By Daoud Kuttab

It has been said that history is written by the victors. If that is the case, then the reporters guide to language use in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict soon to be released might reflect that there are no winners in this decades-old struggle. IPI will issue a press release on the booklet tomorrow, Oct. 23.

The reporters guide, Use with Care: A Reporter’s Glossary of Loaded Language in the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict, was produced by the Vienna-based International Press Institute (IPI) and is the result of years of back-and-forth drafting by six unnamed Palestinian and Israeli journalists. The guidebook should be found in every newsroom in the world that deals with the Arab-Israeli conflict.

Some 150 terms are represented in the guide. Each term is listed in English, Arabic and Hebrew, along with a phonetic transcription of both the Hebrew and Arabic words in Latin characters. Alongside every term are two or three paragraphs explaning the meaning of the term, how it is used and why one side or the other might find it problematic. Finally, another column suggests alternative terms. Continue Reading »

This appeared in today’s Jordan Times.

Palestinians again boycott Jerusalem municipal polls

By Daoud Kuttab | Oct 23, 2013

Once again Palestinians living in Jerusalem have made a powerful political statement about the future of the holy city by staying away from the municipal polls. Israeli newspaper Yediot Ahronot reported that Palestinians avoided the elections of what Israelis call the united city of Jerusalem. “Less than 1 per cent of Palestinians in East Jerusalem voted in the Jerusalem municipal elections,” the daily said on its Ynet website.

The absence of participation in neighborhoods such as Sur Baher, Beit Hanina, Shufat, Issawia Abu Tur as well as the old city of Jerusalem is not new. Since the 1967 occupation of the city and its unilateral annexation, Palestinians have publicly opposed participation in the municipal elections, which combined West Jerusalem to that of East Jerusalem. Municipal elections in Israel include voting for both mayor and city council. Running for mayor were three Israeli right-wing, ultra-right-wing and religious candidates. City council elections include 31 seats and members are not elected by neighborhoods or location but based on political party slates. Usually one or two council members are elected from the left-wing Meretz Party, while the majority council is divided between Likud, Labor and religious parties. Usually no Arab parties or candidates run for the Jerusalem municipal elections. Continue Reading »