Kudos to Qatar
By Daoud Kuttab Discussions about pan-Arab issues these days undoubtedly include the name of the Gulf country Qatar, repeated in various contexts, often negative. Qatar is behind this or that conspiracy, it is a U.S. puppet, an Israeli collaborator, the brain behind this or that problem or conflict. Wherever there is an issue or a […]
Communicating properly regarding summer time
By Daoud Kuttab The Jordanian Cabinet’s decision to scrap wintertime came at the most difficult time: one day before a long holiday and also one day before the original plan to start wintertime. Furthermore, the rationale for the decision was never fully discussed and defended by those taking it. For years, Jordanian governments determined the […]
Important to communicate
By Daoud Kuttab After attending a debate about the new Elections Law, the moderator told me that MP Abdullah Ensour wanted to talk to me. Ensour, who in the debate organised by Community Media Network opposed the current Elections Law, told me he had seen me on TV in the US years earlier. I had […]
Freedom in Jordan does not extend to information
By Daoud Kuttab Amman, Jordan At an international press-freedom event in Jordan 12 years ago, I was impressed with government officials’ words about the new king’s desire to promote the Internet as a means of free communication. I decided to set up an Internet radio station. AmmanNet.net started as an electronic media experiment. It was created […]
Municipal election fever hits West Bank
By Daoud Kuttab Election fever has hit most Palestinian cities. However, the elections planed for October 20th will only be municipal ones, and only in most West Bank cities (Jerusalemites are not allowed to participate) and will witness the boycott of the Islamic movement. The last time Palestine witnessed elections was in 2006 when pro Hamas […]
Three Countries, Two Weddings and One Couple
By Daoud Kuttab This week, family and friends crossed international borders and military checkpoints and overcame the usual political bureaucracies to attend my daughter’s two weddings. Why two weddings? Let me explain. Like me, my daughter Tamara is a Jerusalemite. The bridegroom, Alaa, lives in the Bethlehem-area town of Beit Jala. It takes minutes to move between […]
Palestine in 2013 Without Abbas or Meshaal
By Daoud Kuttab The Palestinian leadership seems to be on the verge of change. It is very likely that this will be the last year that Palestine will be led by the PLO’s Mahmoud Abbas and Hamas’ Khaled Meshaal. Abbas announced over a year ago that he does not plan to run for the presidency of […]
Jordanian Website Owners Reject Attempts to Gag Them
By Daoud Kuttab Among the most important rights achieved by Arab demonstrators in the past two years are the freedoms of assembly and of expression. Millions of Arabs gathered in squares and circles demanding an end to autocratic rules and a share in the political decision-making processes in their countries. Along with the freedom of […]
The sad truth about US attitudes to Palestinians
By Daoud Kuttab For the second time in less than three months a leader of a major US party stereotypes Palestinians in racists and anti peace terms. The revelation of Mitt Romney’s foreign policy attitudes towards Palestinians sheds light on the gap between declared policies and the truth. In Jerusalem this summer Romney described to […]
How Palestinians Can Engage the West
By Daoud Kuttab Anyone following the Palestinian struggle for liberation understands that the only path to success today is through a concerted, holistic, non-violent approach. Palestinian leaders, including President Mahmoud Abbas and Prime Minister Salam Fayyad, have been repeatedly and consistently opposing any violent solution and supporting acts of popular non-violent resistance. Recently, they even succeeded in […]