About Me

As an author, writer and correspondant accredited with the United Nations in Geneva since 1997, I have covered the activities of a large number of international organisations for major Arabic language radio, TV and published media: WTO, United Nations Human Rights, ILO, WHO, UNDP, WIPO, World Economic Forum (Davos) etc. I am well established among international organisations and the Arab diplomatic corps and known for my independent, objective and candid style and rigorous background research of subjects I cover. Publishing again my book about the history of Jaffa before 1948, out of print since the 1990s, was the inspiration for this blog.

Thursday, April 7, 2011

"The LSE, which has played such a critical role in my intellectual development..." : !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ME5GGfU-iPE&feature=player_embedded

This obsequiousness and adulation, if not idolation, is unbelievable and stomach curdling. David Held SHOULD be sent to tripoli immediately: Saif Al Islam has more degrees than even him!?




"The LSE, which has played such a critical role in my intellectual development..."

Juliano, in his own words

You can dispense with reading anything else today and just watch this clip:

"The spirit is here. its already seeded and its only gonna grow and i dont believe that someone or anyone can stop it."

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pQGqmLyunm0

Please take a moment to watch Juliano, in his own words, as he talks about his vision for Palestine and how the Freedom Theatre is an integral part of that vision.


---------- Forwarded message ----------

Date: Mon, Apr 4, 2011 at 7:05 PM
Subject: Juliano, in his own words

Dear friends,

Many of you may have already heard about the murder of Juliano Mer-Khamis. The co-founder and director of the Freedom Theatre in Jenin Refugee Camp, he was gunned down (five bullets to the head) this afternoon outside the theatre by an unknown assailant.

I first met Juliano in 2006, when I began working with a group of activists in New York to support the Freedom Theatre. I have visited the Freedom Theatre multiple times over the years, watching Juliano teach and direct young acting students. Most recently, I watched Juliano as he coached acting students three months ago, preparing for the much-acclaimed production of "Alice in Wonderland."

I have no words at this moment to describe Juliano, the work of the Freedom Theatre and the scope and scale of this horrific event, both for his family (Juliano leaves behind two children, one still a baby, and a pregnant wi fe), for the theatre, for the community in Jenin Refugee Camp and for Palestine as a whole.

I can only offer this video, which I made in collaboration with my colleagues in 'Friends of the Jenin Freedom Theatre'.

Please take a moment to watch Juliano, in his own words, as he talks about his vision for Palestine and how the Freedom Theatre is an integral part of that vision.

And please take a moment to share this video, to post it, to spread it.

Juliano was killed. But he has not been silenced.

With deep sadness,
Jen Marlowe

Mer-Khamis and binational resistance movement : Amira Hass

Through his life and his body, Juliano Mer-Khamis embodied the possibility of a binational resistance movement.
Those who knew Juliano Mer-Khamis, the Nazareth-born actor and director who was shot in Jenin on Monday, will have to be the ones to write about him; all that the rest of us can do is write about the milestones in his life.

Juliano was lucky. He was born Palestinian and Jewish, Jewish and Palestinian. This angry man was beset by conflicting yet complementary identities. He was the long shadow of an imagined binational community from the 1950s. Like a Peter Pan who refuses to grow up, Juliano embodied the potential of a shared life (ta'ayush in Arabic ) while striving for equality. The son of a Jewish mother and a Palestinian father, he was born to two cultures, and chose to live in both. He saw no need to explain.

Juliano Mer-Khamis was angry. But the Palestinians must conquer their anger, like rage against the Jewish enclave in the middle of the Silwan neighborhood of East Jerusalem.

My guess is that Juliano wasn't entertaining illusions; sustaining blows from all sides, the potential of ta'ayush shrank. Ta'ayush is the sane vision, but the chance that it will be realized is increasingly slim. There are some who fantasize about the days of the Messiah to avoid thinking about the days before the next disaster strikes. Juliano's was the offspring of a fantasy of ta'ayush. His birth was the outcome of a fantasy of ta'ayush, and his death is a disaster.
Juliano was angry. His rage was the kind that only a Jew like him, who was born on the left and craved equality until the end, can allow himself to express as a way of life. Palestinians must conquer the anger, mellow it; they must tame it, repress it, sublimate it. That's the only way to stay both alive and sane (without getting arrested, wounded or killed ) under the conditions of physical and non-physical violence dictated by Israel.
Oy, this coarse violence, which reeks of rationalism and supremacy and pretends to be enlightened. It is found in every detail of life, moment by moment, from cradle to grave. It is found from a expropriation order and an accompanying map to the firing hole of a watchtower; from the Interior Ministry expelling Palestinian Jerusalemites from their home town to the blocking of return to the Galilee village of Bir'im; from the racist responses of Jewish youth in opinion polls to the drone that homed in on children playing on the roof in Gaza. The violence is always there, from the Jerusalem municipal taxes despite the ruined roads and uncollected garbage to the security cameras in the Jewish neighborhood/Crusader shtetl in Silwan; from the lush green of a settlement to the Palestinian cistern destroyed by an Israeli bulldozer; from the permits granted to individual ranches in the Negev to the incrimination of Bedouin as "infiltrators." In short, from the Jewish to the democratic.
This violence has so many different angles that it can drive you mad. Juliano was lucky to be an artist, and madness was one of his paintbrushes. Through the theater he founded in Jenin, Juliano allowed himself to criticize repressive aspects of Palestinian society. One would guess he did so as a left-winger, as an actor committed to the artist's oath of truthfulness, and as a Palestinian. Let's hope that the killer will be found, and then we'll know if a Palestinian artist was killed because of his courage to live in a way that disrupts the order, or if a Jewish artist was killed because he gave himself permission to overtly criticize a society that is not his, according to some, or if a left-winger was killed because he was disrupting the norm. Or perhaps all three together. Even if he was killed for some other reason, Juliano was still an artist and a Palestinian, a left-winger and a Jew.
Now that the prospect of the sane vision of ta'ayush is small, what is left? The path. This is the option of a binational resistance movement, which wants to topple the Gadhafi-like, Mubarak-like, Assad-like rule of one people over another.
There are some who insist on fantasizing about a binational movement as a historic necessity, as a logical antithesis to the ideology of the demographic separation that has become the bible of the Oslo process. The truth must be said: In the meantime, most of those who harbor such a fantasy are Jewish. Thus do we soften the contradiction between love for the people and the place on the one hand and the abhorrence of the enlightened violence on the other.
Through his life and his body, Juliano Mer-Khamis embodied the possibility of a binational resistance movement. The killer, whatever his motive, was aiming for the body. In his death, Juliano has bequeathed us the possible.

Hommage à Juliano Mer Khamis mercredi 6 avril 2011

Les amis parisiens de l’acteur, homme de théâtre et militant de la liberté Juliano Mer-Khamis, assassiné le 4 avril 2011 dans le camp de réfugiés de Jenine, lui rendront hommage lundi 11 Avril à partir de 19h, aux Ateliers Varan , 6 Impasse Mont-Louis , 75011 Paris (M° Philippe Auguste). Ils pourront à cette occasion voir ou revoir son film exceptionnel "LES ENFANTS D’ARNA", dont voici le début :
http://www.europalestine.com/spip.php?article6050

Pourquoi ont-ils tué Juliano Mer-Khamis ?

 L’émotion est grande, aussi bien en Palestine que dans les milieux de gauche israéliens, où la mort de l’acteur Juliano Mer-Khamis est une tragique métaphore du pourrissement et de l’étouffement de la société palestinienne. Assassiné (peut-être) par des extrémistes palestiniens, le directeur du Théâtre de la Liberté de Jénine avait réalisé en 2003 un documentaire inoubliable, “Arna et les enfants de Jénine”, en hommage au travail théâtral militant de sa mère.

Juif et palestinien : il revendiquait ses deux origines, et sa vie était inscrite sur cette ligne de crête. Ligne de fracture. La mort du directeur du Théâtre de la Liberté, l’acteur Juliano Mer-Khamis, assassiné lundi à Jénine par plusieurs hommes masqués, est la métaphore tragique d’une société palestinienne au bout de l’enfermement, rongée de l’intérieur, s’autodétruisant, et qui anéantit jusqu’à ses propres fils et ses meilleurs soutiens. Né d’une mère juive et d’un père arabe israélien, ancien dirigeant du Parti communiste d’Israël, Juliano Mer-Khamis symbolisait à lui seul toute la complexité et la richesse de cette terre.

Tous ceux qui ont vu sur Arte Arna et les enfants de Jénine, l’extraordinaire documentaire produit et réalisé en 2003 par Juliano Mer-Khamis (avec Danniel Danniel) se souviennent de l’histoire poignante de sa famille. Ce film âpre et sans concession était d’abord un hommage à sa mère, Arna Mer, juive militante propalestinienne, une femme exceptionnelle qui avait reçu le prix Nobel alternatif, en Suède, pour son action associative. Dans le camp de réfugiés de Jénine, elle avait crée le Théâtre des Pierres, à la fin des années 80, pendant la première Intifada. Ce théâtre, qui avait été détruit par les Israéliens lors de leur attaque du camp en 2002, accueillait les enfants dans un espace de liberté, mais jamais vraiment hors du temps : Arna et les enfants de Jénine – dont on espère la reprogrammation prochaine sur Arte – racontait ce qu’étaient devenus, quinze ans après, certains des enfants acteurs de la maman de Juliano Mer-Khamis : Youssef, l’un des piliers de la troupe, avait abandonné son sourire pour mourir en kamikaze dans un attentat-suicide. Ala, fauché le fusil à la main lors de la bataille de Jénine de 2002, était mort sous les balles de l’armée israélienne…

Wednesday, April 6, 2011

Révolution avortée en Libye ?

Révolution avortée en Libye ?

http://www.agoravox.fr/tribune-libre/article/revolution-avortee-en-libye-91842


Lorsque les peuples arabes de Tunisie et d’Egypte commencèrent, au mois de décembre passé, à manifester, pacifiquement d’abord, puis à se rebeller carrément contre leurs pouvoirs politiques respectifs, en Algérie, nous suivions avec grand intérêt, par l’intermédiaire des différents supports médiatiques (presse écrite, télévisions satellitaires et Internet), ces évènements et nous souhaitions ardemment, nous souhaitions du fond du cœur la chute de ces régimes autoritaires. Et ce, d‘autant plus que nous, algériens, nous avions été spolié de notre révolution d’octobre 1988.

Rappelez-vous, c’était la première révolution d’un peuple arabe : une année avant la chute du mur de Berlin, la dislocation de l’URSS et les révolutions colorées des pays de l’Est. Malheureusement celle-ci n’avait accouché que d’une démocratie de façade (multipartisme à la noix de coco et multiplication de titres de la presse sans la liberté qui va avec) suivie par la suite d’une décennie rouge au cours de laquelle un terrorisme abject, inqualifiable, a emporté des milliers d’algériens. Puis, c’était le retour à la case de départ. La lutte anti terroriste exigeât que les libertés, toutes les libertés, individuelles et collectives, soient mises entre parenthèse, en quarantaine pour m’exprimer en tant que médecin. Lorsqu’en 1992, il y eut l’arrêt du processus électoral qui avait permis au FIS, le parti islamiste, de rafler la mise puis la promulgation, quelque temps après, par le conseil constitutionnel, de l’état de siège, tout le monde avait compris, en Algérie, que tout était fichu, que la démocratie n’était qu’une chimère. Même l’homme de la rue avait compris que la démocratie au sens hellénique du terme ne pouvait, du jour au lendemain, s’enraciner chez nous. Et l’on disait alors « ça sera pour une autre fois ». Ceci pour faire contre mauvaise fortune bon cœur. Dans vingt ans peut-être !

Ça fait déjà plus de vingt ans !

العالم الأسلامي في الصحف البريطانية في غمضة عين: مشارقة

الإندبندنت: ديفيد كاميرون يؤكد بأن العمليات العسكرية في ليبيا ليس هجوماً على الإسلام

اهتمت صحيفة الاندبندنت 6/4/2011 بتصريحات رئيس الوزراء البريطانى ديفيد كاميرون، التى أكد فيها لمجموعة من الطلاب فى باكستان إن التحرك الدولى ضد ليبيا لا يمثل هجوماً على الإسلام، وذلك فى محاولة لتطمين الرأى العام المسلم بشأن عملية الناتو. وقال كاميرون أن هذا العمل لم يحظى فقط بدعم من الدول العربية والأمم المتحدة، لكن الهدف منه الحفاظ على أرواح المدنيين الأبرياء وأغلبهم من المسلمين. ورفض رئيس الحكومة البريطانية المقارن بين الغزو الأمريكى للعراق عام 2003 وأصر على أن ما يقال عن العمل العسكرى ضد نظام القذافى تحركه الاهتمامات الغربية بالنفط الليبى ما هو إلا "هراء".

وشن كاميرون فى أول زيارة رسمية له إلى باكستان منذ توليه رئاسة الحكومة، دفاعاً قوياً عن مشاركة المملكة المتحدة فى قوات التحالف الغربى، وذلك خلال كلمة ألقاها فى معهد إسلام أبادا لتكنولوجيا المعلومات.

الغارديان: حلف الناتو يعاني نقص في الطائرات الحربية لتنفيذ حظر الطيران على ليبيا

قال "ريتشارد نورتون تايلور" في صحيفة الغارديان 6/4/2011 أن حلف شمال الأطلسي "ناتو" يفتقر إلى طائرات هجومية بعد أيام من توليه قيادة العمليات العسكرية ضد قوات العقيد القذافي في ليبيا من تحالف تقوده بريطانيا وفرنسا والولايات المتحدة.

واشار الكاتب الى أن "ديفيد كاميرون" تعهد بتوفير أربع طائرات "تورنادو" بريطانية بالاضافة الى ثماني طائرات تستخدم فعلا في شن غارات جوية، ولكن الضغوط تتزايد على دول أوروبية أخرى، خاصة فرنسا، لتقديم المزيد من الطائرات بعد ان سحب الأمريكيون طائراتهم الهجومية من الحملة يوم الاثنين الماضي.

واضاف "تيلور" بأنه منذ أن بدأت القوة الجوية الفرنسية الغارات على ليبيا قبل 16 يوما تمكنت قوات التحالف وحلف شمال الاطلسي من تدمير نحو 30 % من القدرات العسكرية لجيش القذافي، حسبما قال الجنرال الكندي "تشارلز بوشار" لممثلي حلف "الناتو".

ويرى الكاتب بانه نظرا لتراجع الولايات المتحدة، يسعى حلف شمال الاطلسي لملء الفراغ الكبير فالولايات المتحدة كانت تشن معظم الهجمات على قوات القذافي، ولكن حتى الآن لم تتعهد أي دولة سوى بريطانيا بتقديم مزيد من الطائرات إلى الحملة العسكرية.

ونقل عن الجنرال "بوشار" أنه لم تقع أي ضربات جوية على أهداف أرضية في ليبيا خارج قيادة الناتو، ويعتقد أن ستة دول تشارك في حملة القصف هي فرنسا وبريطانيا وكندا والدنمارك وبلجيكا والنرويج، مع أطراف عديدة أخرى تشارك في الدوريات والمراقبة للتأكد من تطبيق الحظر على الاسلحة وفرض منطقة حظر الطيران. ويقول الكاتب بان وزارة الدفاع البريطانية قالت أن طائرات سلاح الجو الملكي البريطاني قصفت أهدافا في ليبيا في الأيام الثلاثة الماضية.

الغارديان: المجلس الانتقالي الليبي ينفي اعتذاره عن حادثة "لوكربي"

أبرزت صحيفة الغارديان 6/4/2011 رفض المجلس الوطنى الانتقالى الليبى مزاعم أحد المحامين البريطانيين الذى يمثل ضحايا طائرة لوكيربى، بأن المجلس قد اعتذر عن تورط ليبيا فى هذه الحادثة وهجمات الجيش الجمهورى الأيرلندى، وعرض تقديم تعويضات.
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