Washington Report on Middle East Affairs, July 2001, page 94

Human Rights

Guests Discuss Status of Kuwaiti Women

On May 22, the Kuwait Information Office hosted a talk by two visiting Kuwaiti scholars and prominent leaders of the women’s movement in Kuwait: Dr. Samira Omar and Dr. Roula Dashti.

Dr. Omar stated that the status of women in Kuwaiti society has progressed immensely. Today, the illiteracy rate among women has declined to 9 percent. The contribution of women to the work force has moved in light-years. Ninety percent of women who obtain a college education participate in the work force. The status of women in the political sphere, however, has not paralleled this progress, she said.

Dr. Omar stated that the main obstacle to full participation of women in Kuwait is the lack of the right to vote and be elected to a political post, both of which remain forbidden by law. Despite the fact that Kuwait’s 1961 constitution does not discriminate between men and women in the right to vote, it is the electoral law introduced shortly after independence that specifically deprives women of the right to vote.

For the past three decades, this issue has galvanized the women’s movement in Kuwait. Women have persisted in exerting pressure on the parliament to pass legislation to amend its electoral law. In 1974, the national assembly of Kuwait rejected a bill allowing women to vote. During the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait, women were active participants in the local resistance against the invasion and, in appreciation of their efforts, the emir promised Kuwaiti women the right to vote. However, this proved difficult given the politicized nature of the issue.

Dr. Omar said that Kuwaiti women attempted to publicize their cause by participating in international conferences and engaging in various acts of civil disobedience against the electoral law. They were successful in drawing international attention to their cause. In 1999, the emir issued a decree allowing Kuwaiti women to vote and to run for office. Since the decree was issued when the Kuwaiti parliament was not in session, however, it was rejected by members of parliament. Even so, when a draft bill later was introduced in parliament, it was defeated by two votes.

In April 2000, 23 Kuwaiti women submitted petitions against the minister of interior claiming that refusing to allow them to register to vote is a violation of Kuwait’s own constitution. The constitutional court turned down all petitions on procedural grounds.

Dr. Roula Dashti reiterated that, with all the progress and benefits afforded to Kuwaiti women by their government, there continues to be a dire need to obtain the right to vote. She said that equality and justice are two pillars of Kuwait’s constitution, which must be applied to allow women to vote. She stated that the parliament’s continued resistance to allowing women to vote is in clear contradiction to the constitution, which prohibits discrimination based on gender or race.

The debate over the right of Kuwaiti women to vote has polarized Kuwaiti society, she said. Based on extreme and misguided interpretations of Islam, Dr. Dashti argued, opponents of women’s right to vote have claimed that permitting women to vote would “destroy the social fabric of Kuwaiti society.” The use of Islam by members of parliament to justify preventing women from voting is simply a political ploy, claimed Dr. Dashti. She explained that some members of parliament who have traditionally opposed the right of Kuwaiti women to vote are wary of their term in office if Kuwaiti women, who comprise almost half of the total population, are empowered by law to vote. Various Muslim countries far more conservative than Kuwait, she pointed out, have granted their female population the right to vote.

Indeed, allowing women to vote would completely reshape Kuwait’s political system, which, she asserted, is direly needed. Because of the highly politicized nature of the issue, she added, it became another policy issue open for debate.

Dr. Dashti stated that, given the vital economic and security issues Kuwait faces today, women must be part of the decision-making process in Kuwait. She asserted that Kuwaiti women will continue to exhaust all possible legal avenues to guarantee their right to vote while bringing in more moderate voices from the government.

—Asma Yousef

Conflict in the Middle East: A Humanitarian Perspective

Mr. Werner Kaspar of the Geneva-based International Committee for the Red Cross (ICRC) spoke about the humanitarian consequences of the current Palestinian-Israeli conflict on May 16 at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. Kaspar, head of ICRC operations for the Middle East and North Africa, recently completed a mission to Israel and the Palestinian territories. He spoke about ICRC’s heightened efforts to provide emergency medical care and other assistance to civilians affected by the conflict, and to promote the observance of basic principles of international humanitarian law within the context of the current intifada.

A year ago, Kaspar said, ICRC’s priority was dissemination of information about international humanitarian law. ICRC ran a sophisticated program, including classes in humanitarian law in schools and universities, and conducted a study called “People on War” in both societies to see what people knew about humanitarian law. It found a high level of acceptance of violence in both societies. Also, in the past year, as in the last 30 years, ICRC regularly reminded the Israeli authorities that building Israeli settlements in the occupied territories is illegal under international law and creates more areas of tension. The Israeli authorities have always listened, but nevertheless continued settlement construction. A year ago, there were over 3,000 Palestinian prisoners held in jails in Israel proper (within the pre-1967 borders), and ICRC conducted a program of family visits, with 85,000 visits a year. In the territories, the Palestinian Authority held over 1,000 detainees, and ICRC worked to help them and assist the emerging Palestinian political entity to act in accordance with humanitarian principles of respect for prisoners. ICRC also promoted cooperation between the Palestinian Red Crescent and the Israeli Magen David Adom (the Red Shield of David).

Last year, ICRC was phasing out its medical emergency service program in the West Bank and Gaza Strip, which included 44 ambulances and a staff ICRC trained for five years, successfully working toward the goal of self-sufficiency. The Palestinian Red Crescent was known and used for its high quality of medical services. Work with Magen David Adom focused on assisting with World War II-related inquiries and how to incorporate the organization into the international federation of the Red Cross and Red Crescent societies, such as solving the issue concerning Magen David Adom’s emblem.

Now, with the new intifada, Kaspar said, ICRC is back to basics. The first response was to redeploy its delegates from Tel Aviv, Jerusalem, and Gaza to staff additional offices in Jenin, Nablus, Tulkarm, Qalqilya, Ramallah, Bethlehem, Hebron, Jericho and Khan Younis (in the Gaza Strip). ICRC doubled its expatriate staff from 23 to 44. The primary task now is daily monitoring of events on the ground, such as ensuring that ambulances are allowed through checkpoints and over roads, and that the wounded are evacuated. ICRC reports its observations to the Israeli and Palestinian authorities.

In light of the new intifada, ICRC has different priorities than prevailed during the peace process. First, ICRC wants to continue visits to detainees, whose numbers have increased. Given the current tense atmosphere, detainees are increasingly at risk of abuse. The family visit program with Palestinian prisoners detained in Israel broke down for seven months, due to more checkpoints, increased difficulty passing through checkpoints, sand walls across roads, and new criteria for eligibility to visit prisoners. Two weeks ago, a family visitation program was re-implemented and, despite problems, is working.

Unfortunately, with the commencement of the intifada, ICRC’s programs to educate people about humanitarian law has slowed down. Now, the program consists mostly of explaining international rules to people on the ground. ICRC explains to Israeli soldiers that they must allow ambulances to pass through checkpoints and explains to Palestinian youths that they must not throw stones or shoot at Israeli ambulances. The program has become operational rather than theoretical, Kaspar said.

Cooperation between the Red Crescent society and Magen David Adom has changed. Phasing out assistance to the Red Crescent had to be abandoned and aid increased instead. With the beginning of the intifada, the Red Crescent suddenly needed more ambulances and staff. Instead of 44 ambulances, they now operate 85. The Palestinian economy has suffered to the point where Palestinians cannot afford to pay for the necessary emergency medical services, so the ICRC has taken over all emergency medical services. The cost for providing those services is over $2 million, Kaspar noted, including maintenance costs for ambulances and salary for staff. ICRC has worked to ensure that both sides respect the immunity of ambulances, and feels that respect has improved somewhat.

For the first time in the Palestinian territories, Kaspar said, ICRC has implemented an assistance program. It was the first time because ICRC has observed that while the Palestinians are not starving, they are deeply impoverished. Also, the mandate of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) provides for Palestinian refugees, and it has recently sought additional funding to increase its aid to other Palestinian civilians.

The deterioration of the economy and Israeli-imposed closures in the territories, however, have had a severe impact on some villages. ICRC identified 60 of the most vulnerable villages, which are usually near Israeli settlements, and has provided very basic assistance, including hygiene kits, blankets, tea and sugar. This aid does not begin to fully meet residents’ needs, but it gives ICRC experience on the ground, which they use to explain the level of need to the Israeli authorities. There have been challenges to the distribution of aid, including the closure of the Allenby Bridge, a key crossing between Jordan and the territories. The bridge was closed despite Israeli policy stating that humanitarian aid would have free access to the territories. After high-level intervention, the bridge was re-opened to ICRC.

Kaspar raised protection issues with Israeli Minister of Defense Benjamin Eleazar and with other Israeli leaders and, on the Palestinian side, raised security problems with Mohammed Dahlan, Marwan Barghouthi and other leaders of the Palestinian Authority. With Israeli officials, Kaspar focused on the humanitarian consequences of Israeli settlement expansion. He emphasized that ICRC stands for international humanitarian law and has insisted over the past 30 years that Israeli settlements in the territories are illegal and contrary to the behavior required of occupying powers by the Geneva convention. Increasing the number and size of settlements means increasing the points of tension. Also, he drew attention to the number of Palestinian civilians, especially children, shot by Israeli forces.

With the Palestinians, he emphasized that although Israeli settlements are illegal, their residents are civilians and under the protection of international law. He also urged Palestinians to find ways to bar children from hot spots. Kaspar mentioned the example of the Palestinian mayor of Nablus who sent a letter with the electricity bill to all families in Nablus requesting that they not allow their children to go to areas with frequent clashes. Another important issue is the status of the Palestinian territories. There is an ongoing international debate as to whether or not the territories are “occupied,” especially since some land was turned over to Palestinian sovereignty prior to the new intifada. ICRC maintains that the territories are occupied, and the occupying power has a responsibility to administer the territories in a way that allows for basically normal life. It is true that Israel has security concerns, Kaspar said, but Israel should not use the current situation to deny its responsibilities toward the Palestinian people in the occupied territories. Kaspar emphasized that the international community also has responsibility to enforce international humanitarian law.

—Kerry Boyd, courtesy of the International Migration Policy Program

Palestinian Cleric Comments on Conflict

Reverend Mitri Raheb, pastor of the Christmas Lutheran Church in Bethlehem and general director of Bethlehem’s International Center, prefaced his remarks at the Center for Policy Analysis on Palestine on May 23 with four observations regarding the Middle East. “Middle of where and east of what?” Raheb asked, as he pointed out that the very name denoted regional definition by outside, controlling, superpowers. His second observation was to remind the audience that the region is of great interest to outsiders because of its “holy sites and oily soil,” yet is missing common ground.

Thirdly, Raheb informed listeners that though the Middle East is looking westward toward Europe, it is being pulled southward toward Africa. Finally, he stated that the rich history of the area was sometimes a burden, and that there were many still waiting for a messiah to extend salvation. Concomitantly, Raheb said that Muslims have a crusader complex, always afraid that crusaders are on their way, and looking for a new Salah al-Din; that Jews have a Holocaust complex that holds them hostage as they wait for a new Talmudical “Judge” to bring them final victory; and that Christians—with a minority complex and already having a messiah—look to the West for their salvation.

Raheb cited contrasts in Palestinian and Israeli realities that exacerbate the crisis for Palestine. Though the conflict can be described as two communities fighting over the same land, the power imbalance is so great that there cannot possibly be any parity in any solution that does not address the imbalance. Raheb noted that Israel was established as a viable state in 1948, but that Palestine was still struggling toward that goal. He maintained that what was needed was not a flag or a president or an anthem, but a sustainable future. Not only does Israel have a state, Raheb noted, it has control over Palestinian land.

Raheb quoted an anti-apartheid activist from South Africa who said that to call Palestinian enclaves of control bantustans was to put it positively—that apartheid was segregation, but that Israelis controlled every facet of Palestinian life in a way the white South African government never did. Moreover, Raheb referred to the double standard in the way the world, especially the Western world, treats the opposing parties. Citing Holocaust guilt as a contributing factor, he stated that the government, media, and even churches in the U.S. unreasonably support Israel.

As many others are concluding, Raheb averred that although the Oslo peace accords were dead, one movement growing out of Oslo was the idea that there must be a one-state solution. He did not see any solution being implemented soon, however, because too many groups were benefitting from the present crisis: Israel’s right wing, its settlers, and its military, and, on the Palestinian side, the opposition to Oslo and human rights and emergency groups who, he alleged, were getting an infusion of cash. He also mentioned that the media—presumably world-wide—was benefiting from violent pictures.

Additionally, Raheb worried that Israel’s belief in military force and state terror as effective devices, and a Palestinian lack of a cohesive strategy, boded the possibility of the situation in Palestine mirroring that which Lebanon suffered for so many years. Advocating the development of a Palestinian strategy and dialogue with Israel as crucial steps, Raheb did hold out hope that “The light of right, not the power of might,” would eventually prevail.

—Sara Powell

Cancer Victims Protest at Israel’s Nuclear Plant

Arye Spieler survived the Nazis and every Israeli war. Now he is fighting cancer and for the state to recognize that he became sick by working for nearly 30 years at Israel’s top-secret Dimona nuclear plant in the Negev Desert.

Demonstrating with some 30 other employees on May 8, in Dimona, Israel, Spieler said he and nearly 100 other workers contracted cancer because they handled radioactive chemicals in the secluded site where Israel reportedly builds atomic weapons. The plant’s management rejects the premise that working with carcinogens at the reactor caused the cancer, meaning workers and widows cannot receive social security compensation.

The demonstrators included widows and children of people who have already died of cancer. Of the 50 people represented at the demonstration, 31 have died. Dozens of others who are sick did not participate in the protest, demonstrators said.

Environmental scientists have linked radioactivity to cancer worldwide, noting increased risks of kidney and lung cancer and leukemia. “People were urinating uranium and uranium was coming out of their noses,’’ said Gal Fahima, 29, whose 49-year-old father died of bone cancer in 1992, four months after being diagnosed.

Fahima said he is angry because when administrators who never came into contact with radioactive or carcinogenic materials developed skin cancer—an illness he said is not directly connected to such materials—they were compensated. “The level of loyalty of these people is unbelievable,’’ Fahima said, adding that they refuse to say what type of work they did or divulge any other information considered top secret.

The facility came under the world spotlight in 1986 when Dimona nuclear technician Mordechai Vanunu told Britain’s Sunday Times newspaper that the site was an atomic bomb factory. Israel has never confirmed it has nuclear capabilities.

—Samana Siddiqui

Noam Chomsky Speaks on Global Oppression at University of Toledo

“We Americans may shake our heads in disgust at news of atrocities in other nations, or shrug our shoulders at distant problems being of no concern to us. But U.S. citizens bear responsibility for at least some human rights abuses taking place around the world. And much of that is because the U.S. government, with our tacit approval and tax dollars, is pouring massive funding into some of the nations and regimes which are the worst violators.”

That message, delivered quietly but backed up by years of research and data, was delivered to a standing-room-only crowd at the University of Toledo in Ohio on March 4 by renowned linguist and political activist Noam Chomsky.

Chomsky’s presentation at UT was the first annual Maryse Mikhail Lecture, a new endowment to promote Middle Eastern culture, especially relating to peace and justice. This first visit to Toledo by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology professor drew more than 1,200 attendees from more than six states and Canada, said Dr. Samir Abu-Absi, chair of the English Department UT and coordinator of the event.

Throughout Chomsky’s fact-packed presentation on the Middle East, he reminded his audience that much of what is happening on the contemporary world stage is due to U.S. influence. While America has a tremendous power for good and consistently shares with the rest of the world, especially in crisis situations, he noted, the tendency of the nation’s foreign policy, in the past 40 years especially, has increasingly been to view other nations through the lens of our national interest.

Chomsky said that Americans are among the most poorly informed of any nation when it comes to understanding world affairs, and that the average American doesn’t follow foreign affairs at all. Particularly in terms of the Middle East, many Americans cannot locate its nations on a map, and don’t even think about the region “except when our gas prices start going up,” he said. Yet the U.S. government has for years understood the importance of the Persian Gulf region—and positioned itself accordingly. “It’s long been understood that whoever controls the Gulf not only has enormous wealth, but incomparable leverage in world affairs,” he said.

Chomsky said the United States has funded military arsenals for nations with some of the worst human rights records on the planet and supplied many of the weapons used in terrible atrocities and mass destruction—often by nations using these against their own people. “But most Americans never see this kind of information,” he said. “Apparently we cannot tolerate human rights abuses within our national borders, but we can tolerate them near our national borders,” he said to a round of applause.

Chomsky said that if Americans knew what their tax dollars were supporting, many atrocities would never have happened. Citing as examples the genocide of the Kurds by Turkey, the sanctions-related deaths of civilians in Iraq and the escalating oppression of Palestinians by Israeli forces, Chomsky said, “That means you and I did it because the U.S. funds it.”

In his hour-long presentation, followed by a question-and-answer period, Chomsky highlighted three Middle East regions: Iraq, Turkey and Israel/Palestine. No one disputes the fact that Iraq’s President Saddam Hussain has been guilty of terrible crimes against humanity, including the gassing deaths of thousands of Kurds and chemical warfare against his own people, he noted. But the sanctions imposed by the United States against Iraq, and U.S. and allied bombings, have only harmed the Iraqi people, especially children.

Not only have the sanctions not brought down Saddam Hussain, Chomsky said, they have actually strengthened his position and provoked deepening hatred of the United States among the Iraqi people.

Chomsky also emphasized that whenever Americans speak of the crimes of many “rogue” nations, we need to add three words: [these things were done] “with our support.” In Iraq’s case, for example, the U.S. actually equipped Saddam Hussain with the arms used against his people and provided him with means to develop the weapons of mass destruction we now have dismantled. That, said Chomsky, was because early on the United States saw Iraq’s pivotal role in the Gulf and befriended Saddam Hussain. Only when Iraq invaded Kuwait and our “national interest” became cheap oil did we change allegiance, Chomsky said.

While most Americans have at least slight knowledge of Saddam Hussain and Iraq, primarily because of our involvement in the Gulf war, they appear to know next to nothing about our foreign policy in regard to Turkey and its slaughter of the Kurdish people, Chomsky said. The Kurds have been systematically oppressed throughout the history of the Turkish state, he pointed out. Yet the fact that between 2 and 3 million people were killed and 3,500 villages destroyed since the start of Turkey’s war on the Kurds in 1984 has barely made news in the United States. Even less known, he said, is that during the peak of the conflict in 1997, the United States was providing 80 percent of the arms Turkey was using against its own people.

A significant part of Chomsky’s lecture, as well as questions from the audience, was devoted to the current volatile situation in Israel/Palestine. Being informed about the situation in Israel/Palestine, he suggested, is perhaps even more crucial for Americans because of continuing U.S. policy affecting the region and also the strong religious and historic place the Holy Land holds for Christians, Jews and Muslims alike.

Although Chomsky’s facts and content were sobering, he continually challenged his audience to avoid apathy and take an active role in becoming informed. Because of its role as the leading world power, the U.S. has a tremendous potential for doing good, and citizens need to constantly push the country in that direction, he said. To do that, Americans need to study current events, demand that the media provide more and accurate information on foreign affairs, particularly on where and how U.S. tax dollars are spent, Chomsky urged.

Citizens also need to exert constant pressure on elected officials, especially through lobbying, phone calls and letters, to work for justice and peace. “The government is funding such and such,” Chomsky said Americans are used to reading in newspapers. “Well, who is the government? Whose money, whose tax dollars, is supporting this action, this injustice? It’s you and I doing it. If we don’t agree with what’s happening, it’s up to us to do something about it,” he challenged.

—Patricia Lynn Morrison

Britons Demonstrate Outside Israeli Embassy in England

Palestinians and their supporters have again taken to the streets to protest—this time in London. The latest in a series of protests was held May 23 outside the Israeli Embassy in London’s Kensington district. The current uprising in Palestine has reinvigorated a grassroots effort to defend and represent the Palestinians in Britain. The first demonstration was held the day after Ariel Sharon’s lethal foray into Jerusalem’s al-Aqsa compound on Sept. 28. Large numbers of people, including a significant British Muslim contingent, blocked the streets and chanted outside the Israeli Embassy in central London.

With Prime Minister Ariel Sharon’s remarkable escalation of attacks against Palestinians, the picketing and protesting mood has intensified in London as a sign of people’s refusal to let Israel get away with an unscathed international image. Over the past half-year, the movement organizing the protests, and now an embryonic boycott campaign, has taken shape with organizations such as the Palestine Solidarity Campaign, which originated during the first intifada, the year-old Palestine Right to Return Coalition, Al-Awda (affiliated with the organization’s U.S. branch of the same name), and the Socialist Workers’ Party (not connected with the U.S. SWP) coming to the forefront of the growing movement. Behind all this, though, is the growing frustration of ordinary individuals, some of whose lives have been profoundly affected by the violence in the Middle East.

Joseph Najjar, a Palestinian who has lived in London for more than 40 years, explained his presence at the protest: “I’m here to show solidarity with the Palestinian people. It’s obscene what has been allowed to happen, and also the silence from the international community. It wouldn’t happen anywhere else in the world.”

The rage, of course, is not limited to Palestinians; most troubling for Israel’s image in the media has been the conspicuous presence of Jews and Israelis at these pickets. One, Paul Eisen, a Jewish businessman, justified his coming to the demonstrations by stating that “Being Jewish, it makes me more Jewish to be here. There are lots of causes I could be involved with, but this is the most important” and likening the treatment of the Palestinians by Israel to that of the Warsaw Ghetto.

So long as their sister movement in Palestine continues, it seems, a vocal and growing group of Jews and others will be keeping the London intifada alive.

—Abdulhadi Ayyad

One Lone Man in Maine Protests Genocide of Palestinians

One lone man with a sign calling for an end to the U.S.-Israeli genocide of the Palestinians stood for days in the Old Port in Portland, Maine. William Burke came to the attention of passersby who were members of the Islamic Society of Portland. They learned that, although he had never met a Palestinian, William had been moved by the ongoing news of the most recent slaughters of Palestinians during the current intifada. They offered to support him in his solitary effort by showing up with signs of their own to accompany him. They also told him about Peace Action Maine (PAM).

Burke showed up at the PAM office and spoke with Scott Miller and Wells Staley-Mays. They agreed that an end to the aggression was essential to bring peace to the Middle East and provided him with the national Peace Action statement. They each agreed to show up with signs in support of peace in the Middle East and respect for the rights of Palestinians.

Peace Action Maine, the Islamic Society of Portland, Pax Christi Maine and Veterans for Peace have co-sponsored vigils for peace in the Middle East and justice for Palestinians for five consecutive Fridays in April and May, at the intersection of Middle and Exchange Streets in Portland. The vigils have been well attended, with between 9 and 30 people each week, and will be continuing every Friday throughout the summer. The vigils provide an opportunity for many people to meet their Muslim neighbors and to learn about the situation in Israel-Palestine. Volunteers have been collecting signatures on petitions calling for United Nations protection of Palestinians and opposing the relocation of the U.S. Embassy to Jerusalem.

Peace Action volunteers have been inspired by their contact with the members of Portland’s immigrant community who are Muslims. They have learned much about how Muslims feel with regard to their Palestinian co-religionists. They hope more people will attend in the future.

—Wells Staley-Mays