Samia Nasir Khoury

"No contacts with the Palestinian Authority." These were the instructions of the U.S. administration and the European governments. How brutal and unfair! Once again, the double standard by which the U.S. deals with the Palestinians vis a vis Israel creates more ill feelings and bitterness and pushes away the possibility of peace in the region.

by Samia Khoury

The results of the Palestinian elections reflect voters' frustration at Fatah's failure to arrive at a political solution for Palestine's problems and disappointment in the performance of the Palestinian Authority. They furthermore reflect the will of the people to maintain their threatened identity amidst an onslaught of foreign hegemony. Religion, being an integral part of the ethos of any community, becomes a natural refuge under these circumstances.

Twelve-year-old Ahmad El-Khatib was killed by Israeli forces, and yet he brought life to Israeli and Druze children who received his donated organs. Samia Khoury finds cause for both hope and concern in recent headlines from the Middle East of more violence, new leadership, and the vision of those working for peace.

By Samia Khoury

By Samia Nasir Khoury

It certainly was a new experience for me to have been in the U.S. during President Bush's reelection. I could not have envisaged the extent of the power of the media there until I read the papers and watched the TV during that period. What bothered me the most was when so-called "moral issues" seemed to have played an important role in such a close fight between the two parties--and I was especially bothered by what was not said or written about that theme.

As a Christian from the Holy Land, the cradle of Christianity, as well as Judaism and Islam, I was unable to relate to those "moral issues" because they actually lacked honesty, truth and justice. How moral is it to wage a war based on false information and in defiance of the international community? How moral is it to support an occupation when all the rhetoric focuses on democracy and the right of people to self-determination? That is why I have the feeling now more than ever that it is hopeless to look to the U.S. administration in search of justice and peace in the Middle East. As long as justice is not a basic "moral value," but going to church and judging others is, it does not necessarily mean that one's faith is being translated into honest and honorable action.

By Samia Nasir Khoury

"Israelis are far more critical of Israeli policy than Americans are," noted Edward Walker Jr., a former U.S. ambassador to Israel and Egypt. "If your good friends won't tell you that something's wrong, they're not very good friends."

A large advertisement placed by the U.S. embassy has appeared in our local papers more than once lately under the heading "In Search of Justice." The U.S. Embassy in Tel Aviv is offering a reward of up to five million dollars to whoever can provide the embassy with information that will lead to the capture of those responsible for the killing of three Americans in a car blast in Gaza on October 10, 2003. "Rewards for Justice" was the address listed to contact the U.S. Embassy in response to the advertisement.

I could not but help reflect on the emphasis on Justice in this advertisement. The embassy is searching for justice and paying money for it. However, in our search for justice as Palestinians, we have been paying dearly for the last 56 years. Five million dollars has hardly any value compared with all those human lives that have been lost, and continue to be, in our search for justice. Of course, that is over and above the dispossession of our land, our personal property, our belongings, and our identity as a people.

by Samia Nasir Khoury

"Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more important than food, and the body more important than clothes?" (Matthew 6:25)

When we read that scriptural passage during one of our recent worship services at the Sabeel Centre, I could not help but reflect closely on those lines and the lines that followed. Christ assures us that we are much more valuable than the birds that the heavenly Father feeds, and the lilies of the field that he clothes.

Indeed we might be more valuable, but certainly not under this brutal military occupation where life has no value whatsoever. People get killed by the dozens and the oppression stifles every aspect of our life. So how are we supposed not to worry?

by Samia Nasir Khoury

Yesterday I received a message from an American friend of mine which ended with a question: Why is the Palestinian violence considered terrorism, whereas the Israeli violence is not?" The suicide bombing in Jerusalem and Haifa had not taken place yet, and I did not think she expected an answer because she knew very well what the situation is like here. She had lived in the country at one time, and has been here also after the Israel occupation.

Yet it is a question that warrants an answer, especially after those horrible scenes in Jerusalem and Haifa. And you know why: because good, genuine people get taken for a ride by the language of the powerful. The narrative becomes lopsided and so does the media. Therefore, it is very natural that, in a country like the USA, violence by Palestinians is looked upon as "terrorism" whereas the state violence by Israel is considered "security measures."