Creating new perspectives since 2009
Items by Ibrahim Hewitt
-
The right of return is for individuals to decide, not for Abbas to concede
Yet again, we hear that President Mahmoud Abbas has more or less conceded the lawful right for Palestinian refugees to return to their homeland. Last year he told Israelis that although he would like to visit his birthplace in Safed, which is now in Israel, he did not expect...
-
House of Commons vote suggests that democracy is not quite dead yet
The real surprise this week was not that the British House of Commons voted against the government’s plans to attack Syria, but that people were surprised that elected MPs should vote pretty much in line with public opinion on the issue. Democracy, it would seem, is alive and if...
-
From bombs to books and development to diplomacy, Middle East involvement in Africa has it all
Visiting South Africa is always a pleasure, but when the purpose is to attend a conference there is usually something extra special to look forward to. The Afro-Middle East Centre’s “In whose interests? Exploring Middle East involvement in Africa” in Pretoria on 5-6 November was no exception. AMEC and...
-
Palestine’s “forgotten people”
By Ibrahim Hewitt When concern about the after-effects of Israel’s aggression against the civilian population in Gaza was still high, Time magazine described Palestinian refugees in Lebanon as “A Forgotten People” (25th February, 2009). It is an apt description, especially as the first anniversary of the start of Israel’s bombardment...
-
The times they are a-changin’
By Ibrahim Hewitt In his classic 1963 song The times they are a-changin’, American singer-songwriter Bob Dylan wrote, “For the loser now will be later to win, for the times they are a-changin’”. Having observed closely the situation in Palestine for more than twenty years, I can say in all...
-
Sixty-two years, and counting
By Ibrahim Hewitt This week saw the first anniversary of the Israeli assault on Gaza, but only one anniversary really matters in 2010: it is now almost 62 years since the creation of the Palestinian refugee crisis by the creation of the state of Israel. Hope for one people was...
-
Purity of arms?
Boycotts don’t work. At least that’s what we are told by Israel’s apologists whenever the topic of a cultural, academic or trade boycott is mentioned. It was with great interest, therefore, that I read an obscure little article in the Daily Telegraph: “Israeli army calls for boycott over model’s...
-
Are human rights negotiable?
The current rise in tension – or breakdown of the close relationship, take your pick – between the US and Israel is taking up a lot of news space, and rightly so. As a nuclear state, Israel’s behaviour is of crucial interest not only to its near neighbours but...
-
Being pro-humanity is not anti-Semitic
The importance of the Israel-Palestine conflict cannot be stressed enough. The high profile the issue has across the world illustrates its key status in world affairs. All the more reason, therefore, that debate surrounding it is not clouded by accusations of racism in place of open discussion. The New York...
-
Suddenly, "lift the siege" becomes "ease the siege"
In the wake of Israel’s assault on the Gaza Freedom Flotilla, the international community called for the siege of Gaza to be lifted. US President Obama called it “unsustainable” while others have been more forthright. A spokesman for the UN Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA), Christopher Gunness speaking on...
-
Israel, all or nothing
Israel, we are told frequently, is “the only democracy in the Middle East”. This is the “Get out of Jail” card used against critics whenever the argument is swinging towards Israel’s opponents; it is as if being a democracy implies that the state is incapable of doing the things...
-
Gaza reflections
I popped over to Gaza last weekend to see how things are, only it wasn’t that simple. Nobody can just “pop over” to Gaza these days; it requires a great deal of negotiation and planning, and a lot of goodwill from a lot of people, many of them across...
-
"We focus on doing things right, instead of doing the right things"
This quote from an international aid worker in Jerusalem prefaces a new briefing paper from Oxford University’s Refugee Studies Centre. Written by Dr. Jason Hart and Claudia Lo Forte, “Protecting Palestinian children from political violence – the role of the international community” provides some interesting reading. It highlights the...
-
The art of black propaganda
Reports that the headquarters of the Palestinian Journalists Union in Gaza have been shut down by Hamas security forces should concern everyone with an interest in hearing the truth of what takes place in that troubled area. According to the Guardian newspaper, the PJU is “dominated by the secular...
-
Are we equipping the Palestinians to tolerate the intolerable?
A conference in Beirut last week focussed on the shift of the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) from “Relief and Works to Human Development: UNRWA and the Palestinian Refugees after 60 years”. Held at the American University of Beirut, the event...
-
Conference debates Euro position on Palestinian issue
A conference in Beirut focussing on “European Foreign Policy towards the Palestinian issue” has attracted participants and speakers from across the Middle East and Europe. Organised by Al-Zaytouna Centre for Studies and Consultations, the event on 3-4 November had 130 delegates from 20 countries. The tone for the conference...
-
Conference debates Euro position on Palestinian issue
A conference in Beirut focussing on “European Foreign Policy towards the Palestinian issue” has attracted participants and speakers from across the Middle East and Europe. Organised by Al-Zaytouna Centre for Studies and Consultations, the event on 3-4 November had 130 delegates from 20 countries. The tone for the conference...
-
Why must someone's "Jewishness" depend on how much they support Israel?
At a fund-raising event raising money for the Palestine Legal Aid Fund, I was greeted very warmly by a friend who told me excitedly that she had just returned “from Palestine” and how pleased she was to see me. Actually, Linda Ramsden was one of many people I knew...
-
Israel makes too many mistakes for them to be mistakes
The brutal killing of an unarmed Palestinian as he lay asleep in his own bed has been “regretted” by the Israel Defence Forces (IDF). I am sure that the IDF’s statement gives the victim’s widow and family some consolation in their period of mourning. At least it would if...
-
The peace process may be dead, but the piece process rumbles on
As the people of Palestine come to terms with the apparent betrayal of their rights by the people appointed to negotiate with the Israelis on behalf of the Palestinian Authority, a number of commentators are declaring the “peace process” to be dead and buried. With all due respect to...
-
Whose national interests are paramount?
As events in the Middle East unfold, one interesting aspect of the people-power discussion is the reticence of western pro-democracy governments in the face of real democracy on the streets of Arab cities. European politicians, who have kowtowed before the likes of Hosni Mubarak for years, now find themselves...
-
While the world looks away, the occupation of Palestine goes on
For anyone relying on the mainstream media for information about the rest of the world, the knowledge they receive builds up into a flavour-of-the-month approach to history. Correspondents flock to the latest flash point and, augmented by older, more experienced hacks now more used to reporting from the comfort...
-
Israel has lost touch with reality
We will probably never really know if, as Israel’s Prime Minister claimed, Iran and Syria orchestrated the Nakba demonstrations which led to the deaths of at least 12 Palestinians over the weekend. Accusations and counter-accusations will fill the media for a few days and then life will carry on...
-
How much longer will the West allow this inhuman, illegal and immoral siege to continue?
The sun is shining, the beach is filling up and the squeal of car tyres and screech of car horns is pervasive. I could be in Beirut or any one of a number of Levantine Mediterranean coastal cities, but I’m in Gaza City and this is not a normal...