Palestine, media, Jordan, community radio, online journalism
By Daoud Kuttab Unless one is a news junky and follows all local news religiously, one probably missed three important issues related to the media freedoms in Jordan. They include the three main media stakeholders, the government, media owners and the public. I will leave the juiciest story last. The prime minister issued a memo…
By Daoud Kuttab The picture posted by Deacon Fadi Abu Sa’ada on his Facebook page Aug. 30 spoke volumes, and the image of medics helping a nun injured by Israeli tear gas raised anger among Palestinians. Demonstrations after Sunday mass have become the norm in this Bethlehem-area town. The anti-Israel rallies are a protest against…
By Daoud Kuttab AMMAN — The man sitting outside the plush villa in west Amman looks like an old fighter. Security does not appear to be of much concern in Deir Ghbar, a stable Amman suburb and location of several embassies and diplomatic residences. The chain-smoking guard waves visitors through, into the house of Salim Zanoun, speaker of the Palestinian…
By Daoud Kuttab A professional friend who teaches how to produce a highly entertaining TV talk show gives the following advice: begin with those who espouse the most extreme opinions and then conclude with the rational moderate centrist ones. This advice of the talk show trainer is no longer relevant in the Middle East. The…
By Daoud Kuttab The independence of the three branches of the state is the bedrock of democracy. In Jordan, this independence, while guaranteed by the Constitution, one can still witness the inference of the executive branch. Simply following the Parliament deliberations, which are being broadcast by a local NGO live on YouTube and by Radio…
By Daoud Kuttab Azmi Shuokhi has been on a mission for some time now. As the head of the local popular committees for Hebron, he has been trying to convince fellow Hebronites not to abandon the Ibrahimi Mosque. His idea is simple and peaceful: He wants all the Palestinians of the city to hold their social events…
By Daoud Kuttab AMMAN — Contrary to the claims of Israel and U.S. Republicans, the P5+1 agreement with Iran has eased, not exacerbated, the boiling conflicts in the Middle East. Within a short period of time, a silver lining is appearing in the bloody Syrian civil war. The legitimate Yemeni powers are retaking large sections…
By Daoud Kuttab In an interview with Al-Monitor, Mohammad Shtayyeh, president of the Palestinian Economic Council for Development and Reconstruction, said that the Palestinians’ current political strategy is focused on making Israel pay a price for the occupation of Palestinian lands, while at the same time finding ways to disengage from it economically and at the security level. In response to the Israeli government’s refusal…
       By Daoud Kuttab The decades-old conflict with Israel and the aftereffects of the Israeli occupation of what was Jordanian land in the West Bank continue to be a source of hardships and problems for individuals and businesspeople on both sides of the Jordan River. Attempts to resolve the many…
By Daoud Kuttab Of all the Israelis who spoke out against the burning of the Dawabsheh family in the village of Duma near Nablus, the voice of Israeli President Reuven Rivlin seemed the most sincere.  Speaking at a rally in Jerusalem on Aug. 1, the Israeli president rejected the idea that this was an isolated case with…