Arab League Syria suspension illegal under organization’s charter
Is the Arab League legally justified in suspending Syrian membership within the league in order to resolve this issue? —absolutely not. A clear violation of the Arab League Charter occurred when someone concocted the idea to “suspend” Syria from the League, which resulted, in essence in the quasi-expulsion of the Arab state....ICA built on the unifying principles of Islam
To our respected community, peace be upon you: The Islamic Center of America brings you greetings and salutations while the entirety of mankind celebrates the birth of the Prophet Esa and the New Year of 2012. During this time of celebration by followers of Christianity, Judaism and Islam, it is appropriate to promote a new...
Who’s inventing, Newt?
December 25th, 20110 In the wake of Newt Gingrich's ridiculous comments about Palestinians being an "invented" people I'd like to make a recommendation: Newt, before making historically inaccurate statements, please go read up on Middle East history. Palestinians strongly began to assert their Palestinian identity as far back as the 1930s....Israel’s Frankenstein is turning on its creator
There is a famous scene in Mary Shelley's classic where Victor Frankenstein realizes that he created a monster and that this monster might be the end of him. Such is the scene that comes to mind when thinking about the news emerging from the occupied West Bank in recent days. Israeli settlers, living in illegal colonies in Palestinian...Embellishing the Iraq War: Moral victory, selective body counts
Someone ought to let mainstream news producers know that the nearly 4,500 U.S. soldiers killed in the Iraq war were not the only victims. Hundreds of thousands of Iraqis have also been killed as a result of the unwarranted U.S. invasion, and many more have been wounded and/or forever maimed.Chances are, all of these Iraq war victims...It is time for Palestine at the University of Michigan
Over the past couple of years, there has been increased curiosity and speculation about SAFE (Students Allied for Freedom & Equality) and what it stands for. Simply put, SAFE is a diverse group of student activists at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor, organized to promote justice, human rights, liberation, and...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......