Morocco: Great Hope For Arab Democracy?

Morocco: Great Hope For Arab Democracy?

As we witness the stunning anti-government protests in Iran, we wonder why no similar protests sweep the Arab world from Morocco and Mauritania to Saudi Arabia and Iraq? Could the kingdom of Morocco be the place where democracy is possible in the Arab world? Check out this piece:

http://www.slate.com/id/2221750/?from=rss

That democracy is not embedded in the Arab world does not mean that it will not be one day. We often make the fallacy that the present politically is the eternal present. That political history is merely static. This is a narrow reading of history. Do we forget the US and French Revolutions abolishing monarchies, the fall of Nazism and Fascism, and the demise of the Marxist-Leninist Soviet Union in 1991? Or, the fall of empires from the Aztec to the Roman? It will be a struggle, a mighty struggle, and the antiquated political structures will not fall easily. But there are cracks. And this is where the light will shine through both in Morocco and beyond its borders.

Tamir Bar-On

Honduras Coup: Back to the Days of the Generals?

Honduras Coup: Back to the Days of the Generals?

It has been about twenty years since there was a coup in Latin America. The post-Cold War period ushered in an era of election fever and the retreat of the dreaded, rule of military generals in many nations in the region. Yesterday the military forced Honduran President Manuel Zelaya (pictured above) into exile to Costa Rica. The reaction has been swift from the Organization of American States (OAS) and leftists such as Hugo Chavez in Venezuela and Evo Morales in Bolivia.

Check out this story on the Honduran crisis:

http://www.slate.com/id/2221716/?from=rss

Let's hope that there is no demonstration effect in the region and we do not return to the days of the Latin American anti-communist 'security state' with its horrific human rights abuses, disappearances, and repression of popular democratic forces. Today our prayers should be with the people of Honduras. I hope that constitutionalism, the rule of law, and the peaceful alternation of power prevails again soon.

Tamir Bar-On

An Unlikely Lebanese Zionist

An Unlikely Lebanese Zionist

Few people in the Arab world will publicly accept the existence of a Jewish and democratic state (Israel) in their midst. The Lebanese intellectual Brigitte Gabriel swims against this tide:

http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1245924926596&pagename=JPost%2FJPArticle%2FShowFull

Gabriel upsets many in the Arab world and the left in Israel and the West. Whatever your political biases, Gabriel's story is worth reading.

Tamir Bar-On

Clerics Say Protesters Working Against God

Clerics Say Protesters Working Against God

The clerics of Iran now argue that the anti-government protesters are working against God and the Islamic Republic of Iran. Newspapers are closed, professors increasingly detained, and protests are being prevented by a massive security presence in Tehran. No desire by the religious rulers of Iran to open a full investigation into vote rigging. My reply to the clerics: When God made us all, he made a tree filled with political biodiversity.

Tamir Bar-On

Iran and Revolution: The Historical Context

Iran and Revolution: The Historical Context

Iranians are perhaps at the precipice of another revolution. To understand the historical cycle of political revolutions in Iran, see this excellent piece from The New Republic:

http://www.tnr.com/politics/story.html?id=f21c3ec1-291a-414f-8c4b-4d8d451c50f3

Just as the revolutionary moment comes closer, the repressive apparatus of the Iranian state will certainly accelerate its crackdown on ordinary people, intellectuals, and opposition forces of a religious and secular hue. But I feel this time the people will continue to fight on for their legitimate rights. Repression will not stop the movement of the Iranian people, which is bold, brave, and morally courageous.

Tamir Bar-On

The Iranian Dictator Has The Logic of a Madman

The Iranian Dictator Has The Logic of a Madman

Iranian President Ahmadinejad wants US President Obama to apologize to the Iranian nation for meddling in Iranian post-election affairs (i.e., the dictator's cold-blooded crackdown on his own people):

http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1095615.html

The Iranian dictator has the logic of a madman. Obama must shut up as justice is denied to ordinary Iranians and they are slaughtered for upholding Section 27 of the Iranian Constitution - the right to peaceful assembly. To add to the madness, this is the dictator that sent child soldiers to die as early as 12 in the Iran-Iraq War (1980-88). The one that supports genocidal Islamists in Lebanon (Hezbollah). The one that meddles in Iraqi affairs by funding Shi'ite militias. The country that refused to apologize for killing 85 in a Jewish centre in Buenos Aires in 1994. The country that killed thousands in a 1989 crackdown on its people, with no apologies to the dead families. The man that has an open Holocaust denial conference and threatens the annihilation of the Jewish state.

So President Obama. You tried to open your arms to the dictator. Enough is enough. Do not pander to the logic of the madman from Iran. He is poison to his people and the entire world. The quicker he goes, the better for all of us. No wonder we hear the words "Death to the Dictator" at the anti-government protests! May the dictator fall quickly. He is merely a paper tiger.

Tamir Bar-On

Obama Finally Gets Tougher on Iran

Obama Finally Gets Tougher on Iran

US President Obama is finally getting rhetorically tougher on Iran. Check out this story:

http://www.slate.com/id/2221227/?from=rss

The statement still does not go far enough for some Republicans and Democrats, as well as democrats in Iran looking for more US support. My Iranian friends would agree. They say they are neither for the Islamic Republic, nor Mousavi supporters. Both are Islamists and they call for a republic, which separates what belongs to God (church) and what belongs to Caesar (state).

With general strike possibilities in the air and clashes reported near the Iranian parliament today, we can all smell the winds of change in Iran. That is, the same winds of change that were blowing for the oppressed peoples of Eastern Europe before the fall of the Marxist-Leninist Soviet Union.

Tamir Bar-On

General Strike Next?

General Strike Next?

As the theocrats in Tehran are showing the true, naked brutality of the regime to the entire world, the opposition must be wondering what next? The streets are more militarized with army, police, Basij, and Revolutionary Guards. The streets of Tehran are very dangerous. Snipers fire into crowds from buildings. Hundreds have been arrested and many killed in cold blood.

There are swirling rumours that a general strike might be the next possibility in an effort to put more pressure on the mullahs. The photo above is of the famous 1919 General Strike in Winnipeg (Canada) that paralyzed the city in 1919. The authorities responded violently, including mass arrests and the death of a protester. This Iranian general strike might begin as early as today. Remember the protests also have a socio-economic underpinning, as ordinary Iranians are feeling the economic pinch and the stifling nature of state-led corruption. Remember that if oil workers go on strike, as in 1979 under the Shah of Iran, then the days of the regime are numbered. Oil greases the wheels of the authoritarian mullahs and the lack of revenues from oil could be the beginning of the end for the Islamic Republic of Iran.

To the people of Iran, the peoples of Canada, Israel, Mexico, Morocco, and the world are with you. You are heroes for resisting tyranny and breathing the air of freedom. You do not walk alone in these world historical changing times!

Tamir Bar-On

Angel of Iran: Martyr of Our Times?

Angel of Iran: Martyr of Our Times?

She was no religiously-motivated suicide bomber, or a martyr dying purposefully to 'liberate occupied lands.' Neda Agha Soltani, now dubbed the 'Angel of Iran,' was gunned down Saturday in Tehran as she got out of her car for a breather on a warm day. She was caught in a wave of protests against the theocratic Ahmadinejad regime. She was likely killed by a pro-government Basij militiaman. The Basij is a revolutionary, people's (volunteer) paramilitary force founded by Ayatollah Khomeini, the Supreme Guide of the Islamic Revolution. The Basij is dedicated to the preservation of the principles of the 1979 Islamic Revolution. They take their marching orders from the Iranian Revolutionary Guards. Here is the Angel's story and the disturbing footage:

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1195060/The-YouTube-Martyr-How-Neda-Agha-Soltan-symbol-help-topple-Irans-fanatical-rulers.html


Soltani can now become the martyr of our times; the heroine of the You-Tube generation. May her struggle and death not be in vain and democracy and human rights triumph in Iran!

Tamir Bar-On

You Touch Us All - From Toronto to Tel-Aviv!

You Touch Us All - From Toronto to Tel-Aviv!

The anti-government protesters in Iran have inspired us all with their courage, determination, tenacity, bravery, solidarity, and humanity - from Toronto to Tel-Aviv. Check out these touching pictures of the protests sent to me by an Iranian friend:

http://www.boston.com/bigpicture/2009/06/irans_disputed_election.html

In the image above, in a spirit of profound and tender humanity, a pro-Mousavi anti-government protester helps an injured riot policeman. He surely saved him from imminent death at the hands of the angry crowd...

Tamir Bar-On

More Blood and the Islamic Republic In Doubt

More Blood and the Islamic Republic in Doubt

More blood today on the streets of Tehran. Ten, thirteen, perhaps more killed today by the Iranian security forces. Green protest banners were draped with the black of mourning and mixed with more red blood smelling of death.

The red-black-green flag pictured above, which was created in New York in 1920 by the United Negro Improvement Association and African Communities League (UNIA), could easily symbolize the 2009 anti-government protests in Iran. The green could symbolize the anti-government Mousavi opposition. The black could stand for the eight protesters killed by the state at the outset of the protests. The red might signify the blood of the new protesters killed today.

The incredible protests continue against the Ahmadinejad regime. Mousavi told his supporters to fight on, even if he is killed. The sanctity of the Islamic Republic of Iran has now been questioned by the opposition protesters. A more free press, human rights, democracy, and the rule of law have been demanded. Twitter, Facebook, and amateur video feeds are sustaining support for the protesters from Toronto to Los Angeles and Berlin to Paris. An LA rabbi, who lives in an area with a high concentration of Iranians, said that the protesters resembled a biblical vision for freedom from bondage!

I am glad that the Canadian government today spoke out against the brutality of the regime, which mercilessly kills its own people:

http://www2.macleans.ca/2009/06/21/the-iranian-people-deserve-to-have-their-voices-heard/

Some now wonder, including US Republicans, whether the Obama administration will come out with such a powerful statement. I continue to salute the brave people of Iran. They should be a source of great inspiration for people under authoritarian regimes from Saudi Arabia to Libya and North Korea to Cuba. And for all of us, who long for more democratic political spaces.

Tamir Bar-On

Movement by the People For The People

Movement by the People For The People

Check out this extraordinary letter sent by an Iranian anti-government protester to the US, which is reprinted in The Jerusalem Post:

http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1245184872971&pagename=JPost%2FJPArticle%2FShowFull

If the assertion that the protests are 'in the millions' is correct, then hopefully the days of the Ahmadinejad regime are short-lived!

Tamir Bar-On

Brave Iranian Footballers!

Brave Iranian Footballers!

You probably all know that I am a massive soccer fan! Before a recent World Cup soccer qualifying match, a number of Iranian footballers (including star player Ali Karimi pictured above) showed solidarity with the Iranian protesters by wearing the green colours of the anti-government protesters. Here is the story below:

http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1093916.html


These Iranian footballers are brave men, like the Iranian men and women that have risked their lives to express their dignity, freedom, and fundamental rights against a dictatorship. They have inspired people around the world. If open protests can rock the theocratic, authoritarian Islamic Republic of Iran for days, another, better world is possible. To use the phrase of the French 1968 protesters, "Dream the impossible!" This is what the pro-Mousavi protesters have done.

The Iranians failed to qualify for the 2010 World Cup this time. Yet, they have inspired hope and solidarity in a nation longing for freedom. I am an Israeli-Canadian football fan. I strongly salute the Iranian footballers and the Iranian protesters. With their silent, peaceful protests, they have showed dignity, hope, and solidarity to the world. They have taught us all to hate tyranny in all its manifestations. And to "dream the impossible!" Dream it and it will come one day!

Tamir Bar-On

Are the Iranian Protests for Democracy?

Are the Iranian Protests for Democracy?

The supporters of Mir Hossein Mousavi, the defeated presidential candidate for the Islamic Republic of Iran, yesterday wore black instead of their traditional green to mourn for the deaths of eight supporters. The regime is already jailing opponents, blocking media of communications, and intimidating possible dissenters. The biggest protests to rock Iran since the 1979 Islamic Revolution, which overthrew the US-led tyrant known as the Shah of Iran, raise the following questions:

1) Are the protests about preserving the theocratic legacy of the Islamic Republic of Iran?

2) Are the protests about seeking to overthrow the Islamic Republic and institute a system of governance based on Western traditions consisting of the rule of law, human rights, respect for minorities, gender equality, and the separation of church and state?

3) Is it an exercise of co-optation designed to show the West that Iran is democratic?

4) Is Iran currently on the precipice between authoritarianism and democracy, and which force is ultimately more powerful in civil society and the state?

5) Can Mousavi really be a democrat if as Prime Minister he helped to create genocidal anti-Semites like Hezbollah back in the early 1980s?

6) Will the Council of Guardians, the supreme body in Iran politically under the Supreme Leader Khamenei, ultimately win the day and "order" be restored?

7) If the Council of Guardians prevails, will democracy take a backseat in Iran to nuclear war cries with Israel, Holocaust denial, and confrontation with the US?

8) Would the victory of Mousavi really change the poor constitutional and political reality for Iran's beleaguered Jewish, Christian, Bahai, and other minorities?

Don't get me wrong. The votes of Mousavi supporters should be properly counted. The brave people of Iran should be venerated for confronting an autocratic regime, which cannot even properly cover up its corrupt voting mechanisms! To get answers to some of these aforementioned questions, see the following interview with a Jewish Iranian activist, Frank Nikbakht (photo above), who is based in southern California:

http://www.jewishjournal.com/iranianamericanjews/item/qa_iranian_jewish_expert_nikabkht_sheds_light_on_irans_elections/

Tamir Bar-On

Mexico's Null Vote Drive: Practical Politics or Flight from Politics?

Mexico's Null Vote Drive: Practical Politics or Flight from Politics?

Mexico's congressional elections will be next month. Yet, apparently some Mexicans will not be going to the polls in order to express disdain with the entire political class. See the story below:

http://www2.macleans.ca/2009/06/16/mexico-to-take-to-the-polls-but-not-to-vote/

The French had a similar null voting campaign a bunch of years back. Is the campaign worthwhile in terms of practical politics, or rather a flight from politics and Mexico's nascent democracy? It is unclear that the null voting campaign will catch popular fire in Mexico. Polls indicate that it has not yet captured the popular imagination of Mexicans. Moreover, if one is upset with all political parties and politicians, is the creation of new movements and parties not a good step in order to re-animate democratic political life? It was only in 2000 that Mexico's centre-left (sometimes centre-right) Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI) finally lost its grip on political power after more than 70 years to the Christian Democratic National Action Party (PAN) under Vicente Fox. The current President of Mexico, Felipe Calderon, also belongs to PAN. This democratic turn has given Mexico more choices and opened the political landscape to rightists, leftists, Greens, and null voters. A null vote might tell all politicians that they are all crooks, but it does not tell them whom they might want in power, or the type of political society they might wish to create.

Tamir Bar-On

Netanyahu's Two-State Gambit

Netanyahu's Two-State Gambit

When Israeli PM Binyamin Netanyahu spoke the other day at Bar Ilan University, it was a much anticipated speech in Israel, as well as for the Obama administration, the EU, and the political representatives of the Palestinians and Arabs.

The speech is now being appraised through various interpretive lenses by different political constituencies both within Israel and beyond its borders. First, from the domestic Israeli perspective, now the entire political landscape, from Labour to Kadima and Likud, support a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. For the sake of pragmatism and under pressure from the Obama administration, Netanyahu uttered the words "Palestinian state." He said Israelis did not want to rule over the Palestinians. That the Palestinian state should be de-militarized and recognize the Jewish character of Israel was predictably rejected by Hamas, the Palestinian Authority, and Egyptian autocrat Muabarak. Netanyahu echoed the prevailing Israeli view when he said that the Holocaust did not create Israel, but the presence of Jews in the ancient land of Israel created a Jewish national consciousness and the modern desire for statehood. Had there been a Jewish state in the inter-war years when Fascism and Nazism dramatically rose, there would have been no Holocaust, opined the Israeli PM.

Second, the Palestinians and Arab states have generally come out against Netanyahu's speech. A Jewish state undermines the possibility of a one-state solution, which most Arabs and Palestinians favour for demographic, political, and religious reasons. Israel is still viewed as an illegitimate, colonial, racist Jewish outpost and an usurper of holy Palestinian Muslim land by the vast majority of the Arab world. A Jewish state would recognize what is anathema for Arabs and Muslims in general: Jewish dominant control over Muslim land. This type of outdated thinking undermines the possibility for a solution and helps perpetuate the conflict. In addition, Arabs were unhappy with Jerusalem as an "undivided" capital of Israel and Netanyahu's refusal to halt "natural growth" in settlements.

Third, the EU is happy with Netanyahu's overtures, but will not yet upgrade ties with Israel. For economic, geostrategic, and domestic reasons, the EU has traditionally tended to take a more pro-Arab and pro-Palestinian foreign policy than either the US or Canada.

Finally, Netanyahu's speech was most interested in pleasing the new US administration under President Obama. Israelis want to logically be on good terms with their major ally. So Netanyahu essentially uttered the dream, if not the full substance, of the Israeli left: Two states for two peoples living in "amity". Very few Israelis now do not support the two-state solution, for both pragmatic and moral reasons. The right-wing secular and religious fanatics of "Greater Israel" are slowly being squeezed out of the political landscape. Yet, if the conflict continues to fester, their attitudes and supporters will grow and harden. Similarly, the continuing lack of solution since Oslo's failure fuels radicals among Palestinians and the Arab world.

Netanyahu is not so far from Arab peace initiatives proposed in 2005 and 2007. He has welcomed all Arab leaders to seek full diplomatic relations with Israel and agreed in principle to a Palestinian state. If we get hung up on the details, we won't begin negotiations. This would be a pity and more lives will be lost. Palestinians and Israelis, as well as Israelis and Arabs, must talk officially and afford full recognition to each other. If a so-called right-wing "radical" like Netanyahu can say yes to two states, Palestinians and Arabs might also be more flexible on recognizing a Jewish state. Hope will only come through dialogue and compromise. Not by sticking to winner-take-all-formulas. And for opening the window of fresh air in the entire Middle East (e.g., the Iranian protests, Lebanese election results, and Netanyahu's conciliatory speech), we should all thank Obama.

Tamir Bar-On

Netanyahu's Two-State Solution Speech

Netanyahu's Two-State Solution Speech

Yesterday's speech by Israeli PM Binyamin Netanyahu endorsing a two-state solution, with some preconditions:

http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?pagename=JPost/JPArticle/ShowFull&cid=1244371096849

More commentary on the speech in the next posting!

Tamir Bar-On

Young Iranians Are'nt Going to Take It No More!

Young Iranians Are'nt Going to Take It No More!

The Islamic Republic of Iran is facing its greatest crisis in years. The huge population of kids born long after the 1979 Islamic Revolution and the bitter memories of the Iran-Iraq War will not accept the blatant electoral corruption of older generations. Check out the latest video from a Jerusalem Post blog of Iranian anti-Ahmadinejad protests, which are obviously the work of "foreign agents," according to the beloved Iranian autocrat:

http://cgis.jpost.com/Blogs/persianabyss/entry/iranian_reactions_from_across_social

Incredible that the Iranian mullahs have to even fix elections of candidates they had pre-approved!

Tamir Bar-On

Conflict and the Triumph of the Human Spirit

Conflict and the Triumph of the Human Spirit

Our stories of the Palestinian-Israeli conflict are filled with conflict, blood, vengeance, and human cruelty. Here is a story, which shatters all the stereotypes about the conflict:

http://azizabusarah.wordpress.com/2009/06/11/palestinian-youth-save-settler-woman-and-infant-after-car-flips-in-west-bank/

It is a testament to the triumph of the human spirit. This human spirit works for the evolution of humankind. It does not ask if we are Palestinian or Israeli, Jew or Arab, left or right, believer or unbeliever, occupier or occupied.

Tamir Bar-On

Goran Bregovic: A Balkan Idol Plays Toronto

Goran Bregovic: A Balkan Idol Plays Toronto

I am a lucky man today: A free Goran Bregovic concert in Toronto! This is a Balkan idol, expressing the unbridled enthusiasm of Serbian music with its edgy underbelly, folk-blues, gypsy influences, sky-high ecstasy, and existential melancholy. Check out this story about Bregovic:

http://www.thestar.com/article/648885

And see the lengthy Wikipedia entry for the Sarajevo-born singer:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Goran_Bregovic


My Serb and Bosnian friends are riding high, ready to party tonight! Let the slivovitz flow! Let the summer finally begin!

Tamir Bar-On

Academic Freedom, Hate, or the Fiction of Debate?

Academic Freedom, Hate, or the Fiction of Debate?

A fascinating piece generously sent to me by York University's Ph.D. candidate in political science, Laura Kane, about York's upcoming conference in the latter part of June entitled "Israel/ Palestine: Mapping Models of Statehood and Paths to Peace.”

http://www.insidehighered.com/news/2009/06/11/conference

A few questions about the conference and the reviewing of conference funding by the ruling Conservative government:

1) Is the issue merely one of academic freedom?

2) Is it a question of demonisation and hate of the "collective Jew" (Israel) under the cover of anti-racism and anti-colonialism?

3) Is the conference really a gathering of like-minded anti-Zionists without any interest in substantive debates? In short, is the conference a case of an appeal to academic freedom, while engaging in a fiction of debate where the answers are pre-determined according to ideological biases?

4) Why is the federal government reviewing funding now?

5) Does the chill of academic discussions apply to all political movements, on the left, right, and beyond, including the York conference creators?

Questions to chew on....Let the debate begin...

Tamir Bar-On

Why the Far Right is Sweeping Europe?

Why the Far Right is Sweeping Europe?

Why is the far right sweeping almost all the nations of the European Union (EU)? Is fascism making a comeback? Or is the far right of the new millennium qualitatively divorced from the jackboot fascist ultra-nationalism of the past?

In this entry, I will suggest a number of broad, sweeping explanations for the rise of far right-wing political parties from the French Front National (FN) and the Austria Freedom Party to the Italian Lega Nord (LN - Northern League) and the British National Party (BNP). Hardly any European country is immune to the rising tide of the European far right, although Southern European countries (Spain, Portugal, and Greece) that had prolonged authoritarian nationalist forces in power as late as the late 1970s have tended to generally reject the far right electorally. Here then are 15 explanations for the rise of the European far right:

1) Disdain and disillusionment with governments, politicians, and all political parties of both the right and left. They are all the same, goes the old refrain, about political parties and politicians. Ideologically, in a post-communist age, it is true that the parties are more alike in terms of support for the capitalist market. Governments are impotent to stop corporations and their impact on political life, citizens feels taken for granted and ignored, and politicians are increasingly associated with sleaze, cheating, and lying.

2) The hammering away of an anti-immigrant agenda since the early 1980s, which has increasingly found broader acceptance among mainstream political parties and the press. The French FN was born in 1972, but its message only started to grab national attention in the mid-1980s with regional and municipal election victories. It was the prototype for all far right-wing, anti-immigrant parties.

3) The anti-Islamic, anti-multicultural, and anti-globalization messages of the far right parties, which have become more potent after 9-11, as well as after the London and Madrid bombings. In the latter two cases, the bombers were European Muslims, which shocked average Europeans. One Austrian far right-wing party recently had as its anti-EU slogan "No to Turkey, no to Israel." Although Muslim Turkey has applied for EU membership, Israel has not. Thus the slogan combined two powerful European historical tendencies, anti-Islamism and anti-Semitism, with a distrust of open capitalist globalization processes. Geert Wilders, the Dutch far right-wing politician, has compared the Qur'an to Mein Kampf. Generally the far right parties reject multiculturalism, insisting it is a "racist" project designed to kill white Europeans! In a rather perverse logical formulation, anti-racism and multiculturalism are viewed as disguised forms of racism (see my book Where Have All The Fascists?, Ashgate, 2007, for the intellectual origins of this rhetorical trope with the French nouvelle droite).

4) Homogeneous notions of national identity and belonging throughout Europe, which can be resurrected in times of political, economic, social, and cultural crises. The perception that the far right creates, like it did in the inter-war years, is that Europe is in a period of profound crises that necessitates a revival of ultra-nationalism. For far right-wingers a period of cultural, political, economic, institutional, and geopolitical paralysis has hit Europe. Europeans, they insist, no longer control their political and economic destinies, but it is controlled by immigrants, wishy-washy liberal-socialists, rapacious corporations, and ascendant and foreign powers from the US to China.

5) A history of far right-wing, neo-fascist, and fascist political movements throughout Europe, from Hungary and Britain to France and Romania. In Germany, Nazism and the Holocaust were so awful, horrible, and profound that this is a burden for the far right today. In Southern Europe, memories of Franco, Salazar, and the colonels in Greece, all connected with the far right, were so recent that it is even difficult to elect conservative right-wing governments of a non-fascist hue. In Italy, Austria, Hungary, and Romania, where fascists all came to power (sometimes briefly, sometimes as collaborationist regimes), the far right was able to build on existing far right-wing traditions and thinkers and to relativize the past. In all these four countries, the fascist or proto-fascist past was never properly assessed and questioned, as in post-war Germany. As a result, the far right has already joined national coalition governments in Italy and Austria, while in Hungary and Romania it has made substantive gains in the new millennium.

6) The virtual collapse of hard communist left-wing political parties with their anti-capitalist, social message, particularly after the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989 and the demise of the Marxist-Leninist Soviet Union in 1991. The Italian Communist Party was the second largest political party in Italy in the 1970s (over 35 per cent of the popular vote in 1976 national elections) and today it can barely enter parliament. The far right parties now play the anti-system role formerly played by communist parties.

7) The appeal to xenophobic nativism in which slogans such as "France for the French" or "British jobs for the British" embody a rejection of liberal multiculturalism in favour of ethnic conceptions of belonging, welfare rights (e.g., welfare for "French French" rather than those of Muslim North African French extraction), and even citizenship (e.g., citizenship based on blood belonging rather than birth on the soil of the country in question).

8) Corruption scandals that indict all political parties, as in Britain before the recent 2009 European elections. In 1994, the neo-fascist MSI under Gianfranco Fini (photo above), as well as the LN, entered the national coalition government on the heels of a national corruption (bribery) scandal, which indicted all the major political parties from the Christian Democrats to Socialists. The far right, as it was shut out of government for years due to a post-war taboo of cooperating with fascists, was finally accepted into the European mainstream. It was the first time the far right participated in a national coalition government anywhere in Europe in the post-World War Two era.

9) The distant nature of the EU project in Brussels, which feels far away from voters, alienating, and excessively bureaucratic. Far right parties insist the EU means a loss for national or regional cultures, and an attack on principles of parliamentary democracy and national sovereignty. Both direct and representative democracy are undermined by the EU's political structures, argue far right-wing politicians. As a result, far right politicians have been at the forefront of anti-EU campaigns, rejecting Maastricht and Lisbon treaties on the functioning of the EU, and the call for authentic national independence against supranationalism.

10) The populist, charismatic appeals of far right leaders. They are said to represent the "heartland" of France or Romania, rather than "multicultural elitism," corporations, or EU bureaucrats. They are said to represent the ordinary people, or "les petits gens" (the small guys) (a slogan of FN leader Le Pen), against the distant, elitist, liberal-left-wing politicians and parties. The leaders are often very charismatic, whether Le Pen or Wilders, insisting that through immigration their respective national political classes have sold out native, white, European Christian nationals to a silent "genocidal" project that is "racist" against homogeneous, titular ethnic national groups. This is a clever multicultural, anti-racist inversion picked up from the intellectual new right. A Le Pen or Wilders insist they are sent like saviours to rescue their peoples from national collapse, whether due to neo-liberalism, social democracy, socialism, multiculturalism, or EU gigantism.

11) An attention to concrete issues, particularly uncontrolled immigration, which is made the cause of all Europe's ills: increased unemployment, the economic crisis, political dissatisfaction with the entire political class, the loss of national culture and national sovereignty, and a decay of social order and quality of life linked to increasing criminality.

12) Distancing far right parties from overt displays of support for fascism, Nazism, anti-Semitism, and violent extra-parliamentary politics (i.e., more attachment to legality or the rule of law). A good example is the current President of the Italian Chamber of Deputies and Alleanza Nazionale (AN - National Alliance) leader, Gianfranco Fini. In the new millennium, Fini has already been Italy's Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs. His party has been in several national coalition governments since 1994, despite the fact that it was created out of the ashes of the neo-fascist MSI. Fini has steered the party towards full legality (i.e., severing overt ties with neo-fascist terrorism) and participation in Berlusconi's current conservative national coalition. In addition, Fini has distanced himself from overt manifestations of Fascism, anti-Semitism, and racism. He went to Israel in 2003 to apologize for the racist anti-Semitic laws under Mussolini's Fascist Italy beginning in 1938. Fini claims to be "post-fascist" today rather than fascist. His party has been less willing to scapegoat immigrants than the extreme right-wing and regional Lega Nord under firebrand Umberto Bossi, who ironically comes from an anti-fascist tradition. Some of Fini's supporters within the AN, however, retain lingering nostalgia for the fascist myths and symbols of the past.

13) Fading memories of the inter-war years, as well as Fascism and Nazism. This is bad news for those like me that want to challenge the far right, but good news for the far right itself because the old inter-war generation and its knowledge and wisdom are literally dying. The younger generation might not understand that the legality of the far right is often a tactical ruse for political parties that long for greater authoritarianism and the overturning of liberal democracy.

14) Proportional representation electoral systems, which tend to reward extremist political outfits with a decent share of the national popular vote. The BNP finally won two seats in the 2009 European elections precisely because the system used was proportional representation rather than Britain's first-past-the-post (single-member constituency) system. In some countries like Germany, there have been barriers of entry for smaller parties, even as high as five per cent. This hinders chances of success for the far right. If thresholds do exist, the far right will argue that the political class is anti-democratic. Yet, Popper's democratic paradox remains, as in the inter-war years. That is, authoritarians can come to power through the ballot box and later annul parliament and democracy.

15) A powerful appeal to emotion and total crises (political, economic, social, and cultural) based on a rejection of liberal individualism, democracy, and multiculturalism, and a collective sense of national or regional belonging and the superior destiny of a homogeneous national group. This certainly has echoes of the pull of fascism in the inter-war era. When one hears a Le Pen speak, the emotions are raw, visceral, and powerful. He wants to give voters the feeling that he is a patriot working for the destiny of France. When he speaks for the "silent majority" of French men and women that want to get tough on crimininals, or when he is silent but would argue his silence echoes the mystical, historical, civilizing grandeur of France.

Keep in mind that national histories and memories (particularly dealing with or ignoring the fascist or pro-Nazi collaborationist past), the performance of far right-wing parties in actual electoral contests, their interaction with parties outside the far right milieu, and differing levels of success of implantation in the various national party and cultural systems will determine the varied successes of respective far right-wing political parties.

What is clear is that the mainstream parties need to listen up to these far right voters. This may not be good news for immigrants, multiculturalists, and traditional liberals. The pressure for tightening immigration has been building since the late 1980s and it contradicts both capitalism and globalization. Yet, some contradictions might be accepted by Europeans beyond the far right-wing constituency to purchase social peace. For the far right there is the desire for new wars between cultures and civilizations, or at minimum, a war against liberal multiculturalism.

Luckily Europeans are now constrained by the anti-nationalistic impulse of the EU project. They are not making war against each other, which in the inter-war years had a major role in letting the Fascist and Nazi genies out of the bottle. Yet, 60 years after the defeats of Nazism and Fascism, a new genie is out of an old bottle. While it has shed many of the old trappings of fascism (street violence, excessive leadership cult, overt anti-Semitism and racism, and the doctrine of totalitarianism), historical memories should teach us of the lurking dangers of racist stigmatisation and scapegoating.

Tamir Bar-On

Far Right Gains in European Elections

Far Right Gains in European Elections

In the last post, I highlighted how the British far right finally won representation in the European Parliament. Since the mid-1980s and 1990s, far right-wing parties in continental Europe under charismatic leaders such as Heinz-Christian Strache (Austria - top left), Jean-Marie Le Pen (France - top right), and Geert Wilders (Netherlands - bottom left) have been far more successful in European elections than their British counterparts. Check out the results for the far right in the recent European elections:

http://network.nationalpost.com/np/blogs/posted/archive/2009/06/08/europe-s-far-right-make-gains.aspx

My main area of specialisation revolves around far right-wing political movements and parties, and their relationship to the history of fascism. Why then is the far right doing so well? And is the far right akin to historical fascism? In my next posting, I will try to answer these difficult questions.

Tamir Bar-On

Now Far Right Truly European Phenomenon

Now Far Right Truly European Phenomenon

On Monday the far right British National Party (BNP) under Nick Griffin (top) won its first two seats in the European Parliament. See this story about the BNP below:

http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1091192.html

The BNP gained nearly one million votes in Britain and over six per cent of the popular vote. Given the recent corruption scandals that have indicted all British parties of the right and left and the economic recession, this was not completely surprising. The anti-immigrant, anti-EU, and anti-globalization message of the BNP has finally made inroads with British voters. The extremely low turnout for European electoral contests also helped the BNP.

Now the BNP has finally joined a pan-European trend of turning towards the far right, anti-immigrant politics, and the scapegoating of the Muslim Other. The trailblazer in anti-immigrant politics was the French Front National (FN), winning municipal and regional seats as early as the mid-1980s. Then came the shocking participation of the neo-fascist Movimento Sociale Italiano (MSI - Italian Social Movement), turned "post-fascist" Alleanza Nazionale (AN - National Alliance) in 1995, in national coalition governments in 1994 and several other times in the new millennium. The AN is now part of Berlusconi's ruling conservative Il Popolo della Libertà coalition in Italy. It has even decided to merge with Berlusconi's aforementioned centre-right political party. In Austria, the far right Freedom Party joined the national coalition government in 2000, despite widespread international condemnation.

In the 1990s and new century other formerly mild social democratic bastions saw far right parties make impressive gains through an appeal to xenophobic nativism, which insisted that welfare rights and citizenship ought to be given to "natives" only (i.e., Christian, European, white, non-Muslims). These parties made inroads in Scandinavia (Progress parties in Norway and Denmark, as they were ironically named), Holland, Belgium, and Germany (thank god, to a lesser extent). In Eastern European countries like Romania, Hungary, and Slovakia, far right anti-Semitic and anti-gypsy parties have become more politically powerful. In Hungary, Jobik, an anti-immigrant and anti-Semitic party, finished third in 2009 European elections with about fourteen per cent of the popular vote.

So the BNP is just jumping on a European far right bandwagon that continues to view national identity in rather static, homogeneous terms. Britain was historically slow to ride the fascist inter-war years wave. It essentially resisted the fascist and authoritarian tide sweeping Europe, although there was a British Union of Fascists (BUF) under a Mussolini imitator, Oswald Mosley. Countries that did embrace fascism or serious collaboration with the Nazis are more likely to see its return today: Germany, Italy, Austria, Romania, and Hungary. Germany is probably the mildest case precisely because its de-Nazification process has been the most profound. This was not the case for Italy, Austria, Romania, and Hungary, where the far right is returning with a vengeance. In France, a strong far right-wing tradition and Vichy collaboration in conjunction with a charismatic leader (Jean-Marie Le Pen) and concrete issues (e.g., immigration, crime, economic decline, the dramatic demise of the left, and the perception of corruption of all established parties) assisted the rise of the FN. The FN miraculously made it to the second round of the French presidential elections in 2002, finishing with 5.5 million votes and close to 18 per cent of the popular vote. Chirac trounced Le Pen in the second round, winning more than 80 per cent of the popular vote, but the far right had truly arrived in France. Croatia, which also had a sordid history of Nazi collaboration under the Ustashe regime from 1940-1, saw its first leader after the fall of Yugoslavia refuse to acknowledge the creation of concentration camps for killing Serbs (as well as Jews) under the genocidal philo-Nazi state.

Britain's turn towards the BNP now makes the far right a truly European phenomenon. That the British did not embrace the BNP message earlier is linked to the powerful history of anti-fascism in Britain. That other countries embraced it sooner is a testament to the magnetic pull of far right-wing historical memories in numerous European countries outside Britain.

Tamir Bar-On

Saudis Hard Talk to Obama

Saudis Hard Talk To Obama

Now that Obama is set on a two-state solution for the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, the Saudis under King Abdullah (top left) want Obama to impose such a solution on Netanyahu's right-wing Israeli government. See this interesting story from the liberal-left Israeli newspaper Ha'aretz:

http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1090975.html

The Saudis are concerned with growing Iranian Shi'ite influence in the region in Iraq, Lebanon, Gaza, and the Gulf states. The Israelis are similarly seeking to stem the tide of Iranian-led Islamism in their backyard. Other key secular Arab states like Egypt are also keen on arresting the spread of a Tehran-driven Islamic fundamentalism.

It looks like Israel will eventually have to accept a two-state solution, which is being pushed by the US, Saudis, Egyptians, and Europeans. In exchange for a two-state solution, the end of settlements, and withdrawal from the West Bank (and perhaps added sweeteners for Arabs like East Jerusalem as the Palestinian capital), there will be full diplomatic ties between Israel and all Arab states. Hamas will need to be reigned in, but that is a matter that still remains a big question mark.

The deal would be great for the Saudis because they will look like champions of peace, but continue to maintain an antiquated, authoritarian system of governance. The rest of the Arab states will do the same. They will buy some peace from their own people, who generally see Israel as an "alien body" that ought to be eliminated from the region.

The Islamists all over the Muslim world will cry treason. All of Palestine should be liberated from Jewish control, they insist. They will argue, perhaps accurately, that they would win elections in every Arab capital if they were held in a free, fair, and open manner. As the electoral victory of Hamas in Gaza showed, democracy might not produce the outcomes the West or Israel like.

Israel will gain credibility among Arabs, Palestinians, Europeans, and the United States. They will increasingly be seen as partners in peace rather than as an alien, colonialist, expansionist upstart.

It all seems too good to be true in the Middle East, except for the collusion with Arab authoritarianism. Still, the two-state solution would be a great step for the Middle East and the world. We can only hope that the Saudi hard talk to Obama works. I would have never thought that I would approve of tough talk from the monarchy in Riyadh!

Tamir Bar-On

From Cairo to Buchenwald to D-Day in France: Obama Is Right On!

From Cairo to Buchenwald to D-Day in France: Obama is Right On!


In the last few days, US President Barack Obama has gone from giving a historic speech to the Muslim world in Cairo to visiting the Buchenwald concentration camp and celebrating D-Day in France. This is a man that does not miss a note. He is impeccable in his attempt to seek the just middle against the power of extremists.

Obama is certainly alienating some constituencies, but his vision is to solve festering problems like the Israel-Palestinian conflict rather than languishing in old ideological boxes filled with hatred and devoid of compromise. He is already making enemies, not least of all the al-Qaeda leader that recently put out a new communique.

US conservatives say he should project more toughness vis-a-vis a nuclear-bent Iran, Arab authoritarian regimes, and the tide of political Islamism. He should advance US democracy and free markets around the globe, without making excuses for "our way of life."

Israelis are wary that he did not visit Israel, but stopped in Cairo and Riyadh. Right-wing pundits like David Horovitz in the Jerusalem Post have wondered why in Cairo Obama made a linkage between the creation of Israel and the Holocaust when ancient Jewish sovereignty rested in Palestine well before Nazi madness. Furthermore, the Balfour Declaration of 1917 and the San Remo Conference recognized Jewish statehood claims in Palestine, thus restoring a Jewish longing expressed in their prayers and memories of self-governance.

Arab press outlets like The Jordan Times and The Daily Star liked Obama's two-state solution (although if given the chance, they prefer one-state), tough position on Israeli settlements in the West Bank, and acknowledgement of Palestinian suffering and statelessness. Yet, many commentators in the Arab world are waiting for the goods to be delivered. For the bold rhetoric to match US actions. The perception in the Arab world is that US policy is far too cozy towards Israel and detrimental to the Palestinians. Some insist Israel will block the way to peace.

Obama will not please all. That is the reality of politics. Yet, in going to Cairo to open a hand of peace and dialogue to the Arab and Muslim worlds, he is clearly taking a different approach from his Republican predecessor G.W. Bush. Moreover, in going from Cairo to Buchenwald the next day, he stressed the importance of never forgetting, the horrors of Jewish history, and the cruelty of those that would continue to deny the Holocaust. This is a good sign for Jews around the world and the notion of a Jewish state.

And finally in going to France for D-Day today, to commemorate the 65th anniversary of a key Allied victory in the horrendous war against Nazism (which was arguably won earlier at the Battle of Stalingrad), he stressed a more combative tone with President Sarkozy against Iran and North Korea. With these comments, he somewhat satisfied US conservatives, who still can't wait until Obama leaves office.

Obama is a unique, visionary politician who combines a 1960s idealism with the pragmatism of a fox from ancient Rome. When he made his successive trips from Cairo to Buchenwald to France for D-Day, he was right on! He remembered the wisdom in seeking dialogue between religions and civilizations, the horrors of "the crime of crimes" with the Holocaust, and the brave young soldiers like his grandfather that died to stop the advance of a global, racialist totalitarian empire.

Tamir Bar-On

13 Terrorism Solutions: A Clarion Call To Terrorist Groups and Governments Worldwide

13 Terrorism Solutions: A Clarion Call To Terrorist Groups and Governments Worldwide

As US President Barack Obama tries to woo the Muslim world and press for a two-state solution to the Palestinian-Israeli conflict, we might reflect on what brought us to the current mess from Afghanistan and Iraq to Israel and Palestine. We are all guilty of terrorism double standards. We are loathe to admit that terrorism is often what the other side does to us. Despite the best efforts of governments, non-governmental organizations, academics, and terrorism practitioners of both state and non-state varieties, we live without a universal consensus definition of terrorism.

Almost all states usually argue they can never commit acts of terrorism because they are legal entities with what Max Weber called “the coercive monopoly over the use of violence.” Terrorist groups challenge the state’s monopoly in respect of the utilization of violence. Yet, these groups often call themselves “liberation movements,” thus conveniently excusing their use of violence. In reality, both states and terrorist groups can commit acts of terrorism. As Jonathan Barker points out, if states or non-state terrorist actors use violence against civilians (as opposed to combatants or soldiers) with the aim of pursuing a political objective, they engage in terrorism. With this definition in mind, our world is impregnated with terrorism. Yet, few are willing to accept such a definition because we live in a moral universe that often legitimizes the violence of our side and de-legitimizes the “illegal” violence of our opponents. Remember that the International Criminal Court (ICC) could be a perfect forum for prosecuting state and non-state terrorists, if only we could agree on a worldwide definition.

Leaving these thorny definitional issues aside, what can be done to stem the tide of terrorism as we enter the eighth anniversary of 9-11? As 13 is a lucky number for this writer, I have 13 suggestions for reducing terrorism, which I hope some governments and terrorist organizations will have the good sense to hear:

1) Avoid invasions of territorially sovereign countries because they are expensive and accelerate the rise of terrorist forces that call for national self-determination, free of foreign forces. Civilians and soldiers pay a heavy price. French colonial presence in Vietnam and Algeria eventually led to armed rebellions and two ignominious defeats against technologically inferior enemies at Dien Bien Phu (Vietnam) in 1954 and Algeria in 1962. The principle of national self-determination has been internationally recognized by the United Nations. In his Fourteen Points delivered to a joint session of Congress on January 8, 1918, US President Woodrow Wilson affirmed the principle of national self-determination. Point fourteen stated: “A general association of nations must be formed under specific covenants for the purpose of affording mutual guarantees of political independence and territorial integrity to great and small states alike.” Moreover, the principle of national self-determination was already recognized in 1776 when the US revolutionaries overthrew British monarchical oppression.

2) When you defeat a terrorist foe militarily, as the Sri Lankan government recently did with the LTTE on May 17, 2009, winning the military battle is not necessarily the same as winning the war for hearts and minds. Remember how quickly the US routed the Iraqi army after the 2003 invasion, only to face an underground insurgency consisting of secular Ba’athists and Islamists that was both lethal and sustained.

3) To win the war of hearts and minds, simmering territorial, ethnic, cultural, and national disputes must be solved. This means, at least minimally, recognizing the claims for autonomy of your adversaries. More often than not it means creating new states, which in effect politically recognizes terrorists in the international community. Both Menachem Begin and Yasser Arafat made the transition from terrorists (Irgun and PLO respectively) to heads of sovereign or semi-autonomous states (Israel and Palestinian Authority). This position of negotiating with terrorists undermines the claims of ultra-nationalists that refuse to abandon even an inch of “sacred land.” It is also absolutely incumbent on states to minimize civilian deaths through counter-terrorist operations and wars. When we go after the bad guys that ordered suicide bombings against Israel or Turkey, we tend to also kill and injure lots of civilians. We sometimes wrongly use the long arm of the law to curtail the civil liberties of innocents. Both these communities become easy breeding grounds for new recruits to engage in “martyrdom operations.”

4) Winning the war of hearts and minds means negotiations with terrorist foes. It means giving ordinary people basic government services, security, fair chances for employment, and hope for a better tomorrow by teaching tolerance between cultures, nations, and religions in the schools, media, synagogues, mosques, and churches. Israel negotiated with the PLO after years of saying that it would never do so. Hamas will eventually need to talk with Israel, despite its covenant calls for Israel’s destruction.

5) No so-called “intractable” conflict is really “intractable” if there is enough goodwill, leadership, vision, and a spirit of compromise. All sides sometimes get addicted to conflicts. In conjunction with major powers like the United States, European Union (EU), and Arab states, Israelis and Palestinians are addicted to conflict. Taking a hard look at ourselves might get us to re-examine our mutual addiction to fundamentalist ideologies, unrealistic solutions devoid of compromise, hatred, and the ritualistic legitimization of violence. Historically, France and Germany, or Britain and France were addicted to geopolitical conflicts. Today they are all EU members committed to mutual trade and common political regulations, rule of law, human rights, and the principle of non-violence vis-à-vis member states. A peaceful EU for the Middle East is also possible one day.

6) Solutions will need to vary based on different historical circumstances of the conflicts in question. We cannot impose a one-size-fits-all solution on Turks and Kurds, Israelis and Palestinians, or Colombian leftist guerrillas and the Colombian state.

7) No side will get all it wants. Palestinians will not get Haifa and Israel will not get Hebron. Yet, if national groups understand that they will nonetheless survive and not be annihilated by the other side, then solutions can be flexible, open, and innovative. Jailed Kurdish PKK leader Abdullah Ocalan has made the transition from a Marxist committed to the armed struggle against Turkey with full independence towards Kurdish autonomy within Turkey. In his 2007 Prison Writings: The Roots of Civilisation Ocalan expressed regrets about “swallowing nationalist poisons” and violent insurrection, while pointing out that peace in the Middle East requires the rule of law, democracy, gender equality, separation of church and state, and respect for minority rights.

8) Full statehood might be re-considered by some groups like the PKK or LTTE. Perhaps autonomy is a better option because it will not invite the harsh repressive apparatus of state authorities and the rise of genocidal ultra-nationalist tendencies. About 30,000 people have died as a result of the armed conflict between the PKK and Turkish state. Consequently, autonomy is an option that the PKK’s Ocalan now seriously entertains, provided Kurd cultural institutions are protected and Kurds can achieve upward mobility with equal rights within the Turkish state and society.

9) Harsh state repression, as with the Chechens in Russia, will only invite harsher and more militant forms of terrorism. The group that seeks independence or autonomy from the state will carry sentiments of hatred and revenge that are difficult to extinguish. Chechens have rebelled against Russian rule many times since the 1850s and they were massively expelled by Stalin from their ancestral homeland. In the 1990s, disappearances of Chechen men accelerated as a common tactic of Russian security forces. The state repression led Chechen terrorists to undertake bolder suicide attacks against crowded schools and theatres even in Moscow. In addition, it is estimated that 100,000 Chechens died in two wars against the Russians between 1994 and 2009. In short, state repression hardens rejectionist and fundamentalist attitudes on both sides and sustains the conflict.

10) The reverse is also true: Little or no state repression can invite and embolden terrorists to seek more concessions through the gun. This is the reality of the current crisis in Pakistan where the Swat Valley was ceded to Islamists. As a result, the Islamists began to grab areas near the Swat and wanted to march to Islamabad. Israel under Ariel Sharon unilaterally left Gaza in 2005. Hamas responded by continuing to call for Israel’s destruction and a barrage of thousands of rockets. A tragic war ensued in 2008-9 in which over a thousand Palestinians and thirteen Israelis lost their lives. Yet, if we follow the logic of Point 3, which calls for the absolute necessity of states minimizing civilian deaths through counter-terrorist operations and wars, then it follows that the war could have been avoided. A more robust UN security force might have stopped both Hamas and Israel from firing their missiles.

11) Think about bringing in international monitors and organizations with the ability to use force to hold the peace. To paraphrase Thomas Hobbes, “Covenants without swords are but empty words.” Peace agreements without enforcement mechanisms become meaningless treaties, particularly if one party or both constantly violate its provisions using armed violence. If Obama is a real visionary, he might propose that Israel and a new Palestinian state both become full members of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO). The NATO charter prevents member states from using armed aggression against each other. An attack on one NATO member state means that all other states must come to the defense of the attacked state. This would be an ideal mechanism to maintain the peace of a two-state solution between Israel and Palestine.

12) Think about ending the conflicts in a realistic fashion based on mutual compromise such as a viable two-state solution for the Israel-Palestinian conflict. Individuals, especially the maximalist radicals on both sides, will not be completely satisfied because they did not get “Greater Israel” or “all occupied Palestine.” Yet, both sides retain a residue of hope because they are alive and are recognized collectively as peoples within constitutional documents both regionally and internationally.

13) All of us must dream of solving these simmering conflicts, hope the impossible, and know that a “clash of civilizations” is something pushed by the fundamentalist fear-mongers of the world because they want the sirens of war to ring in our ears eternally. The peace of the brave will come if we understand that genuine peace is noble and humane. Peace will come if we understand that killing the other is like killing ourselves.

If terrorist groups and government want to sign on to this clarion call to stem the tide of terrorism, they can open their hearts, dial their enemies, tell their friends, and ostracize the war profiteers in their communities from the arms dealers to the religious and media preachers of hate. They can challenge authoritarianism and creeping authoritarianism, which breed ignorance, dogmatism, hatred, and the desire to have eternal foes. They can challenge the naysayers, the ones that won’t give peace a chance because they think humanitarianism and peace are synonymous with weakness. Governments and terrorist groups should begin by not killing their own people in acts of wanton terrorist cruelty, which illegally target civilians for political purposes. They should extend their care for the loss of life to all people of the planet, irrespective of culture, faith, sex, or ideology. For the loss of one life in the service of an abstract political ideology, whether state or terrorist group, is a grave loss to all of humanity.

Tamir Bar-On

Obama's Address to the Muslim World

Obama's Address to the Muslim World

Today US President Barack Obama gave his much anticipated speech of reconciliation to the Muslim world. Below is the link to the text of his speech from Cairo:

http://blogs.wsj.com/washwire/2009/06/04/obamas-speech-in-cairo/

It is a wonderful speech! But we cannot be surprised. This is a man that is a prince of hope to the world. Now begins the hard work of forging peace between Israelis and Palestinians, Israelis and Arabs, and Muslims and the West. Now begins the tough task of stemming the tide of terrorist violence, authoritarianism, and ideologies of hatred in the Middle East, Afghanistan, and Pakistan.

Blessed are the peacemakers of the world: For they shall inherit the kingdom of heaven!

Tamir Bar-On

I Look Like the Libyan Dictator: Perhaps I Can Be His Double!

I Look Like The Libyan Dictator: Perhaps I Can Be His Double!

Take a look at these two pictures above. The one of me on the left and the other of the Libyan dictator, Muammar Gaddafi. His name is spelled a hundred different ways! We kind of look alike, right? Well I recently met a Libyan student in Toronto that thought Gaddafi and I looked alike! My roots are in North Africa (Jewish Moroccan), like the Libyan autocrat. The Libyan told me that in current pictures of Gaddafi, we don't look alike and that the authoritarian leader is looking crazier than ever! I guess that if Gaddafi was younger (he has been in power since a 1969 coup d'etat), I could have been his double. In popular lore that is sometimes hard to distinguish from political truth, did not Tito or Saddam Hussein have many doubles?

Gaddafi is a man in search of a role. The anniversary of his birthday is coming up on June 7, 1942. To add to the Gaddafi connections, I was also born in June! His upcoming anniversary has made me reflect about this enigmatic figure, the author of Green and White books, the Brother Guide and Leader of the Revolution, the man that has penned short stories, and proposed a one-state solution to the Palestinian-Israeli conflict in a recent New York Times op-ed (April 1, 2009). He has gone from outright terrorist supporter (remember Pan-Am and arming the PLO) to a fighter against international terrorism. From pan-Arab socialist agitator he became a critic of the Arabs and longed for pan-African unity. He has stated that he is allegedly willing to compensate Jews that were officially expelled from Libya after the Six-Day War in 1967.

Gaddafi, of course, is known for his theatrical performances on the international stage. Here is a recent gem:

"I am an international leader, the dean of the Arab rulers, the king of kings of Africa and the imam (leader) of Muslims, and my international status does not allow me to descend to a lower level."

And a second Gaddafi gem:

"Whenever I ask about Pepsi Cola or Coca Cola, people immediately say it is an American or European drink ... this is not true, the cola is African! They have taken the cheap raw material from us and produced it into a drink [that] they sell [back]for an exorbitant price! Why are Pepsi Cola and Coca Cola expensive? Because they have taken our cola and cheated us! We should produce it ourselves!"

Gaddafi clearly wants to leave his mark on history. His ideological migrations have been all over the map. What remains is the authoritarianism. Despite the direct democracy calls, Libyan consultative popular assemblies, and the blistering rhetoric, authoritarianism has remained since 1969. The attacks on any opposition, the jailing of dissidents (including the recent death of democracy activist Fathi Eljhami), the arbitrary arrests, and the lack of press freedoms remain. There have been numerous assassination attempts and even riots against his rule. Gaddafi is the model of the Arab world: Whether secular, monarchical, or religious, the region has remained thoroughly authoritarian. Democracy is a dead letter. Popular democratic participation, mass education, and power-sharing are all fictions. This is detrimental to peace for Arabs internally and in respect of conflicts with Israel and the wider world.

Tribe, faith (pan-Islam), nation, pan-Arabism (the political unity of Arabs from Morocco to Iraq), and socialism have all struggled for political ascendancy in Libya and the wider Arab world. Democracy has made few inroads, despite elections in Iraq. Pan-Islamic fundamentalism is on the rise, socialism in rapid decline. Pan-Arab unity had its heyday with Nasser, but is now a fading mirage. Tribalism, nationalism, and authoritarianism are the embedded realities in Libya and the Arab world.

Which ideology Gaddafi will gravitate towards next all depends on where he can make his mark in history. When Gaddafi exits the stage of history, perhaps I can be his double in a play about his life! My acting skills need help, but I have been watching his videos on his personal site to get ready to showcase my theatrical skills to the world! Check out the site below:

http://www.algathafi.org/html-english/index.htm

In the meantime, may Libyans and Arabs find ways to abolish antiquated systems of authoritarian governance! It will truly help the struggle for global peace.

Tamir Bar-On

Reflections on Life and Death

Reflections on Life and Death


Today's entry is a little bit different. I recently found out that a male friend from Vancouver died and a woman I loved is now an al-Jazeera reporter. The friend was in his early 40's, the woman in her early 30's. It made me think of life and death, about why we are here, about my goals in life, and how precious each day really is. About how life is mysterious, grand, powerful, and beautiful. About the memories we keep in our hearts. About opening our doors of perception. About healing the world. About being good to each other, as one reggae singer said at at a recent outdoor concert at Toronto's brilliant Kensington Market. About how short our time is here. About how short our time is here and now, but about how we must toast to both "here and now and then and there," as the Sufi mystic Rumi would often do.

These two friends have been given very different paths. One is now a dead Jew with a bohemian spirit. The other is a living Palestinian with the journalist's voice of an angel and the poetic spirit of Nadia Tueni (a Lebanese poet she introduced me to). Yet, they both live in my heart. They have made me reflect and write this piece. They have touched me. In life and death, both of you do not walk alone. I send you love, peace, laughter, humanity, and joy.

And let me say this about both of you. Leon, you made me laugh and you were mad with life. You rubbed a bunch of people the wrong way, but you would constantly joke with me about how I could simultaneously be an Arab prince or a Mossad agent! If you could take a look at this blog carefully, you know I would not make a good spy! Zeina, my wellspring of love for you used to overflow at the gates of heaven. I still remember how it felt to meet you and to dream about meeting you. They don't make many in life like you! For both of you I repeat and paraphrase what Tueni once said: I love your words, but also your silences. A toast to both of you. A toast to life and death. So that life will always triumph! And so that the awakening spirit of the sun, moon, rivers, trees, and wind sustains us all, in life and death.

Tamir Bar-On

Obama's Tough Talk to Israel: Good for Two-State Solution

Obama's Tough Talk To Israel: Good for Two-State Solution

US President Barack Obama is prepared to talk tough with Israel, the US's most loyal ally. An Obama administration official has stated that he might allow anti-Israel UN resolutions to pass, if Israel does not remove illegal settlements in the West Bank.

http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1243346518710&pagename=JPost%2FJPArticle%2FShowFull

I am a firm supporter of two states for two peoples. I applaud Obama's maneuvering on the Palestinian-Israeli track. It is good for the future of the two-state solution. Good friends and allies must be able to speak frankly to each other. The US must enhance its credibility in the Arab world and stem the tide of radical Islam. The two-state solution might advance these goals, reasons Obama. I do not buy the ultra-nationalist Israeli position that Obama's tough talk is a bad sign for Israel. Now we need to get Hamas on board, as well as Netanyahu. Both for now are rejecting a two-state solution. They delay what is inevitable. It is more or less the solution that was proposed in 1947 by the UN Partition Plan. The boundaries were slightly different. Whether this two-state solution will stop the conflict is another question. I believe it will weaken its intensity and minimize the power of the maximalist fundamentalists on both sides. Yet predicting Middle East politics is like predicting that waiting for Godot will one day bring Godot. But that is precisely the type of abundant hope that we need to one day end the Palestinian-Israeli and Arab-Israeli conflicts.

Tamir Bar-On