In the Name of God, the Most Compassionate, the Most Merciful
The Canadian Islamic Congress Friday Bulletin
Friday, January 27, 2006 - Zul-Hijja 27, 1426, Year:9 Vol:9 Issue: 15
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THIS FRIDAY BULLETIN CONTAINS SIX ITEMS:
1. FRANCIS BOYLE OFFERS EXPERT'S ANALYSIS OF IRAQ WAR
2. SYRIAN DESERT MONASTERY BRIDGES GAPS OF TIME AND RELIGION
3. POPE URGES BOTH MUSLIMS AND CHRISTIANS TO FIGHT TERRORISM
4. RESPONDING TO CHARLES KRAUTHAMMER'S "MUNICH, THE TRAVESTY"
5. YOUNG GAZA MEDICAL STUDENT BRAVES UNRELENTING OBSTACLES
6. E-MAIL RESPONSES
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1. FRANCIS BOYLE OFFERS EXPERT'S ANALYSIS OF IRAQ WAR
[By Dr. Mohamed Elmasry]
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President George W. Bush continues to staunchly defend his war against
Iraq, in which more than 2,000 Americans and more than 30,000 Iraqis have
been killed -- with fatality numbers on both sides still going nowhere but
up.
Iraq has become nothing less than a very expensive made-in-America killing
field, in which every death -- whether Iraqi, American, or Coalition -- has
cost U.S. taxpayers more than 2 million dollars. That's 2 million, per
person, totaling 200 billion dollars so far.
Moreover, during 34 months of occupation, the U.S. has not built even one
more university, school, hospital, bridge, factory, or road. Nor have any
massive scholarship programs been established at American universities to
help educate deserving Iraqi students in engineering, medicine, business,
and other vital infrastructural professions. In the meantime, there is no
public accounting to explain where billions of Iraqi oil dollars have been
spent, and on whom.
Wars, death, destruction, human misery and loss of personal security are
all misfortunes that people of good faith try to avoid or lesson among
their fellow humans -- but when these misfortunes become pure evil, it is
more often than not in the context of planned aggression, such as the
American campaign against Iraq.
For an excellent account of how this aggression came into being, the people
who made it possible, and why, I strongly recommend you read Francis A.
Boyle's book "Destroying World Order: U.S. Imperialism in the Middle East
Before and After September 11." This expertly-written volume even includes
a guide to impeaching George W. Bush! In fact, Boyle's book and his
testimony against GWB are extraordinary; this is because Boyle comes with
credentials unmatched by any of his critics.
He is not only a leading American expert in international law and a human
rights activist (a former board member of Amnesty International,
1988-1992); he is also a distinguished professor with volumes of
publications to his credit, who teaches international law at the University
of Illinois. Boyle holds a Doctor of Laws, as well as a Ph.D. in Political
Science, both from Harvard. He is definitely not to be dismissed lightly.
"It is now a matter of public record that immediately after being
inaugurated as president in January 2001, George Bush, Jr., Vice- President
Dick Cheney, Secretary of War Donald Rumsfeld, and his pro- Israeli
'Neoconservative' Deputy Paul Wolfowitz began to plot, plan, scheme, and
conspire to wage a war of aggression against Iraq," Boyle writes. "Later,
they manipulated the tragic events of September 11 in order to provide a
pretext for doing so. The fact that Iraq had nothing at all to do with
September 11 or supporting Al-Qaeda -- as the CIA itself advised -- made no
difference to Rumsfeld, Wolfowitz, their Undersecretary of War Douglas
Feith, Undersecretary of State John Bolton, and the numerous other pro-
Israeli Neo-Cons inhabiting the Bush, Jr. administration."
Not surprisingly, the mainstream American media did not give Boyle's book
anything near the coverage it deserves. But one day, his expert witness
testimony, along with others, could be used in a court of law, or by
historians, to identify who is/was behind this pure evil. It may take
years, but that day will surely come.
Boyle recalls his student days at the University of Chicago (he earned his
A.B. there in 1971) and how Professor Leo Strauss, who taught political
philosophy, trained an entire generation of students "to become ruthless
and unprincipled Machiavellians."
"Years later, the University of Chicago became the 'brains' behind the Bush
Jr. Empire and his Ashcroft police state," Boyle writes. "Attorney General
John Ashcroft received his law degree from the U of C in 1967. Many of his
lawyers at the Bush Jr. Department of Justice are members of the right-
wing, racist, bigoted, reactionary, and totalitarian Federalist Society
(aka 'Feddies'), which originated in part at the U of C. Feddies wrote the
USA Patriot Act (USAPA) and the draft for USAPA II, which constitute the
blueprint for establishing an American police state."
Boyle continues that, according to Bush, he hired 20 Straussians to occupy
key positions in his administration and they "intentionally took offices
where they could push American foreign policy in favor of Israel and
against its chosen enemies such as Iraq, Iran, Syria and the Palestinians.
Most of the Straussian Neo-Cons in the Bush Jr. administration and
elsewhere are Israel-firsters: what is 'good' for Israel is by definition
'good' for the United States -- making it questionable sometimes whether
even the notion of 'dual loyalties' accurately expresses the extent of
diluted loyalty to true American interests and values."
Boyle's book was published in 2004, and although still timely, it merits a
new updated edition in which this most credible author can give more of his
expert witness testimony on recent findings that Bush ordered spying
onAmerican citizens -- but "only 500 of them," according to the President
of the supposed "Free World."
(Dr. Mohamed Elmasry is national president of the Canadian Islamic
Congress. He can be reached at [EMAIL PROTECTED])
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2. SYRIAN DESERT MONASTERY BRIDGES GAPS OF TIME AND RELIGION
[By Malcolm Billings -- BBC News]
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Harmony between Christians and Muslims has been an elusive goal for
hundreds of years, but could the Syrian church help lead the way?
In June 2005, EU delegates visited Mar Moussa al-Habashi convent in
northern Syria. It is a long climb up to the monastery, especially in the
summer sun that bleaches the landscape to the colour of biscuit brown. The
main buildings cling to a ridge at a dizzy height at the end of the path.
Tiny structures at first, that gradually get bigger as I count the steps.
A biblical looking mule is unloading supplies in front of the small stone
doorway that opens into a warren of corridors and rooms that were built
almost a thousand years ago.
When Father Paolo dall Oglio -- an Italian theological student -- first
came here in the early 1980s, this monastery had been abandoned for about
150 years. It was not much more than a shell. After 10 days sleeping rough
there, the young Paolo decided to stay and make the restoration of the
monastery his life's work.
The roofs had all fallen in, the church was bare. But as the work got
underway with volunteers from Europe, Lebanon and Syria, they discovered
that most of the medieval frescoes had survived... preserved by a layer of
plaster slapped on in the 15th century.
Now, once again, the aisles, the nave and the apse are a blaze of colourful
biblical pictures, including St. George in a crimson cloak and a bright
green tunic, pursuing evil things across what looks like a lake full of
fish.
The community of two nuns, six monks and a local workforce of 10 to 15
grows most of what it needs. I tried their miniature olives and some
apricots as big as apples. They also grow delicious tomatoes and cucumbers
on the mountain where rainwater collects. There is also a row of beehives
and a herd of goats for meat and milk.
The monastery also has its own hermit, following an ancient tradition that
reaches back to the earliest days of Christianity in Syria. Hermits
colonised this mountain about 1500 years ago, but there is only one there
at the moment. He lives higher up the mountain and makes an appearance on
Sundays when he comes down to collect supplies and have a shower.
I sat next to him at breakfast. He introduced himself as Tim the Hermit,
who is from Bexley Heath in South London and is on a year's sabbatical from
his day job as an engineer with the Ford Motor Company. "It's a lonely
life," he told me, "but it is giving me time to write and think about
spirituality in the workplace." He has written a thesis comparing global
business management structures with the way the Benedictines are organised,
so knows what to expect from monastic life!
"It's not actually my cave," he confessed. "I've only borrowed it for a
year from a Syrian monk called Jihad who is studying in Rome at the
moment."
I attended the Catholic mass which was conducted in Arabic, along with a
bit of Latin and a Syrian version of Aramaic, the language of first-
century Palestine. The nuns and monks composed the music and played on a
guitar, a flute, and a violin while the Abbot kept the beat with a Syrian
drum. It sounded very Eastern and mystical.
As I listened to prayers in Arabic while sitting on the floor, there were
moments when I felt that I could have been in a mosque. "It's not unknown
for Muslims to attend services here," Father Paolo told me. "This place has
had a spiritual importance for local people since the early days of
Christianity, well before the arrival of Islam in the seventh century."
Father Paolo wants Deir Mar Musa to reach out beyond its mountain fastness,
to get the wider world involved in attempts to improve understanding among
the various religions and peoples in the Middle East. He regularly accepts
invitations to speak at Muslim institutions such as the Islamic University
in Damascus. The Shia also asked him to take part in a festival and to
speak at their mosque during Friday prayers.
Throughout the year, delegations trek up to the monastery to listen to
church leaders, Imams and politicians discuss religious attitudes to
society and war and peace. As for East West relations, Father Paolo
believes much needs to be done. "The Western nations just don't seem to
understand the depth of feeling there is in the Middle East about the
issues of colonisation, oil exploitation and globalisation," he told me.
As I finished breakfast, learned it was a sad day for the monastery, as
Yassir, one of the key community members, was leaving.
Everyone stood on the terrace waving, their emotional goodbyes echoing
around the cliffs and gullies all the way down to the desert road. "We're
going to miss him," Tim the Hermit told me. "He was our cheese- maker. He
made the best cheese of any monastery in Syria."
(This article has been edited for the Friday Bulletin.)
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3. POPE URGES BOTH MUSLIMS AND CHRISTIANS TO FIGHT TERRORISM
[By Matt Moore and Melissa Eddy -- Associated Press -- August 21, 2005]
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COLOGNE, Germany -- Pope Benedict XVI went before an Islamic audience
recently to deliver the papacy's strongest rebuke of terrorism to date,
asking Muslims to join Christians in combatting its spread and to "turn
back the wave of cruel fanaticism" behind it.
The 78-year-old pope later traveled to rain-soaked Marienfeld, a former
coal mine near the town of Kerpen outside Cologne, for an outdoor evening
service as part of the four-day Catholic youth festival.
Hundreds of thousands of high-spirited pilgrims roared their approval as
Benedict arrived in his mother-of-pearl Mercedes-Benz, waving and smiling
as he greeted the crowds, estimated at some 800,000. Overhead, as if on
cue, storm clouds that had threatened to drench the faithful began melting
away, unveiling a bright blue sky.
Before giving his homily, Benedict dedicated a huge bell at the foot of the
altar to his predecessor, Pope John Paul II, the man who originated World
Youth Day as a Roman Catholic festival. As it tolled, a choir performed a
slow hymn while the crowd sang along.
The meeting with Muslim officials in Germany was part of Benedict's
outreach to non-Catholics during his visit to achieve common positions on
social issues and world peace. Germany has some 3.5 million Muslims, one of
the highest figures in western Europe.
The pope said Muslim leaders have a "great responsibility" in properly
educating younger generations. "I am certain that I echo your own thoughts
when I bring up as one of our concerns the spread of terrorism," Benedict
told the Muslim leadership. "Terrorist activity is continually recurring in
various parts of the world, sowing death and destruction, and plunging many
of our brothers and sisters into grief and despair," he said.
While the pope did not mention any specific attacks, assess responsibility
or speak directly about suicide bombings, he said: "Those who instigate and
plan these attacks evidently wish to poison our relations, making use of
all means, including religion, to oppose every attempt to build a peaceful,
fair and serene life together."
The pope has reportedly rejected the idea that the world is facing a "clash
of civilizations" but warned that the world risks exposure to "the darkness
of a new barbarism," and that Islamic leaders must "guide Muslim believers
and train them in the Islamic faith... Teaching is the vehicle through
which ideas and convictions are transmitted. Words are highly influential
in the education of the mind. You, therefore, have a great responsibility
for the formation of the younger generation," he said.
Benedict said that by working together, Catholics and Muslims could "turn
back the wave of cruel fanaticism that endangers the lives of so many
people and hinders progress toward world peace."
Ridan Cakir, president of the Turkish Islamic Union, said the participants
shared the pope's position. "With this common platform, we are able
together to fight terrorism," he said at a news conference afterward.
Benedict also visited a Cologne synagogue to meet with Jewish leaders and
with Protestant and Orthodox Christian representatives.
In his meeting with Muslim leaders, Benedict also alluded to another of his
themes -- the need for reciprocity in religious freedom for Christians and
other minorities in some Islamic countries. He didn't name any, but said
the defense of religious freedom "is a permanent imperative and respect for
minorities is a clear sign of true civilization."
In his homily at Marienfeld, Benedict told the pilgrims that only religion
can truly make people free. "It is not ideologies that save the world, but
only a return to the living God, our creator, the guarantor of our freedom,
the guarantor of what is really good and true," he said. "True revolution
consists in simply turning to God who is the measure of what is right and
who at the same time is everlasting love."
(This article was abridged and edited for the Friday Bulletin.)
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4. RESPONDING TO CHARLES KRAUTHAMMER'S "MUNICH, THE TRAVESTY"
[By Edward C. Corrigan -- Special to the Friday Bulletin]
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The article "Munich, the Travesty," by Charles Krauthammer (The Washington
Post, January 13, 2006) repeats Zionist mythology, distorts history,
ignores inconvenient facts and hides the raping of Palestinians, the
massacres, the theft of land and the ethnic cleansing of Palestinians in
the creation of the so-called "Jewish State."
The Balfour Declaration was issued by Great Britain, a foreign power that
had no right to give away someone else's country. The Balfour Declaration
also contains the phrase "it being clearly understood that nothing shall be
done which may prejudice the civil and religious rights of existing non-
Jewish communities in Palestine..." This crucial fact is ignored by
Zionists who claim legitimacy from the very same Declaration.
The League of Nations Palestine Mandate Agreements also included similar
guarantees for Palestinians and required a transfer of power at the end of
the Mandate to the government of all Palestine. Article 22 of the Covenant
of the League of Nations termed these guarantees "a sacred trust of
civilization."
Also ignored is the fact that most European Jews have no historical
connection to ancient Israel or to Palestine. In the 8th century there was
a mass conversion of the Khazars to Judaism from whom, according to many
authorities, the majority of European Jews are descended. Arthur Koestler
writes about this conversion in his book "The Thirteenth Tribe." Martin
Gilbert's Atlas of Jewish History has a map of "The Jewish Kingdom of the
Khazars" (pg. 25). See also "The History of the Jewish Khazars" by D.M.
Dunlop. There are many more sources that document the conversion of the
European Khazars to Judaism. This is the forbidden truth about the origins
of the European Jews.
The eminent Jewish scholar, Erich Fromm, stated that the Arabs in Israel
had a much more legitimate claim to Palestine than the Jews. He wrote: "The
claim of the Jews to the Land of Israel cannot be a realistic political
claim. If all nations would suddenly claim territories in which their
forefathers lived two thousand years ago, this world would be a madhouse."
The fact is that the Roman Empire did not expel all of the Jews from
Palestine. Many Jews stayed and later converted to Christianity and then to
Islam. Many of the original inhabitants, both before the creation of
ancient Israel (such as the Philistines and Canaanites), remained in
Palestine and are the true owners of the land. Furthermore, they held legal
deeds to their properties until these were stolen by the Zionists.
This theft was based on a dubious claim that European Jewish settlers owned
the land based on a supposed presence there 2,000 years ago. Since Herzl
and the early Zionists were atheists who rejected a religious definition of
"Jewishness" and wanted to normalize the existence of the Jewish people
based on nationalism and race, claims of ownership based on "biblical
promises" ring a little hollow. The vast majority of the world, including
the West, rejects biblical claims of ownership of the land in Palestine
that would negate the rights of its indigenous inhabitants. Zionist claims
are based only on a self-serving mythology.
The United Nations also did not endorse the concept of a " Jewish State."
The resolution passed at the UN in 1947 called for the partition of
Palestine into two states, one with a tiny Jewish population and a very
large Palestinian Arab majority. The other state was not designated a
"Jewish State." The population breakdown for the so-called "Jewish state"
was to be 509,780 Arabs and 499,020 Jews. These figures are according to
the report of Sub-Committee 2 to the Ad Hoc Committee on the Palestine
Question, UN Document A/AC 14/32, November 11, 1947, Official Records of
the 2nd session of the General Assembly, Ad Hoc Committee, 1947, p. 291,
cited in Henry Catton, "Palestine, The Arabs and Israel" (pg. 28). The so-
called "Jewish State" had an Arab majority. It was supposed to be a multi-
religious and multi-ethnic state. The UN did not authorize the ethnic
cleansing of the Palestinians.
The Zionists solved this demographic problem by massacring the Palestinians
and ethnically cleansing them from Palestine. Zionists then stole the
Palestinians' property and prevented them from returning, in defiance of UN
resolutions. These same resolutions are what the Zionists claim to
legitimize their state -- selective amnesia at its worst.
This is Israel's "Original Sin," which Zionists ignore but which Tony
Kushner, co-author of the screen play for the movie "Munich" at least
confronts as the Palestinian reality. Israel's new historians, Simha
Flapan, Benny Morris, Ilan Pape and others have all documented the ethnic
cleansing of Palestinians. These expulsions were calculated and are
properly called war crimes and crimes against humanity.
The UN and international community have never recognized Jews as a
nationality. On the parameters of this debate, argument and legal
conclusion, see Tom Mallison's work, "The Zionist-Israel Juridical Claims
to Constitute 'The Jewish People' National Entity and to Confer Membership
in it: Appraisal in Public International Law" (in 32 Geo. Wash. L. Rev. 983
of 1964). This remains the seminal work on the issue to this day. The U.S.
State Department has also rejected the "Jewish People" nationality concept.
To accurately view the historical facts and the political and legal co
ncepts involved, one has to conclude that the Palestinians have an
exceptionally strong case and the Zionist argument is false. The Zionist
position is based on myth, distortions of history, propaganda, and
suppression of the truth.
Zionism as an exclusion-based political ideology is also a very dangerous
philosophy -- a philosophy which threatens the Palestinians with genocide
and also one that threatens to destroy the Jews as a moral people and a
light to all nations.
(Edward C. Corrigan is a barrister and solicitor based in Ontario, Canada.
This article has been edited for the Friday Bulletin.)
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5. YOUNG GAZA MEDICAL STUDENT BRAVES UNRELENTING OBSTACLES
[By Amira Hass -- Counter Punch -- January 17, 2006]
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He began first grade even before turning five. In ninth grade, he began
attending a school for gifted students. He loved physics, and thought of
pursuing the subject at university, but his mother thought he would be
better off learning a profession in which he would have more contact with
people. In 1999, at age 17, he enrolled in the faculty of medicine at Al
Quds University at Abu Dis. His decision was based on three reasons -- an
academic scholarship, classes held in English, and the campus being close
to home -- about an hour-and-a- half by car.
Ahmed al-Najjar, soon to be 24, and in his last year of medical school,
smiles shyly as he says "close to home." He does not elaborate, allowing
the listener to imagine the meaning of those words for someone who for the
past five years has not seen his family or friends. He was born in the
Jabalya refugee camp in the Gaza Strip, and had been caught the very
morning of our interview by a Border Policeman.
He tells the story: "As I do every day, I jumped off the wall to the roof
of one house, and from there to the roof of a second house, then I made my
way through the alleys, heading for the bus that would take me to Al-Hilal
(the women's hospital operated by the Palestinian Red Crescent Society, on
the Mount of Olives in Jerusalem). But today a soldier got on the bus and
checked ID cards. Luckily, he knows me. 'This is the second time that I've
caught you,' he said. 'What can I do?' I answered. 'I have to get to work
at the hospital.' "
Even during his first year of medical school, when the "safe passage"
between Gaza and the West Bank was still open, he made only three or four
visits home. It was possible to take the safe passage only on Mondays and
Wednesdays, not on weekends, when there are no classes and the trip --
including long waits at checkpoints -- took hours.
But in October 2000, even the safe passage option was cancelled. Since
then, he has seen his widowed mother only twice. She developed skin cancer
and on two occasions, with a great deal of effort, she was issued a permit
to go to the West Bank for treatment.
Israeli authorities consider Al-Najjar an illegal sojourner in the West
Bank -- whether he sits in class, walks in the street, or reads at a desk
in his rented apartment in Abu Dis. He applied twice to the Palestinian
interior ministry to request that the address on his Palestinian ID card be
changed from Jabalya to Abu Dis, but was denied. Palestinian officials
contended that there was no reason to make the change, because Israel would
refuse to change its own records.
There are always many Israeli soldiers and policemen in Abu Dis, and each
one has the authority to expel him to Gaza -- in other words, to end his
studies -- at any given moment. The problem grew worse in 2003, when Al-
Najjar began clinical studies at a hospital in the West Bank. Every bus
ride was a gamble. In 2004, he spent six weeks working at the psychiatric
hospital in Bethlehem. Every day, he had to pass through a checkpoint on
the only access road that links the northern and southern halves of the
West Bank.
One day, in March or April (he doesn't remember exactly when), on his way
back from the hospital, soldiers at the checkpoint saw the incriminating
Gaza address and ordered him to get out of the taxi and wait on the side of
the road. He waited a few hours, and then they gave him back his ID card
and let him go. The following day, he attempted to pass through the
checkpoint again, was again told to get out of the car, and the soldier
handed him a cell phone. The voice on the phone was that of a Shin Bet
agent who said he could at any time be transferred to Gaza against. He was
held there for two or three hours, and was then allowed to continue on his
way.
Ever since then, he has done everything within his power to avoid manned
checkpoints and reduce his movement within the West Bank. But the moment
arrived when he had to work, as part of his studies, at the Al-Muqassed
Hospital in East Jerusalem. In November 2004, Al-Najjar applied for a
magnetic card, a sort of "certificate of honesty," with which he would be
able to get to the hospital, a 15-minute drive from Abu Dis.
He was informed that he would have to travel to Gaza and apply for the card
from there. In January 2005, the hospital asked the Civil Administration to
authorize his entry to Jerusalem. The Administration responded that he
would not be granted an entry permit to Israel because his address was in
the Gaza Strip. In April 2005, Physicians for Human Rights tried to procure
an entry permit to Jerusalem for him. Army authorities once again said that
he would have to travel to Gaza, and request an entry permit from there.
The organization requested a commitment that he would be allowed to return
to Abu Dis. The army refused. Al-Najjar continued to sneak his way to the
hospital.
On August 23, 2005, Al-Najjar was arrested on his way to the hospital. The
police brought him to the Russian compound and held him, but he was
released the following day after NIS 5,000 in bail was deposited on his
behalf.
In October 2005, he turned to attorneys Kenneth Mann and Sari Bashi of
Gisha -- the Center for the Legal Protection of Freedom of Movement -- for
legal assistance. On October 20, 2005, he was again arrested, this time by
Border Policemen. The attorneys intervened, seeking to prevent his
deportation. Al-Najjar was briefly interrogated by the Shin Bet, and was
released. On November 27, he was again arrested by the Border Police and
detained for a few tense hours before being released.
Since October 20, 2005, attorneys Mann and Bashi have been waging a written
and oral campaign with IDF authorities to enable Al-Najjar to continue his
practical studies in East Jerusalem hospitals. He must file an application
with the DCO/liaison and coordination office in Gaza, the army wrote.
Orally, the army said that the request for a permit was rejected for
"security reasons." The IDF also suggested that Al-Najjar apply to the
Palestinian Authority in Gaza in order to express his reservations
regarding the Israeli authorities' rejection.
Mann and Bashi asked for greater detail of what constituted "security
reasons." The army wrote the lawyers, "So long as the individual resides in
the Judea and Samaria region without the permit of the military commander,
his residence in the region is unlawful, and he must return to the Gaza
Strip immediately."
Afterward, the attorneys sent another series of memoranda, to which they
did not receive any answer. On December 15, they appealed to the High Court
of Justice, asking it to request that the IDF explain why the petitioner
was not granted an entry permit to Israel for the purpose of his studies,
and why he would not be recognized as a resident of Abu Dis. They also
asked the court to issue an interim order to prevent his deportation to
Gaza.
The interim order was issued the following day, on December 16. It
instructs the IDF and the police not to "transfer the petitioner to Gaza"
until another decision on the appeal is handed down. Al-Najjar keeps a copy
of the interim order in his backpack at all times. It enables him to walk
down his street without fear, and even go to Ramallah or Bethlehem. But he
must still sneak into East Jerusalem, because the hospitals affiliated with
his medical school are situated there, and he does not have an entry permit
to the city.
The faculty of medicine in Abu Dis, the only one in the West Bank and Gaza
Strip, opened in 1994, and has produced five graduating classes since then.
The number of Gazan graduates has shrunk over the years due to the
unrelenting tension of studying "unlawfully." Al-Najjar used to have a
young female classmate who was also from Jabalya. Like him, she used to hop
over the fence to get to work in the hospital in Jerusalem. She suffered
from a heart defect.
In early 2004, as she was hopping over the wall (when it was still low),
soldiers were trying to disperse people nearby with tear gas. She
suffocated and died. Al-Najjar is now the only Gazan studying medicine in
Abu Dis.
(Amira Hass writes for Ha'aretz. She is the author of Drinking the Sea at
Gaza. This article was edited and slightly abridged for the Friday
Bulletin.)
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6. E- MAIL RESPONSES
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Re: ISRAEL AND VENEZUELA IN 2005 By Dr. Mohamed Elmasry
Dear Dr. Elmasry;
I just read your article, ISRAEL AND VENEZUELA IN 2005. How refreshing it
is to have another Canadian stand up for what is right and to also have the
courage to plainly say what needs to be said. Keep up the excellent work.
Robert DeLancey,
Moncton, NB
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Re: ISRAEL AND VENEZUELA IN 2005 By Dr. Mohamed Elmasry
Also getting under Bush's skin: Both Brazil and Argentina have just paid
off their IMF debts in full. This will make it difficult to strongarm these
countries' economic systems. It will probably lessen the influence of
Wolfowitz and the World Bank in the area. I think this came as a big
surprise, since they don't know where the money came from... I'm guessing
China.
Tom Mysiewicz
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Re: ISRAEL AND VENEZUELA IN 2005 By Dr. Mohamed Elmasry
Salaam Brother;
I am very pleased to read your article. I am Latin American and am very
aware of the realities of Latin America. But there was one comment that I
do not agree with. The comment is as follows :
"Now other Latin American countries, like Argentina, Brazil, and even
Chile, are seeing the U.S. as a greedy and arrogant superpower which
historically exploited them and continues to do so -- not only through
unfair globalization favouring the rich and powerful, but also through the
insincere promotion of so-called democratic reforms."
With all due respect, I feel that comment is inaccurate. It would be better
to say that the political positions of these countries are changing due to
the increasing courage of the less fortunate to stand up and say we will no
longer be taken advantage of by the U.S. Latin Americans traditionally
believe that "once a community unites and stands together, that community
will never be defeated." All I can say is that the fear which was once so
strong among the poor of Latin America, is starting to give way to a
greater strength of knowledge and the desire for a better tomorrow within
their own reality and within their own communities.
I could go on at greater length, but I feel I have made my point. Once
again, I really enjoyed reading your article but felt obligated to humbly
bring to your attention what the Latin American countries truly feel.
Alejandra
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NOTE: Some letters may have been edited for clarity and length;
however, writers' opinions are unaltered.]
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contained therein do not necessarily reflect the editorial views of
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