Constantly Dangled, Endlessly Receding: Ghada Karmi on Palestinian Rights

Constantly Dangled, Endlessly Receding: Ghada Karmi on Palestinian Rights

by Ghada Karmi December 2019

https://www.lrb.co.uk/v41/n23/ghada-karmi/constantly-dangled-endlessly-receding

From the article: “The primary aim of a campaign for equal rights for Palestinians is not the creation of a single state in Israel-Palestine: that already exists. It would be a campaign for a democracy in which the old questions – whether the Jewish Israeli population constitutes a national group, whether Palestinian Arabs have the right to self-determination – don’t arise. As a first step, the Palestinian Authority must be persuaded to transform itself from the pseudo-government of a non-existent state into a campaigning leadership heading a mass movement for equal rights across Israel and the Occupied Territories, welcoming Jewish Israelis who share this vision. Difficult as this project undoubtedly is, there is no longer any other way forward, for Palestinians or Israelis.” [read more]

How Did Antisemitism become Conflated with Anti-Zionism?

How Did Antisemitism become Conflated with Anti-Zionism?

by Ghada Karmi August 20, 2019

https://www.middleeasteye.net/opinion/how-antisemitism-conflated-anti-zionism

Evidence shows that criticism of Israel has turned into one of the fundamental definers of today’s “antisemitism.” Accoring to Ghada Karmi, a confusion between antisemitism and anti-Zionism “is a blurring of definition that most people have already internalised, as shown by increasing anti-Jewish hostility in Europe due to Israeli policies. Though this has been characterised as a manifestation of antisemitism, one needs to understand it not as an innate hatred of Jews among non-Jews, but as an effect of Zionism itself.” [read more]

Challenges of Pluralistic Societies with Dissimilar Cultural Identities and Religious Legal Traditions: ADR and the Role of Religious Mediation and Arbitration

Challenges of Pluralistic Societies with Dissimilar Cultural Identities and Religious Legal Traditions: ADR and the Role of Religious Mediation and Arbitration

by Gloria Morán October 2017

http://www.statoechiese.it/images/uploads/articoli_pdf/Moran.M_Challenges.pdf

SUMMARY: 1. The Challenges of Pluralistic Societies with Dissimilar Cultural Identities and Religious Traditions: from a Melting Pot to a Cultural Mosaic – 2. European Catholic Tradition of Dual Legislation and Jurisdiction: 2.1. The Development of the Religious Jurisdiction: from the Episcopalis Audientia under the Christian Roman Empire to the Homologation of Religious Decisions by a Civil Judge – 2.2. The Development of Secular and Religious Jurisdictions: from the Leges Barbarorum et Romanorum under the Principle of Personality to the Medieval Dual Jurisdiction in Europe – 2.3. Religious Minorities under Christian Rulers – 3. Muslim Legal Tradition of Plural Jurisdictions: 3.1. Muslim Empires and the Dhimma System –3.2. Islamic Communities in Transition: from the Pre-colonial Era to the Colonial Rule – 3.3. The Exceptionality of Palestine and Israel- 4. Toward a Global World: Legal Pluralism and the Development of ADR. The Role of Religious Mediation and Arbitration: 4.1. The American Experience in Religious Arbitration: the Jewish Beth Din Courts and the Challenge of Islamic Arbitration – 4.2. Confronting the Fear of Islamic Arbitration Tribunals in the UK, Canada, and Australia – 5. Conclusions. [read more]

The Jewish right of return

European states should welcome and facilitate the return of surviving European Jews and their descendants.

by Ghada Karmi December 11, 2014

http://www.aljazeera.com/indepth/opinion/2014/12/jewish-right-return-201412118156571815.html

This violent and irrational Israeli hatred and maltreatment of Arabs needs an explanation. In my view, it derives largely from the destruction of European Jewry during World War II. For example, the 60,000 Jews of Thessaloniki were virtually exterminated after the Nazis deported most of them in 1943 to perish in concentration camps. Only 1,200 were spared [...] The solution to this tortured situation lies in what may be called the Jewish right of return. Under this right, Europe would welcome back its previous Jewish citizens, at least those still alive, and their descendants, offer them compensation, fund their resettlement and provide jobs and housing. [read more]

The “long journey” to Palestine: Resolution 194 continues to haunt the Palestinian-Israeli conflict 65 years after it was passed

by Ghada Karmi December 9, 2013

http://www.aljazeera.com/indepth/opinion/2013/12/long-journey-palestine-201312944419714964.html

In ignoring the Palestinian right of return, Israel has been guided all along by its first Prime Minister, David Ben-Gurion’s thinking. On July 18, 1948, he wrote in his diary, “We must do everything to ensure they [the Palestinian refugees] never do return. The old will die and the young will forget.” But despite Israel’s best efforts and the betrayal of their rights by the world powers and various Arab leaderships, Palestinians have not forgotten. [read more]

Strike or a War for Syria?

by Fouzi El-Asmar September 4, 2013

[in Arabic] http://www.alquds.co.uk/?p=81132

The Obama administration is adopting the Israeli position on Syria, blindly accepting information about Syria from Israeli intelligence, despite strong domestic and international opposition, including from Congress and the Pentagon. [read more]

The Palestinians’ last option: A struggle for equal rights

by Ghada Karmi June 23, 2013

http://www.aljazeera.com/indepth/opinion/2013/06/20136236557920902.html

Palestinians must dissolve the PA and demand the same rights as Israeli citizens [...] I would argue that by adopting this plan, they will lose nothing but their illusions, and at this serious juncture in Palestinian history, it may be the only way to avert the annihilation of their cause. It will be a hard road, but the one chance to build a democratic state that replaces apartheid Israel and eventually enables the refugees to return to their ancestral homeland. [read more]

Has US policy in the Middle East been dropped?

by Fouzi El-Asmar June 5, 2013

[in Arabic] http://www.alquds.co.uk/?p=51160

US Middle East policy has not changed its goals, but it is moving in the direction of keeping control over areas of influence without paying as high a price in lives and money. [read more]

The War on Terrorism and the Obama Formula

by Fouzi El-Asmar May 29, 2013

[in Arabic] http://www.alquds.co.uk/?p=48862

Is the United States’ war against the Afghan people’s resistance to foreign intervention terrorism, or is it legitimate resistance under international law? Is the Palestinian resistance against Israeli occupation terrorism, or is it a legitimate mode of resistance for achieving liberation of land usurped by force and stolen to build Jewish settlements that enable Israel to withhold the land from its rightful owners? [...] The United States has found that hiding behind the mask of fighting terrorism to achieve political goals is consistent with American plans aimed at changing national identity and demolishing the foundations of the State…. [read more]

Middle East Diplomacy: Shuttle Zero

by Fouzi El-Asmar April 17, 2013

[in Arabic] http://www.alquds.co.uk/?p=34915

The Israeli media’s words leave no doubt that Israel was responsible for blocking recent peace efforts and rejected attempts to reach a solution [...] [T]he various US departments know that Israel is the main reason for the lack of progress towards a solution in the region [...] The question that arises is, If it is really serious about reaching a solution to the Palestinian question and, in turn, to the conflict in the Middle East, why doesn’t America put an end to Israeli interference in the negotiations? Isn’t it time to stand up to Israel by putting real pressure on it to accept a compromise that could lead to peace in the region? [read more]