May
26
2002
It is hard to know whether the international presence created by foreign citizens at Yasser Arafat’s Ramallah headquarters helped prevent further violence there during the recent Israeli siege of the site. But there can be no doubt that the multinational presence in Bethlehem of foreign priests, along with the fact that the international community cares about the Church of the Nativity, helped keep control of what could have been an even more dangerous situation during the standoff in that West Bank city. Continue Reading »
May
10
2002
Discussions among Palestinians, concerning democracy, transparency and reform of the way the Palestinian National Authority conducts itself, are very refreshing.
Minister of Legislative Affairs Nabil Amer, who resigned in protest over the delay in implementing such reform, is to be commended for his courage.
I have been involved for years in trying to create a vibrant, independent media in the Palestinian areas, and have, at times, suffered for my media activism. In 1997, the attempts by Al Quds Educational Television, which I established, to broadcast live Palestinian Legislative Council sessions that dealt with corruption landed me in a Palestinian jail for seven days. Continue Reading »