Articles

Washington Report on Middle East Affairs, May 2004, page 96

Bulletin Board

Conferences, Campaigns, Awards, Fundraisers, Internships and Deaths

Caterpillar Campaign

A large mobilization, organized by SUSTAIN, will take place April 23 in Peoria, Illinois at Caterpillar Corporation headquarters. Cindy and Craig Corrie, parents of Rachel Corrie, who was crushed to death by an IDF-driven Caterpiller bulldozer, will be at the protest, demanding to meet with Caterpillar executives. The group’s primary demand, however, as it has been for the past two years, is that Caterpillar cease all sales to the Israel Defense Forces. For additional information, or to make a non-tax-deductible contribution to help defray the costs of this national action, contact Matt Gaines, Stop Cat Coalition, 1545 S. State #307, Chicago, IL 60605. Checks should be made out to “Stop Cat Coalition,” and credit and debit card donations can be made online at <http://www.stopcat.org/donate.html>.

Palestinian Humanities and Arts Now (al-PHAN) is currently accepting submissions for its Visual Arts Exhibit entitled “Palestine: Defining a Cultural Existence,” with exact dates and venue to be announced. Artists should submit 5 to 10 slides of current work and a written proposal for work they would like to have included in the exhibit. Artists do not have to be Palestinian, but submitted work must deal with the topic of Palestine, and may be in any medium except performance. Submissions should be in slide format only, not including video pieces: no digital files will be considered. Mail proposals to: al-PHAN, Attn: Hanah Diab, P.O. Box 118526, Chicago, IL 60611. Questions may be e-mailed to < This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. >. Deadline for submissions is April 30.

The Arab American Institute’s 2004 Kahlil Gibran “Spirit of Humanity” Awards will be presented May 4 in Washington, DC. Honorees include Muhammad Ali, ANERA, Rock the Vote, MPI Media and the first “Najeeb Halaby Award for Public Service” to be presented by H.M. Queen Noor to Congressman Nick Rahall. Arab-American comedians Maysoon Zayid and Dean Obeidallah will also perform. Visit <http://www.aaiusa.org/> for more details, or contact Karim Shaaban at < This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. > or (202) 429-9210, ext 25.

The Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem, Michel Sabbah, will address Detroit Christians on May 22 at the Third Symposium and Banquet on the Christians of the Holy Land at Madonna University in Livonia, Michigan, sponsored by the Holy Land Christian Ecumenical Foundation (HCEF), the Holy Land Christian Support Network (HCSN) and the Catholic Archdiocese of Detroit, among others. The symposium, “Building Bridges for Peace,” will provide American Christians in Detroit the latest information on the status of Christians in the Holy Land, explain how they are handling the duress of military occupation, and present practical ways American Christians can help. For more information, contact HCEF, 6935 Wisconsin Ave., Suite 214, Bethesda, MD 20815, (301) 951-9400, toll-free (866) 871-4233 (HCEF); Web site <http://www.hcef.org>; e-mail: < This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. >.

American Muslims for Jerusalem (AMJ) recently announced openings in its internship program for this spring (April 1-June 1) and summer (June 1-Aug. 15). AMJ interns gain valuable hands-on experience working on the issue of Palestine from the group’s Washington, DC headquarters, just two blocks from Capitol Hill, and build important networks with other Muslim activists in and around Washington, DC. While there is no deadline for applications, slots will be filled based on a first-come, first-served basis. To apply, send a résumé, along with a cover letter and at least two references, to Raeed Tayeh at < This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. >, or via fax at (202) 548-4201

A conference on “The Study of Persian Culture In the West: Sixteenth to Early Twentieth Century” will be held at the State Hermitage Museum in St. Petersburg, Russia June 24 to 28. Among the topics are the objectives and motivations behind the West’s interest in the Persian world, including the political, cultural and economic conditions that served as the background against which this interest emerged. For more information call 44-20-74934766, e-mail < This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. >, or visit the Web site <www.iranheritage.org/hermitageconference/>.

Mohammad Abu Abbas, the leader of the Palestinian Liberation Front (PLF) who was abducted by U.S. Special Forces in Iraq in April 2003, died March 9 in a U.S. jail in Iraq. While the Pentagon said he died of natural causes, the PLF held the U.S. accountable for his “assassination.” Born in a town near Haifa in 1948, six months after the creation of Israel, Abu Abbas and his family fled to Syria, where he grew up. A graduate of Damascus University, where he earned a degree in Arabic literature, he joined the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine-General Command (PFLP-GC) in 1973, serving as the group’s spokesman. Along with the late Talaat Yaqub, he helped found the PLF in Lebanon in 1977 and, following Yaqub’s death in 1988, became its secretary-general, a post he held until his death. He also became a member of the PLO’s executive and central committees. The PLF was active in the late 1970s and 1980s, but most of its operations were poorly planned and executed, and often foiled by the Israelis. One attack for which Abu Abbas was held responsible took place April 7, 1985, when four of his men hijacked the Italian cruise ship Achille Lauro, sailing from Alexandria to Israel, and threatened to kill all 400 people on board if Israel did not release 50 men it recently had arrested from Force 17, Yasser Arafat’s crack troopers. In the rampage, the hijackers killed an elderly, handicapped American Jew, throwing him overboard. A warrant for Abbas’ arrest was filed in the U.S., Italy and Israel, and he was expelled from Tunis. He then moved to Iraq, where ex-President Saddam Hussain gave him asylum. With the 1993 signing of the Oslo accords, however, Abu Abbas laid down his arms, saying the time for armed struggle was now over and that it was time to re-build Palestine with Arafat.

Ma’ruf al-Dawalibi, one of the most prominent Syrian figures of the pre-Ba’ath era, died Jan. 15 in Saudi Arabia. Born and raised in Aleppo into a middle-class mercantile family, he studied journalism and law at Damascus University and obtained a graduate degree in international law from the Sorbonne Academy in Paris. In 1947, one year after Syrian independence was achieved, Dawalibi ran for parliament, becoming a deputy for Aleppo, and began to teach at Damascus University. A co-founder of the People’s Party, which advocated maintaining Syria’s democratic system and establishing union with neighboring Iraq, he established a reputation for his distrust of Damascus politicians. He served as minister of defense under President Hashim al-Atasi, but resigned after a power struggle with the deputy chief of staff, Gen. Adib al-Shishakli. Dawalibi became prime minister in 1961, when the People’s Party was voted back into office. When, on March 8, 1963, the Ba’ath party came to power, Dawalibi was arrested along with all anti-Nasser politicians and incarcerated in the notorious Mezzeh Prison. A few months later, he was released and exiled to Lebanon, then moved to Saudi Arabia, where he served as private adviser to King Saud and his brothers King Faysal al-Saud, King Khalid and King Fahd.

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