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281. Settlement Monitor

Author:
Geoffrey Aronson
Publication Date:
03-2010
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
Journal of Palestine Studies
Institution:
Institute for Palestine Studies
Abstract:
This section covers items—reprinted articles, statistics, and maps—pertaining to Israeli settlement activities in the Gaza Strip and the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, and the Golan Heights. Unless otherwise stated, the items have been written by Geoffrey Aronson for this section or drawn from material written by him for Report on Israeli Settlement in the Occupied Territories (hereinafter Settlement Report), a Washington-based bimonthly newsletter published by the Foundation for Middle East Peace. JPS is grateful to the foundation for permission to draw on its material.
Political Geography:
Washington, Middle East, Israel, and Gaza

282. Congressional Monitor : 111th Congress: January - December 2009

Author:
Paul James Costic
Publication Date:
03-2010
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
Journal of Palestine Studies
Institution:
Institute for Palestine Studies
Abstract:
Published each spring, the Congressional Monitor provides summaries of all relevant bills and resolutions (joint, concurrent, and simple) introduced during the previous session of Congress that mention, even briefly, Palestine, Israel, or the broader Arab-Israeli conflict. It is part of a wider project of the Institute for Palestine Studies that includes the Congressional Monitor Database available at CongressionalMonitor.org. The database contains all relevant legislation from the 107th Congress through the first session of the 111th Congress (2001–2009) and will be updated on an ongoing basis to include legislation prior to 2001 and after 2009. You'll also find an in-depth set of FAQs which provide a guide to the database, how to use it, and the legislative process. The Monitor helps to identify major themes of legislation related to the Palestine issue as well as initiators of specific legislation, their priorities, the range of their concerns, and their attitudes toward the regional actors. Material in this compilation is drawn from www.thomas.loc.gov, where readers can also find a detailed primer on the legislative process entitled “How Our Laws Are Made.”
Political Geography:
Israel and Arabia

283. Chronology : 16 November 2009 - 15 February 2010

Author:
Michele K. Esposito
Publication Date:
03-2010
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
Journal of Palestine Studies
Institution:
Institute for Palestine Studies
Abstract:
This section is part of a chronology begun in JPS 13, no. 3 (Spring 1984). Chronology dates reflect Eastern Standard Time (EST). For a more comprehensive overview of events related to the al-Aqsa intifada and of regional and international developments related to the peace process, see the Quarterly Update on Conflict and Diplomacy in this issue. 16 NOVEMBER As the quarter opens, Israel's siege of Gaza continues, with Israel barring all exports, all but limited humanitarian imports, and most cross-border transit by individuals (with very limited exceptions for extreme medical cases, VIPs, and international NGO workers). Violence in the West Bank is low and restrictions on Palestinian movement between major population centers have eased noticeably. Israeli-Palestinian peace talks are on hold as Palestinian Authority (PA) Pres. Mahmud Abbas refuses to resume negotiations until Israel implements a comprehensive settlement freeze (which Israel rejects).Today in Gaza, 4 Palestinians are injured when a smuggling tunnel under the Rafah border collapses. In the West Bank, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) conducts late-night arrest raids, house searches in and around Tubas, in Bayt Fajjar nr. Bethlehem, and in Qalandia refugee camp (r.c.) nr. Ramallah. Of note, 6 IDF soldiers refuse orders to dismantle structures at an unauthorized settlement outpost; they are relieved of duty pending a court-martial hearing. (NYT 11/17; OCHA, WP 11/18; PCHR 11/19) 17 NOVEMBER The Israeli Interior Min. approves construction of 900 new housing units in Gilo settlement in East Jerusalem, precipitating sharp criticism from the White House not only for the Gilo project but for “the continued pattern of evictions and demolitions of Palestinian homes” in Jerusalem; UN Secy.-Gen. Ban Ki-moon “deplores” the decision. In the West Bank, the IDF conducts late-night arrest raids, house searches nr. Bethlehem, Hebron (evicting 1 Palestinian family from their home, occupying it as an observation post), Jericho, Nablus. In the Jerusalem environs, Israeli forces demolish 2 Palestinian homes (1 in Wadi Qaddum, housing 30 Palestinians; 1 in Bayt Hanina, displacing 11 Palestinians). (IFM, NYT, OCHA, PLONAD, WP, WT 11/18; PCHR 11/19) 18 NOVEMBER New York State assemblyman Dov Hikind leads a delegation of 50 Jewish Americans to lay the cornerstone of a new settlement housing project (Nof Zion) in the Palestinian neighborhood of Jabal Mukabir in East Jerusalem (see Quarterly Update for details). Meanwhile, the IDF demolishes a Palestinian home and store in Issawiyya (14 residents) on the outskirts of Jerusalem, 4 Palestinian structures in other Arab areas of East Jerusalem, including Silwan. In the West Bank, the IDF searches greenhouses nr. Jenin, looking for unlicensed wells; conducts late-night arrest raids, house searches in Tulkarm and nr. Jenin. Also in East Jerusalem, an Israeli youth stabs, wounds a Palestinian laborer in Ramat Eshkol settlement. The IDF also makes 2 incursions into s. Gaza nr. Abasan and Khuza to bulldoze land along the border fence, clearing lines of sight. Late in the day, unidentified Palestinians fire a rocket into Israel, causing no damage or injuries. In response, the IDF makes air strikes on 2 smuggling tunnels along the Rafah border (injuring 1 Palestinian) and on a Hamas training site in Khan Yunis (destroying 2 structures). (NYT, XIN 11/19; PCHR 11/25; JPI 11/27) 19 NOVEMBER In the West Bank, the IDF stages synchronized late-night raids on the homes of 5 PA intelligence officers in villages nr. Nablus and Salfit, detaining the men (including the PA's Salfit regional intelligence cmdr. Lt. Col. Muhammad `Abd al-Hamid Bani Fadil), marking Israel's first arrest of senior PA security officials in 3 yrs.; the IDF also relays to the PA a request to turn over a 6th intelligence officer, but the PA does not comply; the Israeli DMin. confirms the arrests but refuses to comment, with Palestinian security sources speculating (YA 11/20) that Israel was pressuring the PA to back off investigation of a suspected collaborator; all 5 are released on 11/20 after talks between Israel and the PA. The IDF also stages synchronized late-night house searches in 3 villages w. of Jenin, making no arrests. IDF undercover units traveling in a car with Palestinian license plates enter Bil`in village, arrest a Palestinian on an Israeli wanted list. (YA 11/20; OCHA, PCHR 11/25) 20 NOVEMBER In the West Bank, the IDF fires rubber-coated steel bullets, stun grenades, tear gas at stone-throwing Palestinians taking part in weekly protests against the separation wall in Bil`in (10s suffer tear gas inhalation) and against Palestinian, Israeli, and international activists taking part in weekly nonviolent demonstration against the separation wall in Ni`lin (injuring 3 Palestinians); fires stun grenades and tear gas at Palestinian and international activists taking part in the weekly nonviolent demonstration against the separation wall in al-Ma`sara s. of Bethlehem (injuring 3 Palestinians, including a 9-yr.-old boy); conducts late-night arrest raids on several coffee shops nr. Qalqilya, detaining 3 PA security officers and 3 teenagers (including a 14-yr.-old boy). In Hebron, Jewish settlers fr. Ma'on in Hebron beat 4 Palestinian youths tending sheep nearby, chasing them off the land; Jewish settlers fr. Carmiel attack and vandalize a Palestinian home nearby, attempting to drive the Palestinian family off the land. (OCHA, PCHR 11/25) 21 NOVEMBER In Gaza, unidentified Palestinians fire a rocket into Israel, causing no damage or injuries. The IDF retaliates with air strikes on 2 suspected weapons factories and a smuggling tunnel on the Rafah border, injuring 8 Palestinians (2 seriously, 2 moderately, 4 lightly) and damaging another 2 factories and 4 homes nearby. Hrs. later, Hamas announces that it has secured renewed pledges from all Gaza factions to halt all rocket and mortar fire toward Israel, to preserve the stability in Gaza and prevent further Israeli retaliation, though the factions say they will respond to any IDF incursion into Gaza. (YA 11/21; HA, WT 11/22; WT 11/23; OCHA, PCHR 11/25; WJW 11/26) 22 NOVEMBER In the West Bank, the IDF makes a late-night incursion into Bayt Liqiya nr. Ramallah, patrolling the streets and firing rubber-coated steel bullets at stone-throwing youths who confront them, causing no reported injuries; conducts late-night arrest raids, house searches nr. Jenin, Qalqilya. (OCHA, PCHR 11/25) 23 NOVEMBER Unidentified Palestinians fire a rocket fr. Gaza into Israel, causing no damage or injuries. Late in the evening, the IDF carries out air strikes on smuggling tunnels on the Rafah border in retaliation, causing no reported injuries. In the West Bank, the IDF conducts late-night arrest raids, house searches nr. Qalqilya; conducts late-night patrols inside Jenin town. Jewish settlers stone Palestinian vehicles traveling on the Nablus–Qalqilya road nr. Havat Gilad settlement. The UN reports that in the previous wk., 2 Palestinian militants were killed mishandling explosives, and 1 Palestinian was killed and 1 injured in a smuggling tunnel collapse on the Rafah border. (Jewish Telegraphic Agency 11/23; OCHA, PCHR 11/25) 24 NOVEMBER In the West Bank, the IDF conducts late-night arrest raids, house searches in Salfit and nr. Bethlehem, Hebron, Jenin. (OCHA, PCHR 11/25; PCHR 12/3) 25 NOVEMBER In the West Bank, the IDF conducts late-night arrest raids, house searches in Qalqilya and nr. Nablus, Salfit. (PCHR 12/3; OCHA 12/9) Netanyahu declares a 10-mo. halt to all new residential housing approvals and construction in West Bank settlements, though building in East Jerusalem and work on 2,900 West Bank housing units currently under construction and any “public buildings essential for normal life” (e.g., schools, synagogues) in West Bank settlements would proceed. The U.S. welcomes this move as “significant.” PA PM Salam Fayyad says that the offer is not enough, the PA insists on a total settlement freeze. (IFM 11/25; NYT, WP, WT 11/26)
Topic:
Diplomacy
Political Geography:
United States, Israel, Palestine, and Gaza

284. Bibliography of Periodical Literature : Spring 2010

Author:
Norbert Scholz
Publication Date:
03-2010
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
Journal of Palestine Studies
Institution:
Institute for Palestine Studies
Abstract:
This section lists articles and reviews of books relevant to Palestine and the Arab-Israeli conflict. Entries are classified under the following headings: Reference and General; History (through 1948) and Geography; Palestinian Politics and Society; Jerusalem; Israeli Politics, Society, and Zionism; Arab and Middle Eastern Politics; International Relations; Law; Military; Economy, Society, and Education; Literature, Arts, and Culture; Book Reviews; and Reports Received. Reference and General `Abd al-Hay, Hana S. “Parliamentary Quotas for Women: Between International Support and Contradictory Arab Positions” [in Arabic]. MAUS, no. 23 (Sum. 09): 47–70. Abraham, Ibrahim, and Roland Boer. “'God Doesn't Care': The Contradictions of Christian Zionism.” Religion and Theology 16, nos. 1–2 (09): 90–110. Davis, Nancy J., and Robert V. Robinson. “Overcoming Movement Obstacles by the Religious Orthodoxy: The Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt, Shas in Israel, Comunione e Liberazione in Italy and the Salvation Army in the United States.” American Journal of Sociology 114, no. 5 (Mar. 09): 1302–49. Hassan, Riaz. “Interrupting a History of Tolerance: Anti-Semitism and the Arabs.” Asian Journal of Social Science 37, no. 3 (09): 453–62. Ouardani, Mohamed. “La religion peut-elle tout expliquer? L'islam comme modèle explicatif des sociétés musulmanes.” CM, no. 70 (Sum. 09): 147–64. Salem, Salah. “The Renovation of Arab Socialist Thought” [in Arabic]. ShA, no. 140 (Win. 09): 118–32. Al-Sayyadi, Mokhles. “Contemporary Islamic Movements” [in Arabic]. MA 32, no. 369 (Nov. 09): 7–27. History (through 1948) and Geography Abisaab, Malek. “Shiite Peasants and a New Nation in Colonial Lebanon: The Intifada of Bint Jubayl, 1936.” CSSAME 29, no. 3 (09): 483–501. Avci, Yasemin. “The Application of Tanzimat in the Desert: The Bedouins and the Creation of a New Town in Southern Palestine (1860–1914).” MES 45, no. 6 (Nov. 09): 969–83. Chazan, Meir. “Mapai and the Arab-Jewish Conflict, 1936–1939.” ISF 24, no. 2 (Win. 09): 28–51. Hirsch, Dafna. “'We are Here to Bring the West, Not Only to Ourselves': Zionist Occidentalism and The Discourse of Hygiene in Mandate Palestine.” IJMES 41, no. 4 (Nov. 09): 577–94. Holmila, Antero. “The Holocaust and the Birth of Israel in British, Swedish and Finnish Press Discourse, 1947–1948.” European Review of History 16, no. 2 (Apr. 09): 183–200. Hughes, Matthew. “From Law and Order to Pacification: Britain's Suppression of the Arab Revolt in Palestine, 1936–39.” JPS 39, no. 2 (Win. 2010): 6–22. Kabalo, Paula. “Challenging Disempowerment in 1948: The Role of the Jewish Third Sector during the Israeli War of Independence.” ISF 24, no. 2 (Win. 09): 3–27. ———. “The Historical Dimension: Jewish Associations in Palestine and Israel 1880s–1950s.” Journal of Civil Society 5, no. 1 (Jun. 09): 1–19. Kushner, David. “Mussaver Çöl: An Ottoman Magazine in Beersheba toward the End of World War I” [in Hebrew]. Cathedra, no. 132 (Jun. 09): 131–48. Nashif, Taysir. “Educational Background and Elite Composition: Jewish Political Leadership during the British Mandate.” ISF 24, no. 2 (Win. 09): 67–81. Sheffy, Yigal. “Chemical Warfare and the Palestine Campaign, 1916–1918.” Journal of Military History 73, no. 3 (Jul. 09): 803–44. ———. “The Jaffa–Jerusalem Railway Line, the Sejed Station, and British Military Intelligence” [in Hebrew]. Cathedra, no. 131 (Mar. 09): 163–69. Sinanoglu, Penny. “British Plans for the Partition of Palestine, 1929–1938.” Historical Journal 52, no. 1 (Mar. 09): 131–52. Palestinian Politics and Society Abdallah, Hmaidi. “The Prospect of the Intra-Palestinian Dialogue in Egypt” [in Arabic]. Dirasat Bahith 7, no. 27 (Sum. 09): 113–26. Abdallah, Taisir. “Prevalence and Predictors of Burnout among Palestinian Social Workers.” International Social Work 52, no. 2 (Mar. 09): 223–33. Abu Fakhr, Sakr, ed. “Fatah and the Palestine Liberation Organization” [in Arabic]. MDF, no. 79 (Sum. 09): 100–7. Aruri, Naseer, and Hani Fares, eds. “The Boston Declaration on the One State” [in Arabic]. MDF, no. 79 (Sum. 09): 124–26. Boulby, Marion. “On Shifting Boundaries: Islamist Women in Palestinian Politics.” BCBRL 4, no. 1 (Nov. 09): 31–32. Braverman, Irus. “Uprooting Identities: The Regulation of Olive Trees in the Occupied West Bank.” Political and Legal Anthropology Review 32, no. 2 (Nov. 09): 237–54. Brom, Shlomo, Giora Eiland, and Oded Eran. “Partial Agreements with the Palestinians.” Strategic Assessment 12, no. 3 (Nov. 09): 67–86. Clarno, Andy. “Or Does It Explode? Collecting Shells in Gaza.” Social Psychology 72, no. 2 (Jun. 09): 95–98. Dana, Seif. “Islamic Resistance in Palestine: Hamas, the Gaza War and the Future of Political Islam.” HLS 8, no. 2 (Nov. 09): 211–28. Fayyad, Salam (interview). “Salam Fayyad Presents his Project of State-Building” [in Arabic]. MDF, no. 79 (Sum. 09): 5–20. Harker, Christopher. “Spacing Palestine through the Home.” Transactions of the Institute of British Geographers 34, no. 3 (Jul. 09): 320–32. Hawatmeh, Nayef (interview). “Nayef Hawatmeh: A Comprehensive Interview” [in Arabic]. Dirasat Bahith 7, no. 27 (Sum. 09): 9–32. Ishtiya, Imad, Husni Awad, and Fakhri Dwaykat. “The Reasons behind Fatah's Decline: A Field Study” [in Arabic]. MDF, no. 79 (Sum. 09): 27–38. Jokman, Georges. “The Future of Fatah and the Two-State Solution: Power or Resistance” [in Arabic]. MDF, no. 79 (Sum. 09): 21–26. Kayyali, Majed. “The Impasse of Efforts for an Internal Palestinian Reconciliation” [in Arabic]. ShA, no. 39 (Fall 09): 14–24. Klein, Menachem. “Against the Consensus: Oppositionist Voices in Hamas.” MES 45, no. 6 (Nov. 09): 881–92. Kuruvilla, Samuel. “The Invention of History: A Century of Interplay between Theology and Politics in Palestine, Report on the International Centre of Bethlehem Conference, 23–29 August 2009.” HLS 8, no. 2 (Nov. 09): 235–38. Kurz, Anat. “The Sixth Fatah Convention: Formal Changes Only.” Strategic Assessment 12, no. 3 (Nov. 09): 51–65. Legrain, Jean-François. “Hamas et Fatah dans leur rivalité médiatique.” CM, no. 69 (Spr. 09): 75–86. Merari, Ariel, Jonathan Fighel, Boaz Ganor, et al. “Making Palestinian 'Martyrdom Operations'/'Suicide Attacks': Interviews with Would-Be Perpetrators and Organizers.” TPV 22, no. 1 (Jan. 10): 102–19. Al-Rimmawi, Hussein. “Spatial Changes in Palestine: From Colonial Project to an Apartheid System.” African and Asian Studies 8, no. 4 (09): 375–412. Salman, Talal. “In Memory of Shafiq al-Hout” [in Arabic]. MDF, no. 79 (Sum. 09): 96–99. Shikaki, Khalid. “Fatah Resurrected.” The National Interest, 104 (Nov./Dec. 09), http://www.nationalinterest.org/Article.aspx?id=22326. Taha, al-Moutawakkel. “Gaza: The War and the Culture” [in Arabic]. Dirasat Bahith 7, no. 27 (Sum. 09): 67–70. Tawil-Souri, Helga. “New Palestinian Centers: An Ethnography of the 'Checkpoint Economy'.” International Journal of Cultural Studies 12, no. 3 (May 09): 217–35. JERUSALEM Al-`Azaar, Muhammad K. “Jerusalem: 2009 Capital of Arab Culture” [in Arabic]. ShA, no. 140 (Win. 09): 104–16. Dumper, Michael. “'Two State Plus': Jerusalem and the Binationalism Debate.” JQ, no. 39 (Fall 09): 6–15. Dumper, Michael, and Craig Larkin. “UNESCO and Jerusalem: Constraints, Challenges and Opportunities.” JQ, no. 39 (Fall 09): 16–28. Frenkel, Yehoshua. “Praises of Jerusalem and Damascus” [in Hebrew]. Cathedra, no. 131 (Mar. 09): 142–46. Houk, Marian. “A New Convergence? European and American Positions on Jerusalem.” JQ, no. 38 (Fall 09): 88–96. Ju`ba, Nazmi. “Jerusalem: Between Land Settlements and Excavations” [in Arabic]. MDF, no. 79 (Sum. 09): 39–54. Khamaisi, Rassem. “Israel's Policy in Old Jerusalem: The Creeping Domination and Urbanization” [in Arabic]. Idafat, no. 8 (Fall 09): 121–44. Makhoul, Amir. “The Status of Jerusalem in the Palestinian Cause” [in Arabic]. ShA, no. 140 (Win. 09): 92–103. Pullan, Wendy. “The Space of Contested Jerusalem.” JQ, no. 39 (Fall 09): 39–50.
Topic:
Economics and Politics
Political Geography:
America, Israel, Palestine, and Arabia

285. Truman the Politician and the Establishment of Israel

Author:
Lawrence Davidson
Publication Date:
06-2010
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
Journal of Palestine Studies
Institution:
Institute for Palestine Studies
Abstract:
Harry S. Truman was a temperamental and politically ambitious man. Both his sensitivities and ambition influenced his actions during his presidency. This was particularly the case when it came to Palestine because there existed a strong domestic Zionist lobby that played to Truman's wants and needs in order to influence his decision making. This article examines that process of policy formulation and shows how personality played into the president's behavior in ways that allowed the Zionist lobby to accomplish its ends. Though Truman's actions can be seen as a product of his personal sensitivities, his prioritizing of domestic political ambitions with regard to policy on Palestine set a harmful precedent for the future.
Political Geography:
Israel

286. Lawrence Davidson on American Presidents and Israel

Publication Date:
06-2010
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
Journal of Palestine Studies
Institution:
Institute for Palestine Studies
Abstract:
No abstract is available.
Political Geography:
America and Israel

287. From the Editor

Author:
Rashid I. Khalidi
Publication Date:
06-2010
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
Journal of Palestine Studies
Institution:
Institute for Palestine Studies
Abstract:
The role of U.S. presidents in making policy on Palestine is an insufficiently studied topic. Many believe that if the policy of a given administration is particularly favorable to Israel, this is entirely due to the president's predilections. Disappointment with the policies of the Obama administration after the high hopes raised by his initial declarations is based on this belief. Others are convinced that the Israel lobby is and has always been all powerful, imposing its views on different administrations. Neither of these views is correct. There is no question that a president's personal attitude is important, as could be seen during the Eisenhower and other administrations when U.S. policy showed a degree of balance between Israel and the Arabs. At the same time, the Israel lobby has grown much more powerful, especially since the 1980s and especially in Congress, where it initially focused its efforts and where it has virtually unchallenged influence.
Political Geography:
United States and Israel

288. The Fall of Acre in the 1948 Palestine War

Author:
Mustafa Abbasi
Publication Date:
06-2010
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
Journal of Palestine Studies
Institution:
Institute for Palestine Studies
Abstract:
In studies of the 1948 war, little attention has been paid to the swift fall of one of Palestine's most storied cities, the walled and fortified seaport of Acre. This article, based on archival sources, focuses on the six months leading up to the city's conquest on 17 May 1948. Describing in detail the preparations of the city's defense, the various military and political forces involved, and the dissensions and rivalries among them, the article goes on to trace the tightening siege and mounting harassment of the city and the growing despair of its residents, the city's place in Haganah strategy, and the actual battle. Of particular interest is the role of the Druze Regiment stationed nearby. Most important, the author provides a clear understanding of why events unfolded as they did. ACRE IS ONE OF THE MOST FAMOUS CITIES in the history of Palestine, its name associated with walls and fortifications that have withstood the attacks of powerful armies. In 1799, Napoleon and his army laid siege to the town but despite desperate attempts were forced to withdraw. In 1832, Ibrahim Pasha and the Egyptian army laid siege to Acre for a full six months before they could overcome the city's fierce resistance. Yet on 17 May 1948, three days after the establishment of the State of Israel, this city of walls and fortifications fell to the Haganah forces in a military operation that met with relatively little resistance. ACRE BEFORE THE WAR After suffering decline and stagnation under Egyptian rule (1832–40), Acre began a new chapter with its return to Ottoman rule, entering a process of slow recovery that accelerated during the reforms of the late Ottoman period and continued under the British Mandate. This was reflected in the town's demographic growth as recorded in the Mandate's three censuses: from 6,420 in the 1922 census to 8,165 in the 1931 census. In the 1946 census, the population stood at 13,560, of which 10,930 were Muslim, 2,490 were Christian, 90 were from other denominations, and 50 were Jews. In other words, Acre was almost totally Arab. The city of Acre was the administrative, political, and economic center of a large district of the same name that contained 63 villages in 1922 and a total population of 55,970 in 1944. The city was governed by families well known and established at least since late Ottoman times. Prominent among these were the Abu al-Huda, Sa`di, Shuqayri, and Khalifa families. Tawfiq Bey Abu al-Huda, a well-known city leader who had once been Acre's mayor, after 1948 became prime minister of Jordan. Shaykh As`ad al-Shuqayri, a senior religious figure, was a prominent local and national leader until his death in 1940. Of the Sa`di family, the most noteworthy was `Abd al-Fatah al-Sa`di, a dignitary who served as Acre's mayor until his death in 1927. A prominent member of the Khalifa family was Husni Khalifa, Acre's last Arab mayor and, as such, the one who had to cope with the catastrophe that befell the city in 1948. When clashes began to break out in Palestine following the 29 November 1947 passage of the UN partition plan, which divided Palestine into a Jewish state and an Arab state, the fact that Acre was included in the Arab state gave its residents confidence during the following months. The hopes of the Galilee's inhabitants also hung on the city, regarded as the region's stronghold. The confidence that Acre would somehow be able to withstand the military forces of the Yishuv, a feeling that owed much to the town's glorious past, was soon revealed to be ill-founded. The conquest of Acre, which, after Jaffa, was the first major town outside the territory allotted to the Jewish state to fall to the Haganah forces, was an important event. Despite this, it has not yet been the subject of any in-depth or comprehensive research. Most sources—both Israeli and Palestinian —deal with the subject at the macro level and in the wider context of the 1948 war. This study is based primarily on archival material from the Israel Defense Forces (IDF), the Haganah, and State of Israel archives, which contain extensive Hebrew and Arabic material that can shed new light on the subject. ORGANIZING FOR ACRE'S DEFENSE AND FAILED ATTEMPTS AT DIALOGUE The vote on the UN partition plan had been awaited by the Palestinian Arabs with dread, as it was well known that if the resolution passed, the country would be plunged into a full-blown crisis. On 27 November 1947, therefore, two days before the vote, the Arab Higher Committee (AHC), the highest political authority of the Arabs of Palestine, decreed the establishment of national committees in all the Arab cities and villages throughout the country. The AHC instructed the heads of public authorities to act immediately to establish these committees, even transmitting clear instructions regarding their composition, fields of operation, and functions. In Acre, as in other Palestinian towns, the task of establishing national committees was complicated by local power struggles that often hinged on political alignments, notably in relation to Haj Amin al-Husayni, the Mufti of Jerusalem and head of the AHC, and persons or groups opposed to him. From the beginning of the Mandate, Acre's leadership had been identified with the Palestinian opposition, and relations between the city's leaders (particularly Shaykh As`ad al-Shuqayri) and Haj Amin were habitually tense. The nearly month-long struggle over the composition of the Acre national committee between the oppositional camp led by the mayor, Husni Khalifa, and certain local and external forces aligned with Haj Amin was a testament to these tense relations.
Topic:
War
Political Geography:
Palestine

289. Jewels of the Occupation: Gold Wedding Jewelry in the West Bank

Author:
Elena N. Hogan
Publication Date:
06-2010
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
Journal of Palestine Studies
Institution:
Institute for Palestine Studies
Abstract:
This article examines the social role and broader cultural meanings of gold jewelry used in Muslim weddings in the West Bank—“marriage jewelry” that by right belongs exclusively to the woman and whose socio-symbolic value extends far beyond its market value. Through interviews with muftis, gold dealers, and especially Palestinian women, the article explores the unwritten “rules” governing marriage jewelry's exchange, and how these rules are affected in a context of occupation and economic hardship. In particular, the author discusses the relatively new phenomenon of imitation (or “virtual”) gold jewelry for public display in wedding rites, exploring the new rules growing up around it and speculating on its long-term impact on entrenched traditions. “[The] purchase of [gold] jewelry, from the wedding ring to all the other gold accessories, is viewed as the true expression [and] official announcement of a new marriage, no less important than the marriage certificate itself,” writes Palestinian economist Aziz al-Assa. Al-Assa's confirmation of the pivotal role played by gold jewelry in Muslim Palestinian weddings should come as no surprise: gold jewelry is widely used in wedding rites from the Middle East to Central and South Asia. Likewise among West Bank Muslims, gold jewelry is publicly given to the bride by the groom and both sides of the family during the wedding. Gold jewelry, then, is closely associated with the marriage alliance and the gift, and signals an essential change in a person's civil status in Muslim Palestinian culture. This has continued to be the case despite widespread poverty and political upheaval. At the time of my fieldwork, over half the Palestinian population of the occupied West Bank was living under the poverty line. Exacerbating the economic hardships produced by closures and occupation policies, international sanctions had been imposed on the Palestinian Authority (PA) following Hamas's parliamentary victory in January 2006. With international aid frozen and Israel refusing to hand over Palestinian tax money to the PA, thousands of government employees including teachers and health professionals went unpaid for many months, resulting in unprecedented levels of economic hardship that afflicted most layers of Palestinian society. Yet despite these grave circumstances, gold jewelry stores were still in business and significant amounts of gold jewelry continued to circulate and be worn by Palestinian women. Given gold jewelry's fundamental role in cementing marriage alliances, it stands to reason that the true value of these jewels is not simply their intrinsic value measurable in monetary terms but rather reflects their ability to fulfill multiple functions on a symbolic level. Many of gold jewelry's more important functions are thus fundamentally anthropological. For this reason, a brief look at some key anthropological concepts regarding Palestinian gold jewelry is useful before we examine this commodity's most salient exchange patterns. GOLD JEWELRY AS COMMODITY The first consideration to be made about Palestinian gold jewelry is that it can be defined as a commodity in the sense of Arjun Appadurai, who, starting from the alternative economic theories of Georg Simmel, holds that commodities are “economic objects” whose economic value is never intrinsic but wholly dependent on what value a subject attributes to them. A commodity is thus a “thoroughly socialized thing” and remains a commodity only as long as its possibilities for exchange (past, present, or future) are considered its socially relevant feature. The social value of gold jewelry to Palestinians, then, is so great that even at times of acute economic crisis this jewelry continues to be exchanged. From the Palestinians I interviewed, the following life cycle of gold jewelry can be deduced: Its sale to a client (generally male) as a gift for a woman (usually a bride) Its use by women as ornament during weddings and sometimes after giving birth Its eventual resale to the jewelry store by the female owner (possibly after other ownership transfers between women) Its subsequent resale by the jeweler to the wholesaler The industrial production of new jewels from the gold obtained by melting down the initial jewels The sale of these new jewels back to the jeweler who once again initiates the exchange cycle This sequence makes it clear that gold jewelry in Palestinian society fits categorization as a “quintessential commodity,” that is, gold jewelry is nearly always in the commodity state. If the life cycle of a piece of gold jewelry technically ends when it is melted down at the factory, the gold that it contained immediately reenters circulation in the form of other jewels. Mary Douglas and Baron Isherwood have illustrated how commodities provide “marking services” within coherent information systems and how “[t]he cultural aspect of necessities is revealed as their service in low-esteem, high-frequency events, while luxuries tend to serve essentially for low-frequency events that are highly esteemed.” Marriage alliances are highly esteemed low-frequency events that give concrete form to Palestinian social structure and for which gold jewelry, as a luxury item, provides a fundamental marking service.
Political Geography:
South Asia, Middle East, and Palestine

290. Under a Cloud of Uncertainty: AIPAC's 2010 Policy Conference, 21--23 March

Author:
Cléa Thouin
Publication Date:
06-2010
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
Journal of Palestine Studies
Institution:
Institute for Palestine Studies
Abstract:
ON THE SECOND DAY of the 2010 American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) annual policy conference, Eric Cantor, the Republican Whip for the 111th U.S. Congress, declared, “We gather today under a dark cloud of uncertainty.” Cantor may have been referring to most participants' favorite subject, the Iranian “nuclear threat,” but his statement proved an apt description of the overall atmosphere at this year's conference. The conference came in the midst of unusually fraught public tensions between the United States and Israel over the announcement two weeks earlier of new settlement construction in East Jerusalem. The dispute over an issue as important to the United States as the peace process, against the background of recently revealed statements by the U.S. military high command that the nonresolution of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict was negatively impacting U.S. security and military operations elsewhere in the world, directly challenged AIPAC's fundamental founding premise: the identity of U.S. and Israeli interests. As a result, the conference was colored by a palpable level of uncertainty about the way forward for the pro-Israel community in the United States. TELLING THE STORY AIPAC's fifty-first annual conference, which took place from 21 to 23 March in the Walter E. Washington Convention Center in Washington, D.C., was billed as the largest ever, with 7,500 delegates. The size itself posed challenges. To accommodate such numbers, the plenary sessions were held in a 780-foot-long conference hall—more than twice the size of a U.S. football field. This meant that despite the extravagant 500-foot split screen, the crowd on one side of the hall could not see what was happening at ground level on the other side, sometimes resulting in serious confusion. On more than one occasion, for example, half the audience, spontaneously joining with commotion on the other side of the hall without being able to see the source, unwittingly applauded pro-Palestinian activists protesting speeches, particularly by Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Middle East Quartet envoy (and former British prime minister) Tony Blair. These were two of the main speakers, the other most highly anticipated speaker at this year's conference being U.S. secretary of state Hillary Clinton. Besides four plenary sessions (and a gala dinner) that featured the main speakers, the program consisted of approximately one hundred “breakout sessions”—focused panels, university-type seminars, and advocacy training sessions led by scholars, professionals, or lobbyists. These took place concurrently before or after the plenary sessions, and most were repeated more than once in the course of the conference (sometimes with different speakers). There were also luncheons and dinners with distinguished guests, most of which (as well as some panels) were “by invitation only,” restricted to select AIPAC members. Only one plenary session was held on the last day of the conference, as most of the morning was dedicated to training workshops in preparation for AIPAC's traditional day of lobbying on Capitol Hill. These workshops were organized by region, with participants attending lobbying sessions for their specific region so as to receive targeted training on their congressional representatives. The overall conference theme, “Israel: Tell the Story,” represented AIPAC's effort to redirect the increasingly negative public narrative on Israel that has emerged since Israel's winter 2008–2009 assault on Gaza. This was part of a broader attempt to shift from a defensive campaign aimed at refuting criticism of Israel to an offensive campaign focused on advancing a positive picture of Israel, that of “an innovator, a Jewish homeland, an open society, a light unto the nations.” AIPAC executive director Howard Kohr outlined in broad strokes the new strategy, expressly calling on his audience to shed their “defensive mentality,” which he argued focused “all too often on the slights Israel faces,” and instead “tell the story of Israel's hand extended in peace . . . Israel's example of freedom and democracy.” The results of the conference fell short of this goal. The only successful “storytelling” took place at the opening plenary session titled “Innovation Nation,” which framed Israel's modern technological entrepreneurship as a continuation of early Zionist settlers' alleged ability to “make the desert bloom,” and in a video (one of many screened on the conference hall's mega screen) that depicted the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) as a humanitarian vanguard without ever hinting at the possibility of improper conduct during Operation Cast Lead (OCL). Only four “breakout” panels addressed the Israel-as-innovation-nation theme—two on Israel's economic and technological achievements, the other two on its military innovation. Moreover, most panels on Israel throughout the conference could be seen as “defensive,” for example, “Singled Out: Delegitimizing Israel at the United Nations,” “Mainstream to Fringe: Reality of Anti-Israel Effort in America,” or “Tough Questions: Answering Israel's Detractors.” Similarly, although a number of secondary speakers, from a Paraguayan entrepreneur to a Nigerian doctor, were tasked with “telling Israel's story” during the conference's plenary sessions, they were never the focus of the sessions at which they spoke and instead seemed to be no more than fillers before anticipated speakers like Clinton and Netanyahu. Even main speakers like Harvard law professor Alan Dershowitz inevitably found themselves defending Israel's policies—whether on settlements or on the IDF's conduct during OCL—rather than actually telling the story of what Kohr called the “small miracle we know as Israel.”
Topic:
United Nations
Political Geography:
America and Israel