Middle East Information and Articles

• Israeli Cellphone Ad Stirs Up Occupation Controversy

  Over the past couple of weeks, Israeli cellphone provider Cellcom has been running a television ad depicting a game of soccer between a group of Israeli soldiers, and a group of (presumably) Palestinians on either side of the separation wall that separates Israel from parts of the Westbank. The ad has stirred up controversy because the Palestinian side of the separation wall is not shown, leaving their side invisible. The Israeli soldiers are seen having a blast amongst themselves on their side of the fence, giving some the impression that the ad encourages blindness to the Palestinians' plight, that Israelis are happiest when they only think about themselves. You can view the ad here. The interesting thing is that the distaste and debate over the ad has not arisen amongst Palestinians, but amongst Jewish Israelis who find the ad insensitive and encouraging ambivalence towards the Palestinian perspective. There is even a large Facebook group (all in Hebrew, it seems) that has been formed to express disgust over the ad. I can't read it, but from the translations or interpretations I've read, it's clear that the members see the Palestinian-Israeli conflict as a serious issue and that the commercial made light of it, while arrogantly ignoring the Palestinian reality. I'm always encouraged to see how thoughtful and progressive a large number of Israelis are, despite government settlement policies or whatever is going on at any one moment. They're capable of serving in the army and defending their country while being critical of their government and the bad elements of their society. I hope these people prevail and that their creativity and progressive ideas lead to a better reality in the future in the region. Just as I finished writing this I discovered some parodies of the commercial on Youtube. These are obviously satirical and meant to point out the arrogance they felt was present in the original ad. Note that these parodies were made by Israelis. What do you think of the commercial and the parodies?

• The Spread of Comic Books in the Middle East

  I thought that this was an interesting article about comic books in the Middle East, so I decided to reprint it here. Comic books have long been used to promote specific social agendas among the young generation, and with their spread throughout the Middle East it may be no different. Islamist comics, pro-democracy comics, anti-Israel comics, and pro-peace process comics are things we will likely see more of. Comic Books in the Middle East By Conan Saunders A multi-national civil rights organization, also known as the American Islamic Congress, was inspired by a comic book. An old comic book was written about Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. to celebrate his life, ideas, and achievements. The American Islamic Congress had the comic translated into Arabic so that people in the Middle East could read it. The director of the American Islamic Congress for the North African division, Dalia Ziada, was in charge of translating the comic from English to Arabic. They handed out the comic to over 2,000 people throughout the Middle East.The comic book written about Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. came out during the Civil Rights movement in the 1950s. The comic, titled "The Montgomery Story," describes the events that took place during the Montgomery bus boycott. Another well known activist, Rosa Parks, also participated in the bus boycott. The Montgomery bus Boycott had an everlasting impact on our society. It was one of the major steps in ending segregation, and was the sole reason for ending public transit segregation policies. Not only is the bus boycott written about in our history books, but it was also made into a comic book. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. promoted and practiced non-violent resistance. This is the hope for the Middle East by the American Islamic Congress. Translating and republishing "The Montgomery Story," is an action of non-violent resistance. They are showing violent groups and people that knowledge of a different way of life is possible and the freedom to express their appreciation for the Civil Rights movement. Teaching a new way of life goes against what many leaders in the Middle East would approve of.The American Islamic Congress is also a civil rights movement group. Their Civil Rights movements are taking place in the Middle East. The group has a lot of young individuals promoting passion, moderation, religious tolerance, women's rights, freedom to express, and conserving different cultures. Using comic books is one way they are promoting their movement. The Montgomery Story in many ways parallels what the Middle East is going through with terrorism. They are hoping that people who read the comic book will learn from Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr's thoughts and ideas about equality. Comics are making their mark in our history. They are promoting literacy, change, tolerance, and good conquering over evil. Perhaps in the near future we will be reading comics about the peace in the Middle East as a direct result of the 2,000 Arabic copies of "The Montgomery Story," being distributed. About the Author: Conan Saunders is Chief Technology Officer for mycomicshop.com, one of the largest retailers of comic books in the world. Mycomicshop is the online presence of Lone Star Comics, a leading retailer of comic books with seven stores in the Dallas-Fort Worth area. For more information please visit: http://www.mycomicshop.com. Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Conan_Saunders http://EzineArticles.com/?Comic-Books-in-the-Middle-East&id=2336242

• Israeli Arabs' "Oath of Loyalty" Proposal Thrown Out

  Israel's Israel Beitenu party, which is the second largest party in the government after the Likud, ran on a platform of repealing Israeli citizenship from anyone who doesn't make a pledge of loyalty to the State of Israel. This week the Israeli cabinet voted to reject that proposal. There was never much doubt that the proposal would be thrown out. The Likud party never supported it, in fact none of the practical parties supported it. Israel Beitenu ran on a populist platform meant to stir up the population, but any party that's use to being in power knows how dangerous of a step this measure would have been. If the proposal were made into law it undoubtedly would have sparked unprecedented unrest and backlash from Israel's Arab citizens, who are Palestinians who remained in Israel after the war of 1948. While they are overwhelmingly law-abiding and cooperative with Israelis, their loyalty is to their Palestinian roots and Palestinian brethren living under occupation. Any attempt tp disconnect them from their natural loyalty would have sparked outrage. In addition to creating conflict and violence, the proposal would have been completely at odds with Israel's claims of being a democracy. No democracy that I know of legally requries its citizens to pledge their loyalty. Freedom of thought and freedom of expression are central to any democracy. As much as it contradicts Israel's definition as a Jewish state and its laws that give preference to Jews, Netanyahu frequently pays lip service to democracy and I think he really believes in it (though it takes a back seat to Jewish nationalism), so he knew the threat this proposal would pose to Israel's status as a free country. And thirdly, this proposal was dangerous to Israel because the majority of Israelis see hassidic Jews as disloyal to the state. Hassidic Jews may accept Israel and live in Israel, but they are not Zionists and their loyalty is to God alone. For the most part they avoid military service and national service, and many live off of government support checks while not studying the Bible rather than working. If an oath of loyalty were required of Israeli Arabs, many Israelis would also demand such an oath from Hassidic Jews. This would cause religious tension, in-fighting amongst Jews, and a whole lot of headaches for Israeli governments who are normally held hostage by ultraorthodox parties. The Israeli government wants to avoid this situation at all costs. So the proposal never really had a chance of being accept by the cabinet. But nevertheless, the simple fact that a party making such a proposal received a large number of votes is unsettling for Israeli Arabs and liberal Israeli Jews. Let's hope the pragmatism and a desire to coexist will dominate, rather than increasing nationalism and mutual suspicion.