Amr Moussa Discusses Peace and Prosperity at San Francisco’s Commonwealth Club

By Elaine Pasquini

“The United States is the number one exporter of revolutions in the world—the Internet revolution, e-commerce revolution—the kind of revolutions we warmly welcome and need in the Middle East today,” stated Egypt’s Foreign Minister Amr Moussa at the Commonwealth Club in San Francisco on March 21. Moussa, 64, after graduating from law school in Cairo in 1958, began his career in the government’s office of foreign affairs. He served as ambassador to the United Nations and ambassador to India prior to being appointed foreign minister in 1991. In addition to being a key figure in Egyptian diplomacy for over 32 years, he is working to integrate Egypt’s economy into the global economy. He emphasized his country’s interest in working closely with the U.S., its largest trade partner ($4 billion a year, he estimates) and Egypt’s close friend for more than two decades. He added that trade between California and Egypt is approximately $1 billion.

Egypt aspires to develop its own high-tech industry by supporting greater development of its human resources, Moussa said, also noting the country’s pattern of strong growth since 1995. “The new millennium is ushering in a new Egypt on the global stage,” he enthused.

During his short visit to the Bay Area, Moussa visited Silicon Valley, where many Egyptians are employed by the area’s high-tech firms. Egypt hopes to have its own version of Silicon Valley in the near future.

With respect to the Israeli-Palestinian and Israeli-Syrian peace negotiations in which he has been closely involved, “the U.S. and Egypt are working hand-in-hand” toward bringing a comprehensive peace to the Middle East, he said.

The Middle East has suffered for too long,” he said. “Peace needs to happen soon.”

In his view, Israel, once it signs peace treaties with its neighbors, “will be just another member of the region.” He envisions a dramatic increase in trade as a result of peace, but stressed the importance of de-escalating the arms race for the security of all countries in the area, particularly since Israel, Pakistan, and India have nuclear weapons.

When asked Egypt’s position on the U.N.-imposed sanctions against Iraq, he responded, “The victims are the Iraqi people. The time has come for the suspension of sanctions, with certain restrictions.”

Among dignitaries at the well-attended luncheon program were Egyptian Consul General Hagar El Islambouly, Israeli Consul General Daniel Shek, and German Consul General Ruprecht Henatsch.

Medical Anthropologist Examines Islamic Women’s Health Issues

Dr. Soheir Stolba, president of International Health and Development Associates, spoke on “Women’s Issues in Islamic Culture Today” at the San Francisco World Affairs Council on March 30. Egyptian-born Stolba, a medical anthropologist and professor at American River College in Sacramento, discussed her work in the areas of women’s reproductive health, contraception, and poverty alleviation in 22 countries, including Jordan, Indonesia, Sudan, Yemen, Morocco, and Egypt.

Stolba began her presentation by noting that “Islam interprets itself somewhat differently” in each country in which she has traveled, in accordance with varying local customs and tradition. She then described her recent work in Yemen where, because many women in small villages have no access to hospitals, she developed a badly needed midwifery program last summer. She believes making available family planning and birth control advice will save the lives of newborns and of many women, who in some Islamic countries have their first child at age 14.

She said her personally most rewarding program was the one she conducted in Yemen several months ago. To her surprise 30 local male tribal leaders attended a workshop she conducted on “gender,” which she defined as the relationship between men and women. After overcoming initial resistance to her ideas on respect and equality in marriage, in the generally candid discussions the men eventually were impressed with her ideas and wanted more workshops in the future.

With respect to alleviating poverty among women, Stolba stressed the importance of providing financial credit to women in order for them to start small businesses and earn more money for their families. Even though education is free from kindergarten through university in many developing countries, Stolba said many children do not attend school for such basic reasons as not being able to afford to buy shoes. Additionally, if children fall sick and money is not available for medical treatment, the children simply fail to attend classes and fall behind. She did, however, point out enormous advances made in providing education for women. In every country to which she has traveled higher education for women was important to the government leaders. In Cairo, she noted, there are at present more female than male students in medical schools.

Several questions from the audience dealt with the oppressive treatment of women in Afghanistan. Stolba emphasized that the act of denying women their basic human rights was not based on Islam, but was “tradition” or “interpretation” by the ruling Taliban faction. She believes the U.S. government should take a stronger stand against the Taliban’s unfair treatment of women. Responding to a question on economic opportunities for women within Islam, she pointed out that “Islam has promoted economic empowerment of women more than other religions.”

Consul General Says Russia Must Strike at Chechen “Terrorists”

Barely one week after Vladimir Putin was elected president of the Russian Federation, Yuri Popov, consul general of the Russian Federation in San Francisco, spoke on the “Russian Elections and Beyond” at the Commonwealth Club of San Francisco on March 31. Popov described sustaining good U.S.-Russian relations as “challenging,” adding “the fundamentals of our relations are sound” and the two countries have “mutual respect” for one another. He said both countries were concerned about non-proliferation of nuclear weapons, regional conflicts, and combating terrorism. He called the war in Chechnya “our festering wound,” but said Russia must “strike back at terrorists in Chechnya.” He believes “the victims of terrorism in Chechnya are the Chechens themselves.” According to him, the Russian government would be interested in “negotiating with Chechen leaders who reject terrorism.”

Israeli-Palestinian Peace Negotiations Discussed in San Francisco

Hassan Abdel Rahman, chief representative of the Palestine Liberation Organization and the Palestinian Authority in the U.S.; Daniel Shek, consul general of Israel in San Francisco; and Rajendra Abyankar, consul general of India in San Francisco, discussed the Middle East peace process at the San Francisco World Affairs Council April 6.

Referring to the previous negotiations as “brainstorming,” Abdel Rahman said,“It’s time we get down to business…We have stormed our brains enough.” He said failure of the two sides to reach agreement quickly on even a framework of the issues will have a negative impact on the peace process, and delay the Sept. 13 target date for resolution of the dispute.

“If there is a will on the Israeli side, we can reach an agreement,” he stated. The Palestinian position, he clarified, is that “the Israelis withdraw to the 1967 borders in accordance with U.N. Resolutions 242 and 338.” Recognizing that the Israelis and Palestinians are destined to live together, they must live as equals, he said, and “not as the occupier and the occupied—not as master and slave.

“We do not like the heavy Israeli foot on our neck,” he explained. “The time of colonialism is over.” He described the humiliating checkpoints which sometimes prevent Palestinians from reaching Israeli hospitals for medical treatment during an emergency. “We don’t like checkpoints and to be dealt with as foreigners in our country,” he said.

“Since the Palestinians have conceded 77 percent of historic Palestine to the Israelis, leaving the Palestinians with only 23 percent” consisting of Gaza and the West Bank, he said, “no Palestinian leader alive today will give more.” Further, he said, “The 1967 borders have to be respected, including Jerusalem.” Nor can Jerusalem “be exclusive to any group,” he continued. “It must be an open city for all faiths.”

He believes Jerusalem should not be redivided, but that it should be the shared capital of both Israel and Palestine. The Palestinian leadership “will not accept Israeli control over East Jerusalem,” he explained.

A major problem, Abdel Rahman noted, are the Palestinian refugees who were driven from their homes by the Israeli army in the 1948 and 1967 wars. “It is in the interest of peace for the Israelis to acknowledge their responsibility for the refugee problem” and to allow refugees “the right of return and compensation.”

Israeli Consul General Daniel Shek described the year 2000 as “a time of great hope.” He said for the first time there is a realistic chance to achieve peace in the Middle East.

Shek disagreed, however, with Abdel Rahman’s statement that the Palestinians gave up 77 percent of the land. “The 77 percent you claim to have given up is not rightfully yours,” he said.

Rajendra Abyankar, who served as India’s ambassador to Syria from 1992 to 1996, stated that in his opinion in the Middle East there could “be no war without Egypt and no peace without Syria.” He agreed that the main issue for Syria is the return of the Golan Heights. He also discussed the poor economic situation in Syria, concerns regarding succession in the event of the death of President Hafez Al-Assad, and the weakening of the Syrian military since the break-up of the former Soviet Union.

An overwhelming number of questions were submitted to the speakers. Abdel Rahman offered that an enormous step toward peace would be for Israel to immediately “cease all settlement activity,” to which the audience responded with enthusiastic applause. Responding to a question about what type of government a Palestinian state would have, Abdel Rahman emphasized his government’s commitment to democracy. “Democracy is the only way,” he concluded, “as any other system would be self-destructive.”

Palestinian American Congress Hosts Hassan Abdel Rahman

In addition to speaking to the World Affairs Council of San Francisco, Palestine Liberation Organization and Palestinian Authority chief representative in the U.S. Hassan Abdel Rahman was hosted by the Palestinian American Congress, Bay Area Chapter, at a dinner briefing held at the Arab Cultural Center of San Francisco on April 7. Following an introduction by chapter president Nadim Zarour, Abdel Rahman discussed the current status and history of Palestinian peace negotiations with Israel.

The collapse of the Soviet Union, the outbreak of the Palestinian intifada, and the Gulf war all contributed to the opening of a dialogue between the Palestinians and Israelis, Abdel Rahman said. The negotiations, which began with the Madrid Conference in 1991 and are due to be completed this year, have resulted in the Palestinian Authority gaining control of most of Gaza in 1994 and portions of the West Bank thereafter.

“No one in the world now doubts there will be a Palestinian state,” Abdel Rahman said. “Even many Israelis acknowledge this.” Noting that due to their lack of experience in governing, some Palestinian officials have made mistakes, Abdel Rahman affirmed that “we have a commitment to fix our mistakes….It is within our reach to build a modern democratic state which will meet the needs of all the Palestinian people.”

Abdel Rahman said his country wants to tap into the vast intellectual resources of Palestinians in the diaspora to help with the enormous project of building a modern state. Palestinian Americans with professional training in medicine, education, engineering, and the law can be of great assistance to the Palestinians in the West Bank and Gaza, he said, noting that in his Washington, DC offices he hopes to build a database of skilled Palestinian Americans.

San Francisco Benefit for Billboard Campaign to End Sanctions Against Iraq

The American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee San Francisco Chapter and the Arab Women’s Solidarity Association presented a fund-raising program entitled “Artists for Iraq” on April 8 at the Mission Cultural Center in San Francisco. The program was co-sponsored by Amnesty International USA, Arab Cultural Center, Arab Film Festival, Arabica, Center for Political Education, Global Exchange, International Action Center, Middle East Children’s Alliance, Women of Color Resource Center and the Institute for Multi-Racial Justice. It raised almost $5,000 toward the $65,000 needed to place billboards in the San Francisco Bay Area to bring awareness to the general public of the tremendous suffering of the Iraqi people and the need to end the U.N.-imposed sanctions.

Featured speaker was Egyptian writer, physician, and activist Nawal El Saadawi. Entertainment included Aztec Dancers, Company of Prophets, and Farah Jubran. Sundez Almussa and Iltifat Jabber, recent immigrants from Iraq now living in California, spoke of the intense suffering their families and friends endure under the sanctions, which deny the Iraqi people sufficient food, medicine, and a dignified life with basic human rights. According to UNICEF estimates, approximately 500,000 children under the age of 5 died between 1991 and 1998. The billboards are to be in place by Aug. 2, the 10th anniversary of the imposition of sanctions. To donate to the End The Sanctions Now campaign contact the ADC Bay Area Chapter, 522 Valencia Blvd., San Francisco, CA 94110, telephone (415) 816-4015.

Arab Cultural Center Millennium Awards Banquet

“Honoring Arab Cultural Achievement in Arts & Education” was the theme of the Arab Cultural Center of San Francisco’s Annual Awards Banquet held at the Patio Español Spanish Cultural Center on April 15. More than 230 guests, including San Francisco Mayor Willie Brown, the Honorary Consul of Jordan and Mrs. Kamel Ayoub, and Consul of Yemen Mansoor Ismael, attended the 27th annual event.

Recipients of Arab Educational and Cultural Awards for their outstanding contributions in the fields of arts and education were Father Labib Kobti, pastor of St. John of God Church in San Francisco; Nabila Mango, Arabic instructor, founder of ASWAT choir, Arabica Book Club, and organizer of many activities promoting Arab culture; Said Nuseibeh, architectural photographer whose photos of the Haram al-Sharifappear in his book, Dome of The Rock; Dina Saba, executive director of Cinemayaat, San Francisco Arab Film Festival; and Emily Shihadeh, Palestinian writer, singer, comedienne, and creator of “Grapes & Figs Are in Season,” her one-woman autobiographical performance.

Arab-American and ACC member Ron Dudum discussed his campaign to become a member of San Francisco’s Board of Supervisors from the Sunset District (District 4) and urged all to attend his campaign kick-off on May 13. Abeer Rafidi, program director of the Arab Cultural Center Service Network, updated the audience on the Service Network’s achievements over the past few months. Mary Assily presented a $1,000 Raffoul Assily Memorial Scholarship to Bisan Shehadeh. Honorary Consul of Jordan Kamel Ayoub presented a $1,000 Kamel Ayoub Annual Scholarship to Suzan Shqair. Musical entertainment was provided by Georges Lammam & Ensemble.

Muslim Students Sponsor Palestine Program at Berkeley

A program on “Continued Resistance in Palestine” was sponsored April 20 by The Muslim Student Association West and the Muslim Student Union at the University of California at Berkeley. Richard H. Curtiss, executive editor of the Washington Report on Middle East Affairs; Manal Elkarra, Palestinian-American student from Gaza; and Mohammad Salah, an American imprisoned in Israel for crimes he did not commit, were the featured speakers at the Berkeley campus. MSA West member Basim Elkarra moderated the evening program.

Ms. Elkarra, a community studies major at the University of California Santa Cruz, described her six-month stay in Gaza last summer. “Palestinians are being mistreated by Israelis every day,” she stated. “Palestinians are denied fresh water, basic infrastructure, employment and education.”

Elkarra visited the Shaboura area of the Rafah refugee camp in conjunction with her work with the Gaza Community Health Program. In Rafah she viewed the terrible sanitary conditions and cramped living quarters which are similar to conditions in Gaza’s six other refugee camps. Her co-worker’s comments that conditions in Rafah Camp “have gotten better than before” were shocking for Elkarra, since the conditions she saw were deplorable.

Among other hardships, Elkarra said fresh water was only available at 2 a.m., forcing women to rise early in order to collect a supply for their families for one day. She urged the audience to visit Gaza and personally see the conditions under which Gaza’s population of more than 1.2 million people are living. Although improvements are being made, “the situation is not bright,” she concluded.

Mr. Curtiss described his feelings in 1956 when he began the Middle Eastern portion of his long foreign service career and discovered that “what the U.S. had been doing concerning the Israeli-Palestinian problem was not in accordance with justice and was not even in accordance with the best interests of the United States in the Middle East.” He said he concluded then that “the Palestinians were right and the Israelis were wrong,” that the mainstream media were concealing this from the American public, and that nothing he has seen in the intervening years has changed these initial conclusions.

Noting that Zionists base their claims to Palestine on history, Curtiss noted that during 3,000 years of recorded history Jews ruled in parts of Palestine for 560 years, Christians for 428 years, and Muslims for 1,179 years. Contradicting the early slogan of political Zionists that Palestine was a “land without people for people without land,” he said the area had been heavily settled since Neolithic times.

He explained that today’s unjust situation derives from the Balfour Declaration by the British during World War I. This document said the British government “looked with favor” upon establishment of a Jewish homeland in Palestine, providing it did not impinge upon the rights of “the indigenous peoples,” although at that time Jews constituted less than 10 percent of the population, while 90 percent of the residents were Muslim or Christian Palestinians.

Curtiss described events during the 1948 war, including the massacre of between 150 and 250 men, women and children in the village of Deir Yassin on April 9, 1948 by Jewish militiamen This frightened Palestinians into fleeing their homes all over the Holy Land.

During the fighting of 1947 and 1948 some 750,000 Palestinians became refugees as they fled or were driven from their homes in fear of the Israeli army. An additional 250,00 Palestinians were forced from their homeland during the 1967 Israeli-Arab war. None of these refugees were allowed to return, even after the fighting had ended.

Lamenting that “the peace process is going nowhere,” Curtiss said, “the Israelis will not offer the Palestinians an agreement any Palestinian leader can sign.” He believes today, as he has since he began his career in the Middle East, that “justice is on the side of the Palestinians” and “there will be no peace until all of the Palestinians are offered either repatriation or restitution for the homes and lands they have lost.”

The last speaker was Mohammad Salah, a Palestinian-born U.S. citizen wrongly imprisoned in Israel for five years and who is currently barred from working by the FBI, which has also put a lien on his home on the basis of secret evidence (see December 1999 Washington Report, p. 35).

Salah described the events leading to his imprisonment in Israel in 1993, and his current situation since returning to Chicago in 1997 following his release from incarceration. President Clinton, through an executive order, has declared Salah a “Specially Designated Terrorist,” thus allowing the U.S. government to seize personal bank accounts, alleging these assets were intended for terrorist purposes.

Salah vehemently denies all charges and is awaiting a June 12 hearing date. Although he has incurred more than $500,000 in legal expenses defending himself, he feels a strong moral obligation to refute the false charges, not only on his behalf and that of his family, but because of the immorality of using secret evidence, against which the accused person cannot mount a defense.

Elaine Pasquini is a free-lance journalist based in Ignacio, California.