Kalam by Robert Fisk

[I]t is ordinary people, activists, call them what you will, who now take decisions to change events. Our politicians are too spineless, too cowardly, to take decisions to save lives[...] For it is a fact, is it not, that had Europeans (and yes, the Turks are Europeans, are they not?) been gunned down by any other Middle Eastern army (which the Israeli army is, is it not?) there would have been waves of outrage."

The 10th of Ramadan

On June 4th, 1967, I received a gift of chicks, real chicks, and not mozzaz (this stupid explanation is exclusively for my two boys) from our long-time domestic helper (I'm uncomfortable with using words like maid or servant, so this is what I came up with) Om Fayza.

I don't remember how many chicks were there in the carton box she carried to our living room, but I remember that some of them were black and some were bright yellow. She put two cups in the box, and filled one with some kind of chicks food (don't remember what) and filled the second one with water.

The next morning, I woke up at dawn and ran to the carton box which was in the balcony. In spite of my lousy memory, I remember clearly what I saw since this cursed box gave me the very first shock of my live. All the chicks were dead!!! I'm not sure exactly what happened, but they were all wet so I assumed that they have drowned!! My feelings that cursed morning were a mix of fear, sadness, direness, grimness, melancholy, ominousness, ...you name it.

(this incident might explain my fear of all animals and my refusal to have any pets at home, even when I told my daughter that she had to choose between a cat & me, and she, without a second of hesitation, chose the cat)

At that moment, I thought that this was the worst day of my life. Looking back, I agree. June 5th, 1967 is still the worst day of my life.

There is no need to go into what happened on that damned day and the days that followed. It is well known and is too painful to remember. And although I was too young to understand what the humiliating defeat meant to the Egyptians, the Palestinians, the Syrians, the Jordanians, the Lebanese, and the Arab world in general, I secretly had a feeling that I was somehow responsible for it, or at least contributed to it, because I caused the death of the chicks!! I caused the bad omen.

This sad intro was important to contrast it to my feelings on October 6th, 1973, which coincided with the 10th of Ramadan. The sadness of the previous six years was replaced with extreme happiness. The guilt I felt for contributing to the shameful defeat was replaced with pride for contributing to the glorious victory. How? Not sure!! But down deep inside, I never gave up on our ability to bounce back. And in that Ramadan, I intensified my prayers. And thankfully, they were answered.

So, on this glorious day, I will restore my old optimism, or at least I'll continue to be hopeful that the people of Egypt will bounce back.

Also on this day, I salute and thank all the heroes of that day. Those who fought and those who planned. And in spite of not agreeing with his later policies, I still salute our late president, Anwar Sadat.

Barack Obama at AIPAC

I received the following YouTube link of Obama in AIPAC from my Noona. I had seen a small portion of it on TV hours after he won the nomination of the Democratic Party but I actually switch channels cause it was just painful to watch.

In case you don't know what AIPAC is, please allow me. AIPAC (American - Israeli Public Affairs Committee) is the most visible organ of the 'Zionist lobby' (I insist on calling it Zionist and not Jewish) which has a vast influence on US foreign policy, and that in consequence US foreign policy is pro-Israel to the point of absurdity.

If any Arab or Muslim had any doubts about Obama's position regarding Israel, this video should put those doubts to rest. He made it very clear which Mecca he faces when he is praying in the House of Politics.

So watch for as long as you could but do quit if you start feeling nauseous. In any case, the first couple of minutes summarizes it all, so there is no need for excessive self torture : Click Here.

If you are in a real hurry and would like the highlights, here are some remarkable quotes:

• Today I'll be speaking from my heart as a true friend of Israel (keda 3ala balata a7san)
  
• I understood the Zionist idea, that there is always a homeland at the center of the story (but he cannot understand that there is also a homeland at the center of the Palestinian cause??)
  
• We must mean what we say when we speak the words "never again" (but that does not apply to Palestinian, Iraqi, Afghani,....women, men & children??)
  
• Not when there are maps across the middle east that do not acknowledge Israel existence (but it is OK to erase and deny the existence of 5 million Palestinian People??)
  
• I long understood Israel quest for peace and need for security (Why didn't anyone wake me up?? When did this happen??)
  
• I spoke to Israeli troops who faced daily treats (BY WHOM??? Stone throwing kids?? As far as I know, the Egyptian army is busy making bread!!!)
  
• I talked to people who wanted nothing more simple or more illusive than a secure future for their children (and none of those stupid Arabs want this for their children too??)
• I am proud to be part of a bipartisan consensus that stood by Israel against all threats (laka antafkhara!!!!)

Sorry, I cannot do anymore.

To end on a positive note, I have to say that I loved Eisenhower's idea of ordering Germans to tour the Nazi concentration camps to see what was being done in their name, and of ordering the American troops to tour the camps so they can see the evil they are fighting against.

I wish we can organise similar tours to teh Palestinian territories for the American people so that they can see what is being done in their name, and to the Arab leaders so they can see the evil they are befriending.

One final note. On winning his party's nomination, the first thing that Obama did wasn't assuring middle and lower class Americans who are hit hard by the economic crisis, that they will be his first priority, and that he will turn things around for them, he instead went to AIPAC to assure his Zionist friends that Israel interests are his highest priority. Yet, I am not aware that this offended any Americans.

I wonder why & how is it OK with educated, intelligent, proud, hard working, tax paying American citizens that their political leaders repeatedly put the Zionist lobby ahead of them.

And if any wise guy suggests that Arab people are not their leader's highest priority either, I simply say: "we never voted for them!!"

Guest of Dishonor!!

Two European Book fairs in Paris & Turin have decided to make Israel their guest of honor!!! About 39 writers from Israel will be honored on the occasion of the Zionist state's 60th anniversary.

There is a lot of debate between Arab intellects about the proper way to protest this brazen invitation. A number of Arab & Islamic countries and writers have already announced boycotting the fairs. The Muslim scholar and activist Tariq Ramadan and the Anglo-Pakistani writer Tariq Ali are among those endorsing the boycott. Mohamed Salmawy, president of the Writer's Union of Egypt, wrote to the Italian writers union to say that "writers all over the Arab World" had been "shocked" by the Turin fair's decision and that the writers unions in Jordan, Tunisia and Egypt had all officially condemned the choice. The book fair's decision, Salmawy wrote, "has antagonized Arab public opinion."

The Egyptian daily Al-Ahram reported last week that representatives of 25 professional associations in Cairo sent the French Foreign Ministry a note protesting the decision to make Israel the guest of honor because of the Jewish state's alleged violations of Palestinian rights over its 60 years.

I claim that I only support the Palestinians and condemn the Zionist state because I am a righteous person and not because I am an Arab or a Muslim, but you don't have to take my word for it. Therefore, I will not mention my personal opinion on the subject, but rather the opinion of two Israelis:

Yael Lerer (An Israeli Publisher): "This is a clear message by the French government in support of the Israeli Aggression, Occupation & Apartheid."

Aharon Shabtai (An Israeli Poet): "I do not believe that a State that maintains an occupation, committing on a daily basis crimes against civilians, deserves to be invited to any kind of cultural week. That is, it is anti-cultural; it is a barbarian act masked as culture in the most cynical way. It manifests support for Israel, and even to France that sustains the occupation. And I do not want to participate."

I rest my case.

The BIGGEST ROBBERY Of The 20th Century

I have no comment, but please listen to what the late Edward Said had to say:

• On Charlie Rose: August 8, 1994
• Memory, Inequality and Power: Palestine and the Universality of Human Rights
  
• On Conflicts and Peace
• On Orientalism
• On Charlie Rose: KELLY / SAID / COHEN-SOLAL