Former Human Rights Watch President Says Take Onus off of Israel

I start out this post with a qualifying statement: I have recently been turned down for a fellowship with Human Rights Watch, perhaps I have a little spite and maybe my rose glasses are a little bent around the ears.

Nevertheless, I have to say I found this article astonishingly short sighted coming from such a distinguished champion of human rights.

Israel, with a population of 7.4 million, is home to at least 80 human rights organizations, a vibrant free press, a democratically elected government, a judiciary that frequently rules against the government, a politically active academia, multiple political parties and, judging by the amount of news coverage, probably more journalists per capita than any other country in the world — many of whom are there expressly to cover the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

Meanwhile, the Arab and Iranian regimes rule over some 350 million people, and most remain brutal, closed and autocratic, permitting little or no internal dissent. The plight of their citizens who would most benefit from the kind of attention a large and well-financed international human rights organization can provide is being ignored as Human Rights Watch’s Middle East division prepares report after report on Israel.

Of course there is rampart repression in the Islamic world but does anyone claim a democracy in these countries. Of course we should promote a standard of human rights in the face of regimes we all can agree are repressive autocracies but what does it say about our understanding of democracy and human rights when we tolerate states with supposed good governance that massacre 1400 mostly civilians and get away with it?

Op-Ed Contributor - Rights Watchdog, Lost in the Mideast - NYTimes.com

HRW letter to Prime Minister Haniya demanding his recognition of atrocities committed on boths sides of the cast lead offensive.

As Israel and most of the US administration has staunchly opposed the Goldstone report detailing the atrocities that occurred during the Israeli siege on the civilians of Gaza earlier this year, most of the US/Israel-sponsored onus has been put on Hamas to recognize its part in the propagation of the atrocities (as quotidian on a ridiculously vulgar and imbalanced level). While it is essential for the international community to, at minimum, condemn the Israel Defense Forces for its actions in the brutal deaths of over 1400 people (mostly civilians) and if possible charge the IDF and its superiors during the Cast Lead offensive with war crimes, it is equally essential to place that same condemnation on the propagation of the Qassam rockets carried out by Hamas, rank and file most likely. Here is a HRW letter to PM Haniyah. I really appreciate that they recognize him as the legitimate prime minister. He is the one to condemn both sides. I have always thought his manner of politicking was increasingly pragmatic. Please let us move forward.

Dear Prime Minister Haniya:

We are writing you after the United Nations Human Rights Council's resolution last week endorsing the report of the UN Fact Finding Mission on the Gaza Conflict. We view the report prepared by Justice Richard Goldstone as a crucial forward step towards securing accountability for the civilian victims of the war on all sides. A key component of the report is its call on all parties to the conflict to conduct credible domestic investigations within six months.

We welcome the October 15 statement from your foreign ministry, which says the authorities will conduct investigations into the allegations against the armed wing of Hamas and other Palestinian armed groups. We therefore call on Hamas to conduct thorough, independent and impartial investigations into alleged violations of international humanitarian law by members of the Qassam Brigades and other armed groups in Gaza, and to prosecute in conformity with international fair trial standards those found responsible for rocket attacks that target Israeli population centers, as recommended by the Goldstone report.

Human Rights Watch recognizes that IDF military operations caused far greater total harm to civilian lives and property than operations by Palestinian armed groups during the December-January conflict. The conflict was characterized by great disparity in the military strength of the parties, and Human Rights Watch has documented serious violations of the laws of war by Israeli forces, including the unlawful use of white phosphorus, the killing of civilians with drone-fired missiles, and the killing of civilians waving white flags.

However, these violations and the high death toll in Gaza do not detract from the need to investigate serious violations of the laws of war by all sides. Nor can they justify violations by Hamas. Violations of the laws of war are not measured in the number of civilian casualties, but whether each side is taking all feasible precautions to minimize civilian loss. Using unsophisticated weapons does not justify failure to respect the laws of war; nor does an adversary's use of sophisticated weapons provide a pass to its opponents to ignore those laws. The unnecessary loss of civilian life can be minimized only if both parties recognize and respect their obligations to abide by the laws of war, however sophisticated or unsophisticated the weapons at their disposal.

..........
Sincerely,

Sarah Leah Whitson

Executive Director

Middle East and North Africa division

Letter to Prime Minister Haniya | Human Rights Watch

BBC Four Presents: "Rageh Inside Iran"

Fantastic documentary with host BBC reporter Rageh Omaar as he talks with and experiences everyday Iranians in Tehran.

NFB ONF Hosted Documentary "From Baghdad to Peace Country" about a Canadian Art Activist

Just watched this amazing documentary about a Canadian artist who in 1999 began constructing natural sculptures of women and children around the world in order to bring awareness to the human costs of the sanctions imposed upon Iraq from 1991.

Obama's Nobel Peace Prize a Retroactive Rebuke for the George W. Bush Administration

Middle East Report Online: Norse Code, From the Editors

"It is difficult not to see the farm boy’s icy barb in the Nobel Peace Prize awarded on October 9 to President Barack Obama. So insufferable was George W. Bush, so plain his patrician arrogance under the back-slapping Texan veneer, that his successor gets the ultimate stamp of world approval just nine months into the presidency. So destructive was Bush to global peace and security, so sharp his elbows in the scrum of international affairs, that the Norwegians place their treasured laurels on the crown of the first guy to walk into the White House after the Yale frat boy’s exit. How else to interpret the Nobel committee’s encomium? “Only very rarely has a person to the same extent as Obama captured the world’s attention and given its people hope for a better future.” The initial clause is a statement of fact, but the second is readily translated Norse code for “the last eight years have been a nightmare.” It is a garland frosted with spite."

Another Jewel of a Video from Explore.org

I am increasingly in love with Hulu.com and even more with the folks at Explore.org. Here is a video detailing the story about the مسرح الحرية the Freedom Theater in Jenin Refugee Camp. Title of the short film is "No Child is Born a Terrorist." 



Check out the Freedom Theater here.

Steven L. Spiegel: Why Obama's Mideast Policy Will Work

Er, Dr. Spiegel, don't you mean, "Why Obama's Israeli Policy Will Work?"  Once again, Israel is the main point of this article, which is really about how Obama is not going to disappoint the Israelis interested in keeping themselves secure in a neighborhood of evil villains. While this may be a legitimate audience to address I cannot imagine any more hubris expressed in such a simplified outlook that what is good for Israel is good for Mideast policy. I would counter this praise of Obama's "Middle East Policy" with the claim that pumping Afghanistan with thousands of more soldiers and training local overnight shaykhs to buttress support against the Taliban cannot possibly be considered wise policy; not to mention the continuing support of insultingly corrupt Iraqi president al-Maliki and Egyptian despot.But as long as he speaks to the Muslims and demands settlement freeze perhaps he'll make progress, in sha'allah.
Steven L. Spiegel: Why Obama's Mideast Policy Will Work

Hulu Presents "Explore: Hebron"

Evocative Article by Naomi Wolf

Ms. Wolf ostensibly responds to right wing critiques of her recent article trying to denaturalize the occurrence of human rights abuses in the Middle East.

I wrote that many women activists in Muslim countries tend to emphasize issues such as honor killings, legal inequality, and lack of access to education, and that they express frustration that the obsession among Westerners with Muslim women's clothing can come at the expense of these concerns. I also pointed out that many Muslim feminists defend their dress in terms of nationalism, anti-imperialism, or as a matter of faith.
This provoked a small firestorm of distortion in the West: "Wolf Wants to Institutionalize the Burka," etc. It was depressing to see a simple appeal for Westerners to listen to Muslim women deliberately distorted into a representation of all Muslim women as meek, will-less beings in need of rescue.

What Do Muslim Women Want?

Read more at: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/naomi-wolf/what-do-muslim-women-want_b_309979.html

Sanctioning Iran, Again

The Lengthening List of Iran Sanctions - Council on Foreign Relations
Because we all know that the Iranian sanctions at the turn of the 1980s were very effective as were the sanctions in Iraq after the first Gulf war. Though, thankfully, there is loud antipathy arising from France, Britain, and Germany who have allowed luxury trade and delivery of humanitarian goods.

Lawrence on the precarious peace in Kurdistan Iraq

Middle East Report Online: A Precarious Peace in Northern Iraq by Quil Lawrence
This is a recent report from Baghdad bureau chief for NPR, Quil Lawrence, on the reality of the situation in Diyala province. Despite what is being touted as a breakthrough Kurdish Regional Government is still pretty shaky.

Secular Take on Ramadan tour in Five Countries

Ramadan around the Muslim world. - By Jason Rezaian - Slate Magazine
This is a really great article about the intersections of religion and culture.

Human Rights Watch Urges the EU to Adopt a Stance against the Atrocities in Gaza outlined in the Goldstone Report

EU: Demand Justice for Victims of Gaza War | Human Rights Watch

IDF Spokesperson: Removal of One Hundred Road Blocks in Judea and Samaria « The Third Way: Finding Balance In Mideast Analysis

I cannot believe this but thank the heavens for it!

IDF Spokesperson: Removal of One Hundred Road Blocks in Judea and Samaria « The Third Way: Finding Balance In Mideast Analysis