Activism, Convenings and Deaths

—Compiled by Nizar Wattad

ACTIVISM

The ZAJEL Youth Exchange Program of Al-Najah University, Nablus, has issued a call for volunteers willing to participate in a “Shabab” (youth) reconstruction project in the summer of 2003. In collaboration with Service Civil International Germany, ZAJEL hopes to reconstruct youth institutions in Nablus destroyed or rendered inoperable by the Israeli army.

Work will be done in camps of 10 to 20 participants of all races, ideologies and nationalities, who will live and work together for the duration of the project. The camps will be gender-balanced and will consist of an equal number of international and local volunteers, to promote intercultural dialogue and understanding. Lectures and cultural activities also are planned.

Volunteers must pay for transportation, and possibly $150 in accommodation fees. For more information contact ZAJEL at <nash@hally.net>, or call Alaa Yousef in Palestine at 011-970-9-238-1113 or 011-970-9-238-1117.

CONVENINGS

The Muslim Public Affairs Council (MPAC) is hosting its annual convention Dec. 21-22 at the Long Beach Convention Center, 300 East Ocean Blvd., Long Beach, CA 90802. This year’s convention, titled “American Muslims: Standing Up for Freedom and Security,” will feature discussions of terrorism and counterterrorism, the state of American democracy, U.S. Muslim charities, the USA PATRIOT Act, and issues of Muslim-American identity. Speakers include academics, authors and professionals with expertise in civil rights and Islam. For more information and to register call (213)-383-3443 or visit <www.mpac.org>.

DEATHS

Israel Amir, 99, first commander of the Israeli air force, died Nov. 1 in a Tel Aviv hospital, of unreported causes. Born Israel Zblodovsky in Russia, he immigrated to British-ruled Palestine at age 10. He was a member of the militant Jewish underground movement Hagana, the members of which, after Israel’s creation in 1948, would go on to lead the Israeli army. In 1942, Amir was appointed head of Hagana’s information department, which would later evolve into Israel’s Mossad and Shin Bet intelligence agencies.

On May 16, 1948, two days after the creation of Israel, then-Prime Minister David Ben-Gurion put Amir in charge of the Israeli air force, which at the time consisted of eight used light aircraft. A purchasing drive launched by Amir added 60 planes to the air force fleet. By the time the general quit his post 10 weeks after assuming command, the air force comprised 3,000 employees, two airfields and several pilot/technician training schools. Amir spent the rest of his career as an official in the Defense Ministry, holding various posts before his retirement in 1969.

Sheikh Mustafa Mashour, 83, leader and “Supreme Guide” of Egypt’s Muslim Brotherhood, died Nov. 14 in Cairo of unreported causes. Mashour had led the Brotherhood, a 74-year-old Islamic movement founded by Imam Hassan Elbanna, since 1996.