what should Obama tell Muslims (my Washington post comment)
Muslims and Arabs would like to hear a lot from President Obama, starting with Palestine, Iraq and the U.S. military presence in the Persian Gulf. While foreign policy is crucial, a sincere show of respect and attempt to rebuild trust are more important. Palestine has become the litmus test for U.S. foreign policy because it […]
Why a Jewish Settlement Freeze Has Become the Defining Issue
The demand by the Obama administration for the Israelis to fully and completely freeze all settlement activities has become a point of contention between the US and Israel for a number of reasons. Jewish settlements built on lands occupied by Israel in 1967 is considered by the international community to be totally illegal and in […]
Second round in a long bout
By Daoud Kuttab The long-awaited Obama-Netanyahu meeting has finally taken place. If this were a boxing match, one would probably have to call the result of the latest round at the White House a tie. A look at the post-summit transcripts shows that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu stuck to his hardline position, refusing to […]
Arabs in Palestine and Jordan predate Christianity and Islam
May. 12, 2009 Daoud Kuttab , THE JERUSALEM POST The visit of Pope Benedict XVI to Jordan and Palestine is a perfect opportunity to review and stress the role of Christian Arabs in the peace process and their strong support for peace with justice. To begin with, it is important for all to know that […]
It’s not up to Israelis to determine status of Palestine
by Daoud Kuttab As the summit between US President Barack Obama and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu approaches, most of the discussion has focused on whether or not the newly elected Israeli leader will finally say that he backs a two-state solution. This is the wrong approach. Israelis should not determine the status of the […]
How to create genuine narrative By Daoud Kuttab The film won Arab and international praise for its courage in tackling some of Palestine’s more difficult issues. But the hardest and most obnoxious reviewers were back at home. The fiction movie is Najwa Najjar’s “Pomegranates and Myrrhâ€, which opened the Dubai International Film Festival, Rotterdam, Sundance […]
The right to free movement
Following appeared in the Jordan Times The right to free movement By Daoud Kuttab In observing decades-old conflicts, political spin takes overrides reality. Facts are often replaced by claims and counterclaims leaving a neutral observer confused as to who is wrong and who is right. Sometimes, a new story is much more revealing than the […]
Too good to last
A PALESTINIAN VIEW Too good to last by Daoud Kuttab It was quite astonishing to hear world leaders so gushing in their praise for Prime Minister Salam Fayyad. The western-trained former World Bank official was variously described as “professional”, “transparent” and “effective”. US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton managed to combine all these comments in […]
Between a professional journalist and a patriotic Palestinian
This appeared in the Huffington Post on January 7,2009 Arab Journalists and the war on Gaza by Daoud Kuttab This was a hard week for me being asked on more than one occasion to choose between being a professional journalist and being a patriotic Palestinian. As a bilingual observer one is completely frustrated when following […]
“It’s the occupation, stupid.”
The following appeared in the Jordan Times and Huffington Post It’s the occupation Stupid by Daoud Kuttab Following the words and efforts of U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton in Sharm el Sheikh, Tel Aviv, Jerusalem and Ramallah one gets the feeling that she was on a hard-sell campaign trying to convince the majority of […]