Opinion

by Gershom Gorenberg
30 October 2008

JERUSALEM – A neighbour in Jerusalem asked me to write to his American father-in-law, who has been showering him with emails attacking Barack Obama. At a local bakery, the owner suggested in a whisper that I might talk sense to the tourist proclaiming in a New York accent, between sips of strong Israeli latte, that she was voting for John McCain. Old friends in California worry to me that elderly Jews in Miami think that McCain is better for Israel. "Remember 2000," they tell me darkly. Every vote counts.

I suspect that something even more emotionally powerful than electoral math is at stake. My friends are frightened of the shame of a mother or uncle staining the family, or the tribe, with the wrong vote–a vote purportedly cast out of concern for Israel. From where I sit, this would be a shame, because the reasons Obama is better for Israel's security are the same reasons he is better for American security.

by Peter Ryan

It would be racist not to vote for Obama simply because he is black. Wouldn't it be equally racist not to vote for Obama because he was "Arab"?

If we needed any further evidence that prejudice against those of Arab descent has become the last publicly acceptable form of racism in American society, we have only to turn our attention to developments in the Presidential campaign these past few weeks. The most hostile attacks lobbed against Senator Obama? He's a Muslim. He's an Arab. He has a foreign name.

Above: A collection of photoshopped images on the web trying to peg Obama as a Muslim or an Arab and a T-shirt emphasizing his full name.

Obama, in fact, is not an Arab. Nor is he a Muslim. He is a Christian with a deeply rooted faith in Jesus Christ which he speaks of openly, as he did at the Saddleback Forum. At the forum, Rick Warren, one of the most influential evangelicals of his day, expressed a deep admiration and personal affinity for both Senator Obama and Senator McCain.

But what worries me most is not that the presidential elections have gone negative. It's not that some candidates feel that they can get away with completely baseless accusations and inneundos. What really worries me is not the campaign itself but what the campaign has revealed: there is a big chunk of this country that still feels it's okay to be racist as long as their targets are Arab. And there is a even bigger chunk of this country that sees any Muslim, regardless of their world view or ideology, as "an enemy."

by James Zogby

Today my office issued the following statement, which includes my comments:

Dr. James Zogby says, "Enough is enough!"

Washington D.C. - October 11, 2008 -We are disturbed by the degree to which 'Arab' has become the metaphorical mud to sling against your opponent. This week, for example the Republican Jewish Coalition released a document in which they use the term Pro-Arab as a pejorative accusation. For his part, Rush Limbaugh has joined in by declaring that Obama is in fact an Arab American. Then, on Friday, after a supporter called Senator Barak Obama "an Arab", Senator John McCain came to the defense of of his political opponent by saying, "No, ma'am. He's a decent family man and citizen..." From this we are left to infer that an Arab man is less then a "decent family man."

Dr. James Zogby, president of the Arab American Institute, says, "Enough is enough! From the beginning of this campaign there have been those who have used Muslim and Arab in an effort to smear Barak Obama. This exploitation of bigotry and the stoking of racist fires to forward an agenda is reprehensible. This is not only offensive to the Arab Americans, but to all Americans. As any ethnic group who has ever been used to scare the electorate knows, this is a dangerous game that tragically can ends with innocent people being hurt.

And while We are pleased to see that the senator is trying to dispel rumors about Senator Obama, but we feel the need to point out that Arab Americans are also decent men and women with the full rights of citizenship as enumerated under the constitution. Arab Americans are part of the great melting pot that is this country's strength. We work towards peace in the Middle East along side our Jewish partners. We raise our sons and daughters to be model citizens of this nation. We serve this country with honor. The suggestion that any ethnic group is treacherous and Anti-American is unacceptable, dangerous, and unbecoming of such a great nation.

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Video of McCain responding to the "He's an Arab" comment:

by Bilal Y. Saab and Bruce Riedel
16 September 2008

Washington, DC - The indirect negotiations between Syria and Israel that began last May have gone as far as they can. Their purpose – to break the ice between the two states after eight years of not talking, and to test one another’s resolve over certain issues – has been achieved. Now, Syrian President Bashar Assad wants to move forward, as evidenced in his proposal to Israel for direct peace talks at a recent four-way summit in Damascus involving Syria, Turkey, France and Qatar.

But Assad knows there are still two big uncertainties surrounding the prospects of a historic peace deal with the Israelis: the position of the next US administration and the results of a possible Israeli election. While Assad is grateful for the role Turkey has played so far in hosting four rounds of negotiations (a fifth is scheduled for 18-19 September, according to Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan), and for France’s pledge of help in any direct Syrian-Israeli talks, he is only interested in a peace agreement with Israel if it is mediated by the United States.

An agreement endorsed by Washington would not only guarantee the return of the Golan to Syria (in exchange for a long-term security deal with Israel), but also – and perhaps more significantly – end Syria’s isolation in the world. The most important lesson Bashar Assad learned from his father is that good relations with Washington, more than any other foreign capital, serve Syria’s strategic interests. But, until a new US administration is in place, he knows there’s little point in proceeding with the negotiations he’s proposing.

by James M. Wall

When Israel would not allow the Palestinian soccer team to practice in Gaza, the team held its practice sessions in Egypt. The documentary film Goal Dreams reminds us of the implications of that decision. Palestinians from Chile, New York and Spain who were trying out for the team arrived in Egypt with little difficulty, but Palestinians who had to travel the few miles from Gaza to Egypt were delayed for several days at the Rafah border crossing between Gaza and Egypt for "security reasons."

The same Israeli-controlled border crossing was more hospitable to a recent group of Palestinians entering Gaza from Egypt. Fatah, the political party favored by the U.S. and Israel in the current Gaza internal conflict, was allowed to bring in as many as 500 troops. According to the Washington Post (May 18), these troops were trained in Egypt "under a U.S.-coordinated program to counter Hamas."

The U.S.-trained Fatah forces are under the command of Palestinian national security adviser Mohammed Dahlan, who was appointed by President Mahmoud Abbas under pressure from the U.S. Tony Karon, a senior editor at Time.com, describes Dahlan as "the Gaza warlord who has long been Washington's anointed favorite to play the role of a Palestinian Pinochet" (tonykaron.com)-a reference to the Chilean military dictator installed with the help of the U.S. after a 1973 military coup led to the overthrow and death of President Salvador Allende.

JERUSALEM - Four years after it was first presented, the Arab Peace Initiative is finally coming to centre stage. Rumours of behind the scenes meetings and negotiations on the Initiative between Prime Minister Ehud Olmert and Saudi national security advisor Prince Bandar bin Sultan have been strengthened by reports that the Saudi prince is trying to modify the Initiative so that it will be more acceptable to Israel.

by Gershon Baskin

Daily Star Editorial | date: 2007-01-25

BEIRUT - U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice's emphasis on the "road map" as a route to Middle East peace and the Quartet as a vehicle to get there betray a fundamental misunderstanding of how Palestinian-Israeli negotiations broke down and why they have remained in stasis. The "road map" envisions a series of preparatory steps and delays a final status agreement until the final stage. But all of the foundations for a workable peace pact have already been laid through decades of negotiations, including those that took place during the administration of her boss's predecessor, Bill Clinton, who sought a deal until the very last weeks of his presidency. While Clinton's effort established that an American president could summon the stamina for an exhaustive peace process, he too fell short of securing ironclad commitments from the Israelis and Palestinians.

The unfortunate fact of the matter is that in the absence of such an approach from the administration of President George W. Bush, peace will remain on the distant horizon and successive Palestinian and Israeli leaders will continue to restart interrupted talks at phase one. The only way to move forward is for the Americans to secure irrevocable commitments that would outlive any individual Palestinian or Israeli leader's term in office.