Would an attack on Iran enable the Jordan-is-Palestine scheme?
Israel’s tolerance for Palestine is diminishing. As a solution to rising Palestinian demography, some of Israel’s extra-conservative leaders think of war leading to the expulsion of Palestinians into neighboring Jordan.Eleven million people live in Israel and its occupied, annexed or controlled territories. The population...Congressional tyranny, White House surrender
Paraphrasing Shakespeare, something is rotten in the state of Capitol Hill. A majority of Congress is just about to put the finishing touches on an amendment to the military budget authorization legislation that will finish off some critical American rights under our Constitution.Here is how two retired 4 star marine generals, Charles C....Immigrants help make U.S. great
As a lifelong resident of metropolitan Detroit and a Jewish person, I am deeply troubled by the decision of home improvement giant Lowe's to abruptly pull its advertising from the TLC reality TV show "All-American Muslim."Regardless of race or religion, all Americans should condemn this blatant bigotry by Lowe's. This unfortunate...Prepping Americans for an Iran war
There's no letup, is there? The preparation of the American mind, the world mind, for the next gala performance of D&D — Death and Destruction. The Bunker Buster bombs are now 30,000 pounds each one, six times as heavy as the previous delightful model.But the Masters of War still want to be loved; they need for you to believe them...How about an Israeli destruction freeze?
WASHINGTON — Much was made of what many in the media described as a "confrontation" between Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu and U.S. President Barack Obama over the building of illegal Israeli settlements (or colonies) in occupied Palestinian territory. From the very beginning of the Obama administration, the pursuit of...On freedom and imperialism: Arab Spring and the intellectual divide
The so-called ‘Arab Spring’ is creating an intellectual divide that threatens any sensible understanding of the turmoil engulfing several Arab countries. While it is widely understood that revolutions endeavor to overthrow political structures and aim to change the social order and power paradigm within any given society,...Neither Fatah nor Hamas can unite the Palestinians
Palestinian leaders Mahmoud Abbas and Khaled Mashal met in Cairo last week to try to resolve their differences. The outcome is not totally clear yet.Mr. Abbas is president of the Palestinian Authority and chief of Fatah, the mainstream political party. He administers a designated area in the Israeli- occupied West Bank. Mashal is chief...Palestinian Authority and Hamas meet to reconcile: What to expect?
What would most effectively unite Palestinians is not holding elections, reconciliation of leaders or the appointment of a new prime minister. Unity is best achieved when the people collectively build a common vision on how to tackle the occupation.It is breaking news that the two major Palestinian leaders, Mahmoud Abbas and Khaled...
Karman galvanized Arab women in ‘Arab Spring’
November 26th, 20110 Tawakkul Karman, the first Arab woman to receive the Nobel Peace Prize, has achieved an important honor for all Arabs. This activist has worked tirelessly for years standing up for justice, freedom, human rights, and a better life for all Yemeni people. Karman has bravely faced the dictatorial regime (of Ali Abdullah Saleh), his police,...Nuclear Israel revisited
To have or not to have nuclear weapons is a question of human security and not European privilege.NEW YORK CITY — How many times must this story be retold? It is common knowledge in the United States, in Europe, in the Arab World, indeed in the entire world. The international press has been reporting on it since the late 1960s. The...Syria on the brink: Uprising victim to regional, international power play
Syrians continue to be victimized, not only in violent clashes with the Syrian military, but also by regional and international players with various agendas. Pro-Syrian President Bashar Assad demonstrators, shout slogans during a buffer between pro and anti-Assad protesters, in Beirut, Lebanon, on Monday May 23, 2011. Protests in Syria...Striking Iran would be a dangerous mistake
An attack on Iran could turn out to be a reckless "solution" to a complex problemLast week a well informed Israeli journalist revealed that his country is ready to eliminate Iran's nuclear facilities with an air strike. Israel's current political leadership proclaims it is "close" to decisive action. Arguments for intervention in...Libya and Iraq: Mirror images in the grip of big oil
The U.N. Security Council's mandate, which authorized NATO's military operations to "protect civilians" in Libya, was just as specious as the one that allowed the Bush administration to invade Iraq to destroy stockpiles of nonexistent weapons of mass destruction. Just as George W. Bush and Dick Cheney were focused on securing Iraq's oil...One more failed round of Middle East negotiations could kill the “peace process”
As the Palestinians made their long-awaited request for United Nations membership, Washington called for a new round of Mideast negotiations. The Palestinian bid was a move of desperation. The Obama administration and Israel saw Palestine membership as an unsettling, game-changing event. But to most of the international community,...Abbas battling on many fronts
Omar did not expect his family to be so distraught and despondent when he came home Friday to his home in the town of Al-Khedr on the outskirts of Bethlehem. His father's health took a sharp blow after occupation forces seized large sections of family land to expand the Jewish settlement of Nogdeem, where Israeli Foreign Minister Avigdor......
Yemen strikes perpetuate America’s false sense of security
October 8th, 20110 Americans Anwar al-Awlaki and Samir Khan were hardly household names before their assassination by a drone missile strike occasioned a news cycle of jubilation in Washington's endless war on terror. Yet far from winning greater security, such strikes serve only to terrify local populations across the Middle East and North Africa (MENA),...The flight of the plucked chicken
A wonderful speech. A beautiful speech.The language expressive and elegant. The arguments clear and convincing. The delivery flawless.A work of art. The art of hypocrisy. Almost every statement in the passage concerning the Israeli-Palestinian issue was a lie. A blatant lie: the speaker knew it was a lie, and so did the audience.It was......
Palestine and the UN: History of a double standard
Nowhere have the U.N. ideals and mechanisms been more mired in power politics than in Palestine. The efforts to neutralize U.N. intervention have been championed mainly by the United States. This week's efforts by the Obama administration working on behalf of Israel took advocacy to a whole new level. Failure to...All victims of 9/11 should be remembered
"To govern is to choose, and the choices made in 2002 were fateful. The United States began that year shocked and wounded, but with tremendous strategic advantages. Its population was more closely united...World opinion was strongly sympathetic. Longtime allies were eager to help...The federal budget was nearly in balance...All that was...Remembering a 9/11 Yemeni American hero
This year closes the first decade since that horrific day, the 11th of September 2001, the day that changed the entire world and certainly changed history. Ten years later, we remember the innocent lives that were taken on that day, as well as the thousands and perhaps millions of innocents who passed away in other countries as a...Understanding Muslims’ feelings toward America
On the ten-year anniversary of the 9/11 attacks, many Americans are wondering whether the risk of a terrorist attack against America has been reduced. The picture is mixed. With the death of Osama bin Laden, al Qaeda is weaker. With revolutions in several Arab countries, frustrations with unpopular autocratic governments — a recruiting......
A Libyan American perspective of the war in Libya
I was born and raised in the United States of America, I had seldom thought about where my father and his family came from until the war broke out in Libya a few months ago. But now, it seems as if my days are centered on the conflict. I find myself watching YouTube videos, reading blogs and having discussions about the war to oust the...Holding our hands out for the children
Often we do things because we think they are the right thing to do. However, when thinking is replaced by knowing, that's when our perspectives on life can change forever. I thought I understood why I had been serving the renowned and respected Al-Mabarrat organization for almost 4 years—to help and serve orphans.......
Michigan’s immigrants key to its past and future
August 21st, 20110 In the last several months, we've put Michigan on a path toward economic recovery after a dismal 10 years, including an eight-year recession dubbed "the winter that never ends." Michigan Governor Rick SnyderBut spring did arrive. We balanced the state budget in late May, the quickest we've finalized a budget in 30 years. We...With debts soaring, global uprising begins
Watching the tragic events unfolding around the world, from starvation in Somalia to rioting in London, we Palestinians are not feeling vindicated but merely sad and angry. For a long time many of us said that the increasing chasm between the rich and the poor (the haves and the have nots) has grown to obscene levels. The......