Letters to the editor
Long way to march
Sir-- It was astounding to walk in Tahrir Square (Liberation Square) on the anniversary of the invasion of Iraq, and see what looked like about 6,000-strong anti-riot police surrounding what looked like 500 demonstrators.
Somehow it was reminiscent of the Star Wars movie Attack of the Clones. Citizens walking around the square were told by police that it was forbidden to stop and watch the demonstration. The neighbouring area of Garden City was also closed off and no cars were allowed to circulate even in the streets which on normal days are accessible to traffic. Double rows of anti-riot police were placed in front of the cement roadblocks which close off the area of the US and British embassies.
If the demonstrators were already enclosed in Tahrir Square, how was it that they would reach the embassies? "Beam me down there Mr Spock?" Did it occur to anyone at all that if somebody in that area had been seriously sick no doctor or ambulance would have been able to get through?
On 15 February, 2003, I was in Beirut, Lebanon and participated in the marches against the war on Iraq. There were some police but their role was of observers; nobody was told it was forbidden to watch. The demonstration marched a long way and nobody stopped it. There was no violence, no intimidation, no casualties and no arrests. I believe it is the right of every person to express his feelings; it's such a pity that the citizens in many Arab countries are unable to rally for an Arab cause while the citizens of other countries do.
Sherifa Shafie
Cairo
Egypt
Celebrated assassination
Sir-- It is outrageous that Arabs are condemning Israel for the assassination of the Hamas leader.
It is Hamas you should condemn for a year of violence and the killing of innocent civilians. The world should celebrate that such a murderer and leader of a dangerous organisation is no longer among us.
Roman Noel
Paris
France
Rachel lives
Sir-- 'Shame on Sharon' by Steven Niva ( Al- Ahram Weekly, 18-24 March) is an excellent article which is very informative.
I want to stress that Rachel Corrie, the American peace activist, did not die but lives on our hearts.
Sayed Alwakel
Tanta
Egypt
A larger union
Sir-- I agree in principle with the reasoning of Haim Bresheeth in 'Two states, too little, too late' ( Al-Ahram Weekly, 11-17 March), and I agree, with many others, that the solution of a bi- national state where both Palestinians and Israelis could live as equals with the same citizenship rights, is in principle the only acceptable solution on the basis of the principles of freedom, equality and fraternity.
Unfortunately, the relationship of the Israeli Jews with the Palestinians, as well as with the Israeli Arabs, has created a situation of such radical mutual distrust that a long period of peace is required before the ideal community can be established. The large majority of the Israelis will have to change their attitude of contempt towards the Arabs, and do their best to eliminate the feelings of distrust and hatred that so many years of oppression, expropriation of land and denial of all basic human rights have generated among the Palestinians and the Arab world.
A tentative solution for the dramatic situation was proposed by Jeff Halper, an Israeli professor of anthropology at Ben Gurion University and a well known activist for Human Rights. The project envisages a first phase of "peaceful coexistence" on the basis of two states for two peoples, with the immediate cessation of the occupation and withdrawal of the Israeli settlers from the West Bank and Gaza Strip, followed by the mutual recognition of the two states. Their association in a Middle East Union (MEU), with the participation of other states (Jordan, Syria, Lebanon, maybe others), would create a larger space making easier the solution of the serious problems of residence and work for the large number of refugees. The citizenship would be independent of residence so as to avoid the fear of the Israelis of being politically outnumbered by the faster growing Palestinian population.
An important addition to this proposal was made by an Italian activist for peace, Dr Fiamma Bianchi Bandinelli: the MEU member states would be associated to the European Union, so enlarging the size of the Union and helping with the solution of the most relevant problems. It is well-known, on the other hand, that Israel has long been seeking association with the EU in many fields and was recently warned that the existent treaty of commercial and cultural association (Article 2) requires that Israel respects human rights in order to be renewed. Of course, the agreement of the European Union would be required.
The recent declarations of European Commission Secretary Romano Prodi point out that he considers the solution of the Palestinian problem an absolute priority. The support of Arab states would be fundamental to make this project possible.
Giorgio Forti
Milan
Italy
Becoming one
Sir-- Haim Bresheeth in 'Two states, too little, too late' ( Al-Ahram Weekly, 11-17 March) is correct. The two state solution is dead; actually, it was stillborn from the start. As in every liberation movement, a people will tolerate only so much martyrdom before reaching what is currently referred to as the tipping point (TP) where upon they become invincible -- think Battle of Algiers. Palestinians have been just this side of the TP ever since the l982 US-Israeli siege of West Beirut, where I served as a volunteer with the PRCS. When Israeli tanks were stopped from crossing the green line it was "we won" -- even though the war had been lost. The first Intifada in l988 was West Beirut all over again -- hovering near the TP.
At a hospital in Ramallah a doctor greeted a visitor: "Look, I'm just out of an Israeli prison. I'm being closely watched. How long before I'm back in?" Not that he wanted to be in one of those suffocating tents again but, if he had to, he was ready. Everybody was on call. So many martyrs on both sides since then, but how to stop the slaughter? The Palestinians know the answer: one society with liberty and justice for all. Will the Israelis please step forward and quickly, so that this union be consummated. Peace on earth and goodwill to
all living beings await you.
Jacob Katzenberg
Huntington Beach, CA
USA
Hope via suicide
Sir-- The world media has managed to make suicide bombers (martyrs to most Palestinians) seem like the obstacle to peace in the Middle East. With some reflection, however, they could be seen as the only hope for a just peace.
The facts on the ground are that a mini nuclear superpower occupies and controls through brute military force all of historic Palestine. It controls the water, land, and the daily livelihood of all Palestinians who are crammed in 20 per cent of their ancestral land, living in appalling conditions with up to 70 per cent unemployment in some areas, and unable to move from village to village without Israeli approval. Hundreds of thousands of Jews from all over the world are being resettled on Palestinian land and tens of illegal settlements are being built every year.
A biased international media, the Jewish lobby's influence on the US political scene, keeping the Holocaust complex alive, in addition to instantly labelling any critic of Israel as anti- Semitic, resulted in the international community procrastinating and ignoring Israel's violation of international law and Security Council resolutions for 50 years.
Israel was comfortable and (thanks to US aid and the disarray of the Arabs) enjoying ever- improving standards of living and steadily growing physically through land confiscation and settlement building. Why should they want peace? Give the land, share the water, dismantle the settlements and move the immigrants back to Israel proper? Allow displaced Palestinians to return and reclaim their homes, allow international inspection of WMDs, give up the dream of the founding Zionist fathers "from the Nile to the Euphrates"? Under such conditions peace seems a senseless option.
As terrible and tragic as suicide bombings and the killing of innocent people are (about 700 Israelis and 4,000 Palestinians dead), for the first time Israel has something to gain from making peace since it has become apparent that it is unable to stop the bombings through brute force. The only remaining option is to end the occupation, implement UN resolutions and give the Palestinians hope and security for the future. Only then can a lasting peace be accomplished.
As a result of suicide bombings (the only real weapon the Palestinians have), the Israeli economy is in shambles, foreign investment is shying away, tourism is close to zero, citizens are unable to enjoy the simple things in life such as riding a bus or going to the movies without looking over their shoulder. Immigration is down and many of the settlers have either moved to the big cities or gone back to their countries of origin. Israel, for the first time, is hurting too.
Throughout history, for any two nations to make peace they must both have something to gain. Human nature seems to sometimes necessitate violence to end conflicts. Historically, the first known suicide terrorist (hero) was Samson the Jew who killed many innocent people and himself in the Temple; more recent examples are Nelson Mandela of South Africa who used force to end apartheid, and the US invasion of Iraq to remove a tyrant (hopefully not to occupy and exploit). Heroic French resistance fighters were called terrorists by the Nazis during WWII; Algerian freedom fighters were called terrorists by the French; Israeli terrorism against the British before 1948 was labelled heroic by the Israelis. Finally, the terrible act of violence of 9/11 changed the Bush administration from an aloof, disassociated bystander to an active participant and partner in the search for peace in the Middle East. Week after week ever since the tragedy Bush, realising that terrorism was a result of injustice and desperation, declared there should be an independent free Palestinian state -- something no other president dared declare for 50 years.
In conclusion, I hope justice and peace will finally prevail and the killing of innocents on both sides end.
Aziz Rifaat
Cairo
Egypt
Peace outreach
Sir-- Regarding 'Jordanian legislators up in arms' ( Al-Ahram Weekly, 18-24 March), I can see the incredible sacrifice it must have been for the Jordanian government to make peace with Israel and now to build this centre with them.
The people's anger at this shows the opposition they face; my heartfelt hand of peace to the leaders who reached out.
Ray Gunn
Bocaton
Canada
The wall will fall
Sir-- Jonathan Cook's 'Skirting the issue' ( Al- Ahram Weekly, 4-11 February) exposed the duplicity of European diplomacy with regard to the construction of the apartheid wall within the West Bank. The wall is a manifestation of the weakness of the Israeli government's policies over the past 56 years. The wall will make a Palestinian state enviable, which will create the impetus, over time, for the Palestinian state to be incorporated into Israel-proper. This is the fact that haunts Israelis because the demographic shift would be beyond their control.
The short-sighted consequences of Israeli policies towards Palestinians are historic. There is an autocratic culture in the Israeli government which engenders a belief amongst many of their leaders, that the downtrodden will remain prostrate. They should have learned from the history of their own Jewish Diaspora that this will never happen. The inalienable virtue of humanity to restore its dignity, security and justice will resurrect any victim of defeat and exploitation. The apartheid wall will come down, as did the walls in Soviet Berlin, the Black townships of South Africa and all the Jewish ghettos throughout Europe. Humanity is made from the same stuff; we will struggle endlessly for our right to live with dignity and free from fear.
The wall will accelerate the issues of that struggle so that they reach resolution. Europeans and other international blocs can be on one side of the fence or another, it does not matter. History is on the side of the Palestinians in their struggle for liberty behind the wall. The Israelis know this from their own grandparents lips.
Mel Gagliano
New York, NY
USA
Illegal action
Sir-- I read with interest 'No Arabic at McDonald's Israel' by Jonathan Cook ( Al-Ahram Weekly, 4-10 March).
Like most Cook articles about Israel, it only tells half the story. It cannot be denied that Arab citizens of Israel face discrimination and that this discrimination is wrong. However, Mr Cook omits to mention that since 1995, private sector employment discrimination has been illegal in Israel and victims can sue in the Labour Court. The Israeli courts have ruled against companies that discriminate against Arab workers either directly or through dodges such as bogus national service requirements.
For instance, the Tel Aviv labour court fined the Tafkid Plus firm NIS100,000 last June for requiring national service as a qualification for non-security-related secretarial jobs. The McDonald's worker mentioned in Mr Cook's article has also taken her case to court and is likely to win, because previous Israeli Supreme Court rulings have recognised the right of the Arab minority to use their language.
In the public sector, the Israeli government recently announced an affirmative action plan to ensure that non-Jews form 8 per cent of the civil service by 2007 and 15 per cent by 2008. Currently, 5.7 per cent of civil service employees are Arab citizens, a number that is still too few but has tripled since 1992. Recent policies have also been created to offer wider promotional opportunities to Arabs and increase the number of Arab directors of state companies.
There are several improvements that could be made in Israeli employment policy, such as stronger legislation, incentives for affirmative action in the private sector and the creation of a watchdog agency similar to the American Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. However, the story of unremitting racism painted by Mr Cook is very far from accurate. Those who discriminate against Arab Israelis are violating Israeli law, not upholding it.
Jonathan Edelstein
New York, NY
USA
Spanish connection
Sir-- I fail to see why the newly elected prime minister of Spain wants to withdraw Spanish troops from Iraq after the Madrid train attack.
Al-Qa'eda has taken responsibility, and the arrests of various Moroccans corroborates this. However, we have been told over and over again that the situation in Iraq has absolutely nothing to do with Islamic terrorism. President Bush was widely blamed for even daring to raise the possibility of a connection between Iraq and Al-Qa'eda.
Since this lack of a connection is so widely believed by leftists and appeasers of terrorism worldwide, including the new Spanish government, there is no need to withdraw Spanish troops from Iraq. Clearly the Madrid train attack had nothing to do with Iraq.
Jos Van Kessel-Lo
Antwerp
Belgium
Failing the Republic
Sir-- Graham Usher's article 'Failing Iraq' ( Al-Ahram Weekly, 18-24 March) gives a brilliant analysis of how the US failed Iraq, and failed its own great history.
Usher points out the three grievous mistakes made by the Bush administration. One, not to establish a provisional government in order to allow Captain Kangaroo to act as governor. Two, dissolve the Baath Party and the Iraqi army which both served as sources of stability. Three, set up another Kangaroo court comprised of Ahmed Chalabi at the helm of the IGC on a sectarian rather than a national basis. This sums up the current outcome of utter failure.
Mr Bush was hoping that Mr Sharon would bail him out by making peace with the Palestinians, but Sharon would do nothing of the sort even if it meant that Bush would lose the election.
Of course none of that is ever mentioned in the press, and one has to look for it in the European press or Al-Ahram Weekly. Thank you for giving us a window on what is really happening to Iraq. My prayers go for our brave boys who were mislead by Bush & Co into "failing Iraq", and failing the noble ideals of our republic.
James Sterner
Monroeville, LA
USA
For the mothers
Sir-- As we celebrate Mother's Day every year and rush to buy gifts for our mothers, we should not forget those who lost their mothers who are overcome by grief that day.
For those who are motherless, I have a short message: By doing well in your field, caring for your family, and being active participants in society, you would be giving your mother a most precious gift. You can also be certain that whatever material gifts we give mothers on earth, they do not compare to God's gifts in Heaven.
Mustafa Abdel-Nasser
Assiut
Egypt
Nationality hurdle
Sir-- I am Palestinian and have lived in Egypt for a long time; in fact I received all my education here until university level. My mother is Egyptian and my father is Palestinian, but he died a long time ago, and in reality I consider myself Egyptian. However, I have two problems. First, I can't be Egyptian despite the fact that I meet all the conditions that should grant me the Egyptian nationality. It's fine that the Arab League says it's trying to preserve the Palestinian identity, but grant us dual nationality.
The second problem is that I can't find a job here because I'm not Egyptian. When I apply for a job, they tell me we only hire Egyptians and I am turned away. Despite acing job exams and interviews, when prospect employers (such as the Commercial International Bank, CIB) realise I am not Egyptian, they refuse to hire me. Is this fair? Please try to change this law.
Monzer Muhammed
Giza
Egypt
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