The Observer
The loss of Professor Edward
Said, after an arduous battle with a demoralising
illness he bore very bravely, will be unbearable
for his family, insupportable to his immense circle
of friends, upsetting to a vast periphery of readers
who one might almost term his diaspora, and depressing
to all those who continue hoping for a decent agreement
in his Jerusalem birthplace. To address these wrenching
thoughts in reverse order, one could commence by
saying quite simply that if Edward's personality
had been the human and moral pattern or example,
there would be no 'Middle East' problem to begin
with. His lovely, intelligent and sensitive memoir,
Out of Place, was a witness to the schools and
neighborhoods, in Jerusalem and Cairo, where fraternity
between Arabs, Jews, Druse, Armenians and others
was a matter of course..
(the complete article)
THE
ROAD MAP IN A HISTORICAL PERSPECTIVE:
... Doubtless,
the invasion of Iraq has created impetus for
the revival of US
diplomacy in the Palestine-Israel arena, but
why should that
diplomacy be more successful now when the imbalance of power in favor of Israel
and the US has reached unprecedented proportions? It behooves all those interested
in peace and reconciliation to reflect on the real causes of diplomatic failure
since 1969. Embracing yet another US plan at a time when the “peace process” is
in need of total overhauling and a genuine restructuring, would substitute
a palliative for a remedy..
(the complete article) |
