who relies on the Americans relies on an illusion. You rely on someone who is stealing from you and conniving against you,” he said.

Source: www.washingtonpost.com