Washington Report on Middle East Affairs, November 2011, Pages 44-45
Southern California Chronicle
U.N. Recognition of Palestinian Statehood Merely Symbolic?
By Pat and Samir Twair
A MONTH BEFORE the convening of the 66th session of the U.N. General Assembly, the Los Angeles Episcopalian Diocese hosted an Aug. 21 panel discussion emceed by Jim Prendergast on "The Pending United Nations Resolution on Palestinian Statehood." Occidental College Professor Emeritus Brice Harris reviewed the procedure for U.N. consideration of an application for membership; Cal Poly Pomona Professor Mahmood Ibrahim argued on behalf of the Palestinian position; and Randy Heyn-Lamb addressed Israel's opposition.
Dr. Harris explained that statehood membership requires nine of 15 votes in the Security Council, providing no permanent member votes against it; the General Assembly requires a two-thirds vote. Inasmuch as the U.S. was expected to veto the application, Harris said all the General Assembly can do is upgrade Palestine's status from "Observer Mission" to "Observer State."
This will be a symbolic lift for the Palestinians, Harris opined, but Israel will continue to build illegal settlements on Palestinian land and to repress the Palestinians despite repeated U.N. resolutions against these actions.
"One good reason for the U.N. to vote for Palestinian statehood membership is because Israel says no," countered Dr. Ibrahim. "Statehood would empower the Palestinians to press for sanctions on Israel until it abides by international law.
Israeli, American Paraticipants Discuss Gaza Flotilla Campaign
Israeli peace activist Yonatan Shapira and Mary Hughes-Thompson discussed their experiences aboard international flotillas trying to break Israel's crippling blockade of Gaza at an Aug. 7 panel in the Westside Pavilion moderated by Jeff Warner of Los Angeles Jews for Peace.
Shapira gained international attention when he authored the 2003 Pilots' Letter which he signed along with 26 other Israeli pilots who refused to drop bombs on civilian areas in Gaza and the West Bank. They were dismissed from the air force, but weren't prosecuted, Shapira contends, because a trial would have given the dissenters a public forum.
The high-profile dissident and former officer in an Israeli Black Hawk helicopter squadron speaks publicly in Israel, Europe and the U.S. In 2010, he was aboard a small boat in the Gaza flotilla that carried harmonicas, toys and letters destined for Gaza. His boat, along with its passengers and crew, were apprehended by the Israelis.
This year Shapira joined the crew of a larger vessel that departed from Athens on July 1 headed toward Gaza. "We knew we'd be stopped," he said, "and when we were intercepted, our boat carried a huge banner with the words: 'Who's the God of the Greek Sea Poseidon or Bibi?'"
Hughes-Thompson, who has made six trips to the West Bank and Gaza, said she became interested in the plight of the Palestinians when she saw camera footage of 12-year-old Mohammed al-Doura, cowering in his father's arms in Gaza before he was shot to death in a fusillade of Israeli bullets on Sept. 30, 2000. She sailed on the first boat to Gaza in August 2008 and this year was aboard the Canadian boat, Tahrir, bound again for the besieged territory.
During the question-and-answer period, Shapira noted that Israeli helicopters would not have hovered above the Turkish ship Mavi Marmara in 2010 if there were any possibility passengers were armed.
In Shapira's opinion, worldwide exposure of the level of lies Israel uses has made the Gaza flotilla voyages worthwhile. "Even Israelis don't believe its lies," he said.
"Israel really fears the nonviolent struggle of the Palestinians," Hughes-Thompson added. "Unfortunately, the Zionists are too entrenched in the U.S.—particularly in Congress. If the U.S. goes broke, it will stop filling Bibi's begging bowl."
Syrian Opposition Leader Predicts Assad Departure
Several dozen Syrian-Americans gathered Aug. 13 in Anaheim's Medan el-Tahrir restaurant to watch Syrian opposition leader Riad Saif speak via Skype from Damascus about the ongoing revolution. They also heard from Ausama Monajed, director of the London-based Strategic Research and Communications Center, who discussed developments in the then-five-month-old opposition to President Bashar Assad and his Alawite generals. Following his remarks, Monajed responded to questions from the audience, including these writers.
According to Monajed, "Many in the Syrian military fear retribution and are waiting for the right time to defect. They'll soon join our ranks when bigger cracks appear in the regime's structure through Syria's isolation from the international community and drastic financial setbacks."
Responding to claims that the Syrian opposition is hopelessly fractured, the British-educated economist said that dozens of opposition groups are uniting into coalitions. Indeed, a month later, on Sept. 15, the Syrian National Council was formed in Istanbul. Of its 140 members, representing Syria's political, regional, ethnic and religious diversity, 52 percent belong to the new grassroots movements born in the revolution. Sixty percent of SNC members are inside Syria, the rest are abroad.
When asked to venture a prediction on the conclusion of the Assad regime, Monajed replied: "Soon Bashar will leave or be forced to leave."
Humor in Marriage to a Muslim
Actress/comedian Shelley Bennett has created a side-splitting look at what it's like for a gal from Indiana to marry a Muslim. Except that Shelley, who grew up in a town a few miles from Santa Claus, IN, isn't an ordinary Midwesterner, and her Egyptian-American husband, Dr. Mohammed Nour, is an anesthesiologist at the prestigious UCLA Medical Center.
Bennett, who's had roles in the soap opera "As the World Turns," Ian Smith's "Happy New Year" and "Machine Head" and appears in Bill Maher's documentary, "Bright Day!," decided to write "Condemned," a one-woman show about her Midwestern relatives' and friends' lack of understanding of her husband's Muslim practices.
The 45-minute production, still a work-in-progress, debuted Sept 1 to a full house at the Working Stage Theatre in Hollywood.
Asked why she chose the title "Condemned," Bennett explained: "Many times in the context of religion or as a repercussion to what is perceived as 'bad' behavior, individuals are condemned. But who determines what is 'bad'? I've found that bigotry exists everywhere, and to some degree in all of us…no matter how open-minded and evolved we think we are. To recognize this and to have a good laugh at the same time is my goal."
In her monologue, Bennett laments how her Indiana kin were baffled by her husband's practice of praying five times a day, or assumed Islam is a country. She hopes to add more characters to extend the show to one hour.
"Right now the emphasis is on my people—American folks—and we need to open it a bit," she said.
She briefly visited her husband's family city of Alexandria, Egypt. Each October, the couple, who were married in 2009, visit Nour's parents in Doha, Qatar, where Bennett's father-in-law is a pediatric surgeon for Cornell University's overseas medical school.
Her next performance will be Oct. 6, 8 p.m., at Working Stage Theatre. For reservations and tickets call (323) 521-8600. Bennett will perform her show the first Thursday of every month as long as there is a demand from theatergoers.
CSUN Symposia, Reception
In honor of its new Middle Eastern and Islamic Studies program (MEIS), California State University at Northridge (CSUN) will present an inaugural symposia on campus Nov. 9 and 15 on "The Middle East Across the Curriculum."
Mindful of the academic significance of MEIS to the university, CSUN art history Professor Owen Doonan has extended the "Azimuth-Ascension" exhibition of two major Tunisian artists (see Sept./Oct. 2011 Washington Report on Middle East Affairs, pp. 38-39) at his nearby New Sahara Gallery. At 6 p.m. Nov. 9 conference speakers and faculty members will gather for a reception in the gallery, located at 18860 Nordhoff Ave. in Northridge.
Eminent Middle East scholar Juan Cole will be the keynote speaker at the Nov. 9 symposium. Other notable participants at the inaugural event will be Los Angeles County Musum of Art curator Linda Komaroff and Dr. Dwight Reynolds of University of California, Santa Barbara.
For more information on the symposia, e-mail <[email protected]>.
Pat and Samir Twair are free-lance journalists based in Los Angeles.
