America’s latest bribe to Israel
By Daoud Kuttab The secret talks between US and Israeli officials, aiming at convincing the Israelis to change their position regarding the settlement freeze, started to smell more and more like a bribe, with some media reports calling it the $3 billion bribe. The amount is in reference to the cost of the 20 advanced […]
My Flight out of Tel Aviv, With a $60 Fee for an Empty Suitcase
For years I have succeeded to avoid it, but for some reason, I fell in the trap. I am not sure if my decision to fly out of Tel Aviv’s Ben Gurion Airport rather than my usual starting point of Amman’s Queen Alia Airport was to see if things might have changes or some crazy […]
Jordan’s Citizens Show Maturity during Election Season
The elections of Jordan’s 16th Parliament held a number of surprises which point to the simple fact that Jordanians are wiser than many give them credit. Much work is still needed to bring about political reform and accountability, but there is no doubt that these elections have shown the political maturity of many citizens. This […]
Education Is Palestinians’ Path to Independence
I can see the path to the state of Palestine. And education is an integral part of it. Palestinians have always prided themselves on being among the highest educated among all Arabs, but if this was true in the past, it is not true anymore, and it is certainly not true for Palestinians in the […]
Jewish or Israeli
I have always tried my best to differentiate between Jews and Israelis. It bothers me when Palestinians use these two terms interchangeably. Every time I cross the Jordan River, I overhear people talking on their cell phones, saying how they just got into the Jewish side, left the Jewish side, or were waiting to go […]
Jordanian Candidate Uses Debate to Call for Curtailing King’s Powers
The hall where a lively debate had taken place for 80 minutes suddenly went silent. A courageous Jordanian journalist had just asked a feisty candidate for Jordan’s parliamentary elections a question rarely asked. “Are you in favor of a constitutional change that will allow prime minister’s to be elected and would curtail the King’s power’s […]
Palestinians Reject Israel’s Racist Demands
Without any reason, the Israeli government has created a totally artificial problem for all future persons wishing to get citizenship: They will have to pledge allegiance to Israel as a Jewish and democratic state. Once again the Israelis are trying to push their internal problems and their hesitation to pay the needed price for peace […]
How to Cure World Disappointment with Israel
(This was published in September 30th, 2010) By Daoud Kuttab A US State Department spokesman told reporters this week that Washington was disappointed with Israel because of its failure to extend the settlement moratorium for as long as the peace talks were moving. UN Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon used the same words to describe how […]
Reality Check in Palestine/Israel
(This was published in September 23rd, 2010) By Daoud Kuttab Just when one thought that the direct peace talks might be able to produce a breakthrough, one got an awakening jolt. Crossing the bridge over the Jordan River must be the world’s worst gift that keeps giving. This gift has been giving grief, anger, frustration […]
AP’s Robert Burns Playing Politics by Replacing “Settlement Freeze’ with “Curb on Housing Constructionâ€
(This was published in September 13th, 2010) By Daoud Kuttab The Associated Press takes pride in being the leading international news agency. The short headlines that appear on Yahoo home page are almost exclusively reserved to AP stories. But even the great AP makes mistakes. Sometimes its errors are not factual but a descriptive. The […]