Arab Writers Group Syndicate

At 60, Palestinians and Israelis must apologize and speak against their extremists as one voice
By Ray Hanania– The Hebrews fled Egyptian persecution more than 5,000 years ago, and yet their modern day ancestors continue to live in “da-nile.” Palestinians are often described as the most educated people in the Arab world, and yet they allow reason and common sense to be occupied by emotion. Israeli denial and Palestinian emotions stand in the way of peace and fuel the extremists on both sides. Neither side will acknowledge the pain they bring to the other nor will they stand up and silence the loud but small minority of extremists among their own people who exploit the conflict and have helped work against peace. What else is new after more than 60 years of conflict? Read more »

Can we “obliterate” the emotion-filled election pandering, please?
By Ray Hanania – I think I actually now prefer a president who can’t properly pronounce the word “nuclear” over someone who keeps using it like the theme in a “Get Out the Vote” election strategy. Hillary Clinton said she would “obliterate” Iran if the Persian nation were to use a nuclear weapon against Israel. My guess is Israel can take care of itself. But vowing to “obliterate” Iran sure doesn’t hurt when you face the very likely possibility that the only way to win the Democratic Party nomination is to steal it.

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Prisoners of the past as the Palestine-Israel conflict hits 60 years
By Ray Hanania – Arabs and Jews share one trait: They master the art of selectively remembering the past, especially the tragedies. For Jews, it is the Holocaust. For Palestinians, it is “al-Nakba,” an Arab word for “the catastrophe.” But the biggest problem has always been the manner in which each side has championed their suffering while ignoring their own guilt. Jews mastered the art of public relations and communications, while Arabs mastered emotion, anger and hate. In more than 60 years, little has changed. Read more »

Orthodox Easter comes amid persecution of MidEast Christians
By Ray Hanania – The only time anyone really thinks about Arab Christians is when they are needed as political pawns in a larger battle. Israel and its extremist supporters often assert that Arab Christians are persecuted by Muslims, but make no mention of the fact that Israel itself is the primary cause of anti-Christian Arab persecution. Muslims assert that “Christians and Muslims are equal” in the Middle East, but discourage any open discussion of strains that exist for Christians in the Islamic World. And the mainstream American news media often ignores or glosses over Arab Christian issues, feeding American ignorance and stereotypes of Arab Christians. Few address the reality. Read more »

Or Why I Hate Talk Radio.
By Linda Mamoun – Talk of the Nation, the call-in show on NPR, was not so good today. The host, Neal Conan, had Aaron David Miller on to talk about the Palestinian-Israeli peace process and Miller’s new book The Much Too Promised Land.

I never intended to call in. The last time I called in to a radio show was about three years ago, and I had been overwrought and completely inarticulate. But this time I thought I could do it. Things were going well. I was driving home from the gym. Neal Conan was annoying, as always, but Aaron Miller seemed reasonable. He had spent twenty years in the Middle East as a negotiator and had certainly paid his dues. He deserved the chance to speak “diplomatese” on Talk of the Nation. Read more »

Facebook caves in to pressure and threats
By Ray Hanania – Boy. That didn’t take long for Facebook to cave in to extremist pro-Israel pressure. The ink wasn’t dry on yesterday’s column in which I applauded Facebook for doing the right thing. Doing the right thing is so rare in today’s world of lying, deception and political principle. And apparently, it’s even rarer at Facebook when it comes to the issue of Palestine and Israel. Read more »

Facebook defines a policy of fairness in an unfair world
By Ray Hanania – In this age of Israeli domination of the news media, and most of the political debate in the American dominated world, it is refreshing to find an objective face in the crowd. That objective face is Facebook, the popular Internet social networking site that began as a place for college students to gather in Cyber Space, but that has fast transformed into one of the most popular of online gathering places for people of all ages, even surpassing the more political MySpace. No longer restricted to college students, Facebook is open to the entire world. As a result, the “entire world” now has a say in terms of how that “entire world” should be portrayed on the Internet. Read more »

Don’t let violence prevent push for peace
Ray Hanania – If there is one certainty in the Middle East, it is violence. When the Arabs and Israelis have been at war, and when they have been at the peace table, violence takes place. The goal of the violence is to prevent a peaceful compromise because the extremists believe that if they can prevent compromise, they have protected their extremist belief that they can have it all to themselves. Read more »

Rev. Wright crosses line but is wrongly disparaged
By Ray Hanania – Barack Obama’s pastor, the Rev. Jeremiah A. Wright, Jr., is only saying what many Americans who are victimized by ongoing American racism and hatred believe deep down. It’s just that when you are a victim of American-style hate, and when your voices are intentionally shut-out because of your race and your religion, you sometimes go a little too far, as Rev. Wright did in emotional sermons at his religious pulpit. Rev. Wright may have crossed the line, but he doesn’t deserve the attacks that question his patriotism or his sincerity in challenging growing racism and hatred that dominate not only American society but also our foreign policy conduct. Read more »

Sharon’s Terror Child: How the Likud Bloc Mid-wifed the Birth of Hamas
By RAY HANANIA – Hamas is considered one of Israel’s greatest threats, but the Islamic terrorist organization found its beginnings in the misguided Israeli effort to encourage the rise of a religious alternative that would undermine the popularity of the Palestine Liberation Organization and Yasir Arafat. The strategy resulted in the birth of Hamas which rose from these Islamic roots. Read more »