"Freedom"

Some people might choose to think of this Mohammad Mounir's song as a song about Egypt. Certainly whoever put the video together (and the people who commented on it) think so. I can see why: it's called "Freedom" and has words like "martyr" and "refugee." Serious business. Grab a flag!

I prefer to see it as a love song that borrows the language of nationalism to express love for a woman--to legitimize a forbidden love, to be exact. I think this makes it more interesting and a bit subversive.

To say to one's country, as the song does, "Your love is freedom; in love, nothing is forbidden" should not raise any eyebrows. But to say it to the one you love, especially if your heart is "going against the current," will raise hell. No one wants to be a refugee in their own country, which is why the best line in the song makes no sense if you are thinking a country is the object of desire: "Hold me, take me, I'm a refugee, and I am true for the first time..." Well, unless you're asking for political asylum!

What I'm saying is that love songs can be powerful and legitimate without having to be about God and Country. Let's try listening to them that way and see what happens.

Israel Committed War Crimes in Gaza

The UN Fact-Finding Mission "concluded there is evidence indicating serious violations of international human rights and humanitarian law were committed by Israel during the Gaza conflict, and that Israel committed actions amounting to war crimes, and possibly crimes against humanity," concluded the UN Report.

It's not the first time and it won't be the last and unfortunately nothing will come out of it. Still. for the record.

Breaking the Silence

On a recent concert in Ramallah, arranged by Palestinian musician Khaled Joubran, and including several Arab and international musicians.

How the New York Times Whitewashes Israeli Settlers

Only the majestic "paper of record," i.e. The New York Times, can get away with a five-page article on the Israeli settlers in the West Bank without mentioning once that settlements and outposts (which are settlements by another name) are illegal under international law. ILLEGAL!!! Write THAT!

The picture that accompanies the article infuriated me. The article infuriated me more. What's the message we get from both?

Israeli settlers are really mystic idealists who are interested in a higher truth. They are not violent. Their occasional violence towards the Palestinians is in response to the latter's attacks, which is why the only detailed violence we hear of in the article and elsewhere--the one with names and a story--shows them to be the victims.

Moreover, by showing them to be "different" from the majority of settlers and separate from the Israeli government and army, the article obscures the FACT that the settlement movement of the West Bank is imagined, sponsored, and protected by the Israeli political establishment. Illegal settlement of Palestinian land is official Israeli policy and not the work of some idealistic but misguided small group of mystic hard corers!! Damn it!

The reporter who barfed that article could have gotten some of these Facts in his piece if he dared talk to one or two Palestinians about settlements. But god and editorial policy and biased reporting forbid that such an outrageous thing be admitted.

And, oh, that picture. What's better to represent those harmless mystic pioneers than a mother bathing her baby on top of the mountain in the holy land wilderness! Move over Mary and baby Jesus! Here comes the modern version.

Ok. My morning is ruined!

Gold and Silver for Palestinian Athletes

Palestinian athletes receive gold and silver medals in Asia Parlympic games in Japan.

"Marking a first for Palestine, Mo’men Al-Masry received the gold medal for his javelin throwing, while Walid Judeh received earned a silver medal in the same event."

The first sentence of the Maan article quoted above is one of the worst I've read in a long time: "Disabled members of the Al-Jazeera Sports Club in Gaza received top medals at the Asia Paralympic Games Championship in javelin throwing Sunday in Japan."

The only "disabled" I see in this story is the writer of that lame sentence.

More Fatwas to Tell Women What to Do

Change is hitting Saudi Arabia like an earthquake. Nothing will stop it. The latest example is a new fatwa by a prominent Islamic personality who said that a Muslim woman is allowed to uncover her face in public.

If she is abroad.

And if she is being harassed.

What's next? Fasten your seat belts. It's going to be a wild ride.

"Perhaps what the state of Israel fears most of all is the hope that people can live together based on justice and equality for all"

An article about Israel's violent actions against the Palestinian popular non-violent resistance.

It's important to remember that his kind of resistance always existed and Israel always brutally suppressed it. It was the backbone of the First Intifada and it is what keeps the Palestinian cause and people alive. Israel hates it because it won't allow it to play the role of victim and it has the potential of neutralizing its superior military power. Palestinian politicians, across the political spectrum, pay lip service to it because they fear it's popular, non-hierarchical and democratic potential. Also they score more points against each other through the spectacular "armed" resistance, regardless of how ineffective the latter is.

On Masculinities

Tarkan

Gay Killings in Iraq

Excellent article about gay killings in Iraq by Rasha Moumneh.

Arab Jews (Mizrahim)

A documentary by Al Jazeera TV on Arab Jews in Israel (Mizrahim). Unfortunately, there are no English subtitles though there should be. It's an hour long but well-worth viewing. (Thanks Smadar)

Most Palestinians Killed Were Civilians

"The vast majority of the Palestinians killed in Israel's operation in the Gaza Strip last winter were innocent civilians rather than combatants, according to a new report to be published by the B'Tselem organization Wednesday morning. This is the opposite of what the Israel Defense Forces has said."

Not that Palestinians need this kind of prove to show them they were slaughtered. And not that this will sway the hearts of those who don't believe there is any such thing as a Palestinian civilian. But it is useful to give the lie to the Israeli occupation army.

Some Day

(Thanks Rashid M)

Darwish and Trio Joubran: "Lessons from the Kama Sutra"

An English translation of the poem is here.

Sabreen: "About a Human"

"Neither the interrogation room will last
Nor the chains."

Picture of the Day

from New York Times

Theft Continues: Israel Approves New Settlement Units

455 new ugly colonial units will be built illegally on occupied land in the West Bank. Take that Obama! Take that international law!!!

Lubna al Hussain: Guilty but No Lashes

A Sudanese court found the journalist Lubna Al Hussein guilty of wearing immodest clothing (i.e pants) and fined her $200 but no lashes. According to the law, Al Hussain could have received up to 40 lashes for her transgression of the ambiguous modesty rules. Other women have received that punishment, but remained silent. Al Hussein was the first to go pubic with her protest. (English here)

During the court session, 150 Sudanese women, some of them wearing pants, demonstrated in support of al Hussein. They were harassed by Islamist counter demonstrators who called them whores and demanded their punishment. The police attacked and arrested several women.

It's some sort of victory that Al Hussein didn't get flogged. But the fact that she was found "guilty" and was fined means that Sudanese women will not be safe until the law that punishes them for what they wear is no more.

And with women like al Hussein and her supporters, such unjust laws will not last.

Muslim Women Can Say Hello Now!

A prominent Saudi preacher has ruled that a Muslim woman can greet a man and that her voice, as long as she limits her words to a greeting, is not off limits (the Arabic word is 3awra, for which I don't have an accurate translation).

What is the world coming to? The standards are getting lax by the minute. I'd blame it on globalization!

Amreeka: the trailer

I haven't seen it, so I'm suspending judgement.

Take a Stand: An Appeal to Israeli Film Makers

This appeal to Israeli film makers asks them to come out of their political closet and take a stand against the Israeli occupation. Specifically, it addresses the maker of the film The Bubble, that they must not allow themselves to use the Israeli LGBT community to whitewash the violent and racist practices of the state.