The Yassin Era
There is no doubt that Sheikh Yassin will be remembered for some time for his role in creating and leading the Islamic Hamas movement in Palestine . Yassin has taken a relatively weak branch of the Egyptian founded Muslim brotherhood and made it a power to reckon with. In order to do that, he had […]
Seoul, South Korea, March 23, 2004 No GSM service, No English As soon as an outsider arrives in South Korea you notice two things. Barely anyone speaks English and there is no GSM roving signal. Both are simple examples of the recent history of the isolation of South Korea from the rest of the […]
To talk about peace in time of war
It is often said that there is a time for everything. The meaning of such a saying is that when it is the time for war those who believe in peace should shut up. It is certainly difficult to talk when the sound of canons (and in our case apache killing missiles) drowns any other […]
Will the real Fatah stand up?
For years whenever the PLO’s executive committee met, astute observers paid more attention to what happens the day before. Usually before important meetings of the PLO, crucial all night sessions of the central committee of Fatah take place to set the framework for the more public PLO sessions. This traditional, in a slightly different form, […]
America’s clumsy outreach
In a desperate effort to reverse America’s negative image in the Arab world, a new Arabic-language television station called Alhurra (“the free one”) has been added to the diet of existing government-sponsored broadcasting outlets in the Arab region. The new station joins America’s Radio Sawa and its slick Hi magazine as post-September 11 Arabic-language media […]
Breakfast with an Israeli friend
It started with an email from an Israeli friend who wanted to know my thoughts about Ariel Sharon’s plan to unilaterally withdraw from Gaza. I paid little attention to the question – apparently a big deal for Israelis. On further thought, I emailed back that it might be interesting if real, and suggested a face-to-face […]
Bridging the Digital Divide: Non traditional alternatives
The recent news from the World Economic Forum held in Davos was encouraging. Computer giant Microsoft has signed a one billion dollar agreement with UNDP. This five-year plan is aimed at bridging the digital divide in developing countries, starting with Egypt , Morocco and Mozambique . While long over do, such corporate responsibility is highly […]
The shadow of Abu Mazen and the Need for Qurei to rethink his policies
Five months after his resignation, the presence of Mahmoud Abbas (Abu Mazen) can be felt in every corner of the office of the Palestinian prime minister. No, Palestine ‘s first prime minister is not lurking around in Ramallah, he has long disappeared from the public eye. But his shadow, and to be more accurate the […]
The year that the Taboos fell
2003 was not just the year that the statue and person of Saddam Hussein fell. A number of long held ideological issues relating to the Palestinian-Israeli conflict also came crumbling down. This ideological climb down, however was not symmetric in any way.
Film star helping make the world a better place to live in
I first met Richard Gere about six months ago. I was scheduled to take him on a tour of Ramallah, when that same morning, the Israeli army unexpectedly declared curfew on the Palestinian city. To his credit and despite strong objection from his handlers and bodyguards, the American movie star insisted on going ahead with […]