BY GHASSAN RUBEIZ, Ph.D.
Columnist, Palm Beach Gardens, FL

Israel’s tolerance for “Palestine” is diminishing.  Some of Israel’s extra-conservative leaders think of war leading to the expulsion of Palestinians into neighboring Jordan as a solution.

Overt and direct ethnic cleansing of Palestinians is not likely to happen, but it may be achieved indirectly as a byproduct of a future regional war.

Eleven million people live in Israel and its occupied, annexed or controlled territories.  The population under Israeli authority is now half Arab and half Jewish. One of every five Israeli citizens is Palestinian. Half a million Israeli settlers live in the occupied West Bank and in East Jerusalem.  Gaza’s 1.6 million people live under the rule of Hamas, an Islamic resistance. But Gaza’s air space is closed and its borders are under siege.

Naturally, this mix of sovereignty and identities has always been tense and volatile. Demography is rapidly changing among the Palestinians and the Ultra Orthodox and Mizrahi Israeli Jews. Ideology is shifting to the right.  The Arab Spring is introducing reform as well as uncertainty. Israel is alarmed by the rise of political Islam emerging from successive regime change in the Arab world. The simultaneous ascendancy of political Islam and radical conservative Jewish politics is not a coincidence: one side reinforces the other.
Extreme elements in the Israeli cabinet wish to see Palestinians of the West Bank transferred to neighboring Jordan. Starting with the displaced refugees after the 1948 war, about three million Palestinians – constituting half the population -  now live in Jordan. Currently, a special committee in the Knesset discusses a new bill which identifies Jordan as the Nation State of the Palestinian People.

Discussions of the so called “Jordanian Option” for a future Palestinian state are already active in the US, Europe and Israel.  The outrageous claim that Palestine is historically absent or invented emanates from the fact that the victor often dictates history. The idea of “justified” ethnic cleansing of Palestinians within the occupied territories and Israel sounds immoral to most Israelis. But for those who have no interest in a two-state solution – or in a bi-national state scenario with equality for Arab and Jews- reducing Palestinian presence in Eretz (Greater) Israel may look feasible in a pretext, such as a regional war.

Question: what pretext could be created to rationalize the driving of Palestinians out of the West Bank and into Jordan? To transfer Palestinians to Jordan requires a battle involving Palestinians. Although Palestinians are militarily exhausted, it would not take too much to provoke Hamas and Hezbollah to return to military confrontation.
For Israel, Iran appears to be a convenient setting to start a new wave of military intervention in the region. For warmongers, Iran today looks like Iraq nine years ago. The Persian state also serves as a conduit to a battle with armed Palestinians and their Lebanese allies on Israel’s border. Iran’s inflammatory rhetoric on the Holocaust, its regional alliances and nuclear adventures, provide a “perfect” enemy for those seeking an international crisis to induce the intended Palestinian population transfer. A swift Israeli air attack on Iran may not necessarily generate the conditions of ethnic transfer.  However, if the attack were to turn into a protracted war, Hamas and Hezbollah would likely be involved. If Israel were to win this protracted war, it would most likely arrange to push Palestinians across the Jordan River. But Israel’s victory in this scenario is not certain. Neither in 2006, nor in 2009, did Israel succeed in wiping out Hezbollah in Lebanon or Hamas in Gaza. The outcome of such wars is often inconclusive: No side wins; hatred rise and opinions shift to the extreme.

President Obama is not a fool to risk the creation of a regional war with Iran as a starting point.  Unlike his opponents, President Obama, stays firm on his Iran policy of sanction-based diplomacy. Today, compared to Newt Gingrich – who lately referred to Palestinians as an “invention”- and other GOP presidential hopefuls, Obama is starting again to look moderate on the Palestine question. Furthermore, the leaders of the American Jewish community are not yet sold on the idea of a war with Iran, and on a Jordanian option for peace. Finally, most Israelis know well that they cannot risk losing a single war. Should Obama win a second term, he will hopefully find a solution in dealing with an economically exhausted Iran and deal with the Arab-Israeli conflict with a firm hand. An Iranian Spring is in the background. War delays it.

Over the last four decades, the strongest means of Palestinian resistance has been their territoriality, their adherence to their land. They have learned from 1948 and 1967 wars that once they leave their land, homeland becomes a mirage. To the extent that the Palestinians avoid military confrontation with Israel, it will be difficult for Israel to find a pretext to deport masses of people. Moral restraint, anticipation of rage of 1.5 million Muslims, and world opinion will not allow unprovoked ethnic cleansing. Force should not be used to draw borders, displace people and forge national identity.

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By REUEL S. AMDUR
Guest Writer
Copied with permission from Canadian Charger

On July 11, the Israeli Knesset moved the country into even more dangerous territory. Haaretz columnist Bradley Burston called the new law punishing Israelis engaged in boycotts against Israel or the West Bank “the threshold test for Israeli fascism.” His article was headed “Israel’s boycott law: the quiet sound of going fascist.”
The new law, already being challenged before the highest court in Israel, provides that any person or organization engaging in such a boycott can be sued by the target of the boycott.  There is no necessity for the target to prove actual damages and the court is free to levy any amount of compensation.  As well, the law forbids a person or company taking part in such a boycott the right to bid on government tenders.
Reacting to the new law, the Israeli organization Peace Now listed the companies producing in or operating from the West Bank.  Most sell mainly in Israel.  Exceptions are the cosmetic manufacturers Ahuva and some wineries.  However, two multinationals are among the offenders: General Mills and Unilever.
If one wants to join the boycott movement, aimed at getting Israel out of the Occupied Palestinian Territories, these two multinationals are appropriate targets.  How to tackle the two is a problem.  Their products are numerous and ubiquitous.
Consider–these are just some of the most common General Mills labels: General Mills, Pillsbury, Häagen-Dazs, Betty Crocker, Bisquick, Kix, Cheerios, Fiber One, Gold Medal, Yoplait, and Green Giant.  For Unilever, common labels include Lipton’s, Becel, Hellman’s, Knorr, Dove, Lifebuoy, Lux, Pond’s, Sunsilk, Vaseline, Sunlight, and Surf.  How does one tackle such a list?  While some people might religiously avoid all these products and more by these corporations, we cannot realistically expect everyone to do so.  Hence, a more user-friendly is to select a small number of products for attention.
In the case of General Mills, the choice is direct.  Peace Now indicates that the brand name operating in the West Bank is Pillsbury.  So be it.  For Unilever, a couple possibilities are Hellman’s and Lipton’s.  There are other brands of mayonnaise and tea available for the consumer.
Okay, so don’t buy Pillsbury, Hellman’s, or Lipton’s so long as their companies are in the West Bank.  Simple enough.  However, the impact of what boycotters in North America can have on these giants is somewhat limited.  Arabs, Muslims, and other potential boycotters in North America, while not insignificant, may not make much of a dent in the balance sheets of these two economic behemoths.  For that reason, the word needs to go beyond our shores.
These products need to be boycotted elsewhere, in Europe, the Middle East, and afar, if the pain is to be felt by these offending corporations, so let your friends and relatives overseas know of the campaign.  So far, pressure has caused some companies to close operations in the West Bank and move back to Israel proper.
As an aside, corporations are very protective of their reputation.  Image of the brand is a long-term consideration.  That was the motivating factor in Nestlé’s halting its aggressive marketing of baby formula in the Third World.  Would General Mills and Unilever want their label identified with oppression and exploitation?
So remember, no Pillsbury, no Hellman’s, no Lipton’s.  Pass the word, here and abroad.  The boycott movement is hurting.  That’s why Israel adopted such an extreme law.  Keep the hurt going.

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By PHOEBE GREENWOOD
The Guardian

If Joseph and Mary were making their way to Bethlehem today, the Christmas story would be a little different, says Father Ibrahim Shomali, a parish priest in the town. The couple would struggle to get into the city, let alone find a hotel room.
“If Jesus were to come this year, Bethlehem would be closed,” says the priest of Bethlehem’s Beit Jala parish. “He would either have to be born at a checkpoint or at the separation wall. Mary and Joseph would have needed Israeli permission – or to have been tourists.
“This really is the big problem for Palestinians in Bethlehem: what will happen when they close us off completely?”
Bethlehem is the heart of Christian Palestine and it swells with pride every Christmas. Manger Square is transformed into a grotto of lights and stalls crowned by a towering Christmas tree. Strings of illuminated angels, stars and bells festoon the streets. But just a few minutes’ drive to the north, the festive atmosphere stops abruptly.
A strip of Israeli settlements built on 18 sq km of what was once northern Bethlehem threatens to cut the city off from its historic twin, Jerusalem. To the Israeli authorities, these have been neighbourhoods of Jerusalem since 1967. One of the settlements, Har Homa, is built on land where angels are said to have announced the birth of Christ to local shepherds. A narrow corridor of land between Har Homa and another settlement, Gilo, still connects Bethlehem to Jerusalem but the construction of Givat Hamatos, a new settlement announced in October, will fill this in a matter of years.
The European Union and United Nations routinely denounce Israel’s unilateral settlement expansion but in October, EU high commissioner Baroness Catherine Ashton warned the construction of Givat Hamatos was “of particular concern as [it] would cut the geographic contiguity between Jerusalem and Bethlehem”.
European concern is not slowing Israel’s progress. Last week, 500 new units were approved for Har Homa and a further 348 in Betar Illit, on Bethlehem’s western boundary. Earlier this month, an additional 267 units were sanctioned for settlements running up to the edge of the city’s southern suburbs, where the Ministry of Defence also gave settlers permission to start a farm on Palestinian land. This is in addition to the 6,782 new apartments already slated for Har Homa, Gilo and Givat Hamatos.
In the short term, the closure won’t make a big difference to everyday life in Bethlehem: the separation wall already prevents Palestinians from entering Jerusalem from the town without an Israeli permit.
But this ring of settlements will permanently change the geography of the biblical landscape: if a peace agreement razes the separation wall, the two cities will remain divided.
Israeli activist Hargit Ofram, director of Peace Now, reads a clear political intention in Israel’s plans: “These efforts are being made to prevent a possible two-state solution because in order for that to work, you would need a viable Palestinian state with its capital in East Jerusalem.
“If that capital is going to be surrounded by settlements, Israel would have to remove them. The more Israel is building, the higher the price of a Palestinian state is becoming.”
A coalition of 20 rights organisations including Oxfam and Amnesty International warned this month that the number of Palestinian homes demolished in the West Bank and East Jerusalem by Israeli authorities had doubled in the past year.

Under the terms of the Oslo Accords, 13% of Bethlehem now falls within Areas A and B controlled by the Palestinian Authority. This area houses 87.6% of the Palestinian population. The rest falls in Area C, where Israel controls who builds what.
The al-Makour valley is Bethlehem’s last green space and one of few areas left for urban expansion. It is in Area C and overlooked by Gilo checkpoint at one end and Har Homa settlement on the other. Israel’s separation wall is slated to run through the middle of the valley. No Palestinian has been given a permit to build here since 1967.
Despite Israel’s building restrictions, Miranda Nasry Qasasfeh spent every weekend of the past year renovating a stone storehouse owned by her husband’s family for 150 years. She built a new iron roof and had planted almond, plum and eskadinia trees, which were about to bear their first fruit. Hers was one of four Palestinian structures in al-Makour demolished on 12 December. Most of the trees were uprooted.
Qasasfeh’s 75-year-old father rushed to the site of the demolition, where he found his daughter in deep distress. Hours later, he suffered a stroke and is now paralysed down his left side. Given the events of the past week, Qasasfeh has postponed putting up Christmas decorations.
“The Israeli commander told me that I have nothing here, that it is not my land. But it is and we need to live and expand. What other choice do we have? Should I go an build on someone else’s land?” she asks.
But despite the destruction of her property, Miranda Qasasfeh still has hope that the political situation will change. She has threatened to disown her eldest son if he carries out his threat of leaving Bethlehem to find work elsewhere.
“I keep telling my children, planting it in their minds, there is nowhere else in the world like this. We cannot leave.” She adds: “And we have Christmas. For a few days at least we can forget, or try to forget, what is happening here.”
Father Shomali’s outlook is more glum: “When I look down my church register, many of the historic family names from the area have already gone. In 20 years, I think we will have no more Christians in Bethlehem.”
Dr Jad Isaac, an expert in Bethlehem’s demographics and a consultant to the Palestinian president, Mahmoud Abbas, says aside from the physical restrictions on development, Bethlehem’s economy is being strangled by the loss of land and restrictions on Palestinian movement.
With work in Jerusalem now impossible to all but the 6,000 granted permits to work inside Israel, unemployment in Bethlehem sits at 23%, poverty levels simmer at 18%. Many have little option but to work illegally for £25 a day building the nearby settlements. Dr Isaac’s forecast is bleak.
“The little town of Bethlehem? It will soon be the little ghetto surrounded in all directions by Israeli settlements,” he predicts. “We’ve already passed the stage where Bethlehem can be saved. Frankly, that’s why I don’t celebrate Christmas any more.”

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BY GAIL EVELYN ALFAR
Guest Writer, Austin, TX

The BDS movement had amazing successes in 2011 in France. Before 2011, French activists for Palestinian human rights had never seen a French musician cancel a show in Israel.  But 2011 saw three famous musicians cancel.
In January, Vanessa Paradis refused to sing in Israel.  Her partner, Johnny Depp, also cancelled his trip to Israel.   French activists had asked the pop star to cancel her trip, in a highly visible creative protest outside of one of her concerts.  In November, Mireille Mathieu made an announcement on her website that she was postponing her Tel Aviv concert.  BDS France had written her an open letter, and they encouraged her to stand strong against pressure from both French and Israeli booking agents to “reschedule” her concert in the apartheid state.  In December famed opera singer, Oumou Sangaré chose to cancel her planned performance with the Israeli Opera.  An informative letter from BDS France was followed by a letter from BDS Italy.
In November, activists for Palestinian human rights appeared in Montpellier, southern France.  In an incredible act of courage, they de-shelved enormous amounts of Israeli avocados and oranges.  They then rolled the produce through the mega-store chanting Palestine solidarity slogans including “boycott Israel,” “Israel is criminal, Carrefour is an accomplice.” A video of the BDS action clearly shows many shoppers expressing support for the well-organized event.
The Flytilla was a French-led event that took place in July.  Five hundred women, children and men flew into Tel Aviv, and stated their intention of solidarity with Palestine.  Most were blocked from leaving Europe, and over 150 were jailed in Israel.  The Flytilla received international press coverage.  A Google search yielded over 1 million results, with news articles appearing in countless countries and newspapers.
Veolia, a French company, was investigated by French BDS activists.  Veolia chose to make a profit from building and operating a settler-only bus and tramway in Israel.  Protest actions in France ensued.  BDS actions asking Veolia to stop resulted in Veolia losing other profitable contracts.  Veolia was breaking international law by building in connection with illegal settlements.
December brought forth the most encouraging news ever for BDS France.  Following a court judgment in Mulhouse (east France) the “Campaign BDS France” made this statement:
“Thursday, 15 December will be a historic date for the Campaign in France. The court at Mulhouse has in effect acquitted the 12 activists prosecuted for their participation in the BDS campaign. They had been pursued by the usual conveyers of Israel’s policies, as well as by the LICRA [International League against Racism and Anti-Semitism] for “discrimination and inciting hatred and violence toward a group or nation” for having participated in two boycott actions in the Carrefour supermarket in Illzach.”
Palestine solidarity in France is the target of three powerful Zionist groups: the National Bureau of Vigilance against Anti-Semitism, known by its French acronym BNCVA, the France Israel Chamber of Commerce and LICRA.  All three groups seek to shield Israel from accountability.  Though all three groups have stepped up their efforts to protect Israel, Palestine solidarity in France seems only to grow stronger.
French protest in support of Palestine is becoming increasingly bold, and the French form is very public and highly visible.  Last November Filmmaker Chris den Hond of Belgium released an 18 minute documentary featuring remarkable footage of huge protests in France that include:
•    Many spectacular supermarket actions.
•    The French Senator Deleet Smamit, who was not convicted after participating in a BDS action,
•    The protest asking Vanessa Paradis not to sing in Israel.
•    A “die-in” at an arms sales convention in France in which Israel had drones and other weapons for sale.
•    A massive boat full of protesters floating past a ceremony honoring Israel’s President Peres.
•    A protest in a famous mall asking a store not to stock “AHAVA” dead sea beauty products.
Chris den Hond calls the BDS movement one of the “most prominent international grassroots movements against the Israeli policy of occupation and colonization of historic Palestine.”  Omar Barghouti says the movement is not a “marginal movement, it’s becoming much more mainstream.” He says the BDS movement already has “major support from major unions…even in Europe, even in Canada, and starting in the US, as well.”
BDS France serves as creative model for Palestine solidarity, and might well be leading the way in creativity and sheer size of BDS actions.

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By FRANK SCOTT
Columnist
Pt. Richmond, CA

What began in Tunisia and was dubbed an Arab Spring has spread to the rest of the world, seemingly for different reasons in different places but slowly becoming one vast movement toward democracy and the political economic transformation necessary for humanity’s survival. But while this hopeful sign of people on the move increases, the threats to it become more numerous and deadly. As electronic communication tools help the tendency toward unity and democracy among the 99%, they also increase the destructive power of the 1% . The imperial minority’s ability to kill more people, destroy more governments , enslave  more populations and increase damage to the environmental basis of all life while rushing to further exploit it in pursuit of profit has brought dangers of a newer and more deadly kind. The dawning consciousness among people across the globe needs to overtake and end the destructive process of private profit accumulation at the loss of all publics on the planet, wherever they may reside and whatever belief system they practice or preach.

The American phase of this movement began with the Wall Street occupation in New York and has spread to many American cities since, with success in highlighting a radical democratic governance technique and message of unity that surpasses its flaws and overcomes attacks by agents of the 1% . This is all happening at a time when American belief in supposedly democratic government has sunk to deservedly new lows. Established power is at an extremely bipolar phase in response as it simultaneously attempts to crush, subvert or incorporate the growing demands of a public frustrated into becoming what minority power fears most: a majority democratic movement for substantial and not merely cosmetic change in the system.

Minority dominators practice obsessive concern for their economic private parts and this masturbatory focus brings the system closer to moral and financial bankruptcy. As the perverse lust for private profit reduces well paid employment in the center by increasing low paid labor in peripheral parts of the shrinking empire, it attacks meager social safety nets in that center which were created to save capitalism during its last global crisis in the 1930s. Public sector work forces are savagely slashed and pensions are cut as less and less people are employed in a political economy that has further reduced humanity from commodities in a market to electronic symbols on a computer screen.

Positive changes in communications offer an opportunity for a massive democratic leap forward but private profiteers still control staggering wealth and their blind lust to amass even more billions has eclipsed – until now – the need to trans-form and not simply re-form material reality.

The American movement has corporate media parroting the political line in the same bi-polar fashion that often lauds the democratic aspect of what’s going on while questioning its purpose. Meanwhile, military slaughters continue unabated, sometimes with long distance murderers who kill innocents with electronic devises that enable them do their dirty work in rooms thousands of miles away from their victims with no more human contact than someone playing a video game while seated on a commode. The isolated assassins are an ironic contrast in a world that sees millions in contact they have never before been able to achieve. While some agents of the 1% operate in solitude totally removed from the bloody murders they commit, Bradley Manning sits in prison for acting on his conscience and informing his fellow citizens of the crimes of modern warfare. His action, representative of the high moral ground most people at least wish to occupy, contrasts with the murderous idiocy of what passes for “normal” material reality, and what the new global movement stands against .

Electronic media have finally become truly social but they are not simply the domain of those organizing demonstrations that represent the 99%. Agents of the 1% operate networks of murder and spying that can’t succeed in the long term but add to producing confusion and more violence in the short term. Attacks on the 99% in order to maintain criminal profit margins for the 1% and their agents are taking on increasingly insane character, with even some ruling class members worrying that this could destroy everything and not just their personal wealth.

As an example, continued and ever more feverish claims that Iran is threatening to annihilate Jews with nuclear weapons which do not exist, while the hundreds of nuclear weapons which do exist in Israel are unmentioned by the fanatics there and alleged American government representatives who work for them here. More deadly war is threatened, with death and destruction that would make the present crisis  even greater, and it is already slipping beyond the control of the ruling 1% and its agents. Truly, it has never been more essential that the great majority of the 99% move towards the radical economic restructuring and totally transformed political process that is the only thing that will save humanity. And political democracy means the end of private profit accumulation in control of the social and natural environment of planet earth, and the beginning of a system that acknowledges the rights of all people to share the benefits of their world.

We should thank the demonstrators in Tunisia, Egypt and of the Occupy Wall Street Movement for calling our attention to the fact that another world is not only possible but necessary. And then we should join them in bringing it about. Quickly.

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BY GHASSAN RUBEIZ, Ph.D.
Columnist, Palm Beach Gardens, FL

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 Mash’al, will soon meet in Cairo to achieve “reconciliation”. As President of Palestinian Authority ( PA) and chief of Fatah Party,  Abbas rules over a designated area in the (occupied) West Bank.  Mash’ al, is the chief of the political bureau of Hamas – the Islamic resistance  movement.

After five years of indulgence in divisive politics, the leaderships of Hamas and Fatah are going to a troubled Egypt to reconcile personal differences, negotiate steps for unity and plan elections. The two rival groups will meet on November 24, set a date for legislative and presidential elections this spring and negotiate on the membership of  a transitional cabinet representing all groups.

Is the meeting going to be  primarily about form or substance?  True, elections are overdue and a unity government is necessary.  But there is no sign yet that the leaders attending this meeting will be tackling the root cause that has kept the two sides from cooperating over the past two decades:  Fatah seeks to achieve peace through negotiations and Hamas continues to mobilize to liberate Palestine through force. This formula of discord in mindset continues to delay liberation and embolden the occupation.

While Fatah has been too dependent on promises from the West, Hamas has been too close to troubled regimes.

The incentives that brought the two leaders to negotiate differences seem to be purely pragmatic. Hamas fears losing the support of Syria and Iran as these two regimes face growing domestic, regional and international pressure. Similarly, The Palestinian Authority feels abandoned by the Obama Administration and humiliated by the Netanyahu government. Tel Aviv has already stopped reimbursing the PA for collected taxes contributed by Palestinians. And Washington is about to cut funding to Ramallah – the West Bank government.

The Cairo meeting has been portrayed as an effort in “reconciliation”; in reality the encounter is about insecure leaders taking shelter in a common action which has the appearance of a Palestinian Arab Spring
What is happening this week is not going to be earth shaking. In May, a reconciliation agreement was signed by Abbas and Mash’al . But soon after, something went wrong which thwarted the finalization of the agreement. The two sides could not agree on the identity of the future prime minister. Now this obstacle has been overcome.  It has been finally agreed that the prime minister of the new government will no longer be Salam Fayyad; Hamas considers the former PM unsuitable.

While Fayyad may quit his policies may not disappear. The departure of a leader who has over the past five years reinforced the culture of peaceful resistance and modern state building will leave a positive legacy.
In challenging the occupation, Palestinians are gradually moving in the direction of non-violence.  A September 2011 poll indicates that 83 % of Palestinians believe that Palestine, as a state, should apply for membership in the UN.  Moreover, 67% believe that civil disobedience or negotiation, rather armed struggle,  is bound to force Israel to withdraw from the occupied territories ( Hebrew University in Jerusalem and Palestinian Policy and Survey Research Center in Ramallah)

At times, brilliant ideas come from the least likely places. Five years ago, from an Israeli prison, the idea of non-violent resistance was dramatically flagged by a charismatic Palestinian leader. If there is one single leader who could unite Palestinians today, it would be Marwan Barghouti.  From his Israeli cell, Barghouti issued a letter in July 2006 appealing for peace. His peace plan is based on a two state solution, 1967 borders and acceptance of a state with a Jewish character. The letter, which was intended to be circulated for approval by all Palestinians through a referendum, was signed by inmates representing Fatah, Hamas and Islamic Jihad. The referendum idea, which President Abbas favored at the time, was soon overshadowed by negative events. A promising initiative was nipped in the bud.

Still, narrowing the difference between Hamas and Fatah on the logistics of the elections and governance does not resolve the question of how to liberate the land from the occupier and conserve Palestinian energy in state building.

Perhaps Abbas and Mash’al may reconsider the idea of reviving Barghouti’s referendum as part of the election process, in order to unite Palestine at the grassroots.

The Arab Spring has not come to Palestine yet. When it does, reform will emerge from the street.

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By MIKE NALLY
Staff Writer
Anaheim, CA

“How much more American can we get? “ asked City of Bell mayor, Ali Saleh, at the Meet the Professionals Dinner of NAAPOC held Saturday, October 22 at the Sheraton Park Hotel in Anaheim.
NAAPOC, is of course, one of the fastest growing Arab-American organizations in California and the U.S., and some 200 business professionals packed the ballroom this evening to network, dine, and listen to the success stories like Saleh.

Saleh, a handsome, tall, ambitious Lebanese-American — who carries himself proudly, with shoulders squared, like the descendent of Phoenician Vikings he is — swept into the ballroom with his retinue, including his Mexican-American assistant, Christina Garcia.  (Bell, if I have my facts correct, is close to 90% Mexican-American.  The city  had a big corruption scandal, until Saleh was voted in to reform the city council,  Garcia mentioned Saleh is considering running for the 63rd State Assembly seat, and is putting feelers out.)

Saleh, at the NAAPOC podium, told his attentive audience that “Arab-Americans must have the courage and exercise moral leadership that will break down barriers.”

Saleh was born, raised, and makes his home in Bell.  He is a business owner, husband, father to four great kids.  When the salary scandal (city council members there were paying themselves enormous salaries) rocked the community, Saleh helped to found a community group that called for open government.  Christina Garcia suggested the name BASTA — “enough!”

“Christina can tell you that I am more Mexican than her,” said Saleh.  “We are all partners.  I am proof that the American dream does exist.”

Saleh, who is not afraid to practice and honor his Muslim faith, said that he will continue to do so, despite some vicious attacks against him when he first ran for office back in 2009, and his opponents sent out flyers of the 9-11 twin towers on fire to smear him.  He lost as a result.

“But,” added Saleh with passion, “it is easy to give up, to be discouraged.  That is not my style.  Even some of his relatives, friends weren’t sure there was a place for an Arab-American in politics, post 9-11.
Saleh proved them wrong.  He is a strong, resilient man.  He has character, he has the fire in the belly to succeed.  He is a man that does the Lebanese and wider Arab-American community proud.  Clearly, a charismatic leader to rally around, a true servant of the community.  The audience gave him a thunderous ovation when he finished, and he was handed a community recognition award for his outstanding work by the NAAPOC board.

Next up to the podium — and demonstrating that there is a growing bond being forged between Latinos and Arabs — was the Honorable Sate Assemblyman, Jose Solario, who represents Santa Ana, Anaheim, Garden Grove.

Solario’s story is equally inspiring as Saleh’s.  The son of Mexican migrant farm workers, as a teen he labored in the hot fields — rising at 4 am — to work alongside his parents.  The astute young man soon realized he wanted out — and boy, did he — obtaining a Master’s in public policy from prestigious Harvard University.

“Welcome to the new California!” said Solario, who with his dapper black mustache, hair, and dark, flashing eyes looks very Arabic, “where the majorities are changing!  He saluted the accomplishments and named several prominent Arab Americans like DJ Casey Kasem and Donna Shalala, public servant and spokesperson.  (He left out Steve Jobs, Syrian-American).  He praised the beauty of Selma Hayek (Mexican-Arab descent).

“Selma is a good example,” Solorio added, “of the beauty of Mexican-Arab relationship.”  And by proxy, for Arab-American and Mexican-Americans to work together to advance a shared agenda that includes job growth, education, public safety. Solorio is a big champion of the power of a college education.

“I got my taste for politics at UCI – zot, zot (Anteaters) — when I was elected to the student body there, and I learned how to work together to get things done. It’s important for Arab-Americans and Mexican-Americans to see they can achieve their goals by volunteering or working on political campaigns.  Schools are great places for community involvement, and making a difference.  Get on a school board …”
Like Cesar Chavez, a hero to so many, Solorio, pushes dedication to the community, and the goal of education should be service to others.  Solorio was also given a long round of applause as he received a community service awards from the NAAPOC board.

Other awardees at the dinner included Ahmad Azie Awwad (Abu Dahoud), Nahla Kayali, Dr. Musa Nasir, and Dr. Nabil Azzam and MESTO.

Awwad, who was born in Saffourieh (North of Nazareth), was a teacher who became a fighter against the Occupation, and ended up in Lebanon where he worked for UNRWA and managed the affairs of 300,000 Palestinian refugees living there.  Kayali is Executive Director of ACCESS California Services.  She remarked, due to the Arab Spring, the number of refugees seeking aid and needing help has increased dramatically here.  Dr. Nasir has been a leading force in child care, and is Chair of the National Board of PCRF.  MESTO’s famed conductor and founder, Nabil Azzam is perhaps the most accomplished orchestra leader in the Arab world.  The audience was treated to his wonderful music later in the evening  “Music — this is my only way,” he remarked.

During the delicious dinner that included salads, buttered rolls, chicken with fettuccini, cheesecake with mouthwatering strawberries, and black coffee (but where was the tea, habibee??), two microphones were circulated among the guests so they could introduce themselves, and their professions.

Zuhair Tawil, a NAAPOC board member, always smartly dressed  in dark pin-stripes like a Lebanese banker, passed around one of the mikes at the various tables and remarked: “We could start a country with all the talent in this room.”  He wasn’t kidding.  A sample of the professions:  Lawyers, man a lot of Arab Americans love the law!  IP Lawyers, corporate, litigation lawyers.  There was a divorce lawyer seated next to a dentist ( we haven’t got time for the pain).  Right after lawyers in the Arab job structure come engineers — civil, mechanical, etc — I mean, the Arabs practically invented science and measurements.  Then contractors — from the pyramids 3000 years ago to building condos in L.A.. Then printers, telecommunications, psychologists, plastic surgeons, financial planners and managers and marketers,, insurance brokers and realtors, musicians and dance instructors, photographers, filmmakers to name just a few…On the low end of the totem pole, after the students, come the writers like me.
One woman stood up at her table and confessed to being an “executive housewife.”   One said retired “senior citizen” and Tawil challenged him, “Do you have ID please?”  An 11 year old school girl stood up beside her parents and said she was “gainfully unemployed” which drew some laughs.

It took a half hour to get around to every one in the room, but it did demonstrate the amazing and broad spectrum of Arab Americans in our work. NAAOP proudly salutes them all.
NAAPOC was started six years ago by founder, Sami Mashney, attorney, publisher of the Independent Monitor, who has also started a new public relations firm, Assura PR (www.AssuraPR.com) or Info@AssuraPR.com. to help companies market a new product or who need PR guidance.

Mashney underscored that “trust is the most important ingredient in a successful personal or business relationship” and this is what will make NAAPOC a big success.  “We need to speak with a united, cogent voice on issues, and not let division get in the way of our goals.  The more united we are, the higher are aspirations.  Doesn’t matter if we are Syrian, Libyan, Coptic Egyptian or Muslim or agnostic or Christian.  Society still looks at us as Arabs.”

“Yes, NAAPOC has had growing pains (some members have left since it started) but we are here to stay,” added Mashney to loud supportive applause from the audience.  Arab-American voice will be heard and will be effective in the community if we work together as a disciplined, organized, and unified team.”

Mashney then introduced the board: Mike Abdeen (President), Abir El-Borno (1st VP), Zuhair Tawil (2nd VP, Nader Tawil (Secretary), Roula Fodda (Treasurer).  Also: Saber Ahamed, Manar Fakhoury, Dr. Ghazi Idris, Basil Istitieh, Vicki Tamoush, Rola Ziade.

This reporter got a chance to circulate and it was good to see Marwan Ahmed of the Arabic Yellow Pages and his new business Hala America TV (www.HalaAmericaTV.com) there.  He is also online in both Arabic and English, he can track the number of visits or hits and what state or country they come from he told me.  I ran into Lofti Azzam, of Anaheim Hills, Lebanese (former banker, Partners Bank in Mission Viejo) now building condos every 2-3 years in L.A.  Saw Hamid Saba, from Iraq, a science teacher (we had a mutual friend Salwa).  And the young man who has a bright future in politics, 17 year old Ahmed Sharif, of Chaprrel High in Temecula, who hopes to attend Berkeley (Go Bears!) or Georgetown, study law or international relations.  He had a chance to meet Condi Rice at a forum at Morongo resort of all places.  He was very impressed by her.

I forgot to ask Ahmed if he was a Dem or Republican.

But go Obama!!  Right?

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By NAOMI WOLF
Courtesy CNN

America’s politicians, it seems, have had their fill of democracy. Across the country, police, acting under orders from local officials, are breaking up protest encampments set up by supporters of the Occupy Wall Street (OWS) movement – sometimes with shocking and utterly gratuitous violence.

In the worst incident so far, hundreds of police, dressed in riot gear, surrounded Occupy Oakland’s encampment and fired rubber bullets (which can be fatal), flash grenades and tear-gas canisters – with some officers taking aim directly at demonstrators.         The Occupy Oakland Twitter feed read like a report from Cairo’s Tahrir Square: “they are surrounding us”; “hundreds and hundreds of police”; “there are armoured vehicles and Hummers”. There were 170 arrests.

My own recent arrest, while obeying the terms of a permit and standing peacefully on a street in lower Manhattan, brought the reality of this crackdown close to home. America is waking up to what was built while it slept: Private companies have hired away its police (JPMorgan Chase gave $4.6m to the New York City Police Foundation); the federal Department of Homeland Security has given small municipal police forces military-grade weapons systems; citizens’ rights to freedom of speech and assembly have been stealthily undermined by opaque permit requirements.

Suddenly, the United States looks like the rest of the furious, protesting, not-completely-free world. Indeed, most commentators have not fully grasped that a world war is occurring. But it is unlike any previous war in human history: for the first time, people around the world are not identifying and organising themselves along national or religious lines, but rather in terms of a global consciousness and demands for a peaceful life, a sustainable future, economic justice and basic democracy. Their enemy is a global “corporatocracy” that has purchased governments and legislatures, created its own armed enforcers, engaged in systemic economic fraud, and plundered treasuries and ecosystems.

Around the world, peaceful protesters are being demonised for being disruptive. But democracy is disruptive. Martin Luther King, Jr argued that peaceful disruption of “business as usual” is healthy, because it exposes buried injustice, which can then be addressed. Protesters ideally should dedicate themselves to disciplined, nonviolent disruption in this spirit – especially disruption of traffic. This serves to keep provocateurs at bay, while highlighting the unjust militarisation of the police response.

Moreover, protest movements do not succeed in hours or days; they typically involve sitting down or “occupying” areas for the long hauls. That is one reason why protesters should raise their own money and hire their own lawyers. The corporatocracy is terrified that citizens will reclaim the rule of law. In every country, protesters should field an army of attorneys.
Protesters should also make their own media, rather than relying on mainstream outlets to cover them. They should blog, tweet, write editorials and press releases, as well as log and document cases of police abuse (and the abusers).
There are, unfortunately, many documented cases of violent provocateurs infiltrating demonstrations in places like Toronto, Pittsburgh, London and Athens – people whom one Greek described to me as “known unknowns”. Provocateurs, too, need to be photographed and logged, which is why it is important not to cover one’s face while protesting.

Protesters in democracies should create email lists locally, combine the lists nationally and start registering voters. They should tell their representatives how many voters they have registered in each district – and they should organise to oust politicians who are brutal or repressive. And they should support those – as in Albany, New York, for instance, where police and the local prosecutor refused to crack down on protesters – who respect the rights to free speech and assembly.

Many protesters insist in remaining leaderless, which is a mistake. A leader does not have to sit atop a hierarchy: A leader can be a simple representative. Protesters should elect representatives for a finite “term”, just like in any democracy, and train them to talk to the press and to negotiate with politicians.

Protests should model the kind of civil society that their participants want to create. In lower Manhattan’s Zuccotti Park, for example, there is a library and a kitchen; food is donated; kids are invited to sleep over; and teach-ins are organised. Musicians should bring instruments, and the atmosphere should be joyful and positive. Protesters should clean up after themselves. The idea is to build a new city within the corrupt city, and to show that it reflects the majority of society, not a marginal, destructive fringe.

After all, what is most profound about these protest movements is not their demands, but rather the nascent infrastructure of a common humanity. For decades, citizens have been told to keep their heads down – whether in a consumerist fantasy world or in poverty and drudgery – and leave leadership to the elites. Protest is transformative precisely because people emerge, encounter one another face-to-face, and, in re-learning the habits of freedom, build new institutions, relationships and organisations.

None of that cannot happen in an atmosphere of political and police violence against peaceful democratic protesters. As Bertolt Brecht famously asked, following the East German Communists’ brutal crackdown on protesting workers in June 1953, “Would it not be easier … for the government to dissolve the people and elect another?” Across the United States, and in too many other countries, supposedly democratic leaders seem to be taking Brecht’s ironic question all too seriously.

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BY GHASSAN RUBEIZ, Ph.D.
Columnist, Palm Beach Gardens, FL

Once the battle with Gaddafi is finished, Libyans can turn to rebuilding their country. Only old attitudes, such as tribal loyalties, stand in the way. After Gaddafi, the greatest challenge in state building will be the exercise of representative and strong national leadership.

Libya is being liberated after Tunis and Egypt. This recent triumph in Libya will embolden the rebellious movements in Yemen, Syria, Bahrain, Algeria, Jordan, the Palestinian Territories, and in the foreseeable future, even Saudi Arabia.

Of the three liberated North African countries, Libya, despite tribal differences, most resembles Tunisia in having favorable cultural homogeneity within society. Both countries also have manageable-sized populations in relation to the land. While Libya has an advantage over Tunisia in oil wealth, Tunisia is richer in developed non-governmental organizations. To mention one item, Tunisia is relatively liberal in legislation on women’s rights. In rebuilding a society of the future, Libya should eagerly seek close economic and social cooperation with its Arab neighbor on its Western border.

Egypt, in contrast to Libya, has limited cultivable land and a large reservoir of labor. Libya will need construction workers, and educational and health experts, of its neighbor on the Eastern border. Employing Egypt’s labor force just across borders would lessen Cairo’s addiction to foreign assistance and Tripoli’s excessive reliance on Western presence.

Libya is blessed now with absence of a self-serving military establishment which has nursed Arab autocracies for almost a century. Most Arab rulers have an outrageous sense of entitlement to their nations’ resources. Such manipulative rulers co-opt the military to back up their hold on power. The generals are rewarded for focusing on defense of illegitimate authority rather than the protection of borders.
Even when the ruler is deposed, the power brokers may take the posture of being on the side of the people.  As a result, the military in Egypt has regained national authority and has slowed the reforms of the post-Mubarak transition. Similarly, albeit to a lesser extent, the powerful business elites in Tunisia have diluted the progress of reform after the demise of President Ben Ali.

Will the transition in Libya be different? The National Transition Council, NTC, of Libya has the potential to begin effective state building since the army of Gaddafi has been practically decimated through bloody fighting, with the crucial aid of overwhelming NATO air power. As a result, the leaders of the old regime will not be able to reinvent themselves to take an active role in the post- Gaddafi regime. However, it would be a mistake (a lesson from Iraq’s chaos after Saddam) to bar all former loyalists to Gaddafi from participating in running and rebuilding the country. An extra tolerant TNC (think of South Africa) would gain wider acceptance from all sectors of society and lead the way in building a culture of reconciliation and peace.

Not all the people of Libya are likely to trust the self appointed NTC, which for the most part represents the Eastern (Bengazi) region of the country. Emerging from a climate of violence, which could have developed into a civil war, current Libyan leadership should soon set an end-date for their rule and hand over power to a nationally elected leadership.

The new leaders of Libya have to justify their legitimacy in the days ahead with bold and creative action. Dependence on NATO for too long would interfere with the process of national recovery.
As the NTC pacifies the remnants of old regime loyalists, they ought to show tolerance to this opposition. The future of democratic Libya deserves a new culture of peace and pluralism.
To win the hearts and minds of all the people of Libya, not only the people of the East, the NTC should immediately widen the circle of its leadership.

Three contiguous North African Arab countries have led the Arab Spring. It is a historic opportunity for Libyans not to dwell on the sins of past but to focus on the opportunities of the future. Egypt and Tunisia are well suited to participate in the rebuilding of Libya. If the leaders of Libya take a regional approach in the rebuilding of their country, NATO’s dominance will be diminishing rapidly.

A decisive difference Libya can make to the Arab Spring is the implementation of smooth transition to real reform. Libya’s further contribution could be inter-regional cooperation. If Libya’s transition fails, enemies of the Arab Spring would be vindicated.

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By DR. MAZIN QUMSIYEH

Middle East Monitor

Beit Sahour, Occupied Palestine

Watching the tragic events unfolding around the world, from starvation in Somalia to rioting in London, we are not feeling vindicated, merely sad and angry. For a long time many of us have said that the increasing chasm between the rich and the poor (the haves and the have nots) has grown to obscene levels. The Soviet Union had in many ways replaced the chasm between workers and owners of capital to a chasm between elites of the communist system and millions of impoverished people. But the cold war had reined-in unrestrained privatization and capitalism in the third world. Once the Soviet Union collapsed, a vacuum was created and the greedy capitalists moved in. In the privatization mania in the 1990s, the wealth of nations was replaced with the debts of nations. With the help of the IMF and the World Bank (with key connections to Israel), third world countries were saddled with debts that were in some cases many times the size of their GDP.

Moreover, the capitalist mania affected countries large and small. In Russia, the phenomenon stripped Russia of its natural wealth to put billions in the hands of oligarchs, most of whom ended up in Israel as Russia tried to reclaim some of its plundered wealth. In Greece, the debt and government expenditures could not be sustained by the tourism industry (itself shrinking world-wide as the middle class shrinks). Spain, Portugal and Italy also have massive fiscal problems.

In the Arab world, the Arab spring turned into a bloody summer. Dictators thought that if they were more brutal they could survive longer than the dictators of Egypt and Tunisia. But people also have no clear alternatives and some of these revolutions need to take time to hold meetings and plan for “the day after”.

The Prime Minister of Israel, Benjamin Netanyahu (whose family is from the US), pushed for privatization in his first term of office in 1996 and 1997 and continued on this track with his current extreme right-wing coalition. The more moderate and reasonable Israelis saw the damage that this was inflicting and a small uprising has now ensued with 300,000 out on the streets. Protesters’ demands include social and economic equality. The Israeli stock market plunged in line with markets around the world. There is a price to be paid for spending billions on apartheid walls while 25% of your population lives below the poverty line.

There is a price to be paid when the US wages a $3 trillion war on Iraq (to control oil and to help Zionism) and other costly wars on Afghanistan, costly help to Israel, and so on. The US is on the debt rack and lives beyond its means (as China rightly pointed out). The value of the US dollar plunges and the price of gold, now standing at $1754 an ounce, will keep going up.

Around the world, prices of commodities and basics (food, housing, etc.) go up while incomes do not even grow as fast as the rate of inflation. The worst is yet to come as countries grapple with the widening social and economic gaps brought about by misplaced priorities which allocate trillions to the military and leaves crumbs for food, education and healthcare.

As the world spirals seemingly out of control, millions of Palestinians are remarkably quiet and philosophical about these things. We used to lead social transformation and provide models for transformation and challenges to oppressive regimes. The PLO leadership used to help mediate conflicts around the world but under the new unelected leadership they cannot even solve the conflicts between Fatah and Hamas, a prerequisite for progress. It seems that after decades of challenging the system, the older generation of Palestinians have become tired and weary, but a new generation arises, inevitably. This has happened repeatedly with each uprising; so far there have been 15 or more uprisings, in waves 7-15 years apart. But still, many people are right to see that peace in Palestine is critical to peace around the world. This is not only because it is so obscenely wrong to keep denying 11 million people their basic human rights. It is also because billions around the world believe in Christianity and Islam and they will not continue to allow a few Zionists in power centres to foment conflict and war to avoid facing reality.

We are in the middle of a transition in global power, a global intifada that I wrote about last year. The old centres of global power in Russia, Europe and North America (and by extension Eurocentric Ashkenazi-led Israel) will lose power and new emerging powers will take their place. There is a shift taking place, from the “north” to the “south”. All global transitions of power in the past 4,000 years involved tremendous dislocation, pain and upheaval. Population trends (ageing among Euro-Caucasian populations around the world, growing in other countries) and the impending global environmental disaster will accelerate the trend.

As activists who care about fellow human beings and our Earth, we must help move things in the right direction by minimizing the pain of transition while not standing in its way.

For those who are religious, they can use scriptural texts which deal with that and disregard the fanatical aspects of their faiths. From the Torah, they can take “What does God require of us: to do justice, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with God” and discard the tribalistic notions where God gives licence to murder the other. From the New Testament, take the Sermon on the Mount: “Blessed are the peacemakers for they will be called Children of God” and ignore the notions of salvation being unique to those with certain beliefs. From the Quran, take the statements about no compulsion in religion and disregard the notions of religious superiority.

For those who are not religious, a reading of history and social transformations can show indeed the natural transformation of societies and give equally valuable lessons. We can emphasize how we achieved good things such as ending slavery and ending many wars and gaining civil and women’s rights.

The choices we make must be rooted in morality, justice, and caring for one another, especially the most vulnerable sectors of our society. We have an untapped reservoir of ingenuity, resources, and beauty to more than make-up for the ugliness around. Humanity which creates great science, great art, great music, and great social movements can surely cope. We just have to believe in each other and more importantly act on our beliefs.

*Professor Mazin Qumsiyeh teaches and does research at Bethlehem and Birzeit Universities in occupied Palestine.

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