By Daoud Kuttab

One of the lessons professional journalists have learned over the years is that objectivity and balance can sometimes be wrongly used.

If, as a journalist, you are witnessing rain, you are not obliged to report that one side says it is raining and the other side says it is not. You have an obligation to your audience to tell it simply that it is raining.

Such false balance is often seen in conflict-resolution cases where the side attempting to mediate a case where one side is clearly guilty and failing to act to resolve the conflict, presents a “balanced” solution to a skewed situation, accusing each side of committing some kind of mistake.

This false balance naturally produces an angry response from the side that is actively trying to produce a solution.

In its attempt at striking balance in the asymmetrical Palestinian-Israeli situation, the Quartet, made up of the US, UN, EU and Russia, balances Israel’s nearly 50 years of military occupation and illegal colonial settlements with Palestinians’ “incitement to violence”.

The often-repeated accusations that Palestinian school textbooks and media are instruments of incitement to violence have long been scientifically debunked even though they were regularly repeated by Israeli officials and Israeli apologists. Continue Reading »

By Daoud Kuttab

When the international community recently slammed Israel’s illegal settlement activities, Israel’s Prime Minister responded that the problem is not settlements but Palestinian incitement. Benjamin Netanyahu also has rejected that Israeli troops controlling Palestinian lands are an occupational force, again insisting that the real problem is Palestinian schools books and tv stations inciting innocent Palestinians to carry out acts of violence against the benevolent Israelis.
In its attempt at balance in an asymmetrical situation,  the Quartet made up of the UN, EU, Russia and the US  has also given prominence to the issue of “incitement to violence.”
The accusations that Palestinians school textbooks and media are instruments of incitement to violence have long been scientifically debunked even though they have been regularly repeated by Israeli officials and Israeli apologists.
The claim that Palestinians teach their children hate has been rejected by tens of American and European as well as Israeli and Palestinians academic studies since the turn of the millennium. A 2005 US congressional bipartisan report asserted that Palestinian textbooks “ do not incite Palestinians towards anti-Jewish violence or constitute a “war curriculum.” Europe’s’ Chris Patent was angry about accusations that the EU funds Palestinians textbooks full of hate that  he ordered a full investigation that of course found the accusation to be untrue. “It is a total fabrication that the European Union has funded textbooks with anti-Semitic arguments within them in Palestinian schools. It is a complete lie,” Patten said afterwards. Continue Reading »

By Daoud Kuttab

Every psychologists or substance advisor will tell you that you can’t deal with disease or an addiction or any other problem without first recognizing that there is a problem. The same applies to the decades old Middle East conflict.

The conflict has long passed the stage of being focused entirely about Israel’s existence; the world recognizes Israel on the June 1967 border. The PLO in 1993 recognized Israel and exchanged letters of recognition, even President Bill Clinton was witness to the 1998 vote in the Palestinian National Council meeting in Gaza that amended the PLO charter that removed all clauses to the contrary of the PLO-Israel memorandum of Understanding, also known as the Oslo Accords.

Professor Cornell West is absolutely right as he pleaded with the Democratic Party’s platform committee to be honest and truthful and call things by their names. Professor West and his colleagues lost the vote in the Hillary majority committee 5-8 and had to abstain in the vote for the entire platform due to the failure of fellow members willing to call the situation for which Palestinian are suffering under as occupation. Continue Reading »

By Daoud Kuttab

Countering violent extremism has become the flavour of the month recently, but if a leaked document is accurate, the government has been following a strategy to counter extremism for at least two years.

The strategy of countering extremism states that it is based on three pillars: a correct interpretation of Islam, the need to promote a culture of democracy, and instituting values like tolerance, pluralism, respect for human rights and acceptance of the other.

It calls for a holistic, long-term, approach and not a quick fix.

But the 6,350-word document that begins with talk of tolerance, human rights and democracy reads more like a blueprint requiring action by the various executive branches of the government.

Any official reading this document will get the impression that many of the bullet points directed to different ministries are more like orders than words of advice.

The eight-page document, as published in a local newspaper, provides executive specifics on how to deal with extremism, including 49 articles expected from the Islamic Waqf Ministry, 17 articles that the Ministry of Social Affairs is supposed to implement, 15 items concerning the Ministry of Education,16 for the ministry in charge of media affairs, 10 items for the Ministry of Culture, 16 for the Interior Ministry, 10 for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and 11 items to be worked on by the tribal affairs adviser. Continue Reading »

By Daoud Kuttab

Continue Reading »

By Daoud Kuttab

The holy month of Ramadan is an opportunity for people to gather in unison as they break their fast. This year, the key topic among Palestinians has been the issue of the Palestinian presidential succession.

The various post-Mahmoud Abbas scenarios have engulfed talks in almost every home or restaurant that Palestinians have gathered in. While the consensus among Palestinians is that the next Palestinian leader must have impeccable nationalist credentials, most agree that such an individual must also pass through some sort of vetting process by Arab countries and the international community.

While some well-known names, such as former Prime Minister Salam Fayyad, might come up for discussion, most accept that short of a free and fair general election of all Palestinians, this succession process will most certainly take place within the ruling Fatah movement. Within such a scenario, most people naturally expect to see Abbas’ successor come from one of the movement’s 20 Central Committee members.

For Palestinians living in the occupied territories today, part of the qualifications for leadership is often experiencing the tough conditions of living under occupation including paying the sacrifice of being in prison. This puts individuals such as Marwan Barghouti — who has been serving multi-lifetime terms in an Israel jail since 2002 — as the No. 1 candidate. But Barghouti’s imprisonment puts him at a disadvantage in terms of availability and even doubt whether he has the needed support from Arab countries and the United States. Continue Reading »

By Daoud Kuttab

The statement coming out of the Jordan News Agency, Petra, was very ordinary. It stated that President Mahmoud Abbas and his delegation made up of PLO secretary Saeb Erekat and head of the Palestinian intelligence service Majed Faraj were hosted by King Abdullah and the Crown Prince for an iftar banquet on Wednesday, June 15.

The statement went on to say that the two leaders discussed current issues, including the Palestinian conflict and the stalled peace process.

The Petra news report may have sounded routine and ordinary, but this was no ordinary meeting.

The routine visits that Palestinian President Abbas usually makes to see the King have not been happening for nearly a year or so.

Very few people have been able to figure out what was the reason for this drought in relations.

Some have pointed out that it was due to the Palestinian insistence that Jordan submit a resolution to the UN Security Council back on December 24, 2014.

Jordan, which at the time was presiding over the Security Council, had advised against the move, but Ramallah insisted. The resolution failed to gain the needed minimum nine votes to be voted on.  Continue Reading »

By Daoud Kuttab

The report  published in the Jordan Times, was very ordinary. It stated that President Mahmoud Abbas and his delegation made up of PLO secretary Saeb Erekat and head of the Palestinian intelligence service Majed Faraj were hosted by King Abdullah and the Crown Prince for an iftar banquet on Wednesday, June 15.
The report went on to say that the two leaders discussed current issues, including the Palestinian conflict and the stalled peace process.
The Jordan Times report may have sounded routine and ordinary, but this was no ordinary meeting.
The routine visits that Palestinian President Abbas usually makes to see the King have not been happening for nearly a year or so.
Very few people have been able to figure out what was the reason for this drought in relations.
Some have pointed out that it was due to the Palestinian insistence that Jordan submit a resolution to the UN Security Council back on December 29, 2014.
Jordan, which at the time was presiding over the Security Council, had advised against the move, but Ramallah insisted. The resolution failed to gain the needed minimum nine votes to be voted on. Continue Reading »

By Daoud Kuttab

Like so many locations, Palestine’s first airport has three names, each reflecting a different narrative. When it was established in 1920 by the British mandatory government of Palestine, it was given the name “Jerusalem Airport.” A photo taken in 1969 after the 1967 Israeli occupation reflects the original name, albeit with the Hebrew lettering placed above the English and Arabic names.

Palestinians often refer to the airport, which is located near the Palestinian village of Qalandia, north of Jerusalem, as Qalandia Airport. The term has gained popularity since 1948. The Qalandia refugee camp erected near the village also carries the same name, as does the infamous Qalandia checkpoint not far from the town and the airport strip. Palestinian filmmaker Nahed Awwad has reflected on the history of the Qalandia Airport in a documentary titled “5 Minutes from Home” and an article in the Journal of Palestine Studies. The film reflects the extreme Palestinian yearning for times past when travel by airport was very much available without the current hassles of crossing the bridge to Jordan.

But as history is written by the victors, the only name that has a Wikipedia entry is that of Atarot Airport — while the subtext gives the names of Jerusalem and Qalandia. The Israeli media has given the airport the name Atarot Airport in reference to a Jewish moshav (cooperative) settlement that carries the name that has a Biblical reference in Joshua 16:2. Atarot Moshav lies close to the current location of the airport. The moshav was abandoned in the 1948 war and was re-established as an industrial park after the 1967 Israeli occupation. Continue Reading »

By Daoud Kuttab

Samia Danna, a young Palestinian woman from Jerusalem, is worried about how she will get through Ramadan this year. Danna works in Ramallah at a communications company, and the holy month has arrived while she is six months pregnant. Although Islam exempts pregnant women and others (the sick, travelers and women menstruating) from the all-day fasting ritual, Danna was worried that she wouldn’t be able to find a restaurant open from which to order lunch.

Responding to Al-Monitor by email, Danna said that she has not had a problem finding food. “While many restaurants are closed, many restaurants whose owners are Christians are open,” she reported, ticking off the names of some half dozen eateries in Ramallah that are open during the day.

In Bethlehem, the situation is no different. Jeryies Sadi’s family rents a number of shops, including a restaurant on trendy Karkafe Street. “The local government in Bethlehem has no problem with people eating on the streets, and restaurants are open here,” Sadi told Al-Monitor. Continue Reading »