Three Views: Obama's Visit to Israel
President Barack Obama shakes hands with Palestinian children during a visit to the Church of the Nativity in the occupied West Bank town of Bethlehem, March 22, 2013. (ATEF SAFADI-POOL/GETTY IMAGES)
Grave Threats to the Middle East
Lebanese Kurds wave the Kurdish flag and a flag picturing Kurdish rebel leader Abdullah Ocalan during Persian New Year, or Noruz, celebrations in Beirut, March 21, 2013. (JOSEPH EID/AFP/GETTY IMAGES)
To the Victor, the Spoils
Israeli Finance Minister Yair Lipid (c) with former Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman, who resigned his position after being indicted on charges of fraud and breach of trust, at the Feb. 5 swearing in of the 19th Knesset. (URIEL SINAI/AFP/GETTY IMAGES)
Getting the Words Right: Israel Isn’t Occupying Palestine—It’s Conquered It
Israeli soldiers take pictures of each other in front of Israel’s illegal apartheid wall near the Qalandia checkpoint outside Ramallah, March 30, 2013. Israeli troops earlier had clashed with Palestinian demonstrators commemorating the 37th anniversary of “Land Day.” (ABBAS MOMANI/AFP/GETTY IMAGES)
The Cyrus Cylinder—Often Referred to as The “First Bill of Human Rights”
Clay, Babylon, Mesopotamia, after 539 BCE D x H: 7.8-10 x 21.9-22.8 cm British Museum, London, ME 90920 Photo: ©The Trustees of the British Museum
Two Views: King Pyrrhus and the War on Iraq
Prosthetic legs for wounded American soldiers at the Center for Intrepid rehabilitation gym at Brooke Army Medical Center in San Antonio, TX, Aug. 7, 2012. (JOHN MOORE/GETTY IMAGES)
December 2010, Page 7
Publishers' Page
As We Go To Press...
A divided nation goes to the polls. In its campaign to "take back" America the political right has used "wedge issues" to attack the civil, human, and religious liberties of minorities—or any other American who disagrees with their ideologies. Thanks to the recent Supreme Court decision in favor of Citizens United, anonymous—and some not-so-anonymous—conservatives have been pouring last-minute money into attack ads, primarily against Democratic candidates. The press is paying much attention to this tactic—as it should. But somehow the phrase...
Anonymous Campaign Contributions...
Rings a bell. Oh, yes—we must be thinking about the 30-odd pro-Israel PACs with such names as Delaware Valley PAC, Heartland PAC, Northern Californians for Good Government, etc., who magically have been giving to the identical congressional candidates every election cycle for more than three decades. Amazing how these "unaffiliated" PACs can read each others' minds, isn't it? Unless—could it be that—they receive their...
Marching Orders From AIPAC.
As plaintiffs in a nearly 21-year-old case against the FEC, which refuses to classify AIPAC as a political committee required to reveal its funding sources and expenditures, we have argued that it is precisely such coordination that results in the lock-step donating pattern of these pro-Israel PACs. On Sept. 6, however, our case finally was dismissed by Judge Richard J. Leon of the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia. Meanwhile, however, the effort continues to get the Justice Department to classify AIPAC as a foreign agent for Israel, with the same goal: disclosure by AIPAC of its income and expenditures. (See p. 24 of this issue for a discussion of both cases.)
Ignorance, Fear and Anger...
Are a dangerous combination. Americans, rightfully, are angry. Thanks to the mainstream media, however, they are not aware of the role of pro-Israel PACs or the reasons their sons and daughters are fighting needless wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. While their homes are foreclosed, Congress makes sure that Israel gets all its U.S. taxpayer dollars on the first day of the fiscal year. Meanwhile, the media fan the flames of fear, with breathless reports of the latest foiled terrorist plot—one often instigated by shady FBI informers themselves, sending dozens of innocent people to prison.
We've All Heard About...
The Oct. 27 arrest of Farooque Ahmed, 34, a Pakistani-American living in Ashburn, VA, who allegedly conspired with people he thought were al-Qaeda to bomb Virginia subway stations. As Imam Johari Abdul-Malik, spokesman for Dar Al-Hijrah mosque in Falls Church, VA commented, "If you're dumb enough and sick enough to think you're working for al-Qaeda, then maybe your behind should be put in jail. If what the authorities accuse him of turns out to be true, I have very little sympathy for someone who plans something like that."
But There's Been Barely a Blip...
About the arrest on Oct. 8 of 42-year-old Elliot Doxer, an employee of Akamai Technologies, Inc., in Cambridge, who offered to spy for Israel in order "to help our homeland and our war against our enemies." From 2007 to 2009, Doxer passed information about his company's computer security systems and clients to an undercover officer posing as an Israeli agent, and told his handler he could do other special operations abroad as needed. Only readers of the Jerusalem Post and a local Boston, MA paper were informed about this latest one-man Israeli spy ring.
Another Underreported Story...
Was the Oct. 21 arrival of the multinational Viva Palestina ship, carrying $5 million of aid for Gazans, at Egypt's port city of al-Arish from Lattakia, Syria. The convoy, organized by former British parliamentarian George Galloway, who was denied entry into Egypt, traveled overland into the Israeli-blockaded Gaza Strip through Egypt's Rafah crossing.
Just in Time.
We thank you for your generous response to our bi-annual donation appeal—your contributions, large and small, allowed us to pay the printer for this issue. We also searched for, and found, a new staffmember, Alexandra Begley, who will shortly begin training as the Washington Report's administrative director. We desperately needed another writer to cover local DC events, as well as someone to run the office and pay the bills. Please continue to donate and help our magazine keep going. A final donation appeal will reach your mailboxes before tax year 2010 comes to an end.
Challenges and Opportunities
The holiday season is beginning, and the Palestinian Arts & Crafts Trust (PACT) and AET Book Club are ready to meet your gift-giving needs. Blatantly biased publishers used to shy away from "controversial" books on the Israel/Arab dispute. Our offerings (see pp. 68 and 69, and visit our Web site, <www.middleeastbooks.com>), are provocative and more critical of Israel and U.S. foreign policy in the Middle East. In addition to the latest books, music, cards and DVDs, our Adams Morgan store in Washington, DC also carries Palestinian products, including embroidery, olive oil soap, and organic fair trade olive oil. Your purchases provide a market for Palestinian products in the U.S. and helps empower and sustain these communities. Give our books, goods, and of course the Washington Report magazine as gifts and use them to educate your friends and family. Let's work together to inform our fellow Americans and...
