Palestine, media, Jordan, community radio, online journalism
By Daoud Kuttab Over the course of a few days in July, three US citizens of Palestinian descent were denied entry into Israel. All three have published detailed testimonials of their experiences. Â George Khoury, professor and theologian, has been a naturalized US citizen since 1975. His visit to Israel as part of a religious pilgrimage…
By Daoud Kuttab Some members of Jerusalem’s small Palestinian Christian community were worried for a while this summer by what appeared to be threat from Islamic State sympathizers ordering them to vacate East Jerusalem or be killed. The threat turned out to be nothing but hot air. Concern began to emerge June 28, when leaflets bearing IS’ insignia appeared in the Jerusalem neighborhood of Beit Hanina, calling on…
By Daoud Kuttab Contrary to the claims of Israel and US 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 of south…
By Daoud Kuttab The arrest this week at Al Aqsa Mosque of six civilian guards, who are paid employees of Jordan’s Ministry of Awqaf and Islamic Affairs, is a worrisome development. According to Palestinian sources, the unarmed guards prevented a French tourist from raising the Israeli flag while he was on the pavilion of the…
Following appeared in the Jordan Times Newspaper By Daoud Kuttab During Yasser Arafat’s long tenure as the head of the PLO, Mahmoud Abbas, who was his deputy, wasn’t always happy with the decisions taken by the leader. A depressed and unhappy Abbas, also known as Abu Mazen, would sometimes disappear for months, often in Morocco….
By Daoud Kuttab When Saja Attaiya traveled on July 19 from the Palestinian village of Beit Sira, west of Ramallah, to the Mediterranean Sea, it only took her 30 minutes to get there. Previously, her attempts to visit Jaffa and Tel Aviv had been met with restrictions and checkpoints, as Israel has rarely given travel permits…
Following appeared in the Jordan Times newspaper By Daoud Kuttab Their numbers might be small but their presence is, and should be, publicly acknowledged and encouraged. They are the small group of dedicated Israelis who make it their goal to be present physically to express solidarity with Palestinians in the occupied territories. They are regularly…
By Daoud Kuttab The Palestinian-Israeli conflict might get an unexpected shot in the arm as a result of the recently concluded Iran nuclear agreement. While the P5+1 talks in Vienna focused only on the issue of Iran’s nuclear capability, many are looking for how this agreement will effect regional conflicts. Some of the harshest critics…
By Daoud Kuttab When writer-lawyer Sabri Jiryis wrote in 1968 his research about the 165,000 non-Jews that remained in their country when Israel was created in 1948, he called his book “The Arabs in Israel.† For many years, the national identity of non-Jewish Arab citizens of Israel has been in flux. They are usually called…
By Daoud Kuttab The June 30 decision by Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas was swift, but the meaning and ramifications of it might be long lasting. The secretary-general of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) executive committee, Yasser Abed Rabbo, was relieved of his role and later replaced by another executive committee member, Saeb Erekat, based on Abbas’ request. News…