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11. The Story of a Restaurant during the Corona Epidemic: A Period of Crisis for Businesses in the Arab Sector

Author:
Nidal Othman
Publication Date:
07-2020
Content Type:
Special Report
Institution:
Moshe Dayan Center for Middle Eastern and African Studies
Abstract:
96% of the businesses in Arab society are small and miniature businesses, most of which are not defined as "essential enterprises". As a result, they were shut down during part of the Corona crisis. The model of distance working and working from home is not common in Arab society. Only a miniscule proportion of Arab businesses have the potential to operate in this mode and as a result the Corona crisis took a heavy toll on businesses in Arab society. The government made state-guaranteed loans available to small and medium-sized businesses; however, the conditions for eligibility were difficult to fulfil for Arab-owned businesses. Most of the loan applications were rejected, and businesses that managed to meet the conditions were awarded much smaller loans than they had requested. Their financial distress has led many business owners to take out gray market loans at exorbitant interest rates. It is recommended that an interministerial forum be created with representatives of the Ministry of Internal Security, the Ministry of Welfare and the Ministry of Economy in cooperation with the Committee of Arab Mayors, with the goal of keeping Arab business owners from entering a vicious circle of crime and violence as a result of the debt they have been forced to take on. Arab business owners need to become organized, whether at the national or local level.
Topic:
Economics, Business, Coronavirus, and COVID-19
Political Geography:
Middle East, Israel, and Palestine

12. The “Gender Genie”: Bedouin Women between the Generations

Author:
Nuzha Allassad Alhuzail
Publication Date:
07-2020
Content Type:
Special Report
Institution:
Moshe Dayan Center for Middle Eastern and African Studies
Abstract:
In recent years, social and cultural processes in Bedouin society in the Negev have had an effect on the social fabric and the status of women. The first generation of Bedouin women grew up in the nomadic period and were born before the establishment of the State. They are characterized by strong self-confidence based on their social, family and personal status. The second generation of women grew up during the urbanization period and they experienced the difficulties of transitioning from a nomadic way of life to life in a permanent settlement. They feel confused and angry about the transition process; nonetheless, they occupy key positions in Bedouin society and serve as the bridging generation between the past and the present. The third generation of women are divided between obeying their inner voices and obeying the collective social will. The women of this generation are in the midst of a transition process that is still ongoing. Bedouin society is flourishing and developing, as reflected in its integration within higher education and the labor market. In contrast, the advancement of women faces the barrier of traditional male domination. Although there is a small handful of men in Bedouin society who yearn for change and gender equality, they are torn between traditional masculinity – which calls for the man to be dominant – and modern masculinity.
Topic:
Gender Issues, Minorities, and Women
Political Geography:
Palestine and Israel

13. Anarchist Solidarity with the BLM Struggle – Echoes from the Islamic World

Author:
Ariel Koch
Publication Date:
07-2020
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Moshe Dayan Center for Middle Eastern and African Studies
Abstract:
Anarchist Solidarity with the BLM Struggle – Echoes from the Islamic World AuthorAriel Koch Beehive: Middle East Social Media In the English edition of the June issue of Beehive, Dr. Ariel Koch examines the 'Anarchist Solidarity with the BLM Struggle'. Date July 20, 2020 Download pdf US Members of Tekoşîna Anarşîst express their solidarity with the BLM movement, 4 June 2020. From Twitter Members of Tekoşîna Anarşîst express their solidarity with the BLM movement, 4 June 2020. From Twitter The recorded killing of George Floyd by a police officer on May 26, 2020 in Minneapolis, sparked worldwide protests and riots, as well as solidarity with the struggle of African Americans against police violence and inequality. Although spearheaded by the Black Lives Matter (BLM) movement, anarchists have also played a role in mobilizing people to join protests,[1] while framing the African American struggle as part of a worldwide anarchist struggle.[2] This article sheds light on several anarchist groups in Muslim-majority countries, and their calls for solidarity with the BLM or anarchist causes. Although marginal, these groups are part of an anarchist network that has evolved in recent years on different Internet-based communication platforms. These platforms enable anarchists to construct a transnational, decentralized, leaderless movement that attempts to merge local struggles with the global anarchist movement.
Topic:
Social Media, Solidarity, Leftist Politics, Black Lives Matter (BLM), and Anarchism
Political Geography:
Middle East

14. A National Hero or a Symbol of Oppression? Protesting the Statue of Ferdinand de Lesseps in Port Said

Author:
Michael Barak
Publication Date:
08-2020
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Moshe Dayan Center for Middle Eastern and African Studies
Abstract:
Since mid-June, there have been growing social media protests by residents of the city of Port Said, Egypt against the mayor's intention to reposition the statue of de Lesseps (1805-1894), a French engineer and statesman who initiated and led the Suez Canal excavation project. In their view, the statue symbolizes European colonialism and denigrates the blood of the Egyptian people who scarified their lives in a war against the oppressive colonialist enemy. The discourse reflects an ideological struggle over the interpretation of symbols and monuments in the public sphere and corresponds with similar protests that have taken place recently in several Western countries, with the resumption of riots against the murder of George Floyd, which highlights the phenomenon of tearing down statues identified as symbols of oppression.
Topic:
History, Social Media, Colonialism, and Protests
Political Geography:
Middle East, North Africa, Egypt, and Port Said

15. Stormy Waters in the Eastern Mediterranean

Author:
Hay Eytan, Cohen Yanarocak, Shaul Chorev, and Benny Spanier
Publication Date:
01-2020
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Moshe Dayan Center for Middle Eastern and African Studies
Abstract:
In the latest issue of Tel Aviv Notes, Benny Spanier, Shaul Chorev, and Hay Eytan Cohen Yanarocak explain the politics of Turkey's agreement with Libya on the contours of an Exclusive Economic Zone in the Eastern Mediterranean.
Topic:
Politics, Treaties and Agreements, Economy, and Special Economic Zones
Political Geography:
Turkey, Libya, North Africa, and Mediterranean

16. Yahya Sinwar and Hamas’ Strategic Crossroad

Author:
Michael Milshtein
Publication Date:
02-2020
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Moshe Dayan Center for Middle Eastern and African Studies
Abstract:
In the latest issue of Tel Aviv Notes, Michael Milshtein examines Yahya Sinwar's role in Hamas, as the organization searches for a way out of its current strategic impasse.
Topic:
Politics, History, Non State Actors, and Hamas
Political Geography:
Middle East, Israel, and Palestine

17. ISIS after Baghdadi: Is Every Caliph Replaceable?

Author:
Adam Hoffman
Publication Date:
04-2020
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Moshe Dayan Center for Middle Eastern and African Studies
Abstract:
In this March 2020 edition of Tel Aviv Notes, Adam Hoffman examines how Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi's death has affected the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS).
Topic:
Violent Extremism, Islamic State, and Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi
Political Geography:
Middle East

18. We Have No Role But to Bear Witness

Author:
Itamar Rabinovich
Publication Date:
06-2020
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Moshe Dayan Center for Middle Eastern and African Studies
Abstract:
In this latest edition of Tel Aviv Notes, Itamar Rabinovich examines the role of Syria's cultural and artistic community in the ongoing Syrian crisis.
Topic:
Arts, Culture, and Syrian War
Political Geography:
Middle East and Syria

19. Memory of the Nakba in the Palestinian Public Sphere

Author:
Michael Milshtein
Publication Date:
08-2020
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Moshe Dayan Center for Middle Eastern and African Studies
Abstract:
In the latest issue of Tel Aviv Notes, Michael Milshtein examines how the collective memory of the Nakba has become anchored in the Palestinian public sphere.
Topic:
History, Minorities, Memory, Nakba, and Palestinian Authority
Political Geography:
Middle East, Palestine, and Israel

20. The Coronavirus in Syria

Author:
Ido Yahel
Publication Date:
08-2020
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Moshe Dayan Center for Middle Eastern and African Studies
Abstract:
In the latest edition of Tel Aviv Notes, Ido Yahel examines the emergence of the coronavirus in Syria and its implications for the war-torn country and the region.
Topic:
Health, Syrian War, Coronavirus, and COVID-19
Political Geography:
Middle East and Syria