Hizbollah, a Shiite based group and sure has its agenda in Lebanon’s sectarian matrix, has acted to its credit in a largely responsible way vis a vis other sects. The party worked hard to portray itself as a “national� party, and thus limited its military operations to the Israeli occupation troops, hoping, and at times indeed winning, the support outside their sect in Lebanon, mainly among Sunnis, but more importantly had a wider support in the Arab World—a Sunni dominated region, with a clear dislike for Shiites in general.
But “praising� Hizbollah depends on the political context. If Hizbollah is fighting the Israeli army, demanding the release of the detainees, or fighting to liberate Sheb3a, then I’m on Hizbollah’s side. If Hizbollah members go around enforcing moral codes on population under their control, then I’m with that population against Hizbollah.
On another note, for someone who wants to see change in Egypt, the logic is very simple: We have an autocratic regime that is clearly unwilling to democratize. The Arab regimes, royal or republican, may be warring brothers, but still brothers at the end of the day. And it’s become a law of history, that when change happens it is inevitable that with the domino effect would spread to other places. The radicalization, or at least the current politicization in the Arab world is moving rapidly thanks to the communications revolution. If change happens in one Arab country, it is highly likely to be copied by others. We have other examples of the domino effect in the Central Asian revolutions, the Eastern European revolutions. If the current political system in Egypt is changed, as the biggest Arab country it’s likely to have a great impact on the region.
It’s clear also however that the program of the change movement is contradicting with the US agenda in the region. When it comes to the Middle East, the US’ main interests are oil and the security of Israel. The US sponsors the Arab governments. It’s true the latter are an embarrassment sometimes, it’s true they breed terrorists, but they can keep stability, and secure Israel’s existence, the US thinks. Very short sighted, as always. And despite brief flirting with the idea of “democratizingâ€� the region, it’s clear the US has turned it’s back on that rhetoric, following the Islamist electoral successes in Egypt and Palestine, and in the absence of the nice pro-western liberal suits the Americans conceive “democracyâ€� to be. These liberals are around, but they are weak, and clearly do not have presence in the “street.â€�
Though I’m secular, I’m not paranoid of all Islamist groups in the region. They can’t be all put in the same basket. There are clear variations and there are groups that secular activists seeking change could reach out to. One of them is the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt, which is clearly despite the talk about the iron grip in organizational structures, is full of different tendencies, including youth who joined the MB for working in politics, other than enforcing an austere social customs of Islam. There are at least common grounds both secularists and Islamists could work on, including stopping police brutality, and making sure there are no government rigging of votes in elections. Part of the spread of torture in the Arab world at this current stage is the silence (and sometimes cheering) of leftists towards the torture happening to Islamist terror suspects in the 1990s. Well, what we got ourselves at the end of the day, are mammoth security apparatuses which have become accustomed to nothing but torture and mistreatment of civilian populations, and political groups of all spectra.
It may sound strange that I started this posting talking about Hizbollah, but then I ended up speaking about Egypt. This may sound as confusion of ideas for some people, but for me, it is because all political projects of change in the region are, and have always been, linked organically.
On a final note, these are just remarks, not an academic paper, which I hope can start a debate in a more calm manner about the state of change in our region. I would like to apologize to the readers who were offended by my or Issandr’s strong language in the previous postings. Indeed it was a mistake to write and rant about what’s happening while we were still in a state of provocation.
“Indeed it was a mistake to write and rant about what’s happening while we were still in a state of provocation” professional wise yes of course it is a mistake…but blogging wise I don’t think so…coz I personally believe that what you write in a state of provocation is the “Real Thing” Capital R Capital T. One thing I don’t understand why people take debates personally..after all…people gotta differ…which doesn’t make them good or bad…also such debates are never meant to end with “Ameeeeeeeeeen”…u c where am going here!!
ya hossam,
you do realize that israel hasn’t occupied any lebanese land since summer of 2000, right?
so … what’s your justification for hisbollah keeping their weapons and refusing to integrate into the lebanese political, social, and economic fabric?
if the sheba farms are lebanese … then let the syrians actually agree to demarkate the border thus. and THEN the u.n. can verify it.
the sheba farms were syrian from 1967-2000 … and nobody said anything else.
so … if they are now lebanese … let it be done according to int’l law.
my guess is that once that’s done, hisbollah will find another reason why they don’t have to relinquish their weapons … and then the next, and the next, and the next.
cheers,
–raf*
http://www.aqoul.com
I pretty much agree with your position, Hossam, but I want to ask about one thing:
“And what’s even more important than taking sides, as a secular Arab I would like to focus my time on building an alternative secular movement”
To me this seems like a crucial question: what does it take for a social movement to win broad popular support in the Middle East? Is religion an essential ingredient, or can a secular movement succeed if it has enough other things going for it, like being in touch with most people’s problems, having skill at mobilising people, being well-organised, and having clear, positive goals and a clear, persuasive strategy for reaching them?
Ya 3amm Hossam, missing you ya man!
I agree with a significant portion of your blog – yes, Hezbollah has legitimate reasons to do what they did (reasons over and above the political sabre rattling they are clearly displaying)
But doubtless they knew before it began that innocent people would die in the process. As they always do, thanks to the incredibly heavy-handed Israelis who clearly have no regard for Arab life. 50 is the latest count. Half of them children. So this is the dilemma for them, and for other Arab freedom fighters: make a small, but not insignificant, political or media gain and have 25 innocent children die in the process. Depressing shit eh?
“As long as there is occupied Lebanese land”
Eh?
Because someone needs to back Hizbullah, I think it is very very admirable that they decided to come to the defense of the Palestinians by attacking Israel. Even if it was technically across the blue line, the larger question of Arab solidarity is more important. I curse the other Arab countries every day for their fear and weakness. Hizbullah has my deep respect, they are heros really. Unfortunately Israel is a violent criminal and will kill everyone if a fly lands on its nose. But you can’t blame Hizbullah for the fact that Israel is the world’s most dangerous terrorist organization. We all deserve the blame for letting Israel punish the Palestinians for 60 years, not Hizbullah who is fighting for what is right and just.
As for the point of the post, I think Hizbullah, Hamas and Akhwan have shown us the way to move forward. They were not born over night and they have built themselves into what they are. They deserve great respect for their organizations and dedication. The religion gives them additional organizational coherence, but it is their mix of political and social services that have made them all into great forces for change that they are. If the left could start building institutions like those of Hamas, Hizbullah and Akhwan, then maybe 10 year from now we could have a chance to impact society like they do. We do not have as strong an ideological connection to each other as they do, so it is harder for us build institutions as successfully, but they really do provide a model that should be followed.
The other major point they have proved to me, and maybe this is also ideological, is that they are not scared to stand up for justice. They have all been beaten, attacked and strangled, but they have managed to keep moving forward. This amount of dedication is necessary if the left wants to make itself important to Arab society again. If we are not willing to confront the worst that our societies offer, they we will just fade away in fear.
The reason the left of the 70s failed was exactly because it did not have the grassroots foundation that the Islamist movement does today. The coups often brought good people to power, but just being in power was not enough. The people have to be the ones to make the change if you want it to be long term. Otherwise you just go from Nassar to Sadat, or any other random mix of dictator to dictator.
The ideology of Arab nationalism was a good alternative, but it was crushed because it was installed top down and did not bubble up from the ground. The Islamists will be more successful then the left ever was because they are building their institutional strength before they take power.
We need to use them as a model. Their success should guide us.
Just a couple of comments. (Scroll to the end for comments on Hizbullah)
Like Hossam, i have been occupied recently with the question of a secular alternative. In all honesty, i am still in the info-gathering process – reading through the history and thought of various movements in the Arab world, which i am, very sadly, weak on.
I’ll just raise some of the points that i have have been contemplating.
First, everyone acknowledges the success of Islamist movements. For one thing they have demonstrated very admirable organizational skills. Yes, we need to figure out how to be as organized and dedicated. But this alone wont work.
They also manage to engage the sympathy of the ‘masses’. This may be a much more difficult task. John Sacca raises the important point, above: Is this even possible? What does it take? Honestly, i have many doubts. Much has been written about the reason for the rise in popularity of Activist Islam (to use ICG nomenclature). I would tend to the opinion that the (re)turn to Islam is a reaction to modernity (as ambiguous as the word is) and all the social chaos it creates, especially in a region in which modernity was not evolved but suddenly imposed. Religion is familiar, safe, comforting in a confusing world that has left you standing on the side reeling in bewilderment.
In essence, i’d like to think a secular alternative is possible. But i wont kid myself. Most secular ideologies were born in the modern west and require intrinsic changes in behavior and value systems in order to be relevant or even applicable (how realistic is democracy in a wasta-dominated system? It will take a lot more than “democracy and good governance” to get rid of corruption or establish something as simple merit-based appointment).
Any secular alternative will have to be borne, nurtured and, most importantly, evolve to respond to the local specificities, over an extended period of time. Not exactly sure what this entails yet. Still cogitating on it.
Regarding Hizbullah:
1. Like Hossam, and many in this region, I have a fondness for what they have achieved and continue to do so long as they stick to military targets
2. As far as i see it, Hizbullah had two main motivations for the kidnap operation: Israeli corpses are worth a lot of prisoners, live soldiers more so; and they are diverting Israel from Gaza because they can roll with the hits much better than the Palestinians can endure.
3. I abhor the civilian deaths, but are they to blame for the civilian deaths that they knew would result? I’m going to take the realist path on this one and say, refer to 1 and 2.
bassem, I think you are missing the point of my post. I was trying to say that i believe that the “secular alternative” can “engage the sympathy of the ‘masses’” if it would organizationally structure itself along the lines of the Islamists. I think they have provided a perfect model for how to operate and we should follow their lead.
For example, Kafiya would be much better off if it started to provide civil and social services like the akhwan does. Of all the people involved in Kafiya, there are plenty of lawyers, doctors, highly educated people and people of means. Why not translate that into a more structured means to deliver services to the wider community? why only be a political organization? If, like the Akhwan, Kafiya was able to make itself more then just a political movement, it would gain strength in the comminity and be able to survive attacks or changes in the political climate. As it is now, the majority of Kafiya people already do provide services to the community, but they do not do it in a coordinated way. Why not organize that way as well. Connect the political movement to a social movement like Hamas and Hizbullah have done. That is why people will always support them. Even when they do something crazy and set the people up for attacks from Israel, the people support them because they have a record or service and community support. they have already gained people’s loyalty, so people will trust them even in the worst times…
my question is whether the left has an ideology strong enough to keep itself dedicated and organized. Islam gives the Islamists a very powerful means to stay organized. The left can’t claim that they are doing social services because they believe in Arab nationalism or because they are athiests… it doesn’t work.
Maybe I am answering my own question though, maybe the ideology is public service itself. I disagree with you that “(re)turn to Islam is a reaction to modernity”. I think it is much more pragmatic than that. obviously there is no single reason, but I think that the success of the Islamists is largely because they are actually providing something to the people. In some cases that is physical (like social services) and in other cases it is philosophical, but they actually give people a place to turn to for help when they are in need. the left doesn’t provide anything and that is why we will stay useless.
Reading people like this Joe is really instructing about why there is no chance of peace and development for the Arab countries as long as these “Joe” will be in charge.
As long as some people will continue to believe that they can achieve anything against Israel by force, they will continue to lose and suffer. Israel is a democratic and liberal country whose only interest is to develop its economy and high tech and live in peace.
But aggressions from crazy terrorists can only be dealt with no mercy as this is the only language they seem to understand.
Israel had nothing to do in Southern Lebanon and so left it. There was never any “Hizbullah victory” here, on the contrary, without Hizbullah Israel would have left sooner. Like in the territories – without terrorism, there would be a Palestinian state for decades now.
The only consequence of arab aggressions is that they will get less land and more dead. Hizbullah is going to be eliminated, Nasrallah killed, and hopefully the democratic forces in Lebanon will prevail and take charge of the southern part of there own country.
Yes, force might not be a good alternative, but can anybody tell me what did attempts at peace lead us.
bejamin,
“without terrorism, there would be a Palestinian state for decades now.”
this is something ive heard many times in Israel. Israelis seem to forget that WEst Bank and Gaza Palestinians did little but complain and shuffle off to work in Israel until 2000 (which some stone throwing in between).
Read some Israeli historians who’ve covered the Israeli administration of the occupied territories. Why was the local economy shackled to Israel? Why were permits to open simple supermarkets routinely refused?… Why was it the only work Palestinians could find involved implementing their own occupation? Why did Israel agree to freeze settlement building at Oslo but carry on regardless? And, why do so many Israelis cling to myths that no one else believes.
The Palestinians learnt the lesson that if you are quiet, the world looks away while youre are evicted from your homes.
That’s were the violence comes from. Accept it and maybe you can all move on.
Interesting post, ya Hossam –
A couple things. First, “As long as there is occupied Lebanese land…” Remember, Hizbullah’s on record as saying if Shebaa didn’t exist, they would have invented it. Why limit yourself to Lebanese land when Hizbullah doesn’t?
Second, I’d be wary of advocating Hizbullah as a model for change in Egypt, as impressive as they are. Remember they’re a creation of the same guy who formed the Revolutionary Guard in Iran and that they maintain close ties with the RG to this day… and that the RG is really nasty, probably nastier even than Egypt’s State Security forces. True, a little Iranian money and guns could go a long way toward overthrowing Mubarak’s government, but I know that’s not what you meant, and I don’t think many people here would accept an Iranian-orchestrated Islamist coup. It’s a preposterous suggestion.
I’m sure the you’re right that the Brothers, Hamas, and Hizbullah maintain some sort of ties. But you can’t lump them all together. Would Hizbullah have been as successful if they hadn’t been the only guys who could stick it to the Israelis and the SLA thugs running amok, massacring, and torturing the population?
this breast beating over the state of the secular left is interesting. especially, as the original islamists like maududi and banna borrowed a lot from socialism in creating modern islamic political thought.
i always got the impression that the Arab-MidEast-Muslim World love-hate relationship with the west had reached a point where any western-developed concept of public life was seen as evil and wrong. This, it seems, is the heaviest shackle around the Arab left’s ankles.
Not only do the Islamists provide schools, medical care etc they, i think, more importantly provide pride (a home grown solution) to the armies of young and disenfranchised in the region. However you look at it, to them (all the engineering grads driving cabs and touting tourists in Cairo and Casablanca) the “evil corrupt rich” are tainted by westernism and when the kids of the evil corrupt rich talk reform, they use western words.
The Islamists are better organised, but then they are older and more experienced but they still suffer from the petty squabbling, MAD (mutually assured selfdestruction) politics that Kefaya etc have come to symbolise.
Maybe avoiding the western-tainted phrases but keeping the concepts is the way forward. I think this is the path people like Islamist Zafarani in Alexandria and the Wasat Party people have been trying and would have a reasonable chance of gathering substantial support (much of it from the brotherhood) if the field was fair.
Good points raised by Hossam and Joe about secularism. I’ve been thinking about this for awhile, as well. One of the issues seems to be the self-centeredness which plagues so-called secular governmental structures in the Middle East. And that creates two problems: a lack of reliable social services and relief structures, and a particularly virulent form of cronyism (pistonnage) that seems to have no brakes on it other than the private conscience. A g ood exampleof both to an extent is the Algerian government (FLN) pre-1990. The FIS (front Islamique du Salut) was able to get a toehold, in part, due to the threatening collapse of the economy and the lack of access to middle class type jobs, but after the flood in the east to which the government did not respond in a timely way, the FIS rose in prominance because they were more streamlined and didn’t have to go through the cousin of the cousin of the neighbor to get anything done. The they offered the philosophy: you didn’t fail the system, the system failed you- here’s an alternative- and going to mosque regularly and requiring the hijab seemed a small price to pay for food on the table and some self-respect.
Later, of course, with the addition of the GIA, they imploded and took a good part of the country with them for several years.
Another issue is meritocracy. Yes I know there is no such thing as a a true meritocracy- but more commitment to that concept would go a long way in creating a secularly-governed society when people can rise or fall on their own merits ratherthan who their daddy is.
“As long as there is occupied Lebanese land, Hizbollah has the right to continue fighting Israel”
Hizbollah rights are decided by their government and communities granting them these rights. The implications is that any militia has a right to act independently can lead to chaos which is now being shown. You neglect to consider how the lives of Southern Lebanese christians and Druze were tortured by this group. They do not represent Arab success but rather Persian and Shiite and Syrian dictates. They have nothing to do with secular arab goals. Sheba is a joke and a pretext and Israel would gladly hand it to the Lebanese on a silver platter along with the remaining prisoners for a Peace Treaty including its captives (Ron Arad too).
Dont forget that Christians and Druze are a huge part of the lebanese Mosaic and that national goals are shared. Not everyone sees the islamists as successful. Apealing to the populist masses is not the way to the hearts of people. Respecting the roles of minorities and partners as vital to national identity is the way to mutual progress. Hezbollah will destroy us all through their arrogant and brazen acts done outside of the government. Honor is not restored by them, it is a lie and just a different type of occupation. You should try living with them and their consequences before talking about their rights.
-Ajaii
Wathani, are you joking ?
Before 2000 the Palestinians were already launching huge waves of suicide attacks. In fact, suicide attacks started only in 1994, *after* the Oslo agreement, after that Israel recognized the PLO and started to give it territories.
Start to see the things how we see it: each time, and I mean, each time, we make concessions, this is interpreted as a sign of weakness (just read this blog about the so-called “victory of Hizbullah”), and we just gain more attacks. Why should we give anything if it leads to more violence from the Arabs ?
Regarding the economy: the ones who want to work in Israel are the Palestinians. We do not want them to work in Israel, we already have enough unemployment (8,5% but decreasing). They want to be independant ? They should stop the terror and use the money they get to build there own economy and not buy weapons.
Well said Ajaii!
Ya know, being a long time visitor to this blog I’m somewhat appalled but not surprised at what’s being said on this thread.
How the hell is their any respect being afforded to Hizb-allah? Can someone please help me understand. They are a flat out terrorist organization who don’t give a shit about the Lebanese people, sorry. Does anyone think they give a shit about the Christians or Druze in that country? Does anyone think that they will ever stop fighting Israel? Ever?? They’re determined to have an Iranian-style theocratic movement for the entire region with Tehran as the Headquarters. And just like the Ikhwan and Hamas, Hizb-allah will never stop fighting until either them or Israel is destroyed. Their shared hatred for anything and everything Israel is the essence of their being. They will never stop until, country by country, shariah law governs the greater middle east and Israel is wiped off the map. Now, let me ask you, are these groups’ ideology any way to run an entire country? Some of these groups are pretty slick too, they may try and put up a facade of “progressive Islamism” (like the Ikhwan are currently doing) but they’re true objective is still pretty clear. All one has to do is look at the Ikhwan’t long history to see what they espouse. Why is Separation of Religion and State so difficult to understand for these people? You cannot have a democracy without it.. Is it not obvious that with all the failed “religious” regimes in the area that proper secular governments (like Israel) is what the middle east so DESPERATELY needs?
Thoughts from an Egyptian American…take it for what it’s worth 🙂
Two points.
1. “occupied Lebanese land” — says who? The Sheba’a farms issue is merely a justification for HA to keep its weapons. It is officially recognized as Syria land.
2. HA fires rockets at civilians, not merely military targets.
Israel is attacking civilian targets and infrastructure in both Lebanon and Gaza – with the blessing of the United States.
The Israeli army, air force, and navy have targeted civilian residences, airports, electricity grids, roads, bridges, highways, and petroleum depots in Lebanon and Palestine.
Yet when Hamas & Hezbollah target the Israeli military – in completely legitimate operations – they are branded as terrorists.
Israeli is inflicting state terrorism & collective punishment on both Palestinian and Lebanese civilians with complete immunity from international law.
Civilians are to be protected from belligerent acts and from military occupation – under the Fourth Hague Convention on “Laws and Customs of War on Land,” and the Fourth Geneva Convention “relative to the Protection of Civilian Persons in Time of War”
However, Israel and the US are the only two powers in the world which are allowed to violate the UN Charter and international law.
Israel illegally occupies the West Bank, Golan Heights, and Shebaa Farms while the US illegally occupies Iraq.
Why should Arabs abide by international law when the Zionists violate it each day – while the US vetoes any condemnation of Israel’s illegal occupations and invasions in the UN security council.
There is no hope for justice from either the UN security council or from the Arab League.
There is only hope in the resistance against Zionist occupation and against Israeli aggression.
Ya Elijah,
Know what you mean about armed Shiite militias, they can be a real bummer… say did you ever get a chance to pick up that Mehdi Army t-shirt I bought for your Sadr City?
Correct me if I’m wrong here, but i recall Syria saying they would ‘give’ Golan over to Lebanon
Benjamin, you talk about the Israeli democracy as if it is the best thing since sliced bread but you’re referring to state that gives you citizenship and benefits based on your religion. Yes, there are Israeli Arabs, but you know just as well as all of us here that they are treated like second class citizens.
I wouldn’t be too proud of a democracy that gives russian, european, or argentinian citizens money and land, provided that they are Jewish and move to Israel.
What about all the Palestinians that were forcibly pushed/killed of their land to make way for Israel? Where’s their compensation? Israel should act like a decent democratic power and do the right thing. Instead it is terrified of its own shadow, and more importantly, it is playing a numbers game in order to gain credability.
That being said, I have serious concerns about the tactis used by Hamas and Hizbollah. But Benjamin’s argument and that of many neo-con Arabs is weak and continues to leave aside simple basics.
Palestinians live under occupation and deal with Israeli governmnets that have been the number one cause for their suffering for over 50 years.
Ya Hossam…I love how I have to say this line (coming up) as if to reaffirm that I am one of the ‘good Arabs’…here it is:
I am as secular of an Arab/Muslim as it gets. I want to see nice secular, democratic Arab governments around the region.
But that is simply not happening these days.
I’m really starting to believe more and more that Israel and Western powers have pushed Arab people to shift from nationalist/secular movements, over to religious ones. It is frustrating to witness this, but I feel the sociology behind the Islamisation of politics here is do to desperation. And Islam is the only thing in life that many Arabs can hold onto to be the only constant in life…apart from death and taxes.
In any case, we have to respect the honest and open elections that bring religious parties into power, ie Hamas.
Amazing how U.S. and Israel refused to talk with any Palestinian official until ‘free and fair’ elections were held….And then what happened???? They end up dealing with a group that they despise and vice versa….hell of a blowback if you ask me.
O-Man – Awesome analysis. You hit the nail right on the head!
Dee el – kersa! The total lack of secular opposition. All the decent parties of decades past have been replaced with HA, Ikhwan and Hamas. And it’s the people’s choice to put these ideologues in power.
Alas
O-Man, once again repeating the stupid arab propaganda won’t lead you anywhere.
Israel is a true democracy, and anyway we don’t have any moral lessons to receive from people who live in barbaric dictatorships.
Israeli arabs have *exactly* the same rights as all other citizens, and they have the higher living standard of all arabs in the region.
Remember also that half of Israel’s population are Jews that were expelled from muslim countries (where there usually were living before Islam and the Arab invasion) with nothing, so where is there compensation ? Will you gibe us back our homes and money that you stole when you expelled us ?
Regarding the general situation, don’t inverse the roles: Israel is defending itself. No terror – no “occupation” or anything. You want peace, you just have to stop violence. As long as some Arabs will continue to think they can achieve anything through violence, they will suffer and lose as you can see even now.
So you can blame only yourselves.
Behave like normal civilized human beings and not like fanatical murderers. I know you have been educated in lies and hatred, but you are still capable of understanding that peace is reached by non-violence.
I might start off my comment by adressing the issue of wheter Hizbollah has restrained itself from attacking civilian torgets in Israel,,,but I will not.
The era of Arab and Jew throwing preverbrial stones at eachother needs to come to an end.
Do the Lebanese people have a right to be mad at Israelis? Heck yeah! Has the Israelis killed countless Lebanese citizens both soldiers and private citizens? Yes. Is it understandable that the Lebanese people should want revenge for those that died? Yes.
But what would that give them? what accomplishment would be had with further violence?
The above questions can be asked about the Israelis and the answer would be yes to all of them. Should they then take their revenge on the mass of the Lebanese people? No. What would that accomplish other than prolong the violence and suffering?
The past peace initiatives have been shams both sides. Unless both sides are fed up with fighting and are ready to live side by side in peace, there will be no peace…sad to say.
It is the extremist on both sides of the dispute that are the root cause of the problems, Take the power away from them.
Benjamin, try walking through an Israeli Arab neighbourhood, and then compare the infrastructure and services available to that of the nearest Israeli Jewish neighbourhood.
Its a real lesson in how Israel treats its citizens…at least its Arab population.
You are again unfairly characterising Arabs and other Arab governments. By no means am I a defender of oppressive governments anywhere in the world. But you need to remember that there were many Jews living in Arab countries until the creation of Israel.
They were living side by side with Muslim and Christian citizens peacefully. It was after the creation of Israel and subsequent wars that Arab Jews began to leave for Israel. Not because they believed in the Israel project, but because they were under increased hostility.
As a matter of fact, there are still Jews in Iraq and Bahrain for example, albeit a tiny minority compared to the past. And in case you’re wondering, some of them are my friends.
Interestingly enough, they have no desire to live in Israel. Despite being Jewish they are more anti-Israel than many Arab Muslims or Christians.
Benjamin, I don’t think there are many Arabs that believe their government is holier than though. But at the same time I think you have to stop sugar coating Israeli policies and take more a more realistic…dare I say a critical approach at analysing Israel.
Take for example the socio-economic issues between Ashkanazi and Sephardic Jews. And of course the
breakdown of power between these two groups.
Heretical Jew, I agree, extremists on both sides have helped mold the situation we have today, and hopefully that will change.
But this also partly explains the failure of secular groups to gather or at least keep any support. As these socialist/nationalist movements suffered one crush after another, the message remained alive. But it became radicalised and fell under the umbrella of the larger and better organised Islamist movement.
Israel and U.S. have done a great job in looking after their own interests by destroying Arab nationalism, but its weakened economies and created increasingly desperate situations literally bursting at the seams. The only hope for many Arabs was to turn to religion. A perfect fit for those looking for guidance, support, and hope.
And of course religious leaders blame Muslims ‘turning their back on Islam’ for all their current suffering. So secular, national movements became religious ones.
I’m curious to see how or if secular movements will be able to garner support, or should religious movements make more of an effort to reach out to secular and non-Muslim groups to broaden their appeal and gain more trust from the international community.
There are some excellent articles and comments on this site!
I think that O-Man’s point about the good job Americans and Israelis have done in destroying Arab nationalism is right on the dot.
In fact, not only have they done much to destroy Arab nationalism, but they have also done much to foster and encourage Islamic fundamentalism and militancy in the 80’s.
Two stark examples are the US training and funding of the Islamic guerillas in Afghanistan in the 80’s in order to fight that decade’s “Evil Empire”, and also Israels funding and encouragement of Hamas as a counterweight to the PLO in the late 70’s and early 80’s.
To the above, one may as well add the demolition of Iraq, beginning in the 90’s. As is well know, Iraq was a strongly nationalist state that gave no quarter to Islamic militancy. Well, American strategy and foreign policy have reduced it to a vast training ground for Islamic militancy. Bravo! At least now the Americans and the Israelis will be right when they say that Islamic militancy is a threat to them…one that will continue to grow…
http://www.yioni.com/counter-spin.html
I cannot see the birds. I cannot see the trees, unless I bump into them. But I can tell you that you must be the one who is blind if you don’t see how beautiful life is here on this earth.
But only with love.
Can anyone tell me about the history of cross-border raids/rockets by Hezbollah after the Israeli withdrawal from Southern Lebanon, and similar Israeli cross-border actions? It would help clarify the extent to which Hezbollah’s actions have been legitimate-military vs. trouble-making, I think. Wiki is not very helpful on this point as the Hezbollah entry is dominated by Martin Kramer (he of the serious academic standards – ha) references.
This commentator at the Guardian suggests Hezbollah’s actions should be seen as within the military rather than “terrorist” framework:
http://www.guardian.co.uk/israel/comment/0,,1821036,00.html
Hossam et al – be sure to read Juan Cole on Nasrallah’s latest remarks. He is also extremely critical of Hezbollah’s tactics even as he argues that the Israelis have overreacted.
http://www.juancole.com/2006/07/israel-widens-airstrikes-140-civilians.html#comments
Indecisiveness. Wanting hard to sound reasonable. Here is the problem with all Arab movements, save Hamas and Hizbullah, One foot in one foot out. One could only admire Israelis for their steadfastness and focus and unity but nothing more. Here is the fact: Hizbullah killed 8 and arrested two Israeli soldiers on Lebanese land (http://www.antiwar.com/reese/?articleid=9385). What is there to criticize unless you want to be dominated by Israel. Israel has had design to own or control south of Litani river since its inception, you just need to read some of the books they have written… Moshe Dyan’s writing comes to mind…. now they want to redraw the map of whole middle east to control all of it, read the necon writings in the USA, you will see what the aim is, the rest are just events to reach their goals. My friends this is the start a new chapter it wont be a six day war anymore, fasten your seat belts. This will end in one of two ways death of Islam, both religiousely and culturally(includes all, even the non-religious leftists idealist in muslim lands) or death of zionism, the only surviving fascist/nationalist socialist movement in the world. There is no in between watch the propoganda you will see what is going on. A bully only understands force, a bloody nose will teach him a lesson, if not you pulverize him, and time of lesson giving has gone. So if you dont have absolute support for Hizbullah, your support doesn’t count, this is not a game of pick and choose. Hizbullah will come on top.
Israel is not a country, it doesnt have a border or a constitution. Either one of the two will spell the demise of Israel. If they fit some of their current laws in a constitution, they can’t by any yard stick claim a liberal democracy. For all who want to see democracy in the middle east demand democracy in Israel/Palestine, one man one vote for all the people all religions including the refugees. Israel Shamir, has a version, the Iranian have a version, both will work, nothing short of that will solve the middle east crises. There is no two state solution! So if you can’t pick up a gun fight shoulder to shoulder in Lebanon, pick up your pen and write about liberal democracy for Israel/Palestine, and stop criticizing Hizbollah in any shape or form but support them 100% (absolute) and rationalize ALL their actions.