By Daoud Kuttab

Amazing what a difference a year can make. Last year we met in Tunis and signed agreements with young activists in various countries to do what seemed the impossible. Defy the logic that has prevailed in the Arab world namely that it is easier to change governments and bring down dictators than it is to change a media regulatory system.

But in one year we are seeing ordinary people regain their voice, sit behind microphones, answer phones of their own public and broadcast whatever their own local communities wanted to hear and talk about.

It wasn’t easy, it took courage, strong will and an unshakable belief in the simple right that is expressed in the 19^th article of the Universal declaration of Human rights- Continue Reading »

By Daoud Kuttab

One of the most basic principles of journalism is the need for members of the press to have an opportunity to witness a particular event or have a chance to talk to their subjects. This principle applies to both Palestinian and Israeli journalists alike. But the reality in occupied Palestine is that this principle is far from being granted to members of the press, especially when it comes to those of the “other” side.

To begin with, it is important to state a fact that few people, including journalists, know. The state of Israel doesn’t recognize the existence of Palestinian media, and therefore the issue of granting Palestinian journalists any rights is not even an issue open for discussion. Continue Reading »

By Daoud Kuttab

For the second time in a year, the suffering of Palestinian prisoners has touched the consciousness of Palestinians and has put the Israelis in a corner.

While Palestinian politicians have been talking about a reconciliation that is spinning its wheels, or about what to say to Barack Obama, the real story is taking place behind Israeli prison bars. Last February, Khader Adnan ended a 66-day hunger strike with a partial promise that administrative detentions would end. They haven’t and as a result prisoners and their supporters are again protesting.

Like the previous campaign, the current protests are focused on the heroism of a single prisoner Samer Issawi. This East Jerusalem native has been on and off hunger strikes for over 200 days. Pictures of the once well built man now a near skeleton of a man being brought to court on a wheel chair have triggered protests throughout the state of Palestine. Continue Reading »

By Daoud Kuttab

While all indications, actions on the ground and public statements appear to show movement in the Palestinian national-reconciliation process, the reality is that it is still facing stumbling blocks.

Palestinian leaders from Hamas and Fatah are meeting regularly. Also meeting with them are other factions (the Palestinian Liberation Organization [PLO] and Islamic Jihad) as well as independent personalities. Election registration in Gaza has restarted and, due to a strong turnout, the registration process was extended for two additional days. Hanna Nasser, the head of the Central Election Commission, made public statements in Gaza that the powers in the Gaza Strip are cooperating with the commission and that people are coming out to register. Continue Reading »

By Daoud Kuttab

As Palestinian political strategists are in the process of preparing for the first visit ever of President Barack Obama to the state of Palestine, new thinking is emerging. Instead of routinely preparing for a set of demands and tactical gains to be accomplished, some are worried that the visit might slow down a paradigm shift that has been taking place in the direction of the Palestinian leadership.

One of the young rising stars in the Fatah movement, Husam Zomlot, explains to Al-Monitor the new thinking using a sports metaphor, “For 20 years, we have been playing on someone else’s playground, according to their rules, their fans and even their referee.” Zomlot  says that the playground is the peace process as it stands now, which treats both parties as equal, requires that they come to a compromise on their own with each side giving a little, with some possibilities of confidence-building measures in the process. Continue Reading »

By Daoud Kuttab

The issue of Palestinians held in Israeli jails, and especially those held without being charged or tried, received a publicity boost this week from an unexpected source.

The revelation by Australian television of the disappearance of Ben Zygier, a dual Australian-Israeli citizen, and the accompanying self-censorship practiced by Israeli media, has once again put the limelight on the secret world of Israel’s prison system. The silence regarding the case has angered human-rights activists and has continued even after an Australian television investigation revealed that Zygier, who had been referred to as “Prisoner X,” reportedly committed suicide in a high-security cell that is supposedly watched around-the-clock by prison officials. The story was finally published in Israel after three left-wing members of the Knesset, Zahava Gal-On, Ahmad Tibi and Dov Khenin, raised the issue. Continue Reading »

By Daoud Kuttab

Palestine was very much present in the latest elections of the 17th Jordanian parliament. But it wasn’t the way you think.

By Daoud Kuttab

The Erez checkpoint is a large, airport-like terminal with 12 passport booths, security cameras everywhere and men with guns topped with special targeting attachments. This is the crossing point into and out of the Gaza Strip from the Israeli side. When this writer crossed the checkpoint, the travelers there were a handful of foreigners, a couple of families and one older man who was held up because he had left Gaza using the Rafah crossing point and returned via the Jordan River crossing. It is difficult to get in or out of Gaza. One usually needs a permit, which is rarely given, or must be a foreigner working for an international agency or a recognized media outlet. Entering Gaza is most difficult for residents of Jerusalem and Israeli citizens, even if they are ethnically Arab. Continue Reading »

By Daoud Kuttab

February 13^th has been declared by the United Nations Education and Science Organisation (UNESCO) as World Radio Day. In addition to traditional public statements and protocol activities there are some concrete things that can be done to help make the world a better place to live in with help of radio.

Radio is a fabulous media, an instrument that allows people to communicate. It allows people to communicate without paying for it. Not every one can afford to buy a newspaper or even have it accessible in their village. Not only is radio free (except for the battery costs) and accessible, the information transmittedby radio can be understood by all citizens rich or poor,learned or ignorant, Even those who are unable to read and write (including those with seeing incapabilities and persons who are illiterate can enjoy radio. Continue Reading »

Daoud Kuttab

With the bulk of the Palestinian reconciliation effort being focused on Hamas and Fatah, little attention has been paid to other nationalist and Islamic factions that compose the Palestinian movement.

One of these factions is Islamic Jihad, a militant nationalist movement that has adopted Islam politically rather than religiously. Unlike Hamas — which believes in the need to preach Islam to its supporters — Islamic Jihad ignores Islam’s social elements and grassroots activity to instead concentrate on its political and military dimensions. This focus means that Islamic Jihad revolves around a smaller, more trained membership because it has no need to attract large numbers of followers. Continue Reading »