Content Type: Journal Article / Publishing Institution: Institute for Palestine Studies / Publication Year: within 25 Years / Journal:

201. Documents and Source Material: International

Publication Date:: 07-2011
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: Journal of Palestine Studies
Institution:: Institute for Palestine Studies
Abstract:: A1. Richard Goldstone, Former Chair of the UN Fact-Finding Mission on the Gaza Conflict, "Reconsidering the Goldstone Report on Israel and War Crimes," Washington Post, 1 April 2011. A2. Office of the UN Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process, "Palestinian State-Building: A Decisive Period," Brussels, 13 April 2011 (excerpts). A3. Members of the Goldstone-led UN Fact-Finding Mission on the Gaza Conflict, Response to Goldstone's Statement "Reconsidering" the Mission's Findings, Guardian, 14 April 2011. A4. Turkish Pres. Abdullah Gül, Op-Ed on the Importance of the Palestine Issue, "The Revolution's Missing Peace," New York Times, 20 April 2011.
Topic:: United Nations
Political Geography:: New York, Washington, Gaza, and Brussels

202. Documents and Source Material: Arab

Publication Date:: 07-2011
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: Journal of Palestine Studies
Institution:: Institute for Palestine Studies
Abstract:: B1. UAE FM Abdullah Bin Zayed al-Nahyan, Letter Urging World Governments to Support Palestinian Statehood, December 2010. B2. Gaza Youth's Manifesto for Change, December 2010. B3. Palestinian Youth Groups, Press Release Regarding Attempts to Co-opt March 15th Protests, 9 March 2011. B4. Fatah-Hamas Unity Agreement, Cairo, 4 May 2011.
Topic:: Government
Political Geography:: Gaza

203. Documents and Source Material: Israel

Publication Date:: 07-2011
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: Journal of Palestine Studies
Institution:: Institute for Palestine Studies
Abstract:: C. Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung and Macro Center for Political Economics, "All of the Above: Identity Paradoxes of Young People in Israel (the 3rd Youth Study): Changes in National, Societal, and Personal Attitudes," Herzliya, Israel, 31 March 2011 (excerpts)
Topic:: Economics
Political Geography:: Israel

204. Documents and Source Material: United States

Publication Date:: 07-2011
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: Journal of Palestine Studies
Institution:: Institute for Palestine Studies
Abstract:: D1. Freshmen Republican Representatives to Congress, Letter Urging Republican Leaders of the House of Representatives to Maintain Current Aid Levels to Israel Despite the FY 2011 U.S. Budget Crisis, Washington, February 2011. D2. American Association of University Professors and American Jewish Committee, "Anti-Semitism on Campus," Washington, 20 April 2011.
Political Geography:: America, Washington, and Israel

205. Chronology

Author:: Michele K. Esposito
Publication Date:: 07-2011
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: Journal of Palestine Studies
Institution:: Institute for Palestine Studies
Abstract:: 16 February–15 May 2011 Compiled by Michele K. Esposito This section is part 110 of a chronology begun in JPS 13, no. 3 (Spring 1984). Chronology dates reflect Eastern Daylight Time (EDT). For a more comprehensive overview of events related to the al-Aqsa intifada and of regional and international developments related to the peace process, see the Quarterly Update on Conflict and Diplomacy in this issue. LIMITED PREVIEW | PURCHASE FULL 16 FEBRUARY As the quarter opens, Israel maintains a tight siege of Gaza aimed at unseating the governing Hamas authority, in control since 6/2007. The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) enforces a 300-m deep no-go zone inside the full length of the Gaza border and limits the Palestinian fishing zone off Gaza to 500–1,000 m off the immediate Bayt Lahiya and Rafah coasts, and 3 naut. mi. elsewhere—restrictions that place 17% of Gaza's total landmass, including 35% of its viable agricultural areas, and 85% of the maritime areas allocated to the Palestinians under the Oslo accords off limits to Palestinians. In the West Bank, governed by the Fatah-led Palestinian Authority (PA), IDF operations and restrictions on movement and access continue but are relatively low. In the West Bank, the IDF patrols in Tulkarm before dawn and in Birzeit late at night; conducts late-night arrest raids, house searches nr. Nablus. (PCHR 2/17, 2/24; OCHA 2/25) Regionwide antigovernment protests, which toppled the Egyptian and Tunisian regimes last quarter, continue (see Quarterly Update in this issue and in JPS 159). In Bahrain, demonstrators for the 1st time shift fr. calling for a transition to a constitutional monarchy to calling for the ouster of the monarchy altogether. Syria sees its 1st hint of unrest when more than 500 protesters in Damascus spontaneously rally to the defense of a motorist being beaten by a police officer and refuse to disperse, chanting “The Syrian people will not tolerate humiliation” for more than 3 hrs. until Interior M Saed Samour personally goes to the scene to pledge to punish the policeman. Major clashes between govt. forces and protesters seeking regime change are reported in eastern Libya, while modest demonstrations in Yemen call for the president to step down. (NYT, WP, WT 2/17) 17 FEBRUARY Overnight, IDF troops on the n. Gaza border fire on and shell a group of Palestinians nr. the n. Gaza border fence, killing 3 Palestinians; Palestinians say the 3 were unarmed men attempting to sneak into Israel to find work, but the IDF claims they were armed men preparing to lay explosive devices along the border. In the West Bank, the IDF demolishes 3 wells and an agricultural storehouse nr. a settler-only bypass road nr. Hebron; seals and patrols in Jit nr. Qalqilya during the afternoon. In Ramallah, some 1,000 young Palestinians hold a rally calling for national unity and reconciliation between Fatah and Hamas. (AFP, WP 2/18; PCHR 2/24; OCHA 2/25) U.S. pres. Barack Obama phones PA pres. Mahmud Abbas to urge him to delay a 2/18 vote on a UN Security Council (UNSC) res. reaffirming that Israeli settlements are illegal and an obstacle to peace or agree to a compromise UNSC presidential statement (less than a res.) criticizing settlements and urging the sides to resume negotiations. Abbas agrees to convene an emergency meeting of the PLO Exec. Comm. (PLOEC) and Fatah Central Comm. (FCC) to consider the matter. (HA 2/17; HA, MNA, NYT 2/18) (see Quarterly Update for details) After violence overnight (see 2/16), Bahrain's govt. declares martial law, deploying the military to the streets and warning of a “sectarian abyss”; the main Shi`i political party withdraws fr. parliament, protesting the acts of the minority Sunni leadership; and opposition groups call for massive demonstrations after Friday prayers on 2/18. (NYT, WP, WT 2/18) In Libya, protesters in 5 main cities observe a “Day of Rage” against Qaddafi, clashing with govt. forces, leaving at least 12 protesters dead and 10s wounded; the govt. cuts phone and Internet service and bars journalists to prevent coverage. Serious clashes in and around Benghazi continue on 2/18. (NYT, WP, WT 2/18; NYT, WP 2/19) 18 FEBRUARY Gaza's Rafah crossing opens for the 1st time since 1/29/11 to allow Palestinians trapped in Egypt to enter Gaza. In the West Bank, the IDF enters Bayt Umar village nr. Hebron in the afternoon, searching a house and arresting a 10-yr.-old Palestinian for stone-throwing; patrols in 4 villages nr. Qalqilya, 2 nr. Ramallah, and 1 nr. Tulkarm during the afternoon and evening. Palestinians (sometimes accompanied by Israeli and international activists) hold weekly nonviolent demonstrations against the separation wall, land confiscations, and settlement expansion in Bil'in, Ni'lin, and Nabi Salih/Dayr Nizam nr. Ramallah, and in Bayt Umar nr. Hebron. IDF soldiers fire rubber-coated steel bullets, tear gas, and stun grenades at the protesters, injuring 8 Palestinians (including 3 children); 15 Palestinians (including 9 children) and 2 international activists are arrested. (Oxfam International 2/20; PCHR 2/24; OCHA 2/25) Before the UNSC vote reaffirming the illegality of Jewish settlements, U.S. Secy. of State Hillary Clinton phones Abbas to warn him that that U.S. aid could be cut if the vote goes ahead. In Ramallah, the PLOEC and FCC opt to go ahead with the vote saying, “The Palestinian leadership will reject American demands even if our decision leads to a diplomatic crisis with the Americans. We have nothing to lose.” The U.S. vetoes the res. (HA, REU 2/18; HA, WP 2/19; HA 2/20; WJW 2/24; JPI 3/4) (see Quarterly Update) In Bahrain, security forces violently disperse a massive protest in Manama, wounding 10s. From this point, large antigovernment protests (1,000s to 10,000s) become nr. daily events. (NYT, WP 2/19; NYT 2/21) 19 FEBRUARY Israeli naval vessels intercept a Palestinian fishing boat off the n. Gaza coast, escort it to Ashdod, confiscate the boat, and release the fishermen. In the West Bank, the IDF patrols in 4 villages nr. Jericho, Qalqilya, Salfit, and Tulkarm in the afternoon, and 1 village nr. Tulkarm late at night. From Ramallah, FCC mbr. Tawfik Tirawi calls for a “day of rage” against the 2/18 U.S. veto; protests denouncing the U.S. are held in Bethlehem, Hebron, Jenin, Nablus, and Tulkarm. For safety, the U.S. consulate in East Jerusalem restricts staff movement for 3 days. (HA, Oxfam International, WP 2/20; PCHR 2/24; OCHA 2/25) In Libya, security forces in Benghazi open fire on some 20,000 mourners leaving funerals of antigovernment protesters killed in recent clashes, leaving at least 84 dead and scores injured and bringing the death toll in 3 days of clashes to as many as 200 dead and nearly 850 wounded in Benghazi alone. British embassy officials say they have received reports of govt. forces using heavy weapons and snipers against protesters. From this point, antigovernment demonstrations and fierce military repression escalate sharply, and opposition groups take up arms. (NYT, WP 2/20; NYT, WP, WT 2/21) 20 FEBRUARY Saying the Fatah-Hamas split has “gone on too long and should not continue,” PA PM Salam Fayyad offers to form an interim national unity govt. with Hamas and not to interfere with Hamas's rule in Gaza in the run-up to elections, if it agrees to take part in presidential and legislative elections in 9/2011. Elements within Fatah denounce the move. Hamas responds with skepticism. (AP, HA 2/21) (see Quarterly Update for details) In the West Bank, the IDF conducts daytime patrols in and around Jenin and in villages nr. Qalqilya and Tulkarm; conducts evening and late-night patrols nr. Qalqilya and Salfit. Jewish settlers uproot 270 olive trees fr. 2 Palestinian plots nr. Nablus. In Ramallah, some 3,000 Palestinians organized by Fatah protest the 2/18 U.S. veto, waving banners and shouting slogans against the Obama administration. (MNA, WP 2/21; PCHR 2/24; OCHA 2/25) 21 FEBRUARY In the West Bank, the IDF tears down Palestinian's tents in Khirbat Tana, where the IDF demolished homes and other structures on 2/9/11 (see Quarterly Update and Settlement Monitor in JPS 159); conducts late-night arrest raids, house searches, and patrols in 6 villages nr. Qalqilya, as well as nr. Bethlehem and Jenin. More than 80 Palestinian nonprofit organizations from the West Bank, Jerusalem, and the Gaza Strip issued a statement calling on Fatah and Hamas to take practical steps toward ending their rift. (MNA 5/23; PCHR 2/24; OCHA 2/25) The Knesset passes the Foreign Govt. NGO Funding Transparency Law tightening requirements on groups that accept foreign funding, widely seen as an effort to undermine left-wing Israeli organizations. (MNA 2/23; WJW 2/24) (see Quarterly Update) After a week of violent clashes, the Libyan govt. has lost control of most of the eastern part of the country to armed antigovernment protesters. Qaddafi responds with overwhelming force, dispatching warplanes, helicopters, special forces, and heavily armed mercenaries (paid and flown in to Tripoli by the planeload in recent days to shore up the regime) to hunt down demonstrators. Fighting has also reached Tripoli, where there are reports of strafing fr. the air, combat in the streets, burning buildings, and looters ransacking police stations. Dozens of senior Libyan officials and diplomats resign in outrage, and widespread defections by the military nationwide are reported. (WP, WT 2/21; NYT, WP, WT 2/22) 22 FEBRUARY In the morning, the IDF makes 2 brief incursions into Gaza to level land along the border fence in s. Gaza to clear lines of sight. IDF troops on the n. Gaza border fire warning shots at Palestinians scavenging for construction materials in the fmr. settlement sites, wounding 1. In the West Bank, the IDF demolishes 8 tents (home to 40 Bedouin) and 2 wells nr. Suissa settlement outside Hebron; sends some 40 undercover troops into Salim nr. Nablus, where they raid an apartment building and arrest a wanted Palestinian; patrols in and around Tulkarm, in Qalqilya, and in villages nr. Jenin in the morning, summoning 4 Palestinians to appear for questioning; conducts late-night patrols in al-Bireh, Qalqilya, and 2 village nr. Ramallah and Tulkarm. Jewish settlers fr. Bat Ayin nr. Hebron uproot at least 250 olive trees in nearby Jab'a village. (WT 2/23; PCHR 2/24; OCHA 2/25) After a televised speech in which Libya's Col. Qaddafi vows to hunt down and kill protesters “house by house,” 1,000s of his supporters take to the streets of Tripoli brandishing machetes and join trucks heading to outlying areas to conduct neighborhood searches. With most residents bunkered in their homes and media outlets cut off, the extent of the violence in the Tripoli area is unclear. Rights groups estimate that 519 Libyans have been killed, 3,980 have been wounded, and at least 1,500 have gone missing since violence erupted a wk. ago. Hereafter, fighting quickly devolves into bitter civil war. (NYT, WP, WT 2/23; NYT, WP, WT 2/2; NYT, WP, WT 2/25; NYT, WP, WT 2/26–3/1) In Bahrain, more than 100,000 protesters (a fifth of the population, mostly Shi'a) turn out for the largest prodemocracy rally to date in Pearl Square calling for the govt. and the monarchy to step down. (NYT, WP, WT 2/23) 23 FEBRUARY Fayyad reiterates his 2/20 national unity offer, saying the PA would forgo further U.S. aid for the sake of national unity if the U.S. went through with threats to suspend aid to the PA if Hamas joined the govt. Abbas and senior Hamas officials agree to discuss the idea. (JPI 3/11) (see Quarterly Update) At Abbas's request, Israel agrees to allow some 300 Palestinians fleeing Libya to enter the West Bank. In Gaza, Islamic Jihad and Hamas mbrs. detonate an explosive device by the border fence as an IDF patrol passes on the Israeli side, then fire 3 mortars at the troops, causing no injuries. IDF soldiers retaliate with tank and gunfire, killing 1 armed Palestinian and wounding 6 armed Palestinians and at least 3 bystanders (including 2 children). Late at night, the IDF makes 5 air strikes on buildings in central and southern Gaza, causing no injuries; in the 1 instance in which a building is occupied, Israeli intelligence units phone to warn the occupants to leave. An 11-yr.-old Palestinian girl is killed and 4 family mbrs. are wounded when explosives accidentally detonate in their Gaza home. The IDF makes a brief incursion into c. Gaza to level land along the border fence to clear lines of sight. IDF troops on the n. Gaza border fire warning shots at Palestinian scavenging for construction materials in the fmr. settlement sites, wounding 2 Palestinian. Late in the evening, Israeli naval vessels fire on Palestinian fishing boats off the n. Gaza coast, forcing them to return to shore. In the West Bank, the IDF patrols in 'Aqabat Jabir refugee camp (r.c.) in the morning, photographing historic sites; conducts late-night patrols in Birzeit and 1 village nr. Tulkarm; conducts late-night arrest raids, house searches, and patrols in and around Jenin r.c. (DPA, HA, IsRN, JP, NYT, REU, WAFA 2/23; PCHR, WP 2/24; PCHR 3/3; OCHA 3/4)
Topic:: Development
Political Geography:: Gaza

206. Bibliography of Periodical Literature

Author:: Norbert Scholz
Publication Date:: 07-2011
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: Journal of Palestine Studies
Institution:: Institute for Palestine Studies
Abstract:: This section lists articles and reviews of books relevant to Palestine and the Arab-Israeli conflict. Entries are classified under the following headings: Reference and General; History (through 1948) and Geography; Palestinian Politics and Society; Jerusalem; Israeli Politics, Society, and Zionism; Arab and Middle Eastern Politics; International Relations; Law; Military; Economy, Society, and Education; Literature, Arts, and Culture; Book Reviews; and Reports Received. Norbert Scholz Journal of Palestine Studies, Vol. 40, no. 4 (Summer 2011), p. 247 Bibliography of Periodical Literature Buy Print Email LIMITED PREVIEW | PURCHASE FULL Reference and General Al-Azm, Sadik J. “Orientalism, Occidentalism, and Islamism: Keynote Address to 'Orientalism and Fundamentalism in Islamic and Judaic Critique': A Conference Honoring Sadik Al-Azm.” CSSAME 30, no. 1 (2010): 6–13. Ciftci, Sabri. “Modernization, Islam, or Social Capital: What Explains Attitudes toward Democracy in the Muslim World?” Comparative Political Studies 43, no. 11 (Nov. 2010): 1442–70. Hamzawy, Amr. “Arab Writings on Islamist Parties and Movements.” IJMES 43, no. 1 (Feb. 2011): 138–40. Heschel, Susannah, and Timothy Baker. “Transnational Migrations of Identity: Jews, Muslims, and the Modernity Debate.” CSSAME 30, no. 1 (2010): 1–5. Schwedler, Jillian. “Studying Political Islam.” IJMES 43, no. 1 (Feb. 2011): 135–37. Utvik, Bjørn O. “Islamists from a Distance.” IJMES 43, no. 1 (Feb. 2011): 141–43. History (through 1948) and Geography Abu Khashan, Abdul Karim. “Pierre Loti's Journey across Sinai to Jerusalem, 1894.” JQ, no. 43 (Aut. 2010): 18–30. Bianchini, Katia. “The Mandate Refugee Program: A Critical Discussion.” International Journal of Refugee Law 22, no. 3 (Oct. 2010): 367–78. Ginor, Isabella, and Gideon Remez. “A Cold War Casualty in Jerusalem, 1948: The Assassination of Witold Hulanicki.” IJFA 4, no. 3 (Sep. 2010): 137–58. Goldstein, Yossi. “Eastern Jews vs. Western Jews: The Ahad Ha'am-Herzl Dispute and Its Cultural and Social Implications.” Jewish History 24, nos. 3–4 (Dec. 2010): 355–77. Hughes, Matthew. “Assassination in Jerusalem: Bahjat Abu Gharbiyah and Sami Al-Ansari's Shooting of British Assistant Superintendent Alan Sigrist 12th June 1936.” JQ, no. 44 (Win. 2010): 5–13. Khalidi, Issam. “The Coverage of Sports News in 'Filastin' 1911–1948.” JQ, no. 44 (Win. 2010): 45–69. Klieman, Aharon. “Returning to the World Stage: Herzl's Zionist Statecraft.” IJFA 4, no. 2 (May 2010): 75–84. Matar, Nabil. “Couscous or Cartography: A Moroccan Jurist and an English Trader Visit Seventeenth Century Palestine.” JQ, no. 43 (Aut. 2010): 40–52. Shaw, Martin, and Omer Bartov. “The Question of Genocide in Palestine, 1948: An Exchange between Martin Shaw and Omer Bartov.” Journal of Genocide Research 12, nos. 3–4 (Sep. 2010): 243–59. Sicher, Efraim. “The Image of Israel and Postcolonial Discourse in the Early 21st Century: A View from Britain.” IsS 16, no. 1 (Spr. 2011): 1–25. Wallach, Yair. “Creating a Country through Currency and Stamps: State Symbols and Nation-building in British-ruled Palestine.” Nations and Nationalism 17, no. 1 (Jan. 2011): 129–47. Palestinian Politics and Society Abu Sitta, Salman. “The Village of 'Araqeeb in Palestine” [in Arabic]. MDF, no. 86 (Spr. 2011): 111–27. Brown, Nathan J. “Studying Palestinian Politics: Scholarship or Scholasticism?” IJFA 4, no. 3 (Sep. 2010): 47–58. Cantarow, Ellen. “Catching the Palestine Bug: Notes on Journalism and Enlightened Tourism in Palestine.” JQ, no. 43 (Aut. 201 ): 64–70. Chamberlin, Paul. “The Struggle against Oppression Everywhere: The Global Politics of Palestinian Liberation.” MES 47, no. 1 (Jan. 2011): 25–41. Ephron, Dan. “The Wrath of Abbas.” Newsweek (24 April 2011). Foroohar, Manzar. “Palestinians in Central America: From Temporary Emigrants to a Permanent Diaspora.” JPS 40, no. 3 (Spr. 2011): 6–22. Hamdan, Usama (interview). “Hamas 'Foreign Minister' Usama Hamdan Talks about National Reconciliation, Arafat, Reform, and Hamas's Presence in Lebanon.” JPS 40, no. 3 (Spr. 2011): 59–74. Kotef, Hagar. “Objects of Security: Gendered Violence and Securitized Humanitarianism in Occupied Gaza.” CSSAME 30, no. 2 (2010): 179–91. Long, Baudouin. “The Hamas Agenda: How Has It Changed?” MEP 17, no. 4 (Win. 2010): 131–43. Makdisi, Saree. “Palestine Inside Out: An Everyday Occupation” [in Arabic]. MA 33, no. 386 (Apr. 2011): 41–57. Nasrallah, Jana. “Shatila Camp: Memory of War and Marginalization” [in Arabic]. MDF, no. 86 (Spr. 2011): 148–56. Peled, Kobi. “The Well of Forgetfulness and Remembrance: Milieu de mémoire and lieu de mémoire in a Palestinian Arab Town in Israel.” British Journal of Middle Eastern Studies 37, no. 2 (Aug. 2010): 139–58. Sabbagh-Khoury, Areej, and Nadim Rouhana. “The Right of Return from the Perspective of Palestinians in Israel” [in Arabic]. MDF, no. 86 (Spr. 2011): 84–110. Schanzer, Jonathan. “What Palestinians Are Saying Online.” MEQ 18, no. 1 (Win. 2011): 15–24. Shahin, Khalil. “The Palestinian Popular Protest: An Eye for Change and an Eye for Resistance” [in Arabic]. MDF, no. 86 (Spr. 2011): 161–73. Veronese, Guido, Marco Castiglioni, and Mahmud Said. “The Use of Narrative-Experiential Instruments in Contexts of Military Violence: The Case of Palestinian Children in the West Bank.” Counselling Psychology Quarterly 23, no. 4 (Dec. 2010): 411–23.
Topic:: Economics and Politics
Political Geography:: Middle East

207. From the Editor

Author:: Rashid I. Khalidi
Publication Date:: 08-2011
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: Journal of Palestine Studies
Institution:: Institute for Palestine Studies
Abstract:: THIS ISSUE OF THE JOURNAL carries an article, a report, and three essays which share a focus on recent events, as well as two substantial articles on historical topics with continuing relevance, about the Greek Orthodox and Armenian communities of Palestine.
Topic:: Development, United Nations, and War
Political Geography:: Palestine, Gaza, and Armenia

208. Communalism and Nationalism in the Mandate: The Greek Orthodox Controversy and the National Movement

Author:: Laura Robson
Publication Date:: 08-2011
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: Journal of Palestine Studies
Institution:: Institute for Palestine Studies
Abstract:: The Greek Orthodox Church in Palestine, the largest of the Christian denominations, had long been troubled by a conflict (“controversy”) between its all-Greek hierarchy and its Arab laity hinging on Arab demands for a larger role in church affairs. At the beginning of the Mandate, community leaders, reacting to British official and Greek ecclesiastical cooperation with Zionism, formally established an Arab Orthodox movement based on the structures and rhetoric of the Palestinian nationalist movement, effectively fusing the two causes. The movement received widespread (though not total) community support, but by the mid-1940s was largely overtaken by events and did not survive the 1948 war. The controversy, however, continues to negatively impact the community to this day.
Topic:: Nationalism and War
Political Geography:: Palestine and Arabia

209. The Armenians of Palestine 1918–48

Author:: Bedross Der Matossian
Publication Date:: 08-2011
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: Journal of Palestine Studies
Institution:: Institute for Palestine Studies
Abstract:: For the Armenians of Palestine, the three decades of the Mandate were probably the most momentous in their fifteen hundred-year presence in the country. The period witnessed the community's profound transformation under the double impacts of Britain's Palestine policy and waves of destitute Armenian refugees fleeing the massacres in Anatolia. The article presents, against the background of late Ottoman rule, a comprehensive overview of the community, including the complexities and role of the religious hierarchy, the initially difficult encounter between the indigenous Armenians and the new refugee majority, their politics and associations, and their remarkable economic recovery. By the early 1940s, the Armenian community was at the peak of its success, only to be dealt a mortal blow by the 1948 war, from which it never recovered.
Topic:: Religion and War
Political Geography:: Britain, Palestine, and Armenia

210. A Balance of Fear: Asymmetric Threats and Tit-for-Tat Strategies in Gaza

Author:: Margret Johannsen
Publication Date:: 08-2011
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: Journal of Palestine Studies
Institution:: Institute for Palestine Studies
Abstract:: This article looks at the use of ultra-short-range rockets by Palestinian militant factions in the Gaza Strip as part of the overall dynamic of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and as a tool employed within internal Palestinian rivalries. Against the background of the gross military asymmetry between the parties to the conflict, it assesses the strategic utility of the rockets, including their psychological value as an “equalizer” to Israeli attacks. The article scrutinizes Israel's options to counter the rocket threat and identifies steps toward containing violence in Gaza. While bearing in mind that several Palestinian militant groups are involved in the production, acquisition, and firing of rockets, this article focuses on Hamas because, due to its leadership role in the Gaza Strip, a solution for the rocket issue will not be found without factoring in and providing a role for the Islamic organization.
Topic:: Islam
Political Geography:: Israel, Palestine, and Gaza

211. Letter from the UN: The Palestinian Bid for Membership

Author:: Graham Usher
Publication Date:: 08-2011
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: Journal of Palestine Studies
Institution:: Institute for Palestine Studies
Abstract:: The Palestinian Authority's application to become a full member state at the United Nations represents the latest stage in its “alternative peace strategy” born of the collapse of the U.S.-sponsored Oslo peace process. But—argues the author—the new strategy remains overly dependent on diplomacy and uncertain Palestinian allies like the European Union. If it is to achieve a balance of power for future negotiations more favorable to the Palestinians, however, it will need to be anchored in a greater national consensus at home and in the diaspora, and allied more closely to the emerging democratic forces in the region.
Topic:: United Nations
Political Geography:: United States, Europe, Palestine, and Oslo

212. Reflections on the Meaning of Palestine

Author:: Alain Gresh
Publication Date:: 08-2011
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: Journal of Palestine Studies
Institution:: Institute for Palestine Studies
Abstract:: This essay addresses the Palestine question within a European context. After reflecting on why Palestine has been widely embraced as a “universal cause,” the author explores its relationship to the “Jewish question” in the changed context following World War II: Whereas prior to the war it was the Jews who were perceived as a threat to European civilization, today it is the Muslim immigrants who have the scapegoat role. Also discussed are philosemitism (and its manifestations in the West) and anti-Semitism (as it relates to the Arab world), and how these phenomena have been impacted by the ongoing Palestinian-Israeli conflict. The essay concludes with “utopian musings” on possibilities for a future Palestinian-Israeli peace.
Topic:: War
Political Geography:: Uganda, Israel, Palestine, and Gaza

213. Assessing Holocaust Denial in Western and Arab Contexts

Author:: Gilbert Achcar
Publication Date:: 08-2011
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: Journal of Palestine Studies
Institution:: Institute for Palestine Studies
Abstract:: The specificity of the type of Holocaust denial on the rise in Arab countries since the 1980s is explored in contradistinction to Western Holocaust denial. The latter, rooted in anti-Semitism, is a substitute for open hatred of the Jews in countries where this hatred has not been tolerated since World War II. Holocaust denial in Arab countries, on the other hand, finds its roots in Israel's exploitation of the Holocaust for political purposes. It also serves as a simplistic explanation for Western support of the Zionist state and as an outlet for frustrations created by Israel's oppressive supremacy.
Topic:: Politics
Political Geography:: Israel and Arabia

214. The Goldstone Report without Goldstone

Author:: Richard Falk
Publication Date:: 08-2011
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: Journal of Palestine Studies
Institution:: Institute for Palestine Studies
Abstract:: The Goldstone Report: The Legacy of the Landmark Investigation of the Gaza Conflict, edited by Adam Horowitz, Lizzy Ratner, and Philip Weiss. New York: Nation Books, 2011. vii + 426 pages. Index to p. 449. $18.95 paper FINALLY, the reading public has been provided with an edited text that makes possible a comprehensive understanding of the Goldstone Report (GR)—the investigation commissioned by the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC) into war crimes allegations arising from the Gaza war (2008–09)— and the controversy that followed its release. Given the near certainty that no further official action will result from the report, without such a book the GR could well be removed to the vast graveyard of excellent UN reports prepared at great expense and effort, but which rarely see the light of day unless one is prepared to embark on a digital journey of frustration and discovery to track down the text and its necessary context online. Yet the GR, however discredited thanks to the tireless efforts of Israel and the United States, is a milestone in a number of ways, not least because its authoritative demonstration of the lawlessness of Israel's behavior in these attacks helps us understand why, at this stage of the conflict, the Palestinian struggle needs to rely on non-violent soft power coercion, as by way of the Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions. The present volume, edited by Adam Horowitz, Lizzy Ratner, and Philip Weiss, offers not only substantial excerpts of the main body of the report, but also eleven solicited essays by expert commentators holding a range of views as well as an illuminating timeline of relevant events. All in all, the editors of The Goldstone Report have made an exemplary contribution to the ideal of an informed citizenship so crucial to the responsible functioning of a democratic society.
Topic:: Human Rights and United Nations
Political Geography:: United States, New York, Israel, Palestine, and Gaza

215. Hallowed Heritage

Author:: Musa Budeiri
Publication Date:: 08-2011
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: Journal of Palestine Studies
Institution:: Institute for Palestine Studies
Abstract:: The Rise and Fall of Arab Jerusalem: Palestinian Politics and the City since 1967 , by Hillel Cohen. New York and London: Routledge, 2011. vii + 136 pages. Notes to p. 148. Sources and Bibliography to p. 152. Index to p. 162. $124.00 cloth, $45.95 paper. Reviewed by Musa Budeiri In addition to a heavenly Jerusalem, there is an earthly one, also invented, yet very much a work in progress. Jerusalem and Jerusalemites are not one and the same thing. Israeli control of the city's physical space and its inhabitants serves only to highlight this distinction. As in other settler enterprises, the native population is of interest only as an obstacle to be overcome. In this particular case, its disappearance constitutes an essential part of Israel's imagined Jerusalem. This is the terrain of Hillel Cohen's text. His primary preoccupation is with attacks on Israeli sovereignty manifested in Hamas's attempt to establish a “balance of terror,” challenging as it does the legitimacy of Israel's annexation of the Arab part of the city conquered in June 1967. On 28 June 1967, Israeli law was extended to a new enclave carved out of the occupied West Bank, which became part of “municipal Jerusalem.” Settlements were built encircling it from east, north, and south; now that this has been accomplished, the establishment of Jewish enclaves within its historically Arab neighborhoods is on the agenda, primarily in Silwan, Ras al-Amud, al-Tur and Shaykh Jarrah.
Topic:: Politics
Political Geography:: Israel, Palestine, Arabia, and Jerusalem

216. Apartheid Alliance

Author:: Aslam Farouk-Alli
Publication Date:: 08-2011
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: Journal of Palestine Studies
Institution:: Institute for Palestine Studies
Abstract:: The Unspoken Alliance: Israel's Secret Relationship with Apartheid South Africa , by Sasha Polakow-Suransky. New York: Pantheon Books, 2010. ix + 242 pages. Acknowledgements to p. 245. Notes to p. 294. Bibliography to p. 307. Index to p. 324. $27.95 cloth. Reviewed by Aslam Farouk-Alli The sense of tragedy looms heavily through the book's prologue as the star-crossed protagonists are drawn together by cruel circumstance. Prior to 1967, Israel was the darling of the international Left, and its leaders vocally opposed apartheid and built alliances with newly independent African nations. South Africa, on the other hand, was in the clasp of Nazi-sympathizing Afrikaner nationalists ... and never the twain shall meet. However, after occupying Palestinian territories in 1967, Israel found itself estranged from former allies and threatened anew by old enemies. As both countries now found themselves outcast as international pariahs, their covert military relationship began to blossom... this is the central narrative that runs throughout the book and therefore deserves critical reflection.
Political Geography:: New York, Israel, South Africa, and Palestine

217. Shadow Authority

Author:: Steve Niva
Publication Date:: 08-2011
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: Journal of Palestine Studies
Institution:: Institute for Palestine Studies
Abstract:: Surveillance and Control in Israel/Palestine: Population, Territory, and Power by Elia Zureik; David Lyon; Yasmeen Abu-Laban DOI: 10.1525/jps.2011.XLI.1.115
Political Geography:: Israel and Palestine

218. America Abroad

Author:: Cheryl Rubenberg
Publication Date:: 08-2011
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: Journal of Palestine Studies
Institution:: Institute for Palestine Studies
Abstract:: America's Misadventures in the Middle East by Chas W. Freeman Jr. Charlottesville, VA: Just World Books, 2010. 221 pages + 3 maps. Glossary to p. 239. $22.95 paper. Reviewed by Cheryl Rubenberg Freeman defines the national interest in terms of four broad categories with subinterests. These broad categories include: (1) access to reliable sources of energy for the United States, and, more important, for the entire global community, which includes “burden sharing,” rather than unilateral U.S. management of the security and exports of the region; (2) securing the State of Israel, “given the prestige we have committed to it,” by achieving acceptance for it in the region, which includes the brokering of mutually respectful arrangements for stable borders between Israel and the Palestinians, peaceful coexistence between Israel and its neighboring states, and Israel's political, economic, and cultural integration into the region (p. 100); (3) unfettered access to the military, commercial, cultural, and religious institutions of the region, involving, among other things, untrammeled and nondiscriminatory access to the holy places in Jerusalem for all Jews, Muslims, and Christians; and (4) the containment of problems that arise in the Middle East in order to maintain stability, involving careful attention to dialogue among faiths, the enlistment of religious authorities in the cause of reasoned compromise, and seeking allies among these authorities who could discredit extremism among their coreligionists (pp. 97–103).
Political Geography:: United States, America, Middle East, Israel, and Palestine

219. Lebanon's Camps

Author:: Laleh Khalili
Publication Date:: 08-2011
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: Journal of Palestine Studies
Institution:: Institute for Palestine Studies
Abstract:: Palestinians in Lebanon: Refugees Living with Long-Term Displacement by Rebecca Roberts DOI: 10.1525/jps.2011.XLI.1.118
Political Geography:: Palestine and Lebanon

220. Maintaining Legacy

Author:: Jean Fisher
Publication Date:: 08-2011
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: Journal of Palestine Studies
Institution:: Institute for Palestine Studies
Abstract:: Threads of Identity: Preserving Palestinian Costume and Heritage by Widad Kamel Kawar Review DOI: 10.1525/jps.2011.XLI.1.119
Political Geography:: Palestine

221. Illustrations of Identity

Author:: Patrick Kane
Publication Date:: 08-2011
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: Journal of Palestine Studies
Institution:: Institute for Palestine Studies
Abstract:: Palestinian Art: From 1850 to the Present by Kamal Boullata DOI: 10.1525/jps.2011.XLI.1.120
Political Geography:: Palestine

222. A Stranger's House

Author:: Simona Sharoni
Publication Date:: 08-2011
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: Journal of Palestine Studies
Institution:: Institute for Palestine Studies
Abstract:: Displaced at Home: Ethnicity and Gender among Palestinians in Israel by Rhoda Ann Kanaaneh; Isis Nusair DOI: 10.1525/jps.2011.XLI.1.121
Political Geography:: Israel and Palestine

223. A Topography of Loss

Author:: Najat Rahman
Publication Date:: 08-2011
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: Journal of Palestine Studies
Institution:: Institute for Palestine Studies
Abstract:: Journal of Ordinary Grief by Mahmoud Darwish; Ibrahim Muhawi Review DOI: 10.1525/jps.2011.XLI.1.123

224. Arab Views (cartoons from al-Hayat)

Publication Date:: 08-2011
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: Journal of Palestine Studies
Institution:: Institute for Palestine Studies
Abstract:: This section aims to give readers a glimpse of how the Arab world views current events that affect Palestinians and the Arab-Israeli conflict by presenting a selection of cartoons from al-Hayat, the most widely distributed mainstream daily in the Arab world. JPS is grateful to al-Hayat for permission to reprint its material.
Political Geography:: Israel, Palestine, and Arabia

225. Selections from the Press

Publication Date:: 08-2011
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: Journal of Palestine Studies
Institution:: Institute for Palestine Studies
Abstract:: This section includes articles and news items, mainly from Israeli but also from international press sources, that provide insightful or illuminating perspectives on events, developments, or trends in Israel and the occupied territories not readily available in the mainstream U.S. media.
Political Geography:: United States and Israel

226. Photos from the Quarter

Publication Date:: 08-2011
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: Journal of Palestine Studies
Institution:: Institute for Palestine Studies
Abstract:: This small sample of photos, selected from hundreds viewed by JPS, aims to convey a sense of the situation on the ground in the occupied territories during the quarter.

227. Update on Conflict and Diplomacy

Author:: Michele K. Esposito
Publication Date:: 08-2011
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: Journal of Palestine Studies
Institution:: Institute for Palestine Studies
Abstract:: The Quarterly Update is a summary of bilateral, multilateral, regional, and international events affecting the Palestinians and the future of the peace process. More than 100 print, wire, television, and online sources providing U.S., Israeli, Arab, and international independent and government coverage of unfolding events are surveyed to compile the Quarterly Update. The most relevant sources are cited in JPS's Chronology section, which tracks events day by day. 16 May–15 august 2011.
Topic:: Diplomacy
Political Geography:: United States, Israel, and Palestine

228. Settlement Monitor

Author:: Geoffrey Aronson
Publication Date:: 08-2011
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: Journal of Palestine Studies
Institution:: Institute for Palestine Studies
Abstract:: This section covers items—reprinted articles, statistics, and maps—pertaining to Israeli settlement activities in the Gaza Strip and the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, and the Golan Heights. Unless otherwise stated, the items have been written by Geoffrey Aronson for this section or drawn from material written by him for Report on Israeli Settlement in the Occupied Territories (hereinafter Settlement Report), a Washington-based bimonthly newsletter published by the Foundation for Middle East Peace. JPS is grateful to the foundation for permission to draw on its material.
Political Geography:: United States, Washington, Israel, Jerusalem, and Gaza

229. Documents and Source Material: International

Publication Date:: 08-2011
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: Journal of Palestine Studies
Institution:: Institute for Palestine Studies
Abstract:: A1. Association of International Development Agencies (AIDA), Summary Report on the Challenges of Aid Delivery in the Occupied Territories, Jerusalem, 8 June 2011 (excerpts) A2. UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs in the Occupied Territories (OCHA ), "Fast Facts" for the Gaza Strip and Area C, Jerusalem, July 2011 (excerpts) A3. International Crisis Group (ICG ), Report on the Palestinian Reconciliation Agreement, Ramallah, Gaza, Jerusalem, Washington, Brussels, 20 July 2011 (excerpts)
Political Geography:: Washington, Palestine, Jerusalem, and Gaza

230. Documents and Source Material: Arab

Publication Date:: 08-2011
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: Journal of Palestine Studies
Institution:: Institute for Palestine Studies
Abstract:: B. Palestinian President Mahmud Abb as, "The Long Overdue Palestinian State," New York Times, 16 May 2011
Political Geography:: New York and Palestine

231. Documents and Source Material: Israel

Publication Date:: 08-2011
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: Journal of Palestine Studies
Institution:: Institute for Palestine Studies
Abstract:: C1. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Knesset Address Laying Out Israel's Latest Conditions for Peace, Jerusalem, 16 May 2011 (excerpts) C2. Knesset Deputy Speaker Danny Danon, "Making the Land of Israel Whole," New York Times, 18 May 2011 C3. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Address to a Joint Session of the U.S. Congress, Washington, 24 May 2011 (excerpts).
Political Geography:: United States, New York, Washington, Israel, and Jerusalem

232. Documents and Source Material: United States

Publication Date:: 08-2011
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: Journal of Palestine Studies
Institution:: Institute for Palestine Studies
Abstract:: D1. President Barack Obama, Address to the State Department Reframing U.S. Middle East Policy, Excerpts on the Peace Process and the Palestinian Statehood Bid, Washington, 19 May 2011 D2. President Barack Obama, Address to the AIPAC Policy Conference Clarifying the U.S. Position on 1967 Borders and Support for Israel, Washington, 22 May 2011 (excerpts) D3. Nathan J. Brown, Report on the Prospects for Popular Mobilization in the Palestinian Territories in Light of the Arab Spring, Washington, 6 July 2011 (excerpts).
Political Geography:: United States, Washington, Middle East, and Palestine

233. Chronology

Author:: Michele K. Esposito
Publication Date:: 08-2011
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: Journal of Palestine Studies
Institution:: Institute for Palestine Studies
Abstract:: This section is part of a chronology begun in JPS 13, no. 3 (Spring 1984). Chronology dates reflect Eastern Standard Time (EST). For a more comprehensive overview of events related to the al-Aqsa intifada and of regional and international developments related to the peace process, see the Quarterly Update on Conflict and Diplomacy in this issue. 16 May 2011–15 August 2011.
Topic:: Diplomacy

234. Bibliography of Periodical Literature

Author:: Norbert Scholz
Publication Date:: 08-2011
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: Journal of Palestine Studies
Institution:: Institute for Palestine Studies
Abstract:: This section lists articles and reviews of books relevant to Palestine and the Arab-Israeli conflict. Entries are classified under the following headings: Reference and General; History (through 1948) and Geography; Palestinian Politics and Society; Jerusalem; Israeli Politics, Society, and Zionism; Arab and Middle Eastern Politics; International Relations; Law; Military; Economy, Society, and Education; Literature, Arts, and Culture; Book Reviews; and Reports Received.
Topic:: International Relations, Education, Politics, and Law
Political Geography:: Israel, Palestine, and Jerusalem

235. From the Editor

Author:: Rashid Khalidi
Publication Date:: 05-2011
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: Journal of Palestine Studies
Institution:: Institute for Palestine Studies
Abstract:: A number of the essays and other items appearing in the current issue of the Journal of Palestine Studies have direct or indirect bearing on Palestinian strategy and the stalled “peace” process.
Topic:: Security
Political Geography:: United States, Palestine, and Central America

236. Palestinians in Central America: From Temporary Emigrants to a Permanent Diaspora

Author:: Manzar Foroohar
Publication Date:: 05-2011
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: Journal of Palestine Studies
Institution:: Institute for Palestine Studies
Abstract:: This survey of the understudied topic of the Palestinian diaspora in Central America, based on existing documentation and interviews, focuses mainly on Honduras and El Salvador, the areas of greatest Palestinian concentration. Two waves of immigration are studied: the first and largest, in the early decades of the 20th century, was mainly Christian from the Bethlehem area in search of economic opportunities and intending to return; the second, especially after 1967, came as a permanent diaspora. The article describes the arrival from Palestine, the factors behind their considerable success, the backlash of discrimination, and finally assimilation. Palestinian involvement in Central American politics ( Right and the Left) is also addressed. The article ends with a discussion of identity issues and renewal of ties with Palestine. SINCE THE EARLY YEARS of the twentieth century, Palestinian immigrants to Central America have played a major role in the social, cultural, and economic development of their host countries. In some places, such as Honduras, they have been at the very forefront of commercial and industrial development. But while the history of Palestinian immigration to the United States, Mexico, and South America has been the subject of major scholarly investigations, Palestinians remain almost invisible in Central American historiography. Indeed, this is a research field that is just opening. This article is an attempt to compile existing documentation on the Palestinian international diaspora in Central America. The material is supplemented by nearly two dozen interviews, in Central America and in Palestine, with immigrants or their descendants, or with persons “back home” familiar with the emigration. It focuses on the history of the formation of Palestinian communities in Central America and their social, economic, and political contributions to their adopted countries. While Palestinian communities throughout Central America will be discussed, particular attention will be paid to Honduras and El Salvador, the countries with the largest concentrations of Palestinians in the region. The research and the interviews together shed light on the degree to which Palestinian diaspora communities have been assimilated into their host countries, and the degree to which they have simultaneously retained their identity and ties to their Palestinian origins. THE EARLY IMMIGRANTS Palestinian immigration to Central America began at the end of the nineteenth century. Because Palestine, like most of the Arab Middle East, was under Ottoman rule until 1918, it is difficult before that date to document their numbers accurately, since the immigrants carried Ottoman (Turkish) passports and therefore were categorized in the Central American registries as Turks (turcos). Though some documentation of the Palestinian component of Arab immigration exists for Honduras, where Palestinians are shown to constitute the overwhelming majority, no such information is available for the other states of the region. Palestinian immigration in the early period swelled as of the second decade of the twentieth century and peaked in the 1920s. It is not difficult to understand why. Most historians of the Middle East point to the general economic decline of the Ottoman Empire and the ongoing wars as the main reasons for emigration during the early period. The new Ottoman conscription law of 1908 intensified emigration among young male citizens of the Empire, and indeed the early immigrants to Central America were generally young males, 15 to 30 years old. Moreover, the Ottoman lands, including Palestine, suffered excruciating hardship and even starvation during World War I. Thus, in interviews with descendants of early immigrants, the two factors repeatedly highlighted as the causes of emigration from Palestine were miserable economic conditions in wartime and the military draft obligations. Most of the emigrants initially intended to return home after accumulating savings and for that reason did not invest in real estate in their host countries. After the end of the war and the restoration of stability following Palestine's occupation by Britain (and the establishment of the Mandate), economic and educational opportunities in the homeland increased. According to some scholars, between a third and a half of the early emigrants did return home and invested their savings in land and homes. Meanwhile, the returning emigrants served as sources of information about economic opportunities in the Americas, and their wealth and prosperity spurred others, especially young men, to try their luck in foreign adventures.
Political Geography:: United States, America, and Palestine

237. Why the Jewish State Now?

Author:: Raef Zreik
Publication Date:: 05-2011
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: Journal of Palestine Studies
Institution:: Institute for Palestine Studies
Abstract:: Israel's raison d'être was as a Jewish state, yet for almost four decades after the 1948 declaration of its establishment its Jewishness was not inscribed in any law. This essay, a structural-historical discourse analysis, seeks to explore what led up to today's insistent assertion of the state's Jewish identity. To this end, the author traces Israel's gradual evolution from its purely ethnic roots (the Zionist revolution) to a more civic concept of statehood involving greater inclusiveness (accompanied in recent decades by a rise in Jewish religious discourse). The author finds that while the state's Jewishness was for decades an assumption so basic as to be self-evident to the Jewish majority, the need to declare it became more urgent as the possibility of becoming “normalized” (i.e., a state for all its citizens) became an option, however distant. The essay ends with an analysis of Israel's demand for recognition as a Jewish state, arguing why the Palestinian negotiators would benefit from deconstructing it rather than simply disregarding it.
Political Geography:: Israel and Palestine

238. Toward a New Palestinian Negotiation Paradigm

Author:: Camille Mansour
Publication Date:: 05-2011
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: Journal of Palestine Studies
Institution:: Institute for Palestine Studies
Abstract:: Against a background of prolonged stalemate, this essay provides a detailed examination of two decades of Palestinian-Israeli negotiations with a view to identifying deficiencies in the Palestinian negotiating approach and drawing lessons of use to future Palestinian negotiators in the context of power imbalance. After outlining possible conditions for resuming and conducting negotiations (making the decision and timing tactical rather than strategic), the author advocates a shift in the Palestinian negotiating paradigm that considers negotiations as one diplomatic tool among others in the long Palestinian struggle to achieve their national program, and places the negotiations in the context of priorities for the coming period.
Political Geography:: Israel, Palestine, Gaza, and United Nations

239. Hamas "Foreign Minister" Usama Hamdan Talks About National Reconciliation, Arafat, Reform, and Hamas's Presence in Lebanon

Publication Date:: 05-2011
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: Journal of Palestine Studies
Institution:: Institute for Palestine Studies
Abstract:: Usama Hamdan, since mid-2010 in charge of Hamas's international relations (in effect, its foreign minister), was born in al-Bureij refugee camp in the Gaza Strip in 1965. After earning his bachelor's degree in chemistry in 1986 from Jordan's Yarmouk University, where he was active in the Islamic Student Movement, he worked in private industry in Kuwait until the first Gulf war. Appointed Hamas representative to Iran in 1992, he held that post until 1998, when he was named Hamas representative to Lebanon. Since taking charge of the movement's foreign affairs portfolio, Hamdan commutes between Beirut and Damascus. Hamdan agreed to meet a small group from the Institute for Palestine Studies at his Beirut office, and when directions for reaching it became complicated, he offered to send a driver. How necessary this was became obvious as the car threaded its way through the narrow labyrinthine streets of Dahiya, the poor Shi'i suburb south of Beirut, festooned with banners and laundry and posters of Hizballah leader Shaykh Hasan Nasrallah. The building where Hamas had its offices was modest and nondescript, not unlike the other apartment buildings on the unpaved but clean street, quiet but for a group of children kicking a ball. The reception room where Hamdan met us was spare: a laminated coffee table, a couch, chairs lining the walls, a few small tables. Large black-and-white portraits of Shaykh Ahmad Yasin and Abdel Aziz Rantisi, both killed in targeted Israeli airstrikes in Gaza in 2004, adorned one wall. There were also large photographs of Jerusalem's Dome of the Rock and Haram al-Sharif, and a colored poster, almost like a chart, of Hamas leaders assassinated by Israel over the years. Hamdan, casually dressed and relaxed, served the coffee and tea himself, spooning the sugar while chatting in fluid English before the tape recorder was turned on. The interview, conducted jointly by the Journal of Palestine Studies (JPS) and the Majallat al-Dirasat al-Filastiniya (MDF), JPS's sister publication, took place on 13 December 2010. The following are excerpts of the two-hour interview. JPS: These days, reconciliation between Hamas and Fatah seems increasingly urgent. Do you think that the fact that almost everyone recognizes the failure of the negotiating process could increase the chances that it can be achieved? UH: For a limited time, yes. But it's important to emphasize that the division between Hamas and Fatah began long before their overt split in 2007, and in fact political divisions within the Palestinian movement began even before the establishment of Hamas and basically go back to the PLO's political program of 1974.1 The outbreak of the first intifada in 1988 offered an excellent opportunity to get rid of that division by creating a new kind of political process internally—one that could reform the PLO and its political program. Unfortunately, Abu Ammar [Yasir Arafat] did not act to eliminate the division. In fact, he thought he could use the intifada to implement the 1974 program, and that was the gist of the talks held in Tunisia starting in 1989 between Robert Pelletreau, who was the U.S. ambassador at the time, and the PLO. When the Palestinian Authority came into the occupied territories in 1994 under the Oslo agreement, our decision in Hamas was not to fight the PA—despite the suggestions from some Palestinian factions that we impose our position by force. Our decision was to deal with the PA as our own people. Some of our members even formed a political party to facilitate dealings with the PA. But it did not work as we hoped. Abu Ammar promised the Americans and the Israelis that he had full control over the Palestinians and tried to prevent us by force from continuing the resistance against the occupation. And in fact Arafat did control the situation up to 2000, but never even tried to have a political dialogue among Palestinians concerning a future course. He did not even consider the idea of such a discussion. Arafat, whether or not you agreed with him, was one of the most important Palestinian leaders. But he was not a strategic leader. Always his tactics pushed him from his goals, and in order to correct the resulting situation, instead of correcting his actions he changed the goals. This was his vital mistake. When he came back from Camp David in 2000 after the breakdown of the talks, he knew that it was over. He saw there was no possibility of a peace with the Israelis that the Palestinians could accept. But for a while he thought that if he could create some kind of resistance—a controlled resistance— it might change the political environment so he could achieve some of his political goals, like a Palestinian state, not on all the occupied lands, but maybe on part of them, and some solution for Jerusalem. But it didn't work. He couldn't manage or control the intifada as he hoped—I think he didn't realize that after seven years of the Palestinian Authority, a new generation had been created that was more tied to their benefits as part of the PA than to the Palestinian cause and their own people. But there was also the generation that had lived the first intifada and still had those ideals—people like Marwan Barghouti, one of the strongest supporters of the peace process but who also believed that we might be able to improve our situation in that process by our resistance. And I believe these people were really ready to resist the Israelis—because the resistance was not only Hamas but also part of Fatah. Of course Arafat had not counted on the Likud victory and Ariel Sharon's becoming prime minister a couple of months after the second intifada began. He was faced with an entirely new political situation: the Labor party had used the PA to do the dirty work of the occupation, but Sharon decided to keep everything in his own hands even if it meant destroying the PA. He invaded and reoccupied the West Bank in 2002 and put Arafat under siege for two years, and everyone knows now what he meant by the reference he reportedly made to George W. Bush with regard to the need for “regime change” in Palestine— something to the effect that there were ways that the angel of death could be assisted in the matter. Of course it also seems that some of those around Arafat had a hand and betrayed him. I can't say directly, but I believe that some worked against him who understood that the time of change was coming. And they learned this from the Americans, not from their own people.
Political Geography:: Palestine

240. Letter from the UN: After the U.S. Veto on Settlements

Author:: Graham Usher
Publication Date:: 05-2011
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: Journal of Palestine Studies
Institution:: Institute for Palestine Studies
Abstract:: Obama's first veto in defense of Israel at the UN was of a Security Council draft resolution that condemned Israeli settlements in language reflecting the administration's own stated policy. The draft, supported by all other UNSC members, forced the U.S. to choose between undermining its credibility internationally and alienating constituencies at home. For the Palestinians, insistence on tabling the draft in defiance of Washington was seen by some as a first step in an “alternative peace strategy” involving a turn away from the Oslo framework in favor of the UN. After reviewing the context of the resolution, the author analyzes the stakes for the various players, the repercussions of the veto, and the diplomatic prospects in its wake. On 18 February 2011, the Obama administration vetoed a United Nations Security Council (UNSC) resolution that would have condemned as illegal Israeli settlement in the occupied territories. Palestinian insistence on submitting the resolution incurred America's wrath. But the Council's fourteen other member states (including permanent members Britain, France, China, and Russia and nonpermanent powers Germany, Brazil, India, and South Africa) all voted for the resolution. And a colossal 123 countries cosponsored it, including every Arab and African state except Libya (which rejects a twostate solution to the conflict). Israel “deeply appreciated” the American veto—understandably so. Rarely had it been left so alone internationally, with even close allies like Germany ignoring appeals to abstain. For the Americans, Obama's first veto in defense of Israel at the United Nations came at a time when he wanted to appear at least rhetorically on the side of young Arab protestors who from Morocco to Yemen had been demanding change, rather than with the ancien régimes defending inertia. U.S. Ambassador to the UN Susan Rice's contortions were palpable as she tried to explain a veto that violated elemental justice, international law, and until recently her administration's own stated policy on settlements—all in the name of a peace process that no longer exists. The veto “cost the Americans blood,” admitted Israel's Maariv newspaper, paraphrasing a “sharp” exchange between Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu in the aftermath. It also cost Obama in the occupied territories. In Ramallah, some 3,000 mainly Fatah members staged a “day of rage” against the veto, with the West Bank Palestinian Authority's (PA) usually pro-American Prime Minister Salam Fayyad incandescent: “The Americans have chosen to be alone in disrupting the internationally backed Palestinian efforts,” he said. Smaller Fatah anti-America demonstrations occurred in Qalqilya, Hebron, Jenin, and East Jerusalem. The Palestinian and Arab decision to take the resolution to the UN was born of the beaching of the U.S.-steered “peace process” after the Israeli government's refusal last September to renew a partial moratorium on West Bank settlement starts. It was the first run of what has been called the PA's new “alternative” diplomatic strategy. Combined with the promise of new elections in the West Bank and Gaza, moves toward reconciliation between Hamas and Fatah, and the approaching climax of Fayyad's state-building agenda in September, the alternative strategy involves freeing the Palestinian case from the grip of American tutelage in order to anchor it again on UNSC resolutions and international law. How serious is the alternative?
Political Geography:: Russia, China, America, India, South Africa, Brazil, Palestine, and Germany

241. The Palestine Papers: Chronicling the U.S. Abandonment of the Road Map

Publication Date:: 05-2011
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: Journal of Palestine Studies
Institution:: Institute for Palestine Studies
Abstract:: A. Meeting Minutes, PLO Negotiation Affairs Department Office, Jericho, 16 September 2009 (excerpts) B. Meeting Minutes, PLO Negotiation Affairs Department Office, Jericho, 17 September 2009 (excerpts) C. Meeting Minutes, U.S. Mission to the United Nations, New York, 24 September 2009 (excerpts) D. Meeting Summary, U.S. State Department, Washington, 1 October 2009 (excerpts) E. U.S. Draft Terms of Reference Document for Restarting Negotiations, 2 October 2009 F. PLO Negotiation Support Unit, Preliminary Comments on U.S. Proposal as Presented on 2 October 2009 G. Meeting Minutes, U.S. State Department, Washington, 2 October 2009 (excerpts) H. Meeting Minutes, U.S. State Department, Washington, 21 October 2009 (excerpts).
Political Geography:: United States and Palestine

242. A Jerusalem Story

Author:: Michelle Hartman
Publication Date:: 05-2011
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: Journal of Palestine Studies
Institution:: Institute for Palestine Studies
Abstract:: Reviewed work(s): Once Upon a Time in Jerusalem, by Sahar Hamouda. Reading: Garnet, 2010. vii + 122 pages. Sources to p. 123. Glossary to p. 125. Al Fitani Genealogy to p. 127. Al Fitani Family Tree to p. 130. $39.95 cloth.
Political Geography:: Jerusalem

243. Selective Legal History

Author:: Michael Lynk
Publication Date:: 05-2011
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: Journal of Palestine Studies
Institution:: Institute for Palestine Studies
Abstract:: Is it a coincidence that, as disillusionment spreads about the viability and justice of a two-state settlement as the solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, we are witnessing a spate of books that is shifting the political-historical focus from 1967 to the 1917–1948 period as the fulcrum point by which to assess this malignant struggle? Recent histories such as The Balfour Declaration: The Origins of the Arab-Israeli Conflict by Jonathan Schneer (Random House, 2010) and Victor Kattan's From Coexistence to Conquest: International Law and the Origins of the Arab-Israeli Conflict, 1891–1949 (Pluto Press, 2009) have lucidly and critically explored the colonialist foundations of the British Mandate, the British-Zionist alliance, and the deeply flawed premises of the United Nations partition plan.
Political Geography:: Israel and Palestine

244. The Flotilla Effect

Author:: Edda Manga
Publication Date:: 05-2011
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: Journal of Palestine Studies
Institution:: Institute for Palestine Studies
Abstract:: Reviewed work(s): Midnight on the Mavi Marmara: The Attack on the Gaza Freedom Flotilla and How It Changed the Course of the Israel/Palestine Conflict, edited by Moustafa Bayoumi. New York: OR Books, 2010. ix + 293 pages. Contributors to p. 299. Credits to p. 301. $16.00 paper.
Political Geography:: New York, Israel, and Palestine

245. Everday Dreams

Author:: Barbara Harlow
Publication Date:: 05-2011
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: Journal of Palestine Studies
Institution:: Institute for Palestine Studies
Abstract:: Reviewed work(s): Touch, by Adania Shibli. Translated by Paula Haydar, Northampton, MA: Clockroot Books, 2010. 72 pages. $13.00 paper.

246. Refugee Life

Author:: Aseel Sawalha
Publication Date:: 05-2011
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: Journal of Palestine Studies
Institution:: Institute for Palestine Studies
Abstract:: Voices from the Camps: A People's History of Palestinian Refugees in Jordan, 2006, by Nabil Marshood. Lanham: University Press of America, 2010. ix + 112. Epilogue to p. 116. Index to p. 122. About the Author to p. 123. $25.00 paper. Reviewed by Aseel Sawalha Nabil Marshood, professor of sociology at Hudson County Community College, New Jersey, has written an accessible work about a complex aspect of the Palestinian experience. Voices from the Camps: A People's History of Palestinian Refugees in Jordan, 2006—as the title suggests—allows curious readers, with or without much knowledge of the lives of Palestinian refugees, to hear the voices of the residents of refugee camps in Jordan. The interviewees (women and men both old and young) narrate their stories of leaving their home villages in Palestine, their arrival to the camps, and the daily challenges they encounter.
Political Geography:: Palestine

247. Settlers and Zionism

Author:: Cheryl Rubenberg
Publication Date:: 05-2011
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: Journal of Palestine Studies
Institution:: Institute for Palestine Studies
Abstract:: The Settlers: And the Struggle over the Meaning of Zionism, by Gadi Taub. New Haven and London: Yale University Press, 2010. 167 pages. Appendix to p. 187. Notes to p. 205. Index to p. 207. $32.50 cloth. Reviewed by Cheryl Rubenberg Among quite a number of good books on religious Zionist settlers, Gadi Taub's The Settlers: And the Struggle over the Meaning of Zionism stands out for its originality, analytical astuteness, and conceptual focus. On issues not directly related to the religious settler movement, however, there are several serious problems. Taub concentrates on ideas “because settlement has become the issue over which Israel's moral foundations and its identity—its heart and its mind—are contested. . . . It is a struggle over the very meaning of Zionism” (p. 21). The crucial difference between secular Zionism and the messianic settlers, he argues, resides in their obligation toward the Land of Israel, not the State of Israel: their commitment to redemption of land, not the establishment of political independence, sovereignty, and democracy. The book presents the evolution of the ideological struggle to reconcile the settlers' view with mainstream Zionism and argues that despite the different adaptations through which religious ideology underwent, in the end “the two visions . . . could not be reconciled” (p. 21) and the messianic movement was thwarted.
Political Geography:: Palestine

248. Interfaith Industry

Author:: Magid Shihade
Publication Date:: 05-2011
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: Journal of Palestine Studies
Institution:: Institute for Palestine Studies
Abstract:: Reviewed work(s): Muslim Attitudes to Jews and Israel: The Ambivalences of Rejection, Antagonism, Tolerance, and Cooperation, edited by Moshe Ma'oz. Sussex: Sussex Academic Press, 2010. xi + 302 pages. Contributors to p. 307. Index to p. 326. $65.00 cloth.
Topic:: Islam

249. Foreign Donors

Author:: Kevin W. Gray
Publication Date:: 05-2011
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: Journal of Palestine Studies
Institution:: Institute for Palestine Studies
Abstract:: Reviewed work(s): Palestinian Civil Society: Foreign Donors and the Power to Promote and Exclude, by Benoît Challand. London and New York: Routledge, 2009. vii + 212 pages. Notes to p. 236. Bibliography to p. 256. Index to p. 266. $140 cloth, $39.95 paper.
Political Geography:: Palestine

250. Arab Views (cartoons from al-Hayat)

Publication Date:: 05-2011
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: Journal of Palestine Studies
Institution:: Institute for Palestine Studies
Abstract:: This section aims to give readers a glimpse of how the Arab world views current events that affect Palestinians and the Arab-Israeli conflict by presenting a selection of cartoons from al-Hayat, the most widely distributed mainstream daily in the Arab world. JPS is grateful to al-Hayat for permission to reprint its material.
Political Geography:: Israel, Palestine, and Arabia

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COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY PRESS