The Damascene Breeze

The Joke of a Settlement Freeze

2009-11-29T00:00:00.001-06:00

As you might know or have heard, Prime Minister of Israel, Benjamin Netanyahu has put in effect a ten month settlement freeze in the West Bank, as an act of restarting peace talks. This settlement freeze will stop all new settlements and housing, however, any houses that are being built are not to be halted. Also, public buildings such as synagogues, schools, and the such will also not be included in this "freeze". And the whole settlement freeze is aimed at restarting the peace talks like I mentioned above, and is so full of "honesty" and "integrity" and the Prime Minister and the Government of Israel only have peace in their minds as they put this into effect.

The Israeli Government now says that it has come the time for the Palestinians to contribute to the peace process and start negotiations. But as I had stated in a past article, Israel seems to offer all of the "generous" peace treaties, yet the Palestinians seem to be rejecting the whole of them every time, and for no apparent reason, or so they say, but since we've uncovered the truth of that all, let us look specifically at this move. This whole ten month settlement freeze only concerns the West Bank, and not East Jerusalem, since, as they say, "cannot stop building in our sovereign capital." This is yet another flaw in this so called "move for peace" that seems insignificant but is probably one of the biggest roadblocks to peace. Anyway let us examine the true motive of the Israeli Government's decision.

I'm positive this is just another scheme by the Israelis to cover up and better their profile in the International Community. Israel's corruption is now slowly being uncovered to the world, and the first step to this vast uncovering was seen during the Gaza offensive and after with all the protests and the global outcry. And Israel has full knowledge of this, and now wants to do anything to redeem its image. Of course, in terms of financial and militaristic support, the United States would never relent, but the image is what matters here. This was only proposed and put into effect because Israel wanted to show the world that it was not in opposition to peace, it was the side that started the peace. And now, I don't expect the Palestinians to respond at all to this so called "proposition of peace" because it is false and corrupt. Just yesterday, the Israeli government approved of 28 new settlements to be built in their beloved "Judea and Samaria" (West Bank), despite the freeze that was publicized to extremes. And not only that, but the Minister of Tourism vowed to build more settlements and to "unfreeze" this freeze on settlements soon.

Hypocrisy, foul, and corrupt are some of the words that come to mind when thinking of this whole issue and the Israeli government. With numbers like 28 new settlements, being offered on a regular basis, the West Bank will have no more Palestinians, and no more Palestinian land. Palestinian land is dwindling at a frightening pace, because the land that the settlements are built on is confiscated Palestinian land. And on top of all of this, Israel expects the Palestinians to come forth and bow down to this "generous" offer.

My Response To A False Claim

2009-11-28T12:00:00.001-06:00

As you all know, my articles could be a bit controversial, and spark up a lot of discussion as well as comments of differing perspectives.

On my article entitled "The 'Generous" Peace Treaties Israel Offered", I wrote about the claims of the Israeli governments' strive for peace with the Palestinians, and to reach a final solution of a Palestinian State. Of course, if you look back in recent history and examine each peace process that ever came into existence on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, you would see that it was full of biased, and had a typical pro-Israeli point of view, and degraded the Palestinians right of statehood.

However this is the following comment I receive from "Anonymous" and I hope that this person would re-visit my blog as so he could see the response that I'm about to write. He/she said:

"Sorry but Israel is 17% of historic palestine whilst West bank and Gaza are about 5% and Jordan is 78% of historic palestine. No one has yet justified why a second arab state in palestine - in addition to Jordan - is really necessary.

Can't the two arab populations living on either side of the Jordan River be consolidated into one single state? This would give the Arabs about 80% of historic Palestine as their own exclusive Arab state with not one Jew living amongst them or controlling their lives.What more could the Arab population ask for?"

There is a lot of confusion by many foreigners on this topic, and pro-Israelis would always like to confuse them and use this as propaganda. Yet we have to understand the very essence of this claim. In the Ottoman Empire, before World War I, borders of modern day Arab states were not drawn. Lebanon, Syria, Palestine, and Jordan were all part of "Greater Syria" yet each region of Great Syria had their own culture, customs, dialect, and lifestyles. When the Ottoman Empire fell, the Allied Forces of Britain and France chose to divide Greater Syria amongst themselves and drew out the borders of modern day Syria, Lebanon, Palestine, and Jordan. Britain retained Palestine and Jordan, and France controlled Syria and Lebanon. So Palestine and Jordan (which was called the Kingdom of Transjordan) were separate, even though the cultures were very similar, were seperate regions, but were under the name of British Mandate, and Transjordan, along with the British, was controlled by the Hashemites. Many borders are drawn and redrawn in the entire world, for example the Soviet Union and Russia, Czechoslovakia, etc. But the natives remain the same, they are the only constant variable, as well as culture.

Regardless of all of these facts, let us look more personally at the situation. Why should it be alright for countless human rights to be violated. Why is it perfectly acceptable that natives of the land, of their towns and villages, should be expelled from their homes and suffer under the status of refugee, in which neighboring countries pack these people into horrid camps? Why should they not live free in the land and home of their ancestors? Why is it alright for a child never to see the home in which he was born in and in the city or town that he grew up in? The natives had established their lives on the land that they lived in which was Palestine, and all of their hard work and money were in this land. So for an outside force to come and cleanse the land of all the natives to establish an exclusively Jewish state, is going to receive massive retaliation, and that is the expected response.

So "Anonymous" and anyone of the same mind-set can look at this situation in two perspectives, the well known facts and politics of the claim, or the humanly and personal point of view. I suggest you look at both, and then on these proven facts and human rights, come up with a perspective.

Beirut: The Split

2009-11-27T12:00:00.000-06:00

In the 1970's, conflicts escalated between the different groups in Lebanon, Shia, Sunni, Maronites, Greek Orthodox, over power. The government, if you could call it a government, still operated, yet it resembled a play, a cheap play that had no audience. The Parliament and President had no power whatsoever and could only watch as their country transformed into a chaotic set of brutality and savagery. One of the countless consequences that Beirutis have witnessed because of the escalating conflicts was the split of their beloved city, Beirut, and the shifting of Beirut's commercial and economic center, or what was left of it anyway.

The civil war had destroyed any connection the different groups of Lebanon had towards each other, and it ravaged the entire country. The borders that I had talked about in the previous post were invisible, yet respected and lived by, but now actual borders had been drawn, specifically the Green Line, in which the commercial capital and center of Lebanon, and maybe the entire Middle East was split. Beirut's Golden Age died an agonizing death and any remains of it remained in Hades. There were no more Western tourists, no more swarming elegant hotels, no more businessmen from the Arabian Peninsula looking to invest their millions in Beirut's economy, no more wealth, no more labels, and no more boasting about the Paris of the East that bewitched anyone that laid eyes on it. Gone were the times of the dazzling city that lay at the edge of the Levant. Gone was the gateway to the West.

Beirut was split across a border called the Green Line, which was the Beirut-Damascus road and some of downtown Beirut, that cut through the city, bisecting it. (It is called the Green Line because of the many weeds and shrubs that protrude out of the tarmac and asphalt). This would automatically take you back to the times of the Berlin Wall and the division of East and West Germany. This was so similar yet so different. First, there was no obscure or visible obstacle, such as a wall. It was just that road that symbolized so much. People knew of the consequences of this border, and its crossing. Anyone who dared to step across this road would meet a sudden, yet expected death. Because this line was not just an ordinary border. It represented Lebanon's tribalism. Before the war, it was just a thought, yet now it is illustrated in reality and on the ground for everyone to see.

Though this may have been the only visible and prominent border separating the city, there were so many subdivisions. They began in individual neighborhoods. All members would keep to their self, and most could not imagine a society operating outside of their own narrow borders, it was an inconceivable idea, and a faraway one at that. As the time passed in this civil wars, the divisions were not only in neighborhoods but in individuals. The trust between neighbors disappeared. A person would think everyone had the worst possible motives towards him/her, and looks of suspicion were always on everyones faces. With that, the remains of Lebanese society and mutualism had shattered.

Tribal Lebanon

2009-11-26T21:13:00.005-06:00

Lebanon, since the beginning of time, has suffered so many conflicts and so many disagreements, but the all leads down to the essence of its society. Lebanese of course, will always boast about how modern and diverse their country is, but that is also a large problem hanging like a shadow over Lebanon's future, if it was back in the civil war, or till the present day.

Since its borders were drawn out of Greater Lebanon by the French in the 1943 National Pact, Lebanon and its citizens have never behaved as a nation or as one people, like any other country behaved. Although Lebanon was not an anarchy and there was a government present, there seemed to be no unity in how the Lebanese act. Lebanon is probably the most diverse state in the Middle East containing many people of different religion and sects.

The largest dividing factor in the Lebanese society would of course have to be religion. The country is made of Muslims and Christians, split almost evenly, at a 1 to 1 ratio. But these two groups are further divided. For Muslims, it is Sunnis, Shia, and Druze, and for Christians it is Maronites, Greek Orthodox, and some other sects. This of course is a situation very vulnerable to conflict because no trust is evident between any of these groups, even between people of the same religions. Each village, or district in a city behaves like its personal country and has a hierarchy present that makes the decisions and acts as a government. Each group is suspicious of the other and their motives, and will always tend to think of them in the worst. They are, in every meaning of the word, tribes. Sometimes they form alliances, other times their bitter enemies, and the latter is the most likely one. And this is the essence of the civil war of the 70's and 80's.

One point is evident of course. Each group works and behaves out of utter fear: fear that any other tribe will take control of the country. Not only that, but Lebanon operates on a system of "Zuama", or big bosses, similar to that in the Italian mafia movies like the godfather. Each tribe would have its own operating in the government and fulfilling the needs of their followers and their townspeople. For example, a man wants to buy a house and has a problem obtaining a loan from the bank, because of his low income. He does not go to a lawyer or any other professional to help him solve this problem legally, if there was any solution, but goes to the Ziam in charge of his town, village, or district. The Ziam would of course have the loan in his pocket in a couple of hours, by "pulling a few strings." Nothing is asked for in return, other than full loyalty and support to the Ziam. Corruption was everywhere in Lebanese society, and that being one part.

Lebanon seems to be a diverse country, but when you look closely, there are dividers and prominent borders in the entire state. People of different religious groups would not prefer to interact with anyone else but their own, and if one looked at a map of Lebanon, there is no diversity in areas. There would be sections, large or small, in parts of Lebanon wholly exclusive to one group or the other, such as South Beirut for the Shia, Western Beirut for Sunni, and Eastern Beirut for the Maronites, as well as Mount Lebanon for the Christians, and Southern Lebanon for the Shia. This is a complex equation that would soon lead to catastrophe.

Agreeable Two State Solution

2009-11-24T17:13:00.006-06:00

So I was looking through headlines on Haaretz, an Israeli newspaper source (just to get all of the perspectives) and I came across an extremely interesting one, titled "A Palestinian Peace Israelis Can Live With." In this peace plan, the writer talks about Ray Hanania, a Palestinian-American that does stand up comedy and is married to a Jewish woman. Ray Hanania is the one that presents the following Two State Solution, that I'm sure can work great for both sides, and is so simple, that it may just work. These are the following outlines:

Hamas should be disarmed, and not be allowed in Palestinian governments, as well as the Jewish settlers should be disarmed.

Settlements can remain, in exchange for the same area of land that was used by Israel to build these settlements returned to the Palestinians in another part of the state.

Jerusalem is a shared city that has joint police, should contain an Arab presence.

Right of return to lands before 1948 is abolished and funding to Palestinian families that lost their home shall be made through the United Nations, Israel and surrounding countries.

Israelis should offer compassion and apology for the Palestinians

Funding for Jews that fled from Arab countries as well.

The West Bank wall shall be torn down or moved to the correct borders of the state until trust could be established between the two neighbors
All political parties should eliminate language that denies each other's existence, and that an Israeli map finally has Palestine present on their, as well as a Palestinian map having Israel present.

A subway system shall be built between the West Bank and Gaza.

For every Jew that wants to live in the West Bank, a Palestinian may live in Israel.

Jews living in Palestine can only vote Israeli elections and vice versa.

Israel and Palestine should create joint governments and police to monitor the peace on the border, working alongside the United States and United Nations.

So in my opinion, this is a great solution to this large and bloody conflict between the two peoples. Of course trust won't be gained in a couple of years, given the large casualties the Palestinians suffered, and some casualties Israel has suffered, but hopefully things will change. All of the points outlined seem to be fair to the extreme, and as this is a Palestinian talking, I think most Palestinians can trust a solution like this. The conflict has to end, and this is the best way to end it, because if no solution is found soon, Israel will continue its brutal occupation and isolation of the occupied territories, and will force Palestinians to lead a stateless and unidentified life.

Beirut: The Golden Age

2009-11-21T10:37:00.006-06:00

Going back to the 1950's, it was a bleak time period for the Middle East. Just two years before, Israel had declared it's independence, and gained control of 78% of Historic Palestine. Countless numbers of Palestinians became refugees and fled to neighboring countries, and the Arab countries of Syria, Jordan, Egypt and Iraq had lost a war of dignity against the terrorist state of Israel.

But north of Israel's border, in Lebanon, there sat a sparkling city jutting out of the Mediterranean Sea, waiting to enchant anyone who laid eyes on it. Beirut, in its beginnings was a quiet, but attractive small town. Starting from the 1950's however, all of that would change. Beirut had entered a Golden Age, much like Athens and Rome, and was under the International spotlight. This city, as beautiful as it was, was a controversial one. It was torn between its Arab identity and its Western character. That was probably the biggest reason of why it was extremely unique and why it had attracted to much attention. Going back about 55 years , this is probably the scene you would have come across:

Bikini clad women sunbathing on the white sand beaches of the Mediterranean, laughing and joking as if it had come straight out of a movie. On the beachfront rose prestigious hotels for the wealthy of Europe and the United States as well as Beirut and the rest of the Arab world. The Hotel St. Georges had the best to offer. It was built on its own private peninsula, overlooking the White Sea and the boardwalk. The huge swimming pool was the biggest tourist attraction in the hotel, and it as the sensational meeting place during the day. Businessmen in casual clothing would sit under the umbrellas discussing their projects and work, while tourists would be enjoying a nice swim under the Lebanese sun. One side of the pool was glass, and descending the stairs from the pool, you come across a bar that looks into the swimming pool. Here you could find the American journalists of Time Magazine discussing their new articles on the "Paris of the East" and enjoying a cocktail.

Not only was the Hotel St. Georges the only popular one in town, but other five star hotels had sprung up around it including the Phoenicia, and the Palm Beach Hotel. The Casino Du Liban, however, proved to be the most famous site in Beirut, which is perched in the port town of Jounieh a couple of kilometers due north. The Casino mesmerized its audience when beautiful women in feathers descended from the ceiling on large flowers; its been famous for this production ever since.

On top of being glamorous and wealthy, the city was greatly affected by the oil boom in the Arabian Peninsula. Men in traditional white Abayas exclusive to the Persian Gulf traveled to Beirut to invest fortunes in its banking system, hotels, theaters, and commercial districts. Beirut had wealth flooding into it from all sides, but of course this came to an end.

The Israel Lobby and US Foreign Policy in Syria

2009-11-20T22:05:00.002-06:00

The Israel Lobby in the United States is extremely powerful and has no borders or limits in its support for Israel and its degrading of the surrounding countries in the Middle East. The Israel lobby has so much power that it shapes the foreign policy toward the entire Middle East, and persuades Congress in unimaginable ways that most laws or bills passed for Israel's support is voted by about 95% of the Senate and House of Representatives. So before we can discuss the tactics of this lobby, let us look more in detail at the United States Foreign Policy in the Middle East and how applies to Syria.

Syria is classified as one of the several countries on the US Axis of Evil which is absolutely ridiculous because Syria can in no way threaten or be threatening to the United States. The United States sided and will always side with Israel in all of its policies, including that toward Syria, Lebanon, Iran, Iraq, and the entire Arab World. So if Israel is in conflict with Syria, then the United States is in conflict with Syria. But what is the reasoning for classifying Syria on the Axis of Evil.

The answer is nothing, nothing at all. Just because Syria and Israel are in conflict and don't have a formal peace treaty between them, does not mean that the United States should always take Israel's side, because doing so will fuel Anti-Americanism in the Middle East (but I'll discuss that in a whole detailed article). Syria never threatened the United States, and the US government would reason their decision because Syria supports "terrorist groups" such as Hamas and Hezbollah. But Hamas and Hezbollah are seen by many as resistance groups that sprung up because of the Israel occupations, and to many they are freedom fighters. We could say that the US supports terrorist governments such as the Israeli one, yet the US does not listen to reason.

Syria has sided and assisted the United States many times, including after the attacks of September 11, when the Syrian President would personally be in contact with the American President and pass on information about Al-Qaeda that the Syrians have acquired. This cooperation is extremely significant, yet it doesn't seem so in the eyes of the US Government, who still classify Syria as a rogue state, as does Israel, but let us not forget that Syria wanted peace with Israel in exchange for the Golan Heights, and would offer Israel many peace treaties, and wanted to pursue the peace, yet the Israeli government would not want to cooperate.

So there is no excuse left for the United States to be in conflict with Syria and the US sanctions on Syria because Syria does not have a problem with the US, and tried several times to pursue peace with Israel, yet the US would like to overpass that detail and look towards Israel's argument.

The "Generous" Peace Treaties Israel Offered

2009-11-19T17:45:00.002-06:00

When the question of, "Why don't the Palestinians have their own state?" is asked, the general response from many pro-Israelis is that the Palestinians are terrorists and that they did not accept the numerous and "generous" peace treaties that the Israeli government had proposed. But these peace treaties are anything but generous. So let us examine in detail what I mean.

First, I'll give you the most widely accepted version of a two state solution. A two state solution that entails a separate state for Israelis, and a separate state for Palestinians. Each state has full control of its land, its borders, airspace, water, and harbors. Each state shall have the freedom to create a military, and each state shall be accepted and fully recognized by the other, and that each state has the right to live in peace.

Yet the numerous, and failed peace treaties called for no such thing. First of all, the Palestinian state would be established in the West Bank and Gaza, yet hold on a second, not all the West Bank. Thanks to the Israeli Government, and its settlement building and colonizing of the West Bank, this serves as a roadblock to peace. And in every peace treaty generated by the US, Israel's closest and most powerful ally, both nations, Israel and the US agree on one thing, that the settlers shall not leave the occupied territories, and a Palestinian state shall have to be built around that.

Not only that, but Palestine shall not have any control of the borders, airspace, and water, and it does not have a right to build a military. So how in the world can anyone call this a state, if it has not control over itself. How can a state be formed around Jewish settlements, making an archipelago of Palestine in a sea of Israel. No one in their right mind would accept to such conditions. And at Camp David, Arafat was offered 90 % if the West Bank to build a Palestinian state on, yet he refused because he doesn't want peace, or so they said.

But Israel Proper is 78% of Historic Palestine, the occupied territories: West Bank and Gaza making up only 22%. So they are allowing Arafat to build a Palestinian state on 90% of the 22% if Historic Palestine and on top of that, barely have control of it. This is absurd, and people in our international society should wake up to these lies and acknowledge the fact that no person should accept this upon his people.

Denying the Arab Identity: An Introduction

2009-11-18T12:00:00.000-06:00

The title of this article sums this whole piece up, yet who is this title pertaining to? The people who are denying their Arab identity, are mostly the Lebanese Christians, the Maronites. We all know that Lebanon is almost perfectly split in half between Muslim and Christian, about a 1 to 1 ratio. Here the problems arise, yet let us examine the history of this area.

The word Arab and the Arab people unite several countries in the Middle East and North Africa, as well as the Persian gulf, as Arabic-speaking, and under the religion of Islam, yet the latter doesn't always have to be the case. However the Christian Maronites have convinced themselves that to be Arab, one has to be Muslim, and not only that, yet they do not want to be generalized with the Arabs, because they have a whole different agenda in their hands for Lebanon, their tiny tortured country.

Christian Maronites, or at least the majority of them, will in no way associate themselves with Arabs, because there is a conflict of interests. During the colonial times, when the French and the British had divided up the Middle East among themselves after the fall of the Ottoman Empire, there was a general response of opposition from the Arabs. Yet the Maronites, at a time, welcomed this colonial power, and they found the French as their liberators in a very dangerous and untolerant Ottoman Empire ruled under Islam.

The main goal of the Maronites of Lebanon is to Westernize the country, and the colonizing of Lebanon, in their perspective, was the first step in doing this. They spoke French, understood French culture during that time, and intergrated themselves into French society which let them gain power, a large amount of power in government, military, economy, and the Lebanese society. The maronites wanted to split from the Arab world and establish a western state on the shores of the White Sea, and open Beirut, as the gates to the Western and "civilized" world.

I will go in more detail about the Arab Identity in the next articles in this series, follow up!

Beirut: My Journey and Reflections

2009-11-17T12:00:00.001-06:00

This is my first article in the Beirut series that I will be writing from today and into the near future. Beirut and Lebanon were going to be a main focus of my blog once a came back from my summer vacation, since I had visited Beirut and the surrounding area and gained a lot of interest in it. But since I hadn't been writing much in that time, I will start from today.

There are so many things to be said about Lebanon and Beirut in particular. It is a beautiful city, a prestigious one, and a very liberal one, as is Lebanon as a whole. It's religiously diverse, the scenery is absolutely breathtaking, the people are great, the food is delicious and unique, and everything seems to be flowing in perfect harmony, except for the many wars that have plagued the area, but that will be the focus of the articles to come.

I will describe how my trip was to Beirut, and how astounded and extremely excited I was. We emerged through the Lebanese border from Damascus, and found a vast valley ahead of us. The Anti-Lebanon mountains opened up to the Bekaa Valley. We drove through the scenic and lush valley for about half an hour. We were passing toy stores, clothing boutiques, restaraunts and cafes, but what grabbed my attention most was the banners of the political figures, in majority it was of Saad al Hariri. Cedars in between red strips were waving in every direction you looked, and then I realized that I was truly in Lebanon, and I was thrilled that I finally got to see this gorgeous and controversial state. We kept driving until we bisected the valley and arrived at the opposing valley. We climbed a little while and then stopped for breakfast in Chtoura at a place called Hashem's, I think, and we had the best Man'eish and tea! We countinued our journey, ascending the huge mountains until I felt that I was at a higher altitude than the anti-Lebanon mountains on the oppose side of the valley that bordered with Syria. Yet we still kept climbing.

Then we reached level elevation and rounding a corner, I saw the first evidence of any chaos: large, destroyed bridge. We took a detour and began driving until I saw what was the most amazing thing. Everything turned green at some sudden time, or it seemed to me, and we were descending down the opposite side of the mountain. Beyond I could see what I had for years been aspiring to see. I white city perched on a peninsula that jutted out into the vast yet tranquil Mediterranean Sea. That was my first glimpse of Beirut and I fell in love with it. Through the rest of our journey down the mountains, I was snapping photos on both my Nokia N73, and my Sony camera, like it was going out of style. The scenery was just astounding and no words can describe it. It was truly like heaven: green, green, green, green, green, the vast blue of the sea, and in between a strip of white.

We continued winding down the narrow street to the Paris of the East, and passed many significant landmarks, to me anyway, like the MBC studios. My first impression of Lebanon, even when we were still in the valley, of how extremely Americanised, and Westernized it was. Signs of McDonald's and all the American fast food chains were decorating the streets, as well as countless advertisements of everything prestigious and expensive. It was, in my opinion, a relatively wealthy country.

Wait for the next parts of my trip and the Beirut Series, they're coming soon, and I promise not to keep you waiting long!

Fear of Being Labeled Anti-Semitic

2009-11-16T17:27:00.006-06:00

There has been so many instances in near history when a brave soul wants to embark on the right path and speak of Israel's atrocities and to criticize its politics. But what does that person get as a response, you should all know this. A big "Anti-Semitic" label on the forehead, and from then on it is a smear campaign to destroy the reputation of that person until he is nothing but dust.

Ever since the Holocaust, the International Jewish community has been paranoid, and careful to target anyone that has the slightest criticism, not even towards Judaism, but towards the Jewish State of Israel. Isn't Israel a normal country, like all of the others in the world, that are in position to make mistakes and be criticized, yet that cannot be done without having a huge "ANTI-SEMITIC" label on your forehead in bold red font.

Why does the Jewish state have rights that the other countries of the world not, for being immune to criticism, especially in the United States? There are many instances where the Jewish community, including all of the powerful lobbies and organizations including AIPAC (American Israel Public Affairs Committee)revolt at one small criticism, uttered out of the mouth of a courageous politician, or journalist. Immediately this person has to issue a public apology with words "sucking up" (I can't word it any better) to the Jewish state, and a promise never to criticize it again. But this criticism is certainly not a religious remark or has any air of religion in it. It has everything to do with government and policies, be it the policies concerning peace with the Palestinians or that concerning the neighboring Arab states.

Does that not diminish in the United States right of Freedom of Speech? Is it perfectly fine to find whole novels and newspaper articles degrading the religion of Islam, and barely any criticizing or questioning Israel's right to exist? This is not what the United States is about and I suggest to anyone that has any remarks and criticisms for the Israeli state, that they not fear the "Anti Semitic" bullet, because this bullet is ineffective to the extent these people are using it. Voice out your opinions (of course respecting Judaism) and don't be afraid of a terrorist state or its supporters.

Rigal Al Hasim: Exciting New Ramadan Series!

2009-08-24T21:01:00.003-05:00

This new and exciting Ramadan drama currently airs on Abu Dhabi TV at 23:00 KSA time. It stars Basil Khayat, a Syrian actor, and Maya Nasri, a Lebanese actress/singer. The show includes actors from Syria, Lebanon and many more Arab countries.

What grabbed my attention to this series is the plot. The whole drama revolves around the Arab-Israeli conflict, but precisely, Syrian-Israeli conflict about the Golan Heights. The series begins in 1967. From the promos and ads, Rigal al Hasim is beautifully shot in real-life locations in the Golan Heights, West Bank, and I think Israel. Many actors and actresses also learned a little Hebrew in their work and research.

Now the first episode introduces us to the life of Fares (Basil Khayat) who is a Golani. He is a teacher in a school and is a young man that is very interested in politics. His lifestyle is depicted as simple, yet his mind is complex. The Six Day War is about to begin and everyone is afraid of the consequences. The heads of state are very confident of a victory yet the people are worried.

By the third episode, the 1967 War began and the tragedies unfolded right at the start. Part of Fares' family is dead, his younger brother and mother. His father and sister are left and prepare to leave for Damascus. Fares chooses to stay behind and fight the war. He can't leave his home for the Israelis to come and occupy it. His bravery is shown during the fighting sequences when he chooses to risk his life to help many wounded soldiers. His determination to fight for his homeland also shows.

I'm very excited about the rest of this show, and I wait for it by the minute. What do you think of Rigal al Hasim? Are you currently watching it? I'll try to summarize each episode in a small post everyday as to keep those of you who are unable to watch it updated!

Kasr al Hob: The Movie

2009-08-23T12:23:00.003-05:00

As I promised you yesterday, I was going to put up a summary of the Asmali Konan: Hayat movie. This explains the foggy ending of the series and how they left the audience hanging at Maram and Husam's departure. Well let us begin. But please know that I did not understand all of the events that were happening in the movie.

In the beginning, the movie starts out with a vivid dream. The only problem is, I don't know who's dreaming it. Twisted events occur in this dream, Husam is hitting Maram, after Maram sees that Najla's son is also the son of Husam. Then Maram goes into a deep sleep and it was all so vivid, and surreal. Those are the best words to describe it.

After that, Maram is seen in the hospital, with her head all shaved and in a coma. The doctors see that the cancer is actually declining while she is in the coma, which is a source of happiness for the staff. Husam, however, is nowhere to be seen. Maram seems to be shot and her husband is suspected of this, because of his disappearance.

When that is explained, Husam is shown to be in a homeless gathering, his hair very long and dirty, and an overall different look than your used to. He's going crazy, shouting, and yelling and laughing. He seems like he doesn't remember anything at all of his past life.

After intensive searching and investigating in Husam's disappearance, they are able to find him. And what I mean by they is Alia Beik and Bakir, who were visiting Maram at the time. Just as he seemed, Husam doesn't know anyone and doesn't remember anything. So a psychologist helps him. But when he starts remembering, everything is backward. Maram is with Yamen, and Najla is Husam's wife. He hates Maram with all his heart for some reason I did not understand.

He starts imagining or actually living in the past of when they first came to New York for treatment. He remembers how much he loved Maram, and they're relationship during that short time. And finally he remembers that fateful night and the reason why Maram is in a coma. They were walking together late at night, when about three robbers approached them and threatened Husam with a gun, while they were hurting Maram. Husam tried to surprise the robber and take the gun away from him however it ends up firing at Manar. The robbers run and Maram collapses on the ground. Husam panics and goes out of his mind while he walks away. And that leads us to the present.

Shortly after, in the present, Maram wakes up from her coma and her cancer has declined to a point where it doesn't exist anymore. She is reunited with Husam, and there the movie ends!

So what do you think of it? I thought that they should have the ending of when Maram is reunited with the whole family in Turkey and her daughter, Hayat especially.

Kasr al Hob: Beautiful Turkish Drama

2009-08-22T12:08:00.007-05:00

Kasr al Hob, or the Palace of Love in English is a Turkish Drama that just finished airing two days ago on MBC. In Turkish, the name of this drama is Asmali Konak, literally translating into the Ivy Mansion. Different translations yet the same brilliant story!

Let me start with the plot and storyline. The story is of a very important family. In the first episode, a tragic event takes place which is the death of the head of the family and the beloved husband and father. Husam, the oldest son, takes the place of his father as agha and all the responsibility of the family business rests on his shoulders. His life is split in between New York and Turkey.

When Husam is in New York, he meets a beautiful girl, Maram, and they fall in love and decide to get married. Maram is an artistic person and is very liberal unlike Husam's family. Yet he chooses to take her home and they marry. At first, his mother, Suad Khanom, objects to the marriage. But as the story progresses, Maram and Suad develop a good relationship. All of the characters' lives revolve around this Palace, that is not in Istanbul, but in Antalya I think in a very strange and alien landscape full of big rocks and desert, which adds to the charm of the show.

After Maram and Husam get married, they have a beautiful baby daughter, Hayat that changes their lives for the better. Throughout the episodes, the characters encounter problems, big and small and how they solve these. The theme of Kasr al Hob in my opinion, is eternal love. Nothing can damage or affect Husam and Maram's love.

At the end of the drama, Maram starts experiencing symptoms of dizziness, and low blood pressure. She is diagnosed with cancer and Husam is devastated. Maram is the only one that does not know of this, and is very optimistic. The whole family is shattered. Husam tells Maram that they have to go to New York because their company will be trading with another company in the United States. The true purpose is to have treatment in the US for Maram. Maram is ecstatic. After a heartbreaking scene of goodbyes and especially to Husam and Maram's daughter Hayat, they head off to New York. The last scene is of a sad scene of Hayat crying because her mother left her.

I was extremely upset that they had ended the show here, because I wanted to know if Maram lived or not. So I did a little research and found out that after the series, the director made a movie called Asmali Konan: Hayat, or the Ivy Mansion: Hayat. I watched it on YouTube in Turkish and tried to decipher what was happening from the English comments that I read. I'll post another article tomorrow on what happens in this movie!

I'm Back! Finally Right!

2009-08-21T20:03:00.003-05:00

Hi Everyone and Ramadan Karim, it feel so great to be back to this blog. I remember all the good times I had on it and how much responses I got back. And now I'm glad to see that it has gained popularity in the past several months, yet I apologize so much for not updating for about three months. I feel so ashamed, but I have an excuse! :) I was in Damascus and it was impossible to post anything to the Damascene Breeze, as my blog is blocked over there. Maybe it's because of the politics.. lol? Anyway I'm glad to say that I'm back to posting, and the Damascene Breeze will not only be about the Israeli-Palestinian conflict yet it will be about many Middle Eastern topics, being politics or society-related. And maybe I'll throw in a couple of entertainment articles for the fun of it, as in Ramadan there will be a lot of new series and dramas.

I also feel ashamed to say that I have not been following up on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict so
I have a lot of catching up to do and a lot of research as well. This topic cannot be addressed in 35 articles and there will be more I hope. As I write, I'm remembering the time when I was digging for information and reading any book I could get my hands on about this topic. And I hope I could get back to that state. I wouldn't call it loss of interest at the moment, my interest is just a little weaker but I will strengthen it to provide you with articles that offer insight in the everyday life in Israel/Palestine and the whole Middle East as well.

I also visited Beirut this summer and I am happy to say that Lebanon is added on my list of interesting topics as I have gained tremendous admiration for the city and the country as a whole. Expect a lot of articles about Beirut, current or not.

I'm confused under what genre this blog would be classified under: Israeli-Palestinian, Middle Eastern Politics, Entertainment, Middle Eastern society. All of these probably but the one theme here that is common among all of these titles is Middle Eastern. All articles are about the Middle East, may it be political conflicts or a new drama that is airing. So tune in the coming months and see what articles capture your interest. I'm also up to suggestions, so please whatever is on your mind, let it reach me! I want to say thank you for everyone that was visiting this blog in the summer and I am very sorry that I didn't update. Hopefully I could gain you back as loyal visitors to this blog! Thank You!

Ahl Al Gharam 2, New Syrian Drama

2009-04-27T16:47:00.004-05:00

Ahl al Gharam, The People of Love in English, is a Syrian Drama that gained a lot of attention and became very popular about two or so years ago. Ahl al Gharam is back now with a new season of love and romance. The new season started a couple of months ago, and they have been airing an hour or so long episode once a week on Thursday nights. Each episode tells a story of a relationship or of some type of love or difficulties. There is a large amount of actors in this drama including Kosay al Khouly, Dima Andaleft, Basil Khayat, Laura Abu Asaad, and many more. The stories and topics of the episodes differ and they portray Syrian society, or in specific Damascene society.
Yet sometimes the actors or rather the writer and the director of Ahl al Gharam puts some twists in the typical Damascene Society. For example, we see single girls coming back to their parents house in the early morning, coming back from night clubs and restaurants, while they are out with a group of friends consisting of guys and girls. The parents are perfectly alright with this and welcome the girl with open arms. However, this is not Damascene society, because the girl that is seen going out like this will get talked about by people and her reputation will be in the ground. There are many examples of this type that are putting a modern twist in our society that may be there and may not. When a girl behaves like this, people will say that she has not been raised right and that she is "faltanay". I do not know how to define this in English, but it kind of means that she doesn't care of the customs and that she doesn't respect the society that she lives in.
There may be a lot of these cases, where our society is getting modern yet I never see it in real life when I am in Damascus. Anyway, Ahl al Gharam portrays these acts as normal, yet I do not know how the Arabic World is responding to it. What do you think? Is it too modern or is the society changing?

Nothing So Far

2009-04-20T12:03:00.003-05:00

Why have I not been writing for the past few weeks?
This might be the question that all of the people that come and visit this blog on a dailybasis ask themselves. I also ask myself this. At first I thought that I was getting bored with my blog and just in general, the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and all politics. But then I found the real answer on the Arabic and Israeli newsites:
Nothing new is going on or happening. It's all the same crap that you get from political leaders. All they do is talk, talk and talk a bit more. Threats are being thrown in every direction from every Middle Eastern country and Western countries as well. The United Nations had come up with a countless number of resolutions in the past 60 years concerning Israel, yet Israel did not follow and will not follow, yet it is still a member of the United Nations. This, I do not understand.
And just like Israel didn't follow the UN resolutions, I'm sure it will not follow the United States guidelines on creating a Palestinian state, unless action is taken. For the past three or more weeks, all I see on Haaretz or al Jazeera is talk and statements being said by a world leader. Netanyahu: a Palestinian state is not in our best interest. Obama: let me be clear, we fully back up the Two State solution. Hamas: we are not willing to recognize the Jewish state, and much, much more. I honestly got bored about writing the same topic over and over again. These leaders are not taking action. They're sitting in their elegant offices or at their podiums issuing statements that at first cause a reaction and by the next day they are forgotten.
Now you know why I did not write and why there is no use of me writing until something actually happens. For the past three months, I have written articles revealing the true nature of the occupation and the terrifying details, and I will continue if I read and educate myself more. But please do not think that I am closing this blog down or that I just forgot about it. Come by and check it daily and I promise you, I'll start writing once I find a good subject.
If you have any suggestions, please tell me in your comments or in the cbox. Thank you for being loyal to the Damascene Breeze.

Obama Changes Tactics on Israel

2009-04-09T17:30:00.003-05:00

President Obama has just recently finished a tour of Europe and it ended in Turkey where he delivered a speech in front of the Turkish parlaimant. The visit to Turkey was very successful, and the people were very excited and recieved Obama in the best way. This visit was a sign as to improve relations between Turkey and the United States.

However, President Obama also talked a lot about the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and stressed the fact that the United States fully supports the Two State Solution, which was a response to Israel's foreign minister when he said that the Israeli government was not bound by the Annapolis convention. The only way to end this conflict, or at least try to end it is the two state solution, and the establishment of a Palestinian state. Without that, this conflict will go nowhere he said.

Obama has also breifed his congressmen of a predicted confrontation with Netanyahu's rightist government about this. I am extremely happy that the President and the whole United States came to its senses and is doing what is right. What Obama has said, of a confrontation with the new Israeli government means that if the two state solution is not to be fulfilled and Netanyahu's government supporting it, then the United States may have to use different tactics with its strongest ally in the Middle East. I hope they stop sending financial aid and military aid to Israel if they oppose this.

I hope this is a start of a new era for the United States as well, to improve its image in the Middle East. The visit to Turkey was a huge success and I hope Obama visits all the capitals of the Middle East, like Damascus, Amman, and Beirut.

President Obama is also scheduled to visit Jerusalem and the West Bank in June. We might see a lot of change in the summer, and possibly the establishment of Palestine.

The Golan is #1 On Syrian Agenda

2009-04-02T19:18:00.003-05:00

The Golan Heights, an area in southwestern Syria, currenlty occupied by Israel since 1967 is a very strategic point. Because of the elevation, both countries are in need of this geograhpic location. The Golan Heights overlooks all of Israel, and Syria. So we could understand why the two countries want it. But the Golan Heights righfully belongs to the Syrian Arab Republic, and is occupied territory. Israel doesn't even want to give it back even with a peace process. Netanyahu and all the previous governments of Israel have promised Bashar al Assad full withdrawl of the Israelis from the Golan Heights and the full return to Syria. However, now the real plan is uncovered. Israel does not want to withdraw, and it never will withdraw from the Golan Heights, peace treaty or no. So just today, the Syrian President, Bashar al Assad responded in a regional newspaper.

He said that the "enemy" does not want peace, and there is no other alternative but full resistance, which means war. He said that sooner or later, the Golan will be liberated. And I agree with him fully. Israel has occupied territories from four countries, and has ethnically cleansed a nation. Yet the international community and the United Nations is still silent on this aspect. Israel has occupied the Sinai Peninsula from Egypt, but has returned it in a peace treaty. It occupied part of Jordan and the West Bank which was annexed by Jordan. It also occupied southern Lebanon, until Hezbollah forced them out. And right now the Golan. So I don't understand why the Israeli government cannot return the Golan Heights under a peace treaty just like with Egypt and President Sadat. No other alternative is left for the Syrian government but force, just like the Israeli-Lebanese model. Hezbollah forced out the Israelis from southern Lebanon and just like them, Syria may force Israel out of the Golan.

But now we come back to the same mindsets of the Israelis. They say that the Golan is rightfully theirs and it belongs to Israel, and it is part of the Holy Land historically. Everyone is tired of their rhetoric. Anyway, Assad's full words are that with Peace or War, the Golan will be liberated and that he is ready to hold peace talks with any Israeli government, even Netanyahu's, but the only condition is the full withdrawal of Israeli troops from the Golan.

One day, Israel says it is ready to withdraw from the Golan, the next day, they say peace can only be exchanged to peace.

Lieberman: Israel Is Not Bound to Annapolis

2009-04-01T19:35:00.003-05:00

The foreign minister of the newly sworn in Benjamin Netanyahu has just made a statement today that Israel shall not be bound by the Annapolis Convention that was held in 2007. Israel is changing its peace plans currently. The Annapolis Convention was held to re-ignite the peace process, and it called for a two state solution. However, Leiberman is rejecting the whole idea, and saying that Israel is not commited and will not follow the policies of the Annapolis convention. I don't understand right now how the Americans can think that the Palestinians are the ones that do not want peace. Everyone is sick of the Israelis' mindsets and I know that they think all of Historic Palestine belongs to them. But right now it's 2009, not 3000 years ago when there used to be Israelite Kingdoms in the area. What I am trying to say is that they have to share the land. However, no the Foreign Minster of Israel "surprises" us and says that the Two state solution is not on their agenda. Of course it isn't and it has never been. The only thing that changed is that someone was brave enough to say it. Now that the whole thing is in the world's face, and on the table for the United Nations to see, they have to start pressuring the Jewish state to pursue peace. All we are getting right now are promises from Netanyahu that there will be peace, and he never even mentioned a Palestinian state. All he mentioned was that the Palestinians will rule themselves, but not to the extent where Israel is threatened. That tells you everything you need to know. Israel does not want a Palestinian state prospering alongside it, because it is afraid for its life. This is prepostrous though. They want to continue their occupation of the West Bank and Gaza yet they still wnat peace to be established. And when the Palestinians do not accept, then the world puts the blame on them saying that they don't want peace and are moving away. Israel sets the rules, and the Palestinians have to follow. It's ridiculous, that's all I can say.

Star Academy 6: Nominees for this Week

2009-03-31T20:07:00.003-05:00

From now on, I will start blogging frequently about Star Academy 6, a singing talent show, on LBC, the Lebanese Broadcasting Corporation. There are only 15 contestants left, six girls, and nine guys. The six girls that are left are: Diala from Palestine, Bassma from Morroco, Khawla from Morroco, Aya from Egypt, Tania from Lebanon, and Lara from Egypt.
The nine guys are: Mohammad Serag from Eygpt, Mohammad Bash from Syria, Michel Rmieh and Michel Azzi from Lebanon, Ibrahim from Kuwait, Abdel Azziz from Saudia Arabia, Zaher from Tunis, Yehya and Nasser from Jordan.
This week's nominees are the following:
Khawla from Morocco, Yehia from Jordan, Mohamad Serag from Egypt
The reasons are the following, Khawla forgot the words for the song, which was Elissa's "Law Ma Tegi". Yehia was off tone, and his voice was very tired and not normal. He was one of the best contestants and one of the best voices however the past two weeks he wasn't focusing. Mohammad Serag is a nominee because of the usual, this is the fifth time he is a nominee.
This week's nominees were revealed by means of clips dubbed in formal Arabic to resemble the Mexican dramas that are dubbed in Arabic. It was hilarious!

Gokhan Tepe in Star Academy 6

2009-03-31T16:26:00.003-05:00

Gokhan Tepe, the star of a recent Turkish Drama titled, Lahzat Wada3 or a moment of farewell, as been making his stamp on the Arabic world. Starting from that drama that aired on the Dubai-based channel, MBC, and then on the talkshow Kalam Nawa3em. Right now, it's Star Academy 6, an LBC talent, or actually singing show, a little like American Idol, only much much nicer! Well in last week's prime, Gokhan Tepe appeared as a surprise guest and sang with two contestants. Gokhan's song was translated into Arabic, and the contestants sang their parts in Arabic, which was Michel Rmeih, and Ibrahim. Ibrahim, from Kuwait, however, learned a small part in Turkish and actually sang it! It was a very fun prime, and Gokhan also performed another song, alone this time. I have to say that his songs are very nice, and the music is beautiful. I have one of his songs on my iTunes right now!

I haven't been blogging on this season of Star Academy, but I will start today, and this is the first article! I will also try to post articles every day, on the contestants daily activities and of course the prime which is on Friday.

Going back to Gokhan Tepe, he also visited the academy after the prime, and sat down and had a little chat with the students. Gokhan is probably going to be the next Muhanad in the Arabic world, or even more! We don't know what to expect next out of Gokhan but I'm sure it will be fun and exciting.

Prime Minister Netanyahu Pressured

2009-03-28T11:20:00.003-05:00

The Prime Minister of Israel, Benjamin Netanyahu has been pressured by the European Union to endorse and support a two state solution, calling for a Palestinian state to be established in pre-1967 borders, and East Jerusalem as its capital. The Palestinian leaders call for an immediate stop of the settlement building, however Netanyahu is a strong supporter of settlements in the West Bank. Netanyahu stated that improving the occupation, in means of economy would be far better than ending the occupation itself.

What is new then? Nothing is the answer. Nothing is new. For the past decades the Palestinians have been trying to reach peace with Israel, yet Israel is always setting the standards and the "rules" of this peace agreement. How can peace be established without justice. And I still don't understand in what way the two state solution will be viable and will work? I'm sure no Palestinian would want their state to be small fragments surrounded by Israeli soil. Who would anyway? Could that even be called a state?

Netanyahu also promised to work towards "peace" but I don't know what peace is in their eyes. How can peace be built without a base of justice? He doesn't even want to discuss the status of Jerusalem or the borders, all he wants to do is "improve the Palestinian economy". This is ridiculous because no economy can prosper under the strict and horrendous occupation, which includes checkpoints, the apartheid wall, the curfews, the IDF presence, and etc. In my opinion, this is another way that the Israeli government wants to show the world that is willing to discuss peace. Well thank you Israel, we really appreciate it.

Adding to the Israeli peace proccess, the Israeli government wants to control all aspects of this new Palestinian state, that may form, including borders, airspace, water, harbors, electricity, and such. Right now, while I sit here and right this, it is getting more prepostrous in my eyes. How can anyone see it otherwise?

Life in the West Bank: An Introduction

2009-03-26T12:00:00.001-05:00

In many articles I have stressed the point of the Israeli occupation being unbearable. But as many times as I write it, I cannot give this point justice. Writing it is one thing and experiencing it is a another, however thank God I've never experienced it. The most important thing right understand is that the West Bank is not wholly Palestinian. It is in ownership, but not in population. This piece of land, west of the Jordan River, is cut up into many fragments. The reason being the Israeli military presence, and the Jewish settler population. These are both illegal, along with the rest of the aspects of occupation. Yet Israel is the only colonial power left in the whole world. Why does it occupy this piece of land? The answer to this question is that it captured it in the 1967 War, yet it would have given it up for a peace process. The Israeli government, however, is not willing to withdraw, because it thinks that this is their rightful claim, and to occupy is the only answer currently. They want to keep sending in settlers, and building settlement upon settlement on confiscated property from the Palestinians. Yet the world tends to ignore this, because Israel is going through with its plans to make it seem to the international community that nothing new is happening.

Yet every single day, something new is happening. This includes the constant settlement building, and checkpoints to the smallest details, which the world tends to ignore, such as the daily harassment of the Jewish settlers to Palestinians. These details are multiplying, and are spreading like an infection. Soon the whole West Bank, will not be under military occupation, but will be annexed to Israel, and the Palestinians will still be denied citizenship, or they will expel the Palestinians as they did in 1948 and will be rid of the "demographic problem".

There are many small aspects that should be brought to the world's attention concerning this occupation, and in the articles to come, all of this will be revealed, and then you can judge.

Humanitarian Crisis in Gaza: Unchanged

2009-03-25T14:00:00.000-05:00

You look ahead: blue skies, blue seas, and destruction. Utter destruction. That is the case in Gaza. All around you there is destruction and chaos. Children in the streets playing. The sewage line is in the civilian streets. Elderly people sit on the ground and pray to God to help them get out of this catostrophe.
It is in all means a catostrophe, nothing else. The recent Gaza Offensive, Cast Lead, as it was called by the Israeli Government and IDF destroyed what little infrastucture Gaza had. On top of all of that, Israel blames Hamas for bringing it on itself. The United States, and most of the European Union believes so too, yet the truth is in the eyes of every Gazan, that made it through the hellish three weeks, alive. Since the catostrophe, as I will refer to it, nothing has changed. The United Nations even said so. Nothing will change anyway if these ridiculous blockades are not lifted. 80% of the people in Gaza rely on relief agencies such as UNRWA (United Nations Relief and Works agency for Palestinian refugees) for their survival, just survival, which means food and water. How is any humanitarian aid going to get through to Gaza if all the borders are closed most of the time, and there is simply not enough time for all the UN trucks to pass in. Israel has these borders closed, and is even denying the presence of a humanitarian aid! What a lie, a filthy lie, to deny anything ever happening to these people. I don't know what's going to happen now, but I'm sure the United Nations won't get anything done. What has it done throughout all of these occupations? It sets hundreds of resolutions, yet all of these are ignored by the State of Israel which thinks it is above International Law. I'm going to have a hard time believing that anything will change now, even if the United Nations is aware of what is happening. Maybe it'll pass yet another resolution, like the countless ones before it, and just like the countless ones before it, it will be jotted down in their historical archives, ignored and tucked away.

Settler Withdrawal from Gaza: Why It Happened

2009-03-24T19:03:00.004-05:00

In a very well thought out move, Israel siginified to the world that it was a democratic state and is not willing to occupy captured territories from 1967. In 2005, the Israeli government withdrew its settler population from the Gaza Stip, which was about 5,000 people. By doing this, the Gaza strip was left tot he Palestinians to govern. The international society looks at this as a step leading up to a peace process between Israel and the Palestinians, however it is very far from that.
With the Gaza Strip free of all Jewish and Israeli settlers and safe in Israel, the Israeli government transformed Gaza: the heavily and densely populated civilian area ino its own military "laboratory". No obstacles remain in the face of this government, because the Palestinians can hardly be regarded as humans, or living things in their eyes. Palestinians meant nothing to Israel, only a waste of space.
With the transformation of Gaza into this laboratory, Israel can test all of its latest technologies on the civilian population. It created horrors on this little piece of land, horrors that ended in chaos, poverty, death, and destruction. Along with the constant "experiments" Israel has also put a blockade on Gaza that will result in a humanitarian crisis that Israel and the United States would deny fully (but that will be a whole different article).
The most important thing to know now, is that the Israeli withdrawal from Gaza, did not mean peace or friendliness. It meant that they wanted their population to be safe, and to bestow upon the 1.5 million Palestinians terror that will end in many consequences. At the same time they refuse to them the basic necissties of living, such as food, and clean water, and such. This whole withdrawal triggered a number of events, such as the recent Gaza offensive, Cast Lead.
The Israeli Government should not hide behind the excuse of withdrawal and an end to the occupation in Gaza because that is a lie. Nothing justifies the horrors that these people are experiencing and these are war crimes! In articles to come, I will reveal the day to day terrorizing events the Palestinians endured.

IDF Admits War Crimes in Gaza

2009-03-22T16:00:00.000-05:00

For the past couple of days, Ha'aretz, a leading Israeli newspaper, has been publishing first hand accounts from IDF soldiers in the Gaza offensive. These accounts reveal the war crimes that have been committed and the injustice that the Palestinians in Gaza had to suffer in that three-week long offensive.
I thought it was about time the Israelis started to reveal this treachery. For example, several papers have been retrieved from Palestinian homes, that were written by IDF commanders, ordering their troops to shoot at civilians, and rescue workers (from the Red Crescent and others). The Palestinians were either left inside their homes, waiting for rescue, or were dead because the IDF were preventing their evacuation. And to justify the evidence found in the homes of various Gazans is an IDF reserve officer that did not take part in the operation. He says that this note may have been written by a low-level commander.
Ha'aretz also admits that brutality of the Gaza offensive. IDF soldiers storming into houses, expelling the residents, and using the Palestinian house as means of safety and for shooting positions. Another article that was published a couple of days ago in Ha'aretz also stated that the IDF commanders ordered their soldiers to shoot at anyone in their way. The soldiers had to obey and they did as they were told. A Palestinian woman and her children was exiting her house so she could find a safe haven. The IDF soldier told her to go right, yet she didn't understand and went left. The cost of that small mistake was her life and the lives of her children.
The treachery of this offensive was known to many, but finally the Israelis are admitting to it. These troops of no humanity in them. They are heartless and that is the reason they were able to kill so much innocent civilians.

Jerusalem Capital of Arab Culture 2009

2009-03-21T19:40:00.000-05:00

This news was extremely surprising to me, yet I was ecstatic. Finally, Jerusalem can be recognized as an Arab city. However the Israelis are far from pleased. They have had huge numbers of policemen around the city, stopping any festivities or celebrations. The government of Israel wants to prevent these people from celebrating their culture, and they want to deny the fact that Jerusalem was an Arab city, and East Jerusalem now, is still an Arab city. This is what I'm talking about in my past articles. The Israelis wiped out all traces of Palestine from the beginning of the occupation in 1948, yet it did not succeed in doing so to Jerusalem.
However, right now they are trying to rid all of Jerusalem of the Arab presence, for example, home demolitions, impossible permits, and the list goes on and on.
Since the Israeli Government did not let the Palestinians celebrate this special day, of marking Jerusalem as the Capital of Arab Culture 2009, they celebrated it in various cities in the West Bank, such as Bethlehem, and Ramallah, and Nablus. The Palestinian Authority President, Mahmoud Abbass said a speech in Bethlehem, remarking about how the Israeli Government. He said that the Israeli government should recognize Jerusalem as the future capital of any Palestinian state that should form, and in preventing their celebration of this day, they are showing that they do not want peace.
I read an article about this in Haaretz, and I also read the readers' comments on it too. One that I found very interesting stated: "When the Muslims let us celebrate a Jewish national holiday in Mecca, then we will let this celebration go on".
My response to this is that Jews do not make up any part of the population in Mecca, and I'm sure no Jews live in Mecca as well, so there would be no point of celebrating a Jewish holiday there. However, in all of Israel, 20% are Arab Palestinian citizens. And East Jerusalem is a Palestinian territory that was occupied in 1967, therefore there is no comparison. This is another way to wipe out all traces of a Muslim or Arab presence in Jerusalem. But the will of the Palestinians is much stronger than the Israeli governments ridiculous policies.

Fear Controls the State of Israel

2009-03-20T12:00:00.003-05:00

As an intelligent person, that focuses on both sides of the conflict, I decided to study the Israeli side. Everyone that visits this blog, and everyone I know, know that I am Pro-Palestinian, however we need to understand what the Israelis think, however, we do not have to agree with them.
The popular Israeli newspaper, Haaretz, was the first place I started. I went on its website and read several articles. The one that stuck out to me was an article explaining the Hamas rockets raining on Israeli cities, This is an excerpt:

"But the world should know this: No matter how progressive the government in Israel, no matter how grave the suffering of the Palestinians in Gaza, without an end to the rockets, there will be no peace process and certainly no peace. While the rockets are flying, nothing else moves. Nothing that Israel has tried, neither diplomacy nor brutality, has been able to stop the rockets. Only Hamas can do that. The world and Washington could have made the rockets a priority years ago, and perhaps brought this to resolution. But the world has other things to think about, and Washington as well. "

I have many comments on this part of the article. The Israelis are living in total fear of destruction and are trying to prevent another Holocaust (that will never happen) from happening, or that is what they think. But the truth is, no one is trying to wipe the Jews from the face of the Earth. The rockets launched by Hamas are there to resist the occupation, to resist the thousand of home demolitions, the thousands of innocent deaths and prisoners, the Wall, the checkpoints, all the aspects of the occupation.

I truly want to believe that if Hamas stops these rockets, then peace will find its way to that region, but it's very complicated. Another comment: The "nothing Israel has tried, neither diplomacy or brutality". The Israelis should know why these rockets are raining on their cities. The brutal occupation that has been in effect since 1967 and has been tightened in the past few years is the cause, as well as the failing of finding a solution to this problem. And Israel tries diplomacy to gain on its part, and not to gain peace. The many peace processes that have occurred in the past all have one common denominator. The West Bank is split into many parts, some settlements will not be removed, and the Palestinians cannot control their airspace, harbors, borders, water and other vital things to a country. The question is why? Because Israelis don't want to see the Palestinians prosper, or rather they do not want to deal with a threat of a powerful country sitting next to them, only the Palestinians in the occupied territories have to deal with that. All the diplomatic solutions Israel has tried is stripping Palestinians of their rights to a REAL country. Not a country that is controlled by another, then that would be occupation all over again.

I can understand the Israelis' fear of these rockets, and the threats from Iran, but I should think that these fears should drive them to a peace process, not to more tightened occupation. I would like to see a cease-fire, a real one this time, which insures rights on both sides. Hamas shouldn't launch rockets, and Israel should loosen its occupation [for now, it should actually end it, but that's not going to happen overnight] and to tear down the Apartheid Wall. Then peace will be reached, because one group cannot be asked to stop the violence with the other group still using it. Both sides should stop.

One Palestine of Jews and Muslims

2009-03-19T12:00:00.002-05:00

Imagine the land, from the coasts of the Mediterranean to the Jordan River, peaceful. It is like a normal country, no walls, no barriers, no checkpoints, no military in the streets. Orthodox Jews and Muslim Shaikhs walk in the same street, to the same holy site. They converse, laugh and then part, the shaikh to the mosque and the Jew to the Wailing Wall.

Why could this not be a reality. Why did the Israelis have to establish their own state. They would have been welcome to live in Palestine. Look at Lebanon now, there's an almost even percentage of Christians and Muslims, and they are united under one name, Lebanese.

The Jewish argument would be, because their holy book promised the land "to the sons of Abraham". We don't know if that's true or not, because we cannot have a conflict involving two different religions and base the solution on a one sided resolution. If that was true though, they could live in the holy land. But I don't think any religious book would justify the expulsion and suffering of millions of Palestinians. When the state of Israel was established, it was the twentieth century. It wasn't like a thousand years back when there were crusades and religious leaders conquered half the world. I think it was very extreme of how they came in and established their state on stolen Palestinian land.

Anyway, my dream is to see a unified Palestine, 50% Israelis, 50% Palestinians. There has to be religious tolerance in that region, specifically that region, since it is the holy land. Three different religions claim it, there used to be Israeli kingdoms, Palestinian kingdoms, Christian kingdoms, the three Abrahamic religions had a claim.

If Israel will remain in this path, its future will not be ensured in any way. The Palestinians can come back and conquer the land, (just like the Israelis had done), and then they will show the Israelis how their hellish lives were. Israel is going nowhere towards peace, but rather to war. Wars have sparked in the past, and will remain to take place because peace has to be built on justice, it has be built between people, not governments; it is not merely a piece of paper.

The Violent Raids in the Occupied Territories

2009-03-18T12:00:00.002-05:00

There are many treacheries and cruel behavior surrounding the Israeli occupation, but one of the cruelest can be the surprising home raids by the Israeli Defense Forces, IDF. They can come at any moment of the day, and break down an innocent Palestinian family's door to just destroy everything in their way. That is their nature. The Israeli military wants to make its presence known by going through with these raids.
One example, is Zaid. He was sitting with his wife and children in his living room, watching a television show, when all of a sudden he hears a loud bang, and immediately after that the front door had collapsed. In the doorway stood three soldiers, and one after another, they began filing into the house. Zaid's wife began screaming and running to the adjacent room, because she didn't have anything covering her hair. The children began screaming and crying. They wet their clothes. Zaid started asking the soldiers for a warrant. They began laughing and continued with their "playtime".They were destroying anything that lay in their path. Television sets, plates, vases, paintings. One soldier made his way to the roof of the house and destroyed the satellite dish. This is considered amusing to the IDF.
For no particular reason, they enter a Palestinian home, and demolish it's contents. No person on Earth has the right to go through another's personal possessions without a search warrant. The innocent family lay there helpless, watching their valuable possessions scattered, destroyed, and laughed upon.
Imagine someone going through your things. You watch the photo albums that had pictures of your dead grandparents being destroyed and laughed upon. You feel desperation and helplessness, and you hate these monsters to a degree you've never felt before.
These raids have a long term affect on people, and can scar them. No matter how long this occupation has been in effect, no one will ever get used to this sort of behavior.
Going back to Zaid's story: After the soldiers were finished, and there was simply nothing left to destroy, they fire hundreds of bullets through the wall and made a hole, so that they can exit the house. After a few days, Zaid found out why the IDF were in his home. They wanted to arrest a man two buildings beside Zaid's home, and the IDF soldiers did not want to risk their lives by walking in the dark streets. Instead, they cut holes in people's houses and have some "fun" while they are at it.

Protesting for Release of Gilad Shalit

2009-03-17T12:00:00.001-05:00

Recently, there have been a lot of protests about the kidnapped soldier, Gilad Shalit. Hundreds of Israelis have gone out and protested in front of Ehud Olmert's home, where a tent has been erected. Shalit's family had moved from their home in Galilee to this tent, to pressure the Israeli government and Olmert to find a deal of his release. Gilad Shalit was abducted in 2006 by Palestinian militants that crossed the border from Gaza.

Well, let's just hope that Israel doesn't call an all out war on the Gaza strip once again, just like in 2006. The media is making this a huge deal, and are once again looking at one side of the story. There are thousands upon thousands of Palestinian prisoners in Israel, most of them are innocent and were targets of cruel raids conducted by the IDF and Jewish Settlers. Why doesn't the American Media, or the International media present these pieces of information. From 1967 to 2005, there have been 650,000 Palestinians in Israeli prisons. In late 2006, there were 400 Palestinian children imprisoned in Israel. There are 3,500 Palestinian children that have been arrested in the occupied territories. In 2006 alone, there have been 5,666 Palestinians taken prisoner because of ridiculous raids.

With all these statistics and numbers, the media wants to make a huge riot for 1 soldier! This is unbelievable. Before the Israelis start protesting and using violence, look at these numbers, and then they will know why the Palestinian militants did this. There is no comparison I know, but as always, the Jewish superiority has played a role. One Israeli soldier abducted is about the equivalent of thousands of Palestinian civilians imprisoned. And when the families of those imprisoned Palestinians protest peacefully, the IDF come in and start shooting rubber bullets and tear gas, or worse, they open fire. It just looks ridiculous to me that everyone is protesting for one soldier, when thousands of innocent Palestinian civilians, including children are imprisoned. Anyway, the lives of Israelis are more important to the Jewish state. That's no surprise, just like in the Gaza offensive. 1 Israeli life meant one hundred Palestinian ones. The Israeli government said it themselves. What else do I have to write to capture the racism and discriminatory policies.

The Agonizing Death of the Two State Solution

2009-03-16T12:00:00.000-05:00

With the building of these Jewish settlements in the West Bank, Israel is slowly putting the two state solution to sleep, or rather to death. The two state solution calls for a Palestinian state alongside an Israeli state. The Palestinian one shall be formed in the West Bank and Gaza, yet look at the West Bank now. How on earth is this going to be a Palestinian state with thousands of settlements dotting the whole map. Not only that, but the Apartheid Wall that is being built certainly does not help the cause, but it is making it worse. The wall does not follow the Green Line, which is the official border of the West Bank. There are hundreds of checkpoints in the territory. East Jerusalem is an occupied territory, yet Israel has annexed it, going against International law. Israel is building settlements right now, and it doesn't seem to want to stop. With the building of these settlements, Israel is securing its land, Judea and Samaria. They connect these settlements with each other on modern roads and they separate the Palestinian people from each other. These settlements are being built on tall hills overlooking Palestinian towns and cities, and they are circling around East Jerusalem, not to mention the whole of the West Bank. Jewish settlers have a clean and constant supply of water, versus the Palestinians, that barely do, and it is dirty water, full of disease. The Jews have a modern road system that goes straight into Israel, yet the Palestinians have dirt roads that they have to walk, and checkpoints that they have to pass and stand hours under the sun. Everyday, Israel is sending settlers into the occupied West Bank, which is illegal under international law, as is all the other things they are doing. The United Nations states that it is illegal to move populations in or out of the occupied territories. Israel is doing both. They are expelling the Palestinians out of the West Bank, and settling Jews in. It's unbelievable. With that said, how are we going to have two states? How is Israel going to remove the settlements and half a million settlers from the West Bank. The answer is it cannot, even if the government wants to, which it doesn't. They settlers will revolt against the government and there will be violent clashes. The Israeli government knows this will happen, yet it is still building and moving settlers in. And the amounts of money Israel is spending on the wall is tremendous. It's not going to tear it down with ease when the time comes, I'm sure.

Cruelty of the Jewish Settlers

2009-03-15T13:14:00.001-05:00

Most of the time, you will hear that Palestinians and Arabs in general are being racist Jews and are violent with them. And this is a very hard stereotype to break in the West because of their one-sided media coverage. However, the very opposite is true.
The Jewish settlers that live in the West Bank are the cruel and racist ones, not the poor Palestinians. And this is what the world has to see. For example, in this photo, a group of Jewish settlers had fired a crude rocket into this Palestinian family's home, after the Gaza cease-fire had been set in place. The world knows nothing about it, because these settlers are not convicted and are not tried. They are probably detained by the police for about a week or less, and then are set free, to do whatever they want.
This example is one of the many that goes on in the West Bank. Palestinian families that live close by to settlements are subject to house raids, and harrasment that never ends. One example of this treachery is Noor's story. Jewish settlers broke into her house and beat her children until they are unconscious. After that they destroy her belongings: dishes, television sets, furniture. Then they leave, which is something lucky. Many times, the Palestinian family living in that house is kicked out of their home and the Jewish Settlers occupy it. How can anyone, and the state of Israel, justify these horrors.
Palestinians don't have any protection and are in constant fear of these raids. Military law is enforced on them, however for the settlers, it is Israeli civil law. A Palestinian can be detained for about 250 days without a trial or a reason for imprisonment. A Jewish settler can only be detained for 8 days. This is absolute discrimination, yet the United States supports the state of Israel because it is "a democracy, and recognizes human rights". It's a mockery, and I can't help but feel sorry for the Israeli government because it knows what its doing but chooses to lie to itself.
I found two videos on youtube that demonstrate the violence and treachery of these Jewish settlers. The first one is of a Palestinian woman in Hebron being harrased by a Jewish settler, here this is the link:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W2AaDg7-zD0
The next one is of a British film crew trying to shoot a documentary of a Palestinian family but is interrupted and harrased by two young Jewish settlers saying: Get out, this is our land, (a lot of swearing.)
WARNING: this video includes offensive material.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GSAvaYY-y7Q

From Scapegoat to Villian

2009-03-14T13:18:00.000-05:00

From day one, Zionists have used the the excuse of the Holocaust to establish and create their own state. They used the tragic holocaust to form their own tragedy: the expulsion of the Palestinian people, and the expropriation of their land.

The State of Israel was formed because the Jews did not feel safe anywhere if they did not have their own land. They considered Uganda and Cypress as a location for a Jewish state, but once World War I was over and the British occupied Palestine, their eyes reverted to that prize: the Holy Land.

The Jews immigrated in huge numbers from Europe and came into Palestine, but they were still a very small minority in Palestine. And that is the truth, a truth the Israelis currently do not want to believe. The Israelis think they came into Eretz Israel and found nothing, no people, no houses, nothing! It's extremely ridiculous, these claims. So we go now to the partition of Palestine in 1948 and then to the war. Israel gains more land and expels the Palestinian population from their homes. Now, in 1967 it occupies the West Bank and Gaza. Now they begin to systematically make life difficult for the Palestinians, by closing the borders, building checkpoints, and now the final touch is the Apartheid Wall that is not yet complete. So here we have these poor people being prosecuted by Hitler, and now they come to Palestine, create a Jewish state (solely Jewish), expel the Palestinians and their goal is the annexation of Gaza and the West Bank, once the "demographic problem" has reached a solution, as they say. Who are they to expel the rightful owners of the land and force them to go the neighboring countries? Those were the people that faced the fear of death from Hitler, and now they are imposing that fear on the Palestinian population if they choose to stay in the West Bank. The problem with the Jewish people is they think they are so superior and that all the holy land belongs to the Jews, yet in reality Christians and Muslims have a very strong claim, if not stronger than the Jews. Israelis don't want anyone to live in Israel unless they are Jewish. And in that racist and discriminatory policy, the State of Israel has just prevented millions of people from seeing their homeland, yet the world thinks that justice is served.

The Palestinians would have welcomed the Jews if they chose to live there, but why make their own state? Well the answer rests in every Israeli: because of their greed and their state of mind. The holocaust was a very sad event, but it passed and now it's time to start a new life, a life that is not based on cruelty and injustice.

A Jewish State If You Like it or Not

2009-03-13T18:54:00.006-05:00

The State of Israel's top priority is to keep its status as a Jewish State, in other words ethnic cleansing. What else would you call it when they don't allow the rightful owners of a house in Haifa to live there, but welcome Jews from Eastern Europe that have never seen Haifa or probably heard of it all their lives? This is a reality Palestinians must face. Racism, racism, and more racism. I am going to give you an example:

A woman is pregnant. Her husband lives with her in Jerusalem. They are expecting a baby within three months. When their child is born, they could barely register the child in Jerusalem. The couple needs to prove that Jerusalem is their "center of life", as the Israelis call it. The couple has to retrieve electric bills, water bills, heating bills, and proof of the home ownership. And these documents all have to go back at least fifteen years. Who on Earth saves their electric bills over the course of fifteen years. That is impossible for Salma, because she recently moved from her parent's house, to Ahmad's house. And she has been living with Ahmad for a year, not fifteen. Since she left her parents house for a year (which was the only proof of her living in Jerusalem) and she has no official proof of living with Ahmad (because residency papers are extremely difficult to obtain), the Israeli government expels Salma from Jerusalem because she has "abandoned" it, when she was actually living there her whole life. Ahmad and their child can stay, but the child has to leave when he reaches the age of fourteen. Ahmad would have to follow Salma to the West Bank in order to live with his family. One family expelled, thousands more to go.

Thousands of people have to endure this racism in East Jerusalem. Let us remind the Israelis that East Jerusalem is an Occupied Territory and shares the status of the West Bank and Gaza since they were all captured in 1967. However Israel annexed East Jerusalem, and is slowly expelling the Palestinian population. They also built the separation wall along the border of the West Bank with the farthestmost suburbs of East Jerusalem. Now, a West Banker can never enter East Jerusalem.

A Jewish European family, Jewish being the key word, arrives from Ukraine, and they are immediately granted citizenship and residency papers as well as on option to live in "Judea and Samaria", or the rest of Israel. This family, that has never seen Jerusalem or Palestine in all its life, comes and within half an hour they are granted everything the Palestinians are rejected.

Israel is slowly expelling all the Palestinians from East Jerusalem, so the city would unanimously be Jewish. Isn't that racism, and discrimination against religion and nationality. Other than that, it is ethnic cleansing (well that sounds familiar doesn't it, hint hint: The Holocaust). which is extremely illegal internationally, not that all of the other things Israel is doing is legal. However the international community, being the United Nations chooses to keep its mouth shut. The United States however, plays an active role, and continues to supply weapons and financial support to the Jewish state because they think justice is served, and are very, very sympathetic with the Jews because of the Holocaust. Why not go build a Jewish Nation in California and save the world this trouble. I'm sure the Americans would "LOVE" that.

Racism in the Israeli Occupation

2009-03-12T20:27:00.005-05:00

I will describe to you what is happening in this photo. An IDF soldier feels threatened by the presence of this three year old. Therefore he chooses to retrieve his gun (if you could call it a gun) and aim it at the little boy. This way, the 20+ year old IDF soldier can ensure his safety, his life, and his well-being.

What the Israelis are doing to the Palestinians is in all meaning apartheid. The whole formation of this Jewish state goes against anything we learned in life. Let me explain what I mean. Little children learn to share, to communicate, not be violent. Not to be greedy, or selfish, but to be polite and understanding. All of these characteristics stick with the person for as all long as he/she lives. Yet here we have an exception. The Israelis. No not all Israelis are bad, but the majority of them think that what the Israeli government is doing is correct, politically and morally. Why doesn't the world see these acts of racism, I do not know. And I am extremely perplexed at the state of the world. The United States ended racism and segregation of African Americans, yet here we have the IDF treating these poor people like insects. And Israel is so proud of it's military, and the world is impressed with how dedicated these soldiers are to their country. Well think again, I surely am not proud of what these people did and are doing to this population.

Racism is a big crime in the world, but the International community chooses to ignore what's happening in the West Bank and Gaza. Half the population is under the poverty line, they can't eat or sleep (they don't have a house). They can't go to work, because of the checkpoints that are sprouting up everywhere. First they expelled them from their homes and land. They made them flee into the West Bank and to neighboring countries. Next they want "Judea and Samaria", because it's the promised land in their holy book. Well, if the world was going to go on claims of their holy books, the world would be a stage for wars and crimes. We'll have the Holy Wars and crusades all over again. But in the world's eyes, Israel has the right to exist. Alright, and if it does, why does it not stick to its original borders? No, it wants to expand. All those characteristics that I mentioned above don't describe the IDF and the Israeli government. But the opposites would. They are greedy, selfish, rude, cruel. They want everything, all the holy land. They even wanted the Jolan Heights which belonged to Syria. And now they got it, the West Bank, Gaza, and the Jolan Heights. I came across a photo of the Jolan Heights today labeled, "The Land God Promised to Us [Jews]. Why not claim the whole earth while they are at it. The Jolan Heights is part of Syria and will always be part of Syria. But their greed is blinding them, and their state of mind, that everyone is inferior to them, isn't helping anyone. They choose to ignore the people that are already living on it, and even have the nerve to say that the land was barren and it was waiting for the Jews to come (for two thousand years). This is unbelievable. And I hope people that have a different stand than I should open their eyes to the horrors. What next are the Israelis going to occupy, Jordan, or Syria? Israel can justify anything it does with the United States behind it, even the illegal settlements and the ethnic cleansing that is almost complete in Jerusalem.

Expulsion of Palestinians, An Introduction

2009-03-12T19:14:00.002-05:00

The horrors that Israel is casting upon the Palestinians is unbelievable. I'm reading another book right now on this subject, and it's titled "Palestine Inside Out", by Saree Makdisi. It's a brilliant book that outlines the lives of the Palestinians living under the Israeli occupation, in the West Bank, Gaza, and East Jerusalem. I couldn't control my emotions while reading this book. Anger swept over me, and I was clutching the book so hard. The material is unbelievable, but it is true. The lives of these poor people that were expelled from their homes is terrifying. They are under control, they cannot move about freely. They have to carry numerous permits just to accomplish everyday tasks, such as grocery shopping, going to work or school, and that such. The checkpoints however, are the hardest part of the Palestinian life. There are about 600 checkpoints in the West Bank. They are operated by the IDF soldiers, and they have to be obeyed. It's ridiculous, the whole ordeal that they have to go through. And Israel's sole goal, is to expel the Palestinians from their land so they can annex the West Bank to Israel, and finally include "Judea and Samaria", as they call the West Bank, in the map of Israel. I just can't grasp the concept, of these foreign people coming into this land that was called Palestine, and establishing a state, in vain, expelling the current population, and they are still not satisfied. They want the whole land, yet they don't want the people on it. Right now, after 2,000 years, the Jews remember that they had ancestors living in Palestine, and right away they wanted to establish a state, that already housed a nation, which is Palestine. And currently, the Israelis want to keep the status of their state, as Jewish, and the problem lies in the occupied territories. They are at a point where their ambitions have reached an obstacle, which is the Palestinian population in the West Bank. Israel calls them the "demographic problem". I believe this whole campaign is racist. Any Jew, from all over the world, as the right of return to Israel, yet the Palestinians, that were living on this land for generations on end, don't. A Jew from Latvia, in Eastern Europe, can come into Israel and within half an hour he could have his residency papers, and citizenship granted, as well as the option to live in Israel or the West Bank (in the numerous ILLEGAL settlements that are being established). Yet a Palestinian does not have this right. A whole generation of Palestinians haven't seen Jerusalem, because of these ridiculous checkpoints, yet any Jew from anywhere in the world can come with ease and buy a house right next to the Dome of the Rock mosque. It's unbelievable, and I'm surprised the world as stayed quiet about this for so long. To anyone that has opposing views, what argument can you bring forth that makes sense, and defends the state of Israel for these acts of apartheid and racism.

Nancy Ajram's New Video Clip

2009-03-08T11:08:00.011-05:00

Nancy Ajram has been busy recently, and Melody Music has just released her new video clip, titled "Lamsat Eid", or "A Hand's Touch". The song is very nice, the music even nicer. The music video was directed by Leila Kanaan. This video clip is like none you have seen before. It tells a story of a couple that has been separated by war and the fight for independence. It is almost like a movie, because at the beginning of the video, it doesn't start out with the music, it starts out introducing the viewer to the story of these two people. The music video takes place in around the 1940's or 50's because of the hair and the clothing and such. Nancy works at a night club as a coat check girl. Most of the people that come to this night club are soldiers and generals from the foreign occupation army. By being close to the enemy, Nancy is able to transmit information to her lover, who is a resistance leader. That day, it is New Year's Eve, and everyone in the night club is celebrating, while she is devastated by her being so far from her lover. And here the song begins. She collects some information, and calls her lover. They meet in secret, but then somehow he gets kidnapped, and Nancy is left on the street, shocked. The song ends here, and I'm sure there will be another part or "sequel" to this music video. The idea of the video clip was very original, because you don't see things like that anymore, and the whole set, costumes, hair, and make up were very accurate in portraying the scene in the 1940's. Don't miss this video clip, here is the link:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WqmJcrhuy6A

Hillary Clinton in the Middle East

2009-03-06T18:59:00.009-06:00

Recently, Hillary Clinton has toured the Middle East, specifically Israel and the West Bank city of Ramallah. she met with various Israeli leaders on Tuesday to discuss the current situation with the Palestinians and the possible solutions. Benjamin Natenyahu, the current Prime Minister who is in the process of forming a government, does not support the Two-State Solution, involving a Palestinian State to be created in the West Bank and Gaza, and to live side by side with the state of Israel. Natenyahu, however supports the building of illegal settlements in the West Bank, which is right now, the main obstacle standing in the way of this solution. The Prime Minister does not want to achieve peace, in my opinion, he just wants to push the Palestinians out of their homes and land. By building these settlements, he is telling the world that he wants to expand the border of Israel past the pre-1967 borders, past the green line and into the West Bank to the Jordan River. Hillary Clinton however is determined to have this Two-State Solution in effect, and the United States will always support this plan. Everyone knows it is the only way for the violence to end in that region, and for the people of that region to live in peace of mind. But this is wear the United States and the Israelis reach a conflict, and I truly don't know how Benjamin Natenyahu is going to be persuaded to support the Two-State Solution, but I hope it will be done if he likes it or not.
Hillary Clinton also met with Mahmoud Abbas in the West Bank city of Ramallah, and discussed the current situation as well. She assured him that the establishment of a Palestinian State will always be the priority of the American government in that region, after he expressed concerns about Natenyahu's policies.
I believe that currently, the United States has to condemn the building of illegal settlements, as it is the first step in this long Two-State solution. It will only be more difficult to add to the number of already high settlers in the West Bank, and to remove them when the time comes of establishing a Palestinian State.

Queen Noor's Memoirs, an Inspiration

2009-03-05T19:09:00.006-06:00

"Leap of Faith: Memoirs of an Unexpected Life", is the story of Queen Noor's life, formerly known as Lisa Najeeb Halaby, and it was written from her perspective. This book is absolutely brilliant, to say the least, because it gave you insight on the circumstances that led to her and King Hussein's meet, and then their very eventful life and the struggles that they had to go through together. She sheds some light at the place where Jordan stands in this Palestinian-Israeli conflict, which is more like an Arab-Israeli conflict. So I will outline this book very briefly.
Lisa Najeeb Halaby graduated with a degree in Architecture and went of to Iran and then to Jordan, to complete the Intercontinental Airport which will serve as a hub to the new Royal Jordanian Airlines. She meets King Hussein there, because he and her father had close business ties. A friendship forms, and then they both fall deeply in love with each other. Lisa admires King Hussein in everything he does, and his willingness to achieve the impossible. Soon after, King Hussein proposes to Lisa, and there begins the long life ahead. Lisa takes the decision by herself to convert to Islam, because she found the religion very logical and pure and it gave her ease of mind. Upon her conversion, her name was changed from Lisa, to Noor, which means light in Arabic, Noor al Hussein or the Light of Hussein.
Her life with King Hussein was a happy and honest one. They both worked very hard. Queen Noor immediately adjusted and loved the Jordanian people. She knew she had to accomplish many things in this country, so that it can become more advanced and appear on the world stage. Many of her accomplishments included the creation of the Annual Jerash Festival, the work for the Bedouin women, many projects in the refugee camps, campaigns against land mines, and many more.
The book inspired me so much, because this woman was so devoted to her husband, and attached to him. She gave him her whole life, and that was proved when he became very ill, and then diagnosed with cancer. She was strong, and gave him hope, and light. She took care of all her step children, and had four of her own children from the King. Queen Noor believed in peace. Her approach to politics was that any military action will not yield any results, but political action is what ought to be done. Also, one of King Hussein's sayings, that is a favorite of mine is that "A peace-treaty is not a piece of paper, that is signed between countries, governments to ensure it's economic growth or stability, but it is a pact between people, and the people have to feel it, and live it to make real peace." (And I was just paraphrasing).
I admired King Hussein's ways of peace. He always wanted to make peace with Israel, but also wanted to form a Palestinian state in peace, and I believe that is the exact way to go about these things. Violence will not solve anything, deaths of innocent children will not earn the security of the killers. King Hussein hoped that the Arabs can come to peace with Israel and that a Palestinian state can be created, but he never lived to see that dream come true, yet I hope that I do see this in the future.

Stars of Lahzat Wada3, Interviewd on MBC!

2009-03-03T20:33:00.008-06:00

"Elveda Derken", or in Arabic, "Lahzat Wada3" was an extremely popular Turkish Drama that aired on the MBC channels. It's plot follows a woman, Laila, that is married and has two girls. When she is diagnosed with cancer, she leaves her family so they won't experience the horrific events that she will have to live, without telling them. But she is saved from this disease by Dr. Eyad, her long time friend. And after the surgery, she wants to go back to her family, and there begins the long struggle. Well the stars of this drama, Gokhan Tepe, who plays Dr. Eyad, and Aydan Kaya who plays Shahira were interviewed on "Kalam Nawa3am", a talk show on MBC, and were asked numerous questions about the show, and about their personal lives. There were also many surprises. Both of them, Gokhan and Aydan, started their career in singing. They are extremely talented and performed on stage some songs. Aydan also performed the intro song of Lahzat Wada3, but in Arabic, and it was brilliant. Gokhan also performed a very nice song in Turkish. We also found out that Aydan is a big fan of Elissa, the Lebanese singer, and that she got permission to sing the song "Law Ta3rofou" for Elissa, in Turkish. She performed a small part. Another interesting thing about Aydan, is that there were rumours of her and Kivanc Tatlitug, (better known as Muhanad the Turkish star, that starred in "Noor" or Gumus) and that they had an intimate relationship. But she said that this was not true, and that her and Kivanc knew each other from when they were little, and went to school together. They are very good friends. The interview was very interesting, and I will try to have the link of the video up soon.

Elissa and Fadel Shaker's New Duet!

2009-03-02T12:05:00.004-06:00

I was on the Rotana website and guess what I came across! Fadel Shaker's new album has been released and in that album there is the new anticipated duet, that we've all been waiting for that combines Elissa and Fadel Shaker, the brilliant Lebanese singers. I've been hearing about this deut for a long time, first on Scoop, the TV show on MBC, and then on Style and Stars, which is also on MBC, as well as Paparazzi, which airs on Abu Dhabi TV. I thought that it was going to be released in the summer, just like all the other groundbreaking duets, like Fadel Shaker and Yara's "Khedni Ma3ak", and Carol Samaha and Marwan Khoury's "Ya Rab". I immediately fell in love with it when I heard it, the music is beautiful, the words are breathtaking, and their voices are brilliant. So we don't need any more than that! The song's name is "Jouwa al Roh", or "Inside the Soul". The song was written by Ahmad Made, and it was composed by Salah al Kurdo, and arranged by Nasser al Assad. It's about four and a half minutes long, and it's included in Fadel Shaker's new album, Ba3da 3al Bal. His album is produced by Rotana Audio Visuals, it includes many songs, including "Wa Ftar2na", which Fadel filmed as a video clip recently. I'm hoping that Elissa and Fadel will make this beautiful duet into a video clip, so it could gain more popularity. I'm going to post the link for you to listen to this song, tell me what you think of it alright! :
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cWb1PlTxZDw&feature=related

Turkish Dramas, Boosting in Popularity

2009-03-01T12:20:00.007-06:00

Turkish Dramas are taking over the Arabic world these days, and there are as much as four series airing currently on MBC, an Arabic channel that is based in Dubai. The first Turkish Drama to be dubbed was "Aklil al Ward" which aired two years ago and ever since then, the Turkish dramas have gained unprecedent popularity. Previously, Arabic channels used to dubb Mexican Dramas, but a lot of people stopped watching it because their culture was very different then ours and the storyline was very fantasy-like. However, because of the similiarities in the Turkish culture and Arabic culture, people love these dramas, and wait in front of their TVs by the minute to watch it. The Turkish Dramas are dubbed in the Syrian accent, rather than the formal Arabic, because they found that by using this beautiful dialect, the Turkish dramas seem more real and people can connect with it more. An official at the MBC group offices said that he wanted to build a bridge between the Turkish and Arabic peoples because there were already a striking amount of similarties between the both of them. Both sides, the Turkish and the Arabic have gained a lot from this project. For example, the MBC channel has gained popularity and viewer count because of these Turkish shows, and the Turkish side has gained popularity and the amount of tourism from the Arabic world has boosted dramatically, now that people want to see the beautiful country where their favorite dramas were filmed. My own uncle and his wife went to Istanbul because they were driven by these dramas, and wanted to see the beauty of the city. People wanted a break from the same old Egyptian Dramas and the slow and sometimes boring Syrian Dramas and they found what they were looking for.

The Queens of Jordan, Busy at Work

2009-02-27T15:34:00.009-06:00

I'm currently reading an autobiography of Queen Noor, the late King Hussein's wife, and I can't help but admire this woman. Not only that, but King Abdullah's wife Queen Rania of Jordan is on the same track, and is setting up lots of different programs and looking into humanitarian issues. These women are breaking the stereotypes that Western Society has tagged the Arab World with as ignorant and violent. And I am very proud of what Queen Noor accomplished and what she is accomplishing as well as Queen Rania. I can't imagine how Jordanians feel, if I, a Syrian is extremely happy. These women present the Arabic World in an elegant and professional way, and exhibit their knowledge to help causes such as AIDS in Africa, Land Mines in South America, and the Palestinian-Israeli crisis that is till now affecting millions of people. These women, I feel, represent the Arab world in the best way possible and show the International Society what the Arab world really is, and the level of understanding and desire for peace we have. I was looking through YouTube earlier today and I found out that Queen Rania has her own YouTube channel. On it, there were exclusive interviews and a series of videos called "Breaking the Stereotypes", which is a aimed at the understanding of the Arabic world and society, and to put aside the stereotypes that affect people's minds so negatively. I was also watching Queen Noor's response to the Gaza Crisis and I'm ecstatic when I saw her explaining the situation from our point of view, to CNN. She is a very intelligent person, and upon the host of the show commenting and saying, "Israel would not have had this offensive if there weren't rockets being launched by Hamas, and other extremest groups". She says (and I'm just paraphrasing) "The level of poverty in Gaza and the West Bank as well as the Israeli Occupation they are living under deprives the Palestinians of hope, and it is so much easier to be drawn by these extremist groups, that only form because of the absence of peace." And people should hear these words and this exact answer to understand the situation in the Middle East.

The autobiography that I'm reading now is called "Leap of Faith, Memoirs of an Unexpected Life" by Queen Noor. It's brilliantly written, and it's easy to read. I did not know very much about the country of Jordan, but now I'm starting to appreciate it's role in the Middle East and King Hussein's as well as Queen Noor's work on getting the Arab-Israeli peace process re-ignited. Queen Noor was born in the United States into an Arab-American family. She travelled to Jordan and met King Hussein. They fell in love and married, and she faced a lot of obstacles once she was queen. But she knew that she wanted to accomplish many things, to benefit Jordan and the whole world. She started on projects for the Palestinian refugees in Jordan, and many architectural as well as cultural projects, such as the Jerash Annual Festival. And to this day, she is still working, along with Queen Rania who is side by side with UNRWA, United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East. Take a look at Queen Rania's YouTube channel, and the videos that are on there to build a bridge between the Western World and the Middle East:

http://www.youtube.com/QueenRania

Israel's Excuse for War

2009-02-26T18:26:00.004-06:00

Israel, always "acting in defense of its citizens" has a lot of different tactics to spark war in the region. One of them being to push the surrounding Arab countries to the limits of their patience, until they say enough and resort to violence. In response, Israel launches an all out war, and the IDF destroys anything in their way, being houses or innocent children. Let's take the example of the 1967 Six Day War. The start of this war was not in June, but in April, two months before the official Six Day War. Israeli Settlers were advancing deeper and deeper into the heart of the Golan Heights in Syria and they were plowing land, in an area known as the demilitarized zone. The Israeli government was pushing these people further and further. And this strategy was well thought out beforehand. They wanted a reaction from the Syrian Government, they wanted them to shoot at the Israeli Settlers and that's exactly what happened. Because in this situation, there are only two choices the Syrian government could take, and only one choice to defend Syrian land. If they didn't shoot, the Israeli Settlers would advance more and more and settle in Syria, just like they are currently in the West Bank. But they did shoot, and the Israelis launched a disproportionate offensive. This is what Israel's Defense Minister, Moshe Dayan said at the time to the New York Times, "If they didn't shoot, we would tell the tractor to advance further, until in the end the Syrians would get annoyed and shoot. And then we would use artillery and later the air force also". So the Israeli Defense Minister at the time, said it himself, that this advancement of settlers was to trigger a reaction from the Syrians, and in response Israel would be justified to attack Syria, as an "Act of Defense for the Israeli Citizens". And they did exactly that, causing heavy Syrian casualties as well as the shooting down of several planes over the city of Damascus. These are their tactics, provocation, violence, and lies. And this cycle will never end. We saw it just recently with the Gaza offensive. Israel blockades, Hamas shoots rockets, and Israel announces a war "to ensure the safety of the citizens of the State of Israel", and kills around a thousand and a half people in the process. And I don't have to mention the state of destruction the Gaza strip is in right now, and all of that just for home made rockets being launched and barely killing 5 people and doing any damage. Israel's disproportionate offensives and attacks will never end. The world witnessed in 2006 how Israel bombed Rafik al Hariri International Airport in Beirut, Lebanon. Why, because Hezbollah imprisoned two Israeli soldiers and won't release them, in comparison with the hundreds of innocent war prisoners in Israel. Not only did it bomb the airport, but this whole issue became a month long war that destroyed a portion of Beirut. So before the world points fingers at the Palestinians and neighboring Arab countries, they should recognize what Israel had done, what it is doing, and what it will do in the near future.

Israel's Disproportionate "Retaliations"

2009-02-25T17:25:00.006-06:00

Much of the time, the Western World, and the United States most importantly, persuade themselves that what Israel is doing, and all the attacks and offensives that take place are a reaction to Palestinian violence and attacks. Let's take the example of the Gaza Offensive, which just ended a little over a month ago. Because of the rockets that Hamas was launching into Israel, Israel decided that it was enough and attacked the small, yet heavily populated Gaza Strip, first from the air and then on foot. Yet the Israeli government, or the world at that matter, never asks why they started attacking Israel in the first place. Maybe it was resistance to the occupation, but in my opinion it was an outcry to the ridiculous blockade that Israel has cast on all the Gaza strip. It controls what comes in and what goes out. There is barely any food, no electricity, no clean water. What could the Palestinians do other than launch rockets. I see these rockets as flares, fireworks that get the attention of the population around them. They were used as signals of desperate and immediate help, just like the sinking Titanic used flares to signal to ships in the distance. After this "Act of Defense for the safety of the Israeli people" was over, the result would be the slaughter of about 1,300 people and more than a fourth of these victims are innocent women and children. When the world confronts the Israeli government with this information, all it can say is "Hamas is using innocent civilians as human shields". If I were to ask the Israeli government to explain what they mean, they would say that "Hamas is hiding in heavily populated areas to get the sympathy of the world when there is a huge number of casualties". However, where can the ruling group of an area live, or hide in that matter. Gaza is one of the most heavily populated areas in the world, with about 1.5 million people living there. I won't deny the "Acts of Humanity" that Israel has done by releasing flyers to the Gazans reading "We Will Destroy Your Home Tomorrow, Go Somewhere Safe". But where is safety? Where is safety in a strip that barely measures 139 square miles that is bombarded by white phosphorous and other lethal bombs every two minutes. Where is the family that just received this flyer going to go? Out on the streets, where it's even more dangerous due to the land offensive, because there is no way out of the Gaza Strip. This is what Tzipi Livni said "We are not telling them to go out of Gaza, we are just telling them to go to a safer place in Gaza". As if the poor innocent families had a copy of the IDF's agenda on what to destroy next.

The West Bank: Reaching Prosperity

2009-02-24T17:18:00.006-06:00

In the first part of this series of articles, I wrote about the awful checkpoints and the results of the Separation Wall Israel has built around the West Bank. Now I want to write about the possibility of prosperity reaching the land. There is only one obstacle in the Palestinians way of reaching prosperity, and that is Israel. (Shocking, right?) The Israelis, when building this wall, didn't even stay on the path of the Green Line, which is the official borders of the West Bank. They chose to take their own path and zigzag around the original borders, taking a huge amount of land from some villages. For example, in the village of Bi'lin, Israel took 50% of the land, where all the farming fields and vegetation was, originally belonging to the village, and built modern settlements for the Israelis. It's so ironic, to have beautiful houses sitting on lush valleys on one side of this wall, and on the other, poverty-stricken villages, with dirt roads and crumbling houses. The Israelis would say, why not let the Palestinian Authority invest in infrastructure. First of all, the financial issues. The neighboring Arab countries, including Saudia Arabia and the gulf states could donate and aid them. Now they have the money. Next thing is, how are they going to bring in building supplies and steel and all the necessities of building, with a wall this size. There is no way in or out of this area for some. And how can the Palestinians be sure that Israel will not take these buildings away from them, just like they did in 1948. They wouldn't want to build for nothing. And if they build homes and new buildings, who would buy them. At the level of poverty the Palestinians are in because of Israel, there is no hope for the occupants to increase their wage, and live a better lifestyle. The West Bank is not even a country! When the Palestinian Territories become a fully independent state, then they can build and prosper their new land. But not now, when Israel is controlling what comes in and what goes out, including water, electricity, and food. People often point out the success of the young state of Israel. But we can point our fingers to the United States, for all the financial aid, and the modern military aid, that helped them acquire this land, violently and with force, in the first place.

The West Bank: An Open Air Prison?

2009-02-24T16:59:00.004-06:00

What we most often hear Israeli politicians say and repeat over and over again is this: Instead of spending so much money on rockets and war material, they can invest in infrastructure. It's very easy to say that, but when it comes time and the Palestinians want to do exactly that, we will see the Israelis taking back their words. Before I write about the infrastructure issue, let me write about the possibility of a Palestinian state existing on the other side of this fence. This picture, reminds me of a concentration camp, not a "wall to ensure the safety of Israeli citizens". It's three times the height of the Berlin Wall, and so much times longer, engulfing the whole West Bank when it will be complete in 2012. The United Nations has to wake up to this nightmare and order Israel to stop building this Apartheid Wall. It is in all sense apartheid and the West Bank is now a huge prison. People living in the West bank can't go to other villages without stopping hours on end at ridiculous checkpoints, operated by obnoxious teenage boys serving their military service. They have no citizenship, and no nation, they are simply a forgotten people on this earth. No one can cross this wall and go into Israel without a special permit, a permit that is impossible to get by most occupants of this territory. Most people are poor in the West Bank because what jobs in an area that's closed off by a fence would pay a good amount of money. The Israeli's don't give them a chance to work on their side, calling them terrorists and that such. I am fully against the idea of suicide bombing against innocent civilians, and that is not what Islam orders, (anyone can interpret anything in their own way). The suicide attacks are what caused this wall to be built. I could kind of see where they're coming from, but the most they could have done is build checkpoints at some locations on the West Bank because this is just absurd. The West Bank isn't even a country to be closed off by walls like these. Anyone challenging this idea, what do you call what Israel is doing to the Palestinians; protecting their civilians?, no I do not think so at all, and this wall that was built will only increase the tension between these two peoples and will cause more violence as a result. I once compared this wall to the wall that the US wants to build on their border with Mexico. But then I remembered one key fact, Mexico is a country of its own, that is responsible for it's own trade, import and export, economy, infrastructure and a lot more. The West Bank and Gaza have nothing! Wake up everyone, and condemn this act of apartheid, of this imprisonment of the innocent people that are stuck in a poverty-filled area with barely any money, and barely any education for their kids.

The Two State Solution

2009-02-22T13:21:00.006-06:00

Sixty years have passed since the birth of the State of Israel, yet to this day, no Palestinian State has formed. My original solution to the Palestinian-Israeli crisis, was one unified and independent state in which Jews and Arabs coexist peacefully in Historic Palestine. Yet, that is never going to happen. So now I resort to the two state solution. This solution, as many people have been talking about for many years is to establish a Palestinian state in the West Bank and Gaza. However, to some Palestinians, and Arabs in general, this is giving up to Israeli Occupation, and to accept this solution would be an act of cowardice. However, after I have given this issue a lot of thought, and researched into the history of this region, I think this is the only thing that will solve all the violence and terror that is going on in the Holy Land. When we talk about this solution, the Right of Return of Palestinians is always discussed and always seems to complicate the already tangled plan. Why should Jews from all over the world have the right to come to Israel and establish their homes, yet Palestinians do not. Some people that leave Jerusalem for example, can never enter it, even if it is their birthplace. All Palestinians were expelled from their homes in Palestine after the 1948 Arab-Israeli War, and went to the West Bank. These people lived in poor infrastructure, refugee camps, a place where no person can tolerate. However, now could be the chance to change all that. By working to establish a Palestinian State in the West Bank and Gaza, the Palestinians can then modernize their lives, elect a government, build airports and modern cities, thrive tourism and most importantly live in peace. But, another flaw that tends to creep up into these discussions is the amount of land. If this state was to be created, Israel would have 78 percent of Historic Palestine, and Palestinians would have only 22 percent. Another flaw are the vast numbers of settlements in the West Bank. Those are to be removed before this process can ever take place, yet the Israeli Government is very reluctant to take such a step, because the settlers are not willing to go. And by taking such a step, the Israeli Government could see an uprising from their people. The most important topic to be discussed is Jerusalem. Many Palestinians are looking towards East Jerusalem as the capital of the new Palestinian state that is to be established. However, it is crazy to cut in half this holy city, which means cutting in half all the sacred sites of the Muslims, Jews and Christians alike, as in the case of the Temple Mount, or the "Haram al Sharif" as known to Muslims. This is the third most sacred site in the world for Muslims, and they want to be its custodians, its keepers. However Israel wants the same site, and is not willing to give it up. My opinion on the issue of Jerusalem as the capital of both states is preposterous. Jerusalem should not be cut in half like a peace of meat. This city should be under the rule of the United Nations, as an international city, not belonging to any state, just like the Vatican. People, Muslims, Jews, and Christians should be able to move freely, with full safety and re-assurance. The first step in this peace process, is the recognition of both sides, and to stop all the violence from both sides.

US and Syria Working for Better Ties

2009-02-21T17:40:00.006-06:00

Senator of Massachusetts, John Kerry, visited Syria to talk with President Bashar al Assad about future relationships with Syria. Both sides want better ties, but they disagree on many things. The United States, under the Bush administration had decided in 2005, to withdraw the American Ambassador from Damascus, following Lebanese Prime Minister Hariri's assassination in Beirut, which in result caused the Syrian troops to withdraw from Lebanon. The Syrian President, Bashar al Assad expressed his desire of the American ambassador to come back to Damascus. For better peace ties between the US and Syria, the United States wants Syria to stop supporting groups such as Hizballah and Hamas, (which they call terrorist groups), and then the relationships will be better and will reach new heights. However, President Bashar al Assad replied to this statement, in "The Guardian", a British newspaper, and said that the United States cannot simply ignore Syria in the Middle Eastern peace process because Syria has a huge role to play in this complicated process. He also stated, after the Israeli offensive in Gaza, reaching peace with Israel will be a very difficult thing, if not impossible. (I am just paraphrasing by the way, this is not the President's exact words).

Elissa, Walking in the Rain!

2009-02-20T19:37:00.006-06:00

Today, Rotana released Elissa's new video clip "Awakher al Shita2" or the End of the Winter, exclusively on the Rotana Channels. Director Walid Nassif and Elissa once again worked together to create this clip as they did with the very successful "Betmoun". The clip starts out with Elissa in a beautiful house, gazing out the window at the rain that is coming down. The video alternates from clip to clip,, of her walking outside with her lover, to a cozy dinner by the fireplace with their close friends. Elissa worked with the same model she worked with in Betmoun. The song came from the album Ayami Beek, which was released in December 2007 and is still a big hit and success to this day. the album was produced by the famous Rotana Audio Visuals company, and all the clips she had and will film from this album will be produced by Rotana. I thought it was very appropriate for Rotana to release this video during this time, since it is in fact the end of a beautiful winter season! I really adore the atmosphere of this video clip, which makes you feel very cozy, and the colors of the video have a grayish tint which automatically signifies winter and gloominess. However, there is no gloom in this video. Elissa and her lover are running and jumping in the rain! Go watch this video clip and tell me what you think! The direct link:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GwU_x3-tDtE

Najwa Karam's New Hit! Ta3a Khabik!

2009-02-19T20:44:00.006-06:00

Najwa Karam's new album Aam Bimzah Maak (I'm Joking With You), was a huge hit when it came out in the summer, and it is still gaining in popularity. Of course with Najwa Karam, this is most expected, as all her albums are hits, and she's looking younger than ever, looking like she's becoming younger with each video clip she films. The first video clip she filmed from this album was Aam Bimzah Maak, which was amazing, as it was telling the story of a king, a little like a thousand and one nights, with beautiful, colorful costumes and exotic settings, as well as beautiful dresses. The next one, Ma Bkhabi Alake, was also a hit. But her most recent one, Ta3a Khabik (Let Me Hide You), was absolutely amazing, in my opinion. The clip is directed by famous Saad al Marouk, and it follows the lines of the American movie starring Brad Pitt "Mr. and Mrs. Smith". Najwa and her lover are trying to kill the enemy, while an outside force is trying to kill them. The whole clip is full of action, and the song is amazing, with the words being so unique as well as the music. We see Najwa alternating between beautiful dresses, and then a casual look with pants and a tank top as well as a D&G belt, and in this scene she looks younger then ever, not like all the fake singers you see out there. The clip ends when her and her lover let the whole thing go and walk into the sunset. This clip was produced by Rotana, and is airing exclusively on its channels. By the way, if anyone saw the clip, doesn't the model in Najwa's video clip look like Ahmad from the Turkish Series "Al Helm al Dya3" that is on MBC currently.. I just thought it was me! Comment please,, and here's the link to watch Najwa's Video clip:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hp5wL7UqEcI

Cyrine Abdelnour's Latest Video Clip!

2009-02-18T18:12:00.006-06:00

Cyrine Abdelnour's latest album, Layali al Hob, was a huge success in the Arab World. Her album was produced by Rotana Audio Visuals Company, owned by Prince Walid Bin Talal. The album consists of eight songs, of which Cyrine sings in the Egyptian, and Lebanese dialects. "Omri Maak" was the first song to be made into a video clip from this album. The director of "Omri Maak" is Randa Aalam. This is the first time Cyrine has worked with her, and Randa has promised Cyrine a new look and new taste to this music video. The making of this video was released on the Rotana Musica channel, on the show Akhar Akhbar, in December. However the release of the full music video was delayed due to the recent offensive in Gaza. The video was release TODAY, and I was thrilled when I saw it on youtube, (I am a huge fan of Cyrine, by the way) and then I had to write an article about it here. Cyrine is portrayed as a pizza delivery girl, that goes around from house to house on her mini motorcycle or moped. She falls in love with a guy that lives in one of the houses, and in the end, they start a beautiful relationship. Cyrine's outfits are very funky in this clip, with a lot of bright colors, which differed from her previous clips, such as Alek Ouyini, and Leila min Layali. Everything in this clip differs from her previous clips, which is why I'm so excited about it. Cyrine is also shown in a midnight blue dress. I think the next song that will be made into a video clip from her new album will be "Sinin", which is a beautiful song, and Cyrine sings this one in the Lebanese accent as well. "Omri Maak" is broadcasted exclusively on the Rotana channels, such as Musica, and Clip. Don't miss this, you could see it on youtube as well. Here's the link,, enjoy! :

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bVRkoQ94el8

"The Lemon Tree": Neutral Perspective of the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict

2009-02-17T18:12:00.004-06:00

The Lemon Tree: An Arab, A Jew, and the Heart of the Middle East, is a book that explains the Israeli-Palestinian conflict in precise detail. It gives two points of view, one from a Palestinian, Bashir, that used to live in the town of al Ramla in present day Israel before the expulsions, and a Bulgarian Jew, Dalia, that emigrated to Israel and now lives in the house the Bashir and his family were forced to flee. I went to Borders two days ago to pick up a copy of this book and it took me about half an hour to find it after the employee said it was misplaced. But in the end I was determined to read it as it caught my interest when I was browsing for books online. This is a neutral book, until now at least.. I am on page 142, about halfway into it. All the facts are there and the author is following the story of these two individuals. This book is totally and completely nonfiction. I love the amount of detail the author uses, and that I am glad that he depicts everything that happened and the sad events of all the innocent Palestinian families’ expulsions from their homes, and their forcing of living as refugees in their own land. When I am finished with the book, I will put up my own review and a summary. So far, it is highly recommended by me. This is the exact description on the back cover of the book:

In 1967 Bashir Khairi, a twenty-five-year-old Palestinian, journeyed to Israel with the goal of seeing the beloved stone house with the lemon tree behind it that he and his family had fled nineteen years earlier. To his surprise, when he found the house he was greeted by Dalia Eshkanazi Landau, a nineteen year old Israeli college student, whose family fled Europe for Israel following the Holocaust. On the stoop of their shared home, Dalia and Bashir began a rare friendship, forged in the aftermath of war and tested over the next thirty-five years in ways that neither could imagine on that summer day in 1967. Sandy Tolan brings the Israeli-Palestinian conflict down to its most human level, suggesting that even amid the bleakest political realities there exist stories of hope and reconciliation.

Akon and Melissa in Damascus

2009-02-16T09:59:00.004-06:00

It was an extremely surprising piece of news to hear. Akon, a famous American singer, and Melissa, an "ok" Lebanese singer in the Middle East, made a duet together. I was shocked, not just surprised, and I didn't believe it at first at all. There was a link to youtube to listen to the song, and there it was. Melissa and Akon singing together. They will also make this song a music video, directed by Oliver Ojeil. Apart from these pieces of information, they will also be performing together in the Middle East in cities like Cairo and Damascus,, yes Damascus! I was thrilled when I heard it, because I believe this could be a step for the Western World to be in contact with this marvelous country, Syria. We already saw the success of Enrique Iglesias when he came to Damascus, and how big his concert was. Akon and Melissa will be performing in the Opera House in Damascus, another surprising piece of information. Melissa will also go on to Lattakia, which is a city in northern Syria on the Mediteranean Coast, and sing in Le Meridien Hotel. I hope this is the first step for Damascus to edge closer to the Western world.

Did Palestine Ever Exist?

2009-02-15T19:13:00.013-06:00

This question in my opinion is a mockery to all of the Middle East. I came across a website (link at bottom) today, while looking up Mark Twain, and this is what I found. Mark Twain, apparently described the land of Palestine as an empty and barren land, with no inhabitants or vegetation of any sort. In my opinion this is a total lie. Palestine is the holy land, and in his short visit to this area, he only explored certain areas, which might have been vacant. But his statements are too broad to fit the entire country. In the 20th century, Zionists started using Mark Twain's quotes to support their campaign in building a Jewish state in Palestine. They were stating that the land was "uninhabited" and that the Arabs that were living there were a minority in a comparison to the Jews. But the truth was not this. The people living in Palestine was as follows: 657,000 Muslims, 81,000 Christian Arabs, and 59,000 Jews. And after the creation of the State of Israel, Israelis started denying the nationality of the people living in Palestine, and going further to saying there never was a country called Palestine or people called Palestinians. Zionists say these people were ignorant peasants that had no right in their country's politics, and that they were waiting for the Jews to come build the country.
http://www.palestineremembered.com/Acre/Famous-Zionist-Quotes/Story707.html

Introduction

2009-02-15T11:34:00.005-06:00

Hi everyone. As this is going to be the first post on this blog, I have a few words to say. I hope this blog will be a huge success, and that it will give an insight about life in Damascus. If your asking yourself about how I came up with the name, then I will explain to you. It was very difficult choosing a name for this blog, it had to be just right, specific enough for my theme, yet general enough to cover many subjects. I was going to have the word Damascus in the title, yet I didn't know how to go about it. I came up with the word breeze, because life in Damascus, for me, is like a breeze. It carries you around the city, through the old narrow streets of the old city, to the peak of Mount Kassyoun. I finally decided upon it and hit enter. Throughout this blog, as I have in the description, you will find many posts about Damascus of course, but I will also write about topics concerning the news, and many other current events. Feel free to comment on anything you like. Once again, I hope this will be a huge success.