We will not be silent

Before the Monarch flight debacle there was another example of Islamophobia on a flight from New York to San Francisco on August 12. My close friend Raed Jarrar, a secular Iraqi-Palestinian who was groomsman at my wedding in June (when you follow the link he's on at the top of the steps in the first photo throwing confetti and on the left of the second photo), was flying back from NY to rejoin his American wife Niki in San Francisco. He is a prominent figure in the peace movement and was wearing a T-shirt saying "We will not be silent" in English and Arabic (a slogan first used by opponents to Nazi rule in Germany). But JetBlue airlines decided to silence him, insisting that he remove his T-shirt in case it worried other passangers. Raed explained "I grew up and spent all my life living under authoritarian regimes and I know that these things happen. But I'm shocked that they happened to me here, in the US." (see his blog for more). You can call JetBlue on 001-801-365-2525 to ask them why he was treated like this. The Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee have lodged a formal complaint.

Today the story featured as a front page item on BBC News (and elsewhere)

Peacemakers

I've just started working on a project Peacemakers launched after the 7/7 bombings in London last year to build bridges with the British Muslim community. It's a range of multi-media products (films, commericals, a photo exhibit, a music video, teachers guide book etc.) showcasing the lives of ordinary Muslim, Christian and secular Brits and peacemakers from these communities. The materials are due to be completed towards the end of the year and I'm working on organising consultation with stakeholders (particularly the Muslim community) and figuring out how to best distribute them through schools, churches, broadcasts etc.

If anyone reading this is going to be at Greenbelt this bank holiday weekend, I'll be hanging about the Peace Zone with friends from Christian International Peace Service and Christian Peacemaker Teams UK and others, so come and say hello!

What to do for Lebanon?

(1) Stay informed: Wikipedia, ElectionicLebanon.net, JuanCole.com, DahrJamailiraq.com, beirut.indymedia.org, lebanonupdates, Siegeoflebanon, Tadamon, Daily Star (Lebanese paper), Haaretz (Israeli paper), Jerusalem Post (right-wing Israeli paper), IsraellyCool, Lebanese Bloggers Forum, Lebanese blog Aggregator

(2) Protest the war. You can do this in demonstrations, letter writing etc. to your own government officials and to Israeli embassies. Some resources for this: www.saveleb.org, www.stopwar.org.uk

(3) Support refugees. At least a quarter of the Lebanese population of 4m have fled the country to Syria and beyond or been internally displaced. There are hundreds of thousands squating in schools and other buildings in Beirut with dwindling supplies. Here are some good organisations working with them you can donate to: FDCD, Sanayeh Relief Center, ICRC, Christian Aid, Toys for refugee childen (set up by some friends in Jordan)more donation options

(4) Remember the dead. I'm looking into establishing a Lebanon Body Count, similar to Iraq Body Count, to use media reports to create a record of all those killed (including Israeli civilians). If you'd like to volunteer to help with this let me know. We particularly need people who also speak Arabic/French. Israeli peace activists would be particularly welcome.

(5) Assert the rule of law. Some Lebanese friends are working to systematically document the damage caused by this war to people and property, with a view to making legal redress. Unfortunately it is very difficult to bring cases related to war crimes when a country such as Israel doesn't sign international treaties and otherwise immunises itself, however it's important that we try. Lawyers to research options for cases against the Israeli government, soliders or officials, as well as potential volunteers to help with the documentation on the ground in Lebanon would be particularly helpful. See Sue Israel. Also see excellent reports by Human Rights Watch on war crimes being committed.

(6) Peace March to the South. A group of Lebanese friends are looking into organising a march from Beirut to Qana and possibly to the border (ideally to be met by an Israeli peace march from the South) to highlight the plight of civilians trapped by fear and destroyed roads in the Israeli kill zone, remember all the dead and demand a ceasefire. If this happens international accompanyment and publicist in the media will be critical - consider if you can fly out to the region within the next week, maybe get a Syrian visa and look into flights in preperation. UPDATE: A similar idea is being developed by www.lebanonsolidarity.org who are planning convoys to the South on 12th and 19th August.

Pit Stop Ploughshares - Not Guilty

On 3rd Feburary 2003, five Irish Christian peace activists slipped into Shannon airbase in southern Ireland (through which 1000 US soldiers pass each day) and disabled a US war plane bound for Iraq with their household hammers. Today an Irish jury found them NOT GUILTY, accepting their defence that their action to damage property was intended to prevent a greater crime. This further strengths the precident set in England ten years ago when the Seeds of Hope Ploughshares affinity group damaged a Hawk fighter due for export to Indonesia (and likely to be used for repression in East Timor). This should encourage people everywhere to stand up against violence and conduct civilian disarmament actions.

Casus Bellum: Hizbollah's three grievances

I've just come across an excellent article, written at the start of the current conflict, which lays our clearly the genuine grievances Hizbollah (and Lebanon as a whole) had against Israel as of 12 July. Its by the Council for the National Interest, a lobby group founded (surprisingly) by a veteran Republican Congressman aiming to counterbalance the Israeli lobby in Washington.

"No one is denying the right of a nation or a people to defend itself. But Israel does not have the right to destroy bridges, roads, power stations and international airports in a vindictive show of force, in what will likely be a futile attempt to force the release of the two soldiers captured near the border. The right to defend a nation of people also applies to even the followers of Hezbollah trying to regain still-occupied territory and prisoners held illegally by Israel. There are real issues between Lebanon and Israel that should have been settled with the help of the United States long ago.

(1) Israel failed to keep her promise to make available maps of the 140,000 mines she left behind in Lebanon.

(2) Three small sectors of land overlooking the Litani River [Sheba Farms] were retained by Israel and were the cause of complaints from the government of Prime Minister Fuad Siniora, not just Hezbollah.

(3) The three Lebanese prisoners that were moved by Israel, contrary to the Geneva Convention prohibition against an occupying power transporting prisoners into its own territory, should have been returned long ago.

The U.S. has ignored all three complaints made repeatedly by the Siniora government. The Council for the National Interest delegation to the Palestinian elections also visited Beirut and talked with all factions from the President on down. In almost every case, the three issues cited above were mentioned and an appeal was made for the United States to take some action before it was too late. That was six months ago."

A word from the wise on Lebanon

The backbone of almost every UN mission in the Middle East (and plenty outside it) are invariably Palestinians. The grow up in the West Bank, Gaza or one of the camps in Syria, Lebanon or Jordan and start working in some basic capacity for UNRWA. Gradually they work their way up and prove their worth, and the cream of Palestinian society (highly educated because study is one of the few life options that is open to them) gets skimmed off and dropped into UN missions across the region. Unlike other nationals who can only stomach the Middle East for a year or two, the Palestinian UN employees will stick around for decades - for one thing they have no where else to go, no chance of other similarly salaried employement (by which they are supporting dozens of family and friends back in Palestine who have no hope whatsoever of an income). They also speak Arabic of course, which is surprisingly uncommon for UN missions in the region, and generally flawless English to boot. So if you want to understand what's going on in Sudan, Iraq or wherever, don't go and talk to the senior UN officials, but find a Palestinian somewhere, even in the admin office, and ask them the score.

I was doing just that earlier today and over the course of an hour learnt more about the current conflicts than I would from a year reading the New York Times. Take for example the news just in that Syria has refused to admit a UN delegation on Lebanon if it including Terje Roed-Larson. "This is no surprise" my Palestinian friends said "Roed-Larson is despised in Palestine because of his closeness to the Israelis and Americans and the Syrians know how biast he is. If he returned to Gaza [where he used to be UN envoy] he'd be killed in 24hrs." They also put forward the plausible thesis of a tension between the US and Israel over involving Syria in the current hostilities "The Americans want the Israelis to use the opportunity to ravage Syria as well as Lebanon, but the Israelis are smarter and actually want to eventually achieve a peace treaty with Syria, as they have with Egypt and Jordan, and so they are unwilling to follow the US instructions. The Israelis are past masters at getting the Americans to do their bidding without ever returning the favour." But in the case of Lebanon they are sure that the normally savvy Israelis have made a big blunder: "Hizbollah were actually a very decent foe to have on their northern border. They had clear objectives (the release of prisoners, the return of Shebaa farms) which the Israelis could have negotiated successfully on and, until now, have actually been very restrained in their methods, in spite of all the attempts to paint them as terrorists. However what is likely to emerge out of this catastrophe is a very agressive enemy on Israel's north following the instructions of Iran far more heavily than Hizbollah currently does." In fact they think that combined with the chaos in Iraq the latest Israeli assault is likely to result in an ongoing regional conflict from which Israel will not actually benefit and the people of the region will suffer horrendously.

The end of Iraqi Democracy

Within the next 12 months there is likely to be a bloody Coup de-tat by senior officers in the Iraqi Army and those close to them. It will entail killing of a large number of the leaders in the current (many of whom are aquiantances or friends) and certainly the murder of Ayatollah Sistani and others in the religious leadership. This is the view of some of the most experienced Iraq analysts I know working in Baghdad at the moment. They can even point out the most likely coup leaders. The only thing which is required is for (a) the sectarian violence to get even worse, which its fairly certain and (b) for the US to give a tacit nod of approval. This is beginning to look like their only exit strategy. It will spell the end of for Wolfowitz's supposed dream of a democratic Iraq and more importantly the hopes of the Iraqi people for self-determination. But if it can bring an end to the sectarianism and insecurity than maybe they'll accept a coup with open arms. This is all deeply depressing. Hundreds of Thousands will have been killed, millions impoverished and made refugees and the country's infrastructure devestated - all leading up to a new Saddam. Maybe this won't happen. But some experts seem to be predicting it and quietly hoping for it as well.

Electronic Lebanon

My friends behind the excellent Electronic Iraq and Electronic Intifada websites have just launched a similar aggregator of news and eye-witness accounts: www.electroniclebanon.net

An eye for an eye

The famous Biblical quotation "an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth" (Exodus 21:23-27) is often misused as a justification for revenge and retributive justice. In fact it was instigated by Moses as a law of limitation. In Genesis there are a number of examples of people who took extreme revenge, massacering whole familes in revenge for an injury. The lex talionis inisted instead that at most the punishment for a crime should be proportionate (and that it should be exacted through a judicial process not on individual initative). Jesus challenged his disciples to go beyond this and apply a restorative justice of forgiveness and love, but let us stick now with the older Jewish law of limitation.

Do Israel's current actions in Lebanon adhere to the Jewish law of limitation? A large proportion of Israelis are secular, but given that its very identity and exclusivity are defined on Jewishness, it seems reasonable to ask whether its action match up to the standards of Jewish law.

The crime: On 13 July Hizbollah crossed into Israel in a raid which captured two soldiers and killed a further eight in the raid itself and the Israeli pursuit back into Lebanon. In the longer term, since Israel withdrew from most of southern Lebanon in 2000 (bar the disputed Sheba Farms area) Hizbollah has sporadically fired rockets into Israel causing occassional casualties (for which Israel has general responded tit-for-tat by striking Hizbollah positions). Since the Israeli attack begun it has intensified the rocket barrage and fired about 700 at last count, killing about a dozen civilians (and claiming to show some restrain by not chosing to targeting sites such as the Haifa petro-chemical plant which could cause significant casualties).

The response: For a week Israel, using its overwhelming military superiority, has bombed targets not only in Hizbollah areas but across the whole of Lebanon. Tripoli a Sunni town and the Christian towns of Zahle & Hadath have been bombed, amoung many others - these are areas where there is next to no support for Hizbollah. Lebanons only airport (which I've flow through 4 times this year) has been devestated, as have many of its roads, bridges, power stations and other infrastructure. The last count I heard on the BBC was 180 civilians killed and 450 injured. More significantly Lebanon's economy, which was finally on the road to recovery 16 years after the end of the civil war, has been set back by many years. Businesses who were beginning to relocate back to Lebanon and tourists who were starting to enjoy the cosmopolitan country will leave and not come back any time soon. This, more than the direct damage and casualties, will be the lasting legacy of the Israeli assault. Hizbollah plucked out an eye and Israel has ravaged the whole body not merely of Hizbollah but of the entire Lebanese polity.

We should not forget that while eyes are turned to Lebanon now, the daily death count in Iraq is often in the hundreds (at least 5818 killed in May and June alone), the level of suffering there is far greater. However, whereas Iraq has been in a fairly hopeless state for years now as a result of American bunders, Lebanon was one of the few areas in the region where things were looking hopeful. The Syria occupation had ended last year and the economy was begining to bloom. Now it is ruined. Killing hope is a very serious crime indeed.

I had a surreal time yestarday evening, sitting down by the Dead Sea watching a beautiful red sun set over the mountains on the Israeli side. I was with some friends (American, British and Algerian) from the UN in Beirut who'd had a 30 hour coach journey exacuating via Syria. They were deeply depressed about what has happened, each with horrific stories of the devastation and the undoing of a city, country and people they'd come to cherish.

Support refugees in Lebanon

I've just received a request for donations for refugee relief in Lebanon from my friend Sam Rizk who runs the Forum for Development, Culture and Dialogue, an arab peacebuilding NGO which works across the region but is actually based in Beirut. They are trying to raise $150,000 for initial work providing food, hygiene and bedding to 1500 refugees from the South. This document provides the background for the relief project and includes details of their account for donations. One of the great dangers of the Israeli assault is that it could re-ignite the civil war. This project which is bringing together Lebanese churches and Islamic NGOs to provide relief to the mainly Shia refugees is the sort of initiative which can help bind Lebanese society together at this difficult time. Please make donations and encourage your churches, mosques, workplaces etc. to take collections for it.