LCCC ENGLISH DAILY NEWS BULLETIN

June 20/16

Compiled & Prepared by: Elias Bejjani

http://www.eliasbejjaninews.com/newsbulletin16/english.june20.16.htm

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Bible Quotations For Today

Be wise as serpents and innocent as doves
Holy Gospel of Jesus Christ according to Saint Matthew 10/16-25:"‘See, I am sending you out like sheep into the midst of wolves; so be wise as serpents and innocent as doves. Beware of them, for they will hand you over to councils and flog you in their synagogues; and you will be dragged before governors and kings because of me, as a testimony to them and the Gentiles. When they hand you over, do not worry about how you are to speak or what you are to say; for what you are to say will be given to you at that time; for it is not you who speak, but the Spirit of your Father speaking through you. Brother will betray brother to death, and a father his child, and children will rise against parents and have them put to death; and you will be hated by all because of my name. But the one who endures to the end will be saved. When they persecute you in one town, flee to the next; for truly I tell you, you will not have gone through all the towns of Israel before the Son of Man comes. ‘A disciple is not above the teacher, nor a slave above the master; it is enough for the disciple to be like the teacher, and the slave like the master. If they have called the master of the house Beelzebul, how much more will they malign those of his household!"

Just as the body is one and has many members, and all the members of the body, though many, are one body, so it is with Christ
First Letter to the Corinthians 12/12-13//27-30/"Just as the body is one and has many members, and all the members of the body, though many, are one body, so it is with Christ. For in the one Spirit we were all baptized into one body Jews or Greeks, slaves or free and we were all made to drink of one Spirit. Now you are the body of Christ and individually members of it. And God has appointed in the church first apostles, second prophets, third teachers; then deeds of power, then gifts of healing, forms of assistance, forms of leadership, various kinds of tongues. Are all apostles? Are all prophets? Are all teachers? Do all work miracles? Do all possess gifts of healing? Do all speak in tongues? Do all interpret?"

Question: "Why does God allow good things to happen to bad people?"
GotQuestions.org/Answer: This question is similar to its opposite: "Why does God allow bad things to happen to good people?" Both questions refer to what seems to be the perplexing injustice we witness every day. The 73rd Psalm is our answer to the very same questions that also tormented the psalmist. Finding himself in terrible distress and agony of soul he writes, “But as for me, my feet had almost slipped; I had nearly lost my foothold. For I envied the arrogant when I saw the prosperity of the wicked” (Psalm 73:2-3).
The writer of this Psalm was a man named Asaph, a leader of one of the temple choirs. Obviously, he was not a wealthy man, but rather one who had dedicated his life to serving God (see 1 Chronicles 25). But, like us, he had experienced some difficulties and questioned the injustice of it all. He watched the evil people around him living by their own rules, enjoying all the wealth and pleasures of the world and collecting riches. He complains, "They have no struggles; their bodies are healthy and strong. They are free from the burdens common to man; they are not plagued by human ills" (Psalm 73:4-5).
Asaph was looking at these people who didn't have problems. They could pay their bills. They had plenty to eat and plenty of luxuries. But poor Asaph was stuck with directing the choir and trying to live godly. And to make things worse, his choice to serve God didn't seem to be helping him. He began to envy these people and even to question God as to why He would allow such a thing to happen!
How often do we find ourselves relating to Asaph? We dedicate our lives to serving God. Then we witness the wicked, ungodly people around us get new possessions, luxurious homes, promotions, and beautiful clothes, while we struggle financially. The answer lies in the rest of the psalm. Asaph envied these evil people until he realized one very important thing. When he entered the sanctuary of God, he fully understood their final destiny: “When I tried to understand all this, it was oppressive to me till I entered the sanctuary of God; then I understood their final destiny. Surely you place them on slippery ground; you cast them down to ruin. How suddenly are they destroyed, completely swept away by terrors! As a dream when one awakes, so when you arise, O Lord, you will despise them as fantasies” (Psalm 73:16-20). Those who have temporary riches on earth are in reality spiritual beggars because they do not have true riches—eternal life.
There are many times when we do not understand what is happening to us, nor do we understand how providence works. When Asaph entered the sanctuary of God, he began to see that there was no need for him to be envious of the prosperity of the wicked because their prosperity is an illusion. He began to comprehend that the ancient deceiver, Satan, had used lies to distract him from the reality of God. Upon entering the sanctuary, Asaph realized that prosperity is a fleeting fulfillment, like a pleasant dream that pleases us only for a little while but, when we awaken, we realize it was not real. Asaph rebukes himself for his own stupidity. He admits to being “senseless and ignorant” to envy the wicked or to be jealous of the perishing. His thoughts then returned to his own happiness in God when he realized how much more joy, fulfillment, and true spiritual prosperity he had in the Creator.
We may not have everything we want here on earth, but we will one day prosper for all eternity through Jesus Christ our Lord. Whenever we are tempted to try the other road, we should remember that the other road is a dead end (Matthew 7:13). But the narrow road before us through Jesus is the only road that leads to eternal life. That should be our joy and our comfort. “Whom have I in heaven but you? And earth has nothing I desire besides you. Those who are far from you will perish; you destroy all who are unfaithful to you. But as for me, it is good to be near God. I have made the Sovereign Lord my refuge . . .” (Psalm 73:25, 27-28)
We need not concern ourselves when good things seem to happen to bad people. We only need to keep our focus on our Creator and enter into His presence every day through the portal of His holy Word. There we will find truth, contentment, spiritual riches, and eternal joy.
*Recommended Resources: Trusting God: Even When Life Hurts by Jerry Bridges and Logos Bible Software.

Pope Francis's Tweet For Today
More than a scientific question, the universe is a joyful mystery that speaks of God’s boundless love for us.
L’univers est quelque chose de plus qu’une question scientifique, c’est un mystère glorieux, un langage de l’amour de Dieu pour nous.
الكون هو أكثر من مجرّد مسألة، إنه سرُّ فَرِح، إنه لغة محبّة الله لنا.

Titles For Latest LCCC Bulletin analysis & editorials from miscellaneous sources published on June 19-20/16

Arabs Versus Reality/Roger Bejjani/June 19/16
Behind the Blom Bank explosion/Mohamed Kawas/The Arab Weekly/June 19-20/16

Waiting on Netanyahu/Smadar Perry/Ynetnews/June 19/16
A call for intervention in Syria after an era of ‘negative neutrality’/Abdulrahman al-Rashed/Al Arabiya/June 19/16
Syria is Obama’s shame/Hisham Melhem/Al Arabiya/June 19/16
Sistani and Saudi Arabia: Relations to face sectarianism/Hassan Al Mustafa/Al Arabiya/June 19/16
Christmas will come early for Putin if Britain votes to leave EU/Dr. Azeem Ibrahim/Al Arabiya/June 19/16
Immortal and mortal art duos in our entertainment scenes/Turki Aldakhil/Al Arabiya/June 19/16Father Naddaf: Beacon of Light to the Christians of Israel/Susan Warner/Gatestone Institute/June 19/16
The Impact of Islamic Fundamentalism on Free Speech/Denis MacEoin/Gatestone Institute/June 19/16

Titles For Latest Lebanese Related News published on June 19-20/16

Arabs Versus Reality
Behind the Blom Bank explosion

Hizbullah Reportedly Incurs Very Heavy Casualties in Aleppo Province
Salam 'Won't Accept or Reject' Kataeb Ministers Resignation
Qazzi May Not Abide by Kataeb's Resignation Decision
Geagea Says BLOM Blast Like Anti-March 14 Bombings if Culprits Not Unveiled
Al-Rahi Urges Politicians to Elect President, Stop 'Destroying State'
Italian parliament Speaker in Boldrini in Beirut
Home Politics Hariri holds 'Iftar' attended by various ambassadors
Lebanese Forces' Student Body holds its first conference
Syrian worker injured in cluster bomb explosion
Pharaon: Lebanon plays major role in preserving values
Family feud in Bab Tabbaneh escalates into attempted arson
 

Titles For Latest LCCC Bulletin For Miscellaneous Reports And News published on June 19-20/16
Suicide attack kills 3 at Christian massacre memorial in Syria
Netanyahu, Kerry expected to meet next week in Europe
Syrian warplane crashes after take-off from Hama airport
Russia, US agree on Syria military coordination
Turkish troops fire on fleeing Syrians, killing 11
King Salman: Saudi’s stance on Palestine remains firm
Investigators examine EgyptAir black boxes
ISIS tries to break siege in Libya’s Sirte
Algerian troops kill eight Islamist militants: ministry
Houthis free 276 Yemeni government’s loyalists
Jordan court jails Norwegian-Iraqi for 15 years for ‘terrorism’
Israeli group urges Brexit over EU west bank policies
Saudi deputy crown prince to meet tech giants
Qatar condemns Mursi and Al-Jazeera trial verdicts
Britain's EU Referendum Campaign Resumes after MP Murder
30,000 Displaced from Iraq's Fallujah in 3 Days

Links From Jihad Watch Site for June 19-20/16
Syria: Muslim disguised as priest murders three at Assyrian genocide commemoration
Washington Post: Muslims in Orlando afraid, some have been yelled at
Manhunt on for former Guantanamo detainee who has disappeared in Uruguay
Hugh Fitzgerald: The Ethnic Turks of Germany, Or “We Didn’t Expect That”
Jordan News Agency claims hackers planted story of Saudis funding Hillary
Jihadists kill their own relatives in Iraq but shove “Islamophobia” down our throats
UK: 100 Muslims preyed on one vulnerable schoolgirl for two years
Robert Spencer Moment: Trump Was Right and His Opponents Have No Plan to Protect the US
Stop minimizing the reality of lone wolf jihadists
Israel passes wide-reaching terror bill
Reading the Qur’an during Ramadan 15: Juz Subhana Alladhi
NY Times: Orlando jihad massacre has spoiled Ramadan for young NY Muslims
Arkansas: FBI hunts for Muslim couple arrested for terror threats — fled upon release, had weapons & ammo

Latest Lebanese Related News published on June 19-20/16

Arabs Versus Reality
Roger Bejjani/June 19, 2016 ·
Arabs and their elites have a problem understanding the disinterest (not to say (disgust) of the US in the Arab affairs in general.
May I remind Arabs in general and the intellectuals in particular of:
1. Assassination of many of their Ambassadors in Arab countries.
2. Bombing of their Embassies.
3. Marines bombing in Beirut at a time the US were asked for help by an official Lebanese government.
4. TWA.
5. Hostages.
6. USS COLE.
7. 9/11 (and the joy and pride the Arabs felt about it).
8. The stupid reaction of Arab intellectuals/press when a bloody dictator was taken out from office at the expense of 4000 US lives.
So why would the US help Arab people? whatever they do, they are hated, assassinated, accused, kidnaped etc....It is easier and less costly to watch Arabs ripping each others and gain their "democracy" or "theocracy" which ever comes first. Haven't we heard those same Arab intellectuals stating : "Democracy is not a merchandise you can import like General Electric". Japan and Germany disagree and they imported democracy on US Tanks. Arabs are too "proud" (or silly more likely) to import the same.
Personally i do not see how I can blame the US for not doing anything. And please be humble and stop giving lessons in geopolitics, strategy and foreign policy to the US! That country of 300 million is ruling the world, counting at least 90% of the world countries as allies.

Behind the Blom Bank explosion
Mohamed Kawas/The Arab Weekly/2016/06/19 Issue: 61 Page: 11
http://www.thearabweekly.com/?id=5494

The explosion outside of Lebanese Blom Bank headquarters in Beirut represents the culmination of a crisis caused by the latest US sanctions on Hezbollah. These are international sanctions that Lebanon’s banking system had no choice but to enforce, arousing Hezbollah anger. Although the group denied responsibility, the explosion comes in line with previous actions by Hezbollah, including explicit threats on social media with ties to Hezbollah towards Blom Bank. Ultimately, there can be little doubt of Hezbollah culpability. The United States introduced a law in 2014 requiring interna­tional banks to take steps to target anybody financing Hezbol­lah. Known as the Hezbollah International Financing Preven­tion Act, there had been limited consultation with Lebanese authorities before regulations governing the law were announced in April. Lebanon sent Finance Minister Ali Hassan Khalil to Washington to discuss the law and its implica­tions but this was too late for any amendments to be made, particu­larly given the United States’ clear determination to prevent Hezbol­lah, which it classifies as a terrorist group, from participating in the international banking sector. No one died in the explosion and security authorities said the aim was likely not to cause civilian casualties but to send a message to Blom Bank and Lebanon’s banking system. There was major damage to the outside of the bank, including its lavish glass façade.
Lebanon Central Bank Governor Riad Salameh and Blom Bank Chairman Saad Azhari pleaded against a rush to judgment regarding Hezbollah’s involve­ment and for the authorities’ investigation to be allowed to run its course.
Media outlets with ties to Hezbol­lah issued reports claiming that Azhari, a Syrian national, was seeking to carry out a foreign agenda against Hezbollah for personal gain. These claims were repeated by figures close to Hezbollah even after the explo­sion, along with allegations that it was enemies of the “resistance” — code for Hezbollah in Lebanon — that were responsible for the explosion.
Lebanese media also reported that head of Lebanon’s General Directorate of General Security Abbas Ibrahim warned the US Treasury Department during his recent visit to Washington of the potential consequences of targeting Hezbollah in this manner.
A few days after the explosion, Salameh announced, in an interview with CNBC, that 100 bank accounts with ties to Hezbollah had been frozen and that as many as 3,000 more accounts could be frozen in the future. Salameh said Lebanon intended to fully comply with the US sanctions, no doubt drawing the ire of Hezbollah. Hezbollah Secretary-General Hassan Nasrallah initially sought to play down the effects of the US sanctions, claiming that Hezbol­lah did not keep money in bank accounts and that its financial operations were not tied to Lebanon’s banking system. However, news that 100 bank accounts had been frozen and that thousands more could follow, along with the Blom Bank explosion, reveals the extent to which Hezbollah has been hurt by these sanctions. The group has subsequently sought to try to use Lebanon’s Shia community to push back, claiming that the sanctions are specifically targeting Shia money. Some Lebanese newspapers asserted that the country’s Shia community could withdraw their funds — totalling billions of dollars — from the banking sector in protest. The Blom Bank explosion will be pivotal in the forthcoming confrontation between Washing­ton and Hezbollah, diplomatic sources said. This attack was an attack on US decision-making as much as Lebanon’s banking system and came just days after a visit to Beirut by US Assistant Treasury Secretary Daniel Glaser. It represents an invitation for the United States to amend its sanctions policy towards Hezbol­lah and as a warning about what could happen if it does not. But at a time when the United States is working in synchronisa­tion with the Gulf Cooperation Council, the Arab League and the Organisation of Islamic Coopera­tion to target Hezbollah and deal with it as a terrorist group, few observers say Washington will change its course. The question is: What will Hezbollah do next?
Mohamed Kawas is a Lebanese writer.

Hizbullah Reportedly Incurs Very Heavy Casualties in Aleppo Province
Naharnet/June 19/16/Hizbullah has suffered very heavy casualties in the southern countryside of the northern Syrian province of Aleppo, incurring the highest toll of deaths and injuries since the 2013 Qusayr battle, Syrian opposition activists have announced. The party has lost at least 25 fighters in the clashes that have been raging for several days, the activists said, amid official announcements by the party about its deaths and reports about the disappearance of several members whose fate is still unknown. “Hizbullah and the Iranians are dismayed by the fact that the Russian warplanes are not supporting them,” the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights has reported, noting that the Syrian army and its allies “might anytime lose the town of al-Hader south of Aleppo should the absence of Russia's aerial support continue.”According to Observatory director Rami Abdel Rahman, at least 186 combatants from both sides have been killed since Tuesday – 86 from the regime and its allies, including 25 Hizbullah members, and 100 anti-regime Islamist fighters. “The factions of the (al-Nusra Front-led) Army of Conquest seized the town of Khalsa and moved to Zitan and Birna before liberating them within only a few hours,” the opposition Sham News Network reported, adding that “more than 50 members of the Shiite militias were killed in the three towns.” “Rebel forces are advancing towards the town of al-Hader and amassing their fighters around it,” the network said, noting that “the town is the main stronghold of the Iranian forces and the foreign militias that operate under their command.”Hizbullah's intervention in the Syrian conflict alongside regime forces has helped Damascus achieve several military victories and allowed the party to clear most of the Lebanese-Syrian border region from rebels and jihadists. Since 2013, the Lebanese, Iran-backed party has sent thousands of combatants -- between 5,000 and 6,000, according to the expert on Hizbullah Waddah Sharara -- to help the regime fight both rebels and jihadists. They send 2,000 fighters at a time in rotation, Sharara says. Experts say Hizbullah has lost 1,000 to 2,000 fighters in the conflict, including senior commanders.

Salam 'Won't Accept or Reject' Kataeb Ministers Resignation
Naharnet/June 19/16/The resignations of Kataeb Party's ministers Sejaan Qazzi and Alain Hakim will remain unofficial, similarly to that of Justice Minister Ashraf Rifi, due to Prime Minister Tammam Salam's keenness on the coherence of his government, a media report said on Sunday. Salam does not want his government to collapse “under the pressure of the settling of scores or the bickering over the current issues,” sources close to Salam told al-Mustaqbal newspaper. “I'm also not satisfied with the government's performance but we have a national responsibility to shoulder,” Salam had reportedly told Kataeb chief MP Sami Gemayel when the latter visited him to inform him of the resignation decision. “Salam neither accepted nor rejected the resignation, stressing to Gemayel that his party and all political forces are free in the decisions that take,” the sources added. Gemayel had first announced the resignation of the ministers on Tuesday, accusing the government of failing to address the country's problems. "This government has become uncontrollable and detrimental" to the interests of the country, Gemayel said on Tuesday. "Its existence is worse than its inexistence. Nothing justifies our participation," he told a news conference.
"The government does not care about finding a solution to the problem of Syrian refugees, nor does it care about the economic plan presented by the economy minister" or the garbage crisis, Gemayel said.

Qazzi May Not Abide by Kataeb's Resignation Decision
Naharnet/June 19/16/Labor Minister Sejaan Qazzi of the Kataeb Party has hinted that he will not abide by his party's decision to resign from Prime Minister Tammam Salam's government. “I'm not an ordinary minister but one who has a long national history although some do not like to acknowledge that. I was with (slain president-elect) Bashir (Gemayel) at the age of 20 and I was a partner in decision-making, so I will not implement a decision without having a say in it at the age of 60,” Qazzi told al-Mustaqbal newspaper in remarks published Sunday. Noting that he will not announce his final decision prior to the party's political bureau meeting on Monday, the minister pointed out that his stance stems from “national and constitutional viewpoints.”“As for the first, now is not the right time for abandoning responsibility but rather the time for confrontation and resilience. As for my constitutional point of view, I believe that resigning from this government has no practical meaning. This is a political stance that does not prevent a minister from continuing their role and practicing their full jurisdiction, including the attendance of cabinet sessions,” Qazzi explained. He added: “I'm not seeking a conflict with my party, in which I grew up and which had a role and an impact in my life … I hope the party will understand my decision so that I can continue this path which started more than 45 years ago.” Asked whether rejecting the resignation will put him in a dispute with Kataeb chief MP Sami Gemayel and with the party's leadership, Qazzi said: “Up till now, there has been no noteworthy problem with the leadership, but should it happen, it will be the leadership's problem because I respect this leadership.”Gemayel announced the resignations of Qazzi and Economy Minister Alain Hakim on Tuesday, accusing the government of failing to address the country's problems.
The decision did not involve Information Minister Ramzi Jreij, who is not a Kataeb member although he was nominated by the party. "This government has become uncontrollable and detrimental" to the interests of the country, Gemayel said on Tuesday. "Its existence is worse than its inexistence. Nothing justifies our participation," he told a news conference. "The government does not care about finding a solution to the problem of Syrian refugees, nor does it care about the economic plan presented by the economy minister" or the garbage crisis, Gemayel said.

Geagea Says BLOM Blast Like Anti-March 14 Bombings if Culprits Not Unveiled
Naharnet/June 19/16/Lebanese Forces leader Samir Geagea on Sunday urged authorities to speed up the investigation into the bombing that targeted the headquarters of BLOM Bank in Beirut last week, noting that if the identity of the culprits remains under wraps it would be an indication that the attack was carried out by the same parties that killed March 14's leaders. “We are still awaiting the outcome of the investigations into the blast that hit BLOM Bank and we must remind on this occasion that the perpetrators of all the previous bombings that were staged by takfiri groups have been identified,” said Geagea in a communique. “Should the identity of those behind the BLOM blast be kept under wraps, it will be an indication that it is similar to the bombings that targeted March 14's leaders in the past ten years and this would be very dangerous,” Geagea warned. “The government would then be obliged to address the issue and take the appropriate measures,” the LF chief added. The March 14 forces have blamed the Syrian regime and Hizbullah for most of the assassinations and attempted murders that targeted March 14 figures between 2005 and 2013. Several parties were quick to point the finger at Hizbullah over BLOM Bank's blast due to the fact that the attack coincided with a row between the party and the banking sector over the implementation of new anti-Hizbullah U.S. sanctions. The explosion last Sunday blew out the entire glass facade of the headquarters of BLOM Bank, one of the country's largest, but only one person was lightly wounded. BLOM bank has been criticized by some pro-Hizbullah politicians for taking a hard-line position after Lebanese banks began abiding by a U.S. law that sanctions doing business with the Iran-backed Lebanese group. Authorities say dozens of bank accounts related to Hizbullah's organizations have been closed in recent weeks. Hizbullah has fiercely criticized the law and accused Central Bank Governor Riad Salameh of "yielding" to Washington's demands. The crisis between Hizbullah and Salameh has however eased in recent days, according to media reports, after the governor ordered the reopening of several closed bank accounts. Hizbullah has not commented on the blast and its secretary general Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah is expected to address the issue in a June 24 speech.

Al-Rahi Urges Politicians to Elect President, Stop 'Destroying State'
Naharnet/June 19/16/Maronite Patriarch Beshara al-Rahi on Sunday urged Lebanon's political leaders to end the protracting presidential vacuum, stressing that no one has the right to “destroy the State.”“We call on the political community and its parliamentary blocs to listen to their national conscience and perform their constitutional duty that obliges them to elect a new president,” said al-Rahi during a Sunday mass. “Only the president can preserve the Constitution and safeguard the Lebanese society and its unity, growth and prosperity, and only the president can revive the parliament and the government,” the patriarch added. “No matter what the reasons might be, the political community does not have the right to destroy the State, aggrieve citizens or obstruct the public welfare,” al-Rahi went on to say. Lebanon has been without a president since the term of Michel Suleiman ended in May 2014 and Hizbullah, the Free Patriotic Movement and some of their allies have been boycotting the parliament's electoral sessions, demanding a prior agreement on the new president's identity. Al-Mustaqbal movement leader ex-PM Saad Hariri launched an initiative in late 2015 to nominate Marada Movement chief MP Suleiman Franjieh for the presidency but his proposal was met with reservations from the country's main Christian parties as well as Hizbullah. The supporters of FPM founder MP Michel Aoun's presidential bid argue that he is more eligible than Franjieh to become president due to the size of his parliamentary bloc and his bigger influence in the Christian community.

Italian parliament Speaker in Boldrini in Beirut
Sun 19 Jun 2016/NNA - Italian Speaker in of parliament Laura Boldrini has just landed in Beirut airport, where she was met by Italian ambassador Massimo Marotti and deputy of the House Michel Mousa, NNA field reporters said today. During her 3 day visit, Boldrini is scheduled to meet separately with her Lebanese counterpart Nabih Berri and Lebanese minister of Foreign Affairs Gebran Bassil, the same reporters said; also and, during her South Lebanon tour, she would be inspecting Italian peacekeepers serving with UNIFIL, NNA reporters concluded.

Home Politics Hariri holds 'Iftar' attended by various ambassadors
Sun 19 Jun 2016/NNA - Former Prime Minister Saad Hariri hosted an "Iftar" at the "House of Center" at sunset on Sunday, which was attended by European Union Ambassador Christina Lassen, United Nations Secretary-General's Representative Sigrid Kaag, as well as the Ambassadors of Poland, Canada, Kazakhstan, Pakistan, Philippines and the Embassy of the Knights of Malta's Charge d'Affaires. Young men and women of Beiruti families and children from "Dar al-Aytam" Islamic Orphanage also attended the Iftar, during which Hariri shed light on various developments in the country.

Lebanese Forces' Student Body holds its first conference
Sun 19 Jun 2016/NNA - Lebanese Forces Party's student body held its first conference on Sunday under the headline "Youth of Today, Leaders of Tomorrow" at "Our Lady of the Mountain" Monastery in Fatka, during which Party Head Samir Geagea and his spouse, Mrs. Strida Geagea, surprised the conferees with their presence. Geagea met with the students, listened to their worries and responded to their questions, while encouraging them to honor their roots and join the people of their towns and villages in working for the sake of a better future. The conference focused in its discussions on ways of promoting the student body's internal work procedures, in addition to various issues related to social, educational and environmental aspects.

Syrian worker injured in cluster bomb explosion
Sun 19 Jun 2016/NNA - A Syrian worker sustained multiple injuries in an explosion of a cluster bomb apparently leftover from the 2006 Israeli invasion of Lebanon in Tyr, NNA field reporters said today. The worker has been hospitalized at UNIFIL's Italian hospital in Tyr, with policemen launching a routine investigation, the same reporters concluded.

Pharaon: Lebanon plays major role in preserving values
Sun 19 Jun 2016/NNA - Minister of Tourism, Michel Pharaon, gave a word during an event honoring Charles Malik, stating that Lebanon has a major part to perform in preserving values and giving an example in coexistence. The event attended by a host of personalities, including MP Ghassan Moukheiber, took place at Sagesse School in Achrafiyeh. Malik was a Lebanese academic, diplomat, and philosopher. He served as the Lebanese representative to the United Nations, the President of the Commission on Human Rights and the United Nations General Assembly. He also held posts in various ministries and is recognized for his role in the drafting and adoption of the 1948 Universal Declaration of Human Rights. "Charles Malik has a grand significance in the values that we are fighting for today, namely democracy, human rights and civilization," said the Minister. "Civilization is a symbol that invaded the world without the need for an army, and part of that civilization is the Lebanese. Some call them the Phoenicians, who gave the world civilization, they are men with a message, just like Malik was," Pharaon reminded his audience of the words of Pope St. John Paul II who called Lebanon "a message.""All values in Iraq and Syria have been tarnished, and Lebanon has a grand role in maintaining values. We must be an example of coexistence and moderation. This is our role for the upcoming years."

Family feud in Bab Tabbaneh escalates into attempted arson
Sun 19 Jun 2016/NNA - An argument between a man and his son in Bab Tabbaneh escalated on Sunday into a fistfight, after which the son attempted to burn down his father's shop. Neighbors intervened and stopped the fire and a unit from the LAF arrested the son.
 

Latest LCCC Bulletin For Miscellaneous Reports And News published on June 19-20/16

Suicide attack kills 3 at Christian massacre memorial in Syria
AFP, Qamishli, Syria Sunday, 19 June 2016/Three people were killed in northeast Syria on Sunday when a suicide bomber attacked an event commemorating the massacre of Christians more than a century ago, state media and a security source said.The attack in the city of Qamishli took place as locals gathered at a hall to commemorate the deaths of tens of thousands of Christians by the Ottoman army starting in 1915 in what is known as the Sayfo (“Sword”) massacre. A photographer working with AFP and attending the event said he heard the blast and saw pieces of flesh lying next to damaged cars. “The suicide attacker tried to enter the hall where people were gathered but was stopped by local security forces, and he detonated himself among them,” a security source at the scene told AFP. The security forces belonged to the Sotoro, a Christian militia based in Syria’s northeast. “Three Sotoro members were killed and five wounded,” the security source said. One Sotoro member told AFP that the suicide bomber “detonated himself near our checkpoint after he couldn’t reach his real target, Patriarch Ignatius.”Patriarch Ignatius Aphrem II is the head of the Syriac Orthodox church and was leading the commemoration. Syria’s state news agency SANA also reported three people killed in a “terrorist suicide explosion” in Qamishli but did not specify whether they were civilians or security forces. Situated along the border with Turkey, Qamishli has been regularly targeted by suicide bombings, many of which have been claimed by the ISIS jihadist group. Control of the Kurdish-majority city is split between Kurdish militia and pro-government fighters. Syriac Christians belong to the eastern Christian tradition and pray in Aramaic. They include both Orthodox and Catholic branches, and constitute around 15 percent of Syria’s 1.2 million Christians.
 

Netanyahu, Kerry expected to meet next week in Europe
Jerusalem Post/June 19/16/Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is expected to meet next week in a European capital with US Secretary of State John Kerry to discuss possible ways of moving the diplomatic process forward. While Netanyahu and Kerry speak on a regular basis – they last spoke on Friday – they have not met since January, at the World Economic Forum in Davos. Kerry has not been in Israel since last November, when he came in an effort to help tamp down the violence that erupted with the latest wave of Palestinian terrorism that started a month before. Among the likely agenda items will be the possibility of creating a regional umbrella to re-launching a diplomatic process with the Palestinians; the French diplomatic initiative; and a Quartet report to be released within the next few weeks spelling out the reasons for the current diplomatic logjam, and suggesting ways to break through it. The US, according to diplomatic sources, has been actively involved in writing this document, at times arguing with the other members of the Quartet -- the EU, Russia and the UN -- to ensure it is balanced.
Netanyahu and Kerry are also expected to discuss the situation in Syria.
While Kerry did attend the meeting of some 30 foreign ministers and officials in Paris earlier this month to launch the French initiative, Washington has not expressed a great deal of enthusiasm for the plan, beyond saying that the meeting was a good way for the international community to reaffirm its commitment to a two-state solution. The US was instrumental earlier this month in significantly watering down the communique that came out of the Paris meeting, essentially rendering it little more than a pledge of allegiance by those in attendance to a two state solution, with the participants reaffirming “their support for a just, lasting and comprehensive resolution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.”There is concern in Jerusalem, however, that the foreign ministers of the 28-member EU scheduled to meet in Luxembourg on Monday will throw their support behind the plan, something that would give it added momentum.
The Paris summit was considered by participants as a “launching pad,” with the next step being the establishment of working-groups to deal with issues such as security and economic development. The goal is to have an international conference by December, with the participation of Israel and the Palestinians. Neither Israel not the Palestinian Authoirty were invited to the Paris summit. Netanyahu has come out adamantly against the French plan, arguing that it provides a disincentive to the Palestinians to negotiate with Israel, since they believe that if they hold out, the international community will impose a solution on Israel. Jerusalem, meanwhile, is continuing to lobby European governments against the plan. “Israel continues with its intensive diplomatic efforts, and we hope that our point of view will prevail,” said Foreign Ministry spokesman Emmanuel Nachshon, adding that Israel will continue pressing its point through the EU foreign ministers meeting in Luxembourg.

Syrian warplane crashes after take-off from Hama airport
Reuters, Amman Sunday, 19 June 2016/A Syrian jet bomber crashed just after take-off from Syria's Hama airport after it encountered a technical problem, a Syrian military source said on Sunday. The military source, quoted by Syrian state media, did not say when the crash had occurred or provide any other details. Several Russian-manufactured warplanes have crashed since the start of the year, mostly due to technical failures which defense analysts have generally attributed to age. A rebel source told Reuters the plane that crashed was a Russian Mig 21 fighter but this could not be independently verified.

Russia, US agree on Syria military coordination
Reuters, Moscow Sunday, 19 June 2016/Russia said on Sunday it had reached an agreement with the United States to improve coordination between their military operations in Syria, where they are backing opposing sides of a civil war and launching air strikes.
Russia’s defense ministry said it was pushing Washington to help produce a shared map of the positions of fighting forces to avoid incidents, a day after Washington accused Moscow of attacking U.S.-backed insurgents there. Moscow’s intervention on the side of President Bashar al-Assad, alongside Western backing for rebel groups opposing him, has raised fears of a wider international confrontation in the war. Russia’s defense ministry said military officials from both countries had agreed on the need to improve coordination during a video conference. There was no immediate confirmation from Washington. “The exchange of views about the incident was carried out in a constructive way with the both sides aiming to improve the coordination on fighting the terrorist organizations in Syria and in order to avert any incidents during military operations in this country,” Russian Defense Ministry spokesman Igor Konashenkov said in a statement. The Pentagon said on Saturday it had questioned Moscow over Russian air strikes conducted against U.S.-backed Syrian opposition forces last week, accusing Moscow of failing to heed US warnings.Konashenkov dismissed the allegation, saying the Russian strikes hit about 300 km away from territory where the United States had said opposition forces were operating. He said Russia had notified the U.S.-led coalition about the targets it was planning to strike. “The Russian defense ministry for the past few months has been proposing to its American colleagues to draw a unified map, which would containing information about the location of the forces which were active in Syria. However, no material progress has been made on this issue,” the spokesman said. Russia, which has been bombing opposition-held areas, is blamed by the opposition and rights activists for causing hundreds of civilian deaths and targeting hospitals, schools and infrastructure in what they say are indiscriminate attacks. Moscow has repeatedly dismissed the allegations.

Turkish troops fire on fleeing Syrians, killing 11
Agencies Sunday, 19 June 2016/Turkish border guards shot dead at least 11 Syrians, mostly from one family, as they tried to cross into Turkey from northwestern Syria, activists and a monitoring group said on Sunday. At least two women and four children were among those killed in the shootings overnight as the refugees sought to cross into Turkey from the border village of Khirbet al Jouz, the Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said. Several activists in the area backed up the report. Turkey has repeatedly denied accusations of its security forces firing on Syrians trying to cross the frontier, which has been closed for several months. But the Observatory has recorded numerous incidents this year, and said Sunday’s toll was among the highest. The Britain-based Observatory said the group of eight had been displaced by fighting around the northern Syrian town of Manbij, held by ISIS and under attack by US-backed forces. They fled northwest towards Idlib province and the border, but were killed “when Turkish border guards opened fire on them as they tried to cross into Turkey,” said the Observatory. It said that four of those killed were children, adding that eight people were wounded, some of them critically. Since the beginning of the year, at least 60 people -- all civilians -- have been killed in fire by Turkish border guards, the Observatory said. In May, Human Rights Watch accused Turkish border guards of shooting and beating Syrian asylum seekers.Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan denied the reports, and the Turkish army says it only fires at armed smugglers, not at civilians. But in its statement, the National Coalition expressed its “surprise and condemnation after this terrible tragedy against our brothers fleeing the regime. “The deaths of defenseless Syrians contradicts the hospitality of the Turkish government and the Turkish people,” it said. Turkey is hosting over 2.7 million refugees from the conflict in Syria. Only a quarter of a million live in refugee camps, while the rest are in towns and cities. More than 280,000 people have been killed since Syria’s conflict erupted in March 2011 with demonstrations against President Bashar al-Assad’s government. (Reuters, AFP)

King Salman: Saudi’s stance on Palestine remains firm
Staff writer, Al Arabiya English Sunday, 19 June 2016/Saudi Arabia’s King Salman emphasized on Sunday the kingdom’s firm stance towards the Palestinian cause and the legitimate rights of the Palestinian people after he received President Mahmoud Abbas at his palace in Jeddah. The latest developments in the Palestinian territories were also reviewed during the meeting at the Saudi port city on the Red Sea. After the meeting, King Salman received a commemorative gift from Abbas. Israel approves millions for settlements: Their meeting comes in the same day when Israel’s government approved some $18 million in additional financing for West Bank settlements, calling it a response to security concerns, though the money is to be used in a variety of ways. The decision by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s right-wing cabinet will see some 70 million shekels ($18 million, 16 million euros) allocated to settlement-related spending. According to Haaretz newspaper, the amount is in addition to an already allocated $88 million. Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank are considered illegal under international law and major stumbling blocks to peace as they are built on land Palestinians view as part of their future state. The United States, the European Union and many others in the international community have called for a halt to settlement building. Netanyahu’s government is however considered the most right-wing in Israel’s history, with key members of his cabinet strong supporters of settlement building and opponents of a Palestinian state. The premier faces steady political pressure to support settlements and settlement building, which receive a range of government assistance. The government argued the increase was needed due to security concerns. A wave of Palestinian knife, gun and car-ramming attacks began in October, with much of the violence occurring in the West Bank. Speaking at the start of the cabinet meeting, Netanyahu called it “an assistance plan to strengthen communities” in the West Bank, saying it would “strengthen security, assist small businesses and encourage tourism.”Beyond security, it will include spending on tourism infrastructure, sport facilities and cultural events, ministers said. ‘Slap in the face’ Palestine Liberation Organization secretary general Saeb Erekat called the move a "slap in the face of the international community." “Israel is doing everything possible to sabotage every effort to achieve a just and lasting peace,” he said in a statement. Opposition lawmaker Amir Peretz of the Zionist Union accused the government of “wasting money on political settlements” instead of helping families within Israel. Besides the settlement money, the government was also expected to approve the allocation of 80 million shekels ($20.7 million, 18.3 million euros) to ultra-Orthodox Jewish seminaries. The ultra-Orthodox establishment also wields significant political power in Israel and its politicians have often played a kingmaker role.(With AFP)

Investigators examine EgyptAir black boxes
Ahmed Aboulenein, Reuters, Cairo Sunday, 19 June 2016/Investigators have begun analyzing the two severely damaged black boxes from EgyptAir flight MS804 as they seek to explain why the plane plunged into the sea, killing all 66 people on board. It would require “lots of time and effort” to fix the two badly damaged black box recorders, sources on Egypt’s Aircraft Accident Investigation Committee told Reuters on Sunday. The committee said it started the analysis of the devices, with representatives from France and the United States, which are crucial to explaining why the Airbus A320 crashed on May 19 en route from Paris to Cairo. The memory units from both the Cockpit Voice Recorder and the Flight Data Recorder were extracted from the devices and dried in a military facility for eight hours, the committee said in a statement. Investigators are now conducting electrical tests on the memory units, the final step before trying to extract data. If intact, the cockpit recorder should reveal pilot conversations and any cockpit alarms, as well as other clues such as engine noise. But crash experts say it may provide only limited insight into the reason for the crash.With the data recorder, investigators have a greater chance of discovering the cause, provided its chip is still intact. Investigators need to further analyze the memory units before deciding if they can be fixed locally or if they need to be sent abroad for repairs. Search teams retrieved the Cockpit Voice Recorder on Thursday which they said was damaged but had the memory unit intact. They found the Flight Data Recorder on Friday. While no explanation for the disaster has been ruled out, current and former aviation officials increasingly believe the root of the crash lies in the aircraft’s technical systems, rather than deliberate sabotage. There has been a series of airplane accidents at high altitude blamed on a cocktail of technical and pilot flaws. The crash is the third blow since October to Egypt’s travel industry, which is still suffering from the 2011 uprising that ended Hosni Mubarak’s 30-year rule. A Russian plane crashed in the Sinai Peninsula in October, killing all 224 people on board in an attack claimed by ISIS. In March, an EgyptAir plane was hijacked by a man wearing a fake suicide belt. No one was hurt.

ISIS tries to break siege in Libya’s Sirte
AFP, Tripoli Sunday, 19 June 2016/The ISIS group tried Sunday to break a siege on their last holdouts in Sirte but were pushed back by fighters allied to Libya's unity government, a spokesman said. ISIS fighters have been pinned down in parts of Sirte since forces allied to the UN-backed Government of National Accord (GNA) launched an operation to dislodge them from the coastal city last month.On Sunday pro-GNA forces said they clashed with the militants who had launched a bid to break away from positions west of Sirte using "medium-sized" weapons. "Our forces confronted them and forced them to retreat," spokesman Reda Issa told AFP. "Two of our men were killed and five wounded" in the clashes around the Al-Ghrebat sector of Sirte, he said. Militant groups took root in Libya in late 2014, taking advantage of the chaos and power struggles that followed the NATO-backed uprising that toppled and killed dictator Moamer Kadhafi in 2011. The pro-GNA forces launched an operation to drive ISIS out of Sirte on May 12. Last week they imposed a siege around the Mediterranean city and advanced into parts of it but the operation has slowed down with jihadists holed up in residential areas. "The pro-government forces are advancing cautiously because ISIS fighters are barricaded inside homes and we are trying to avoid using heavy artillery to spare civilians who could also be inside," said Issa. ISIS has counter-attacked during the past week, including with suicide bombings that have killed at least nine pro-GNA forces. Issa said the pro-GNA forces were now focused on trying to "bolster their positions on the outskirts of Sirte to reinforce the siege and provoke ISIS fighters to come out of hiding". At least 166 pro-GNA forces have been killed and more than 500 have been wounded since the assault was launched last month, according to an AFP count based on reports from medical officials. No casualty figures are available for the jihadists in Sirte, 450 kilometres (280 miles) east of the capital. US officials estimate ISIS has 5,000 fighters in Libya, most of them in Sirte, where the remaining civilian population numbers around 30,000.

Algerian troops kill eight Islamist militants: ministry
AFP, Algiers Sunday, 19 June 2016/Algerian soldiers killed eight armed Islamist militants in an operation south of the capital on Sunday, the defense ministry said. It said the eight “terrorists” were killed in an ambush in a mountainous area of the Medea region, about 80 kilometers south of Algiers. Arms and ammunition were seized, it said. The ambush was part of an ongoing operation against militants that began on June 9 and had so far led to the killings of 12 “terrorists” and the arrests of four others. The authorities in the North African country use the term “terrorists” to refer to Islamist militants. A brutal civil war in the 1990s between the government and Islamists claimed about 200,000 lives. Despite adopting a peace and reconciliation charter in 2005 aimed at turning the page on the conflict, armed groups remain active in some areas. According to an AFP count compiled from official bulletins, security forces have killed at least 95 armed Islamists this year.

Houthis free 276 Yemeni government’s loyalists
AFP, Aden Sunday, 19 June 2016/Shiite Houthi militia group in Yemen announced on Sunday the release of 276 government loyalists who had been held captive for months, in a gesture of good will. The Houthis’ sabanews.net website said 200 detainees were set free in Rada, a town in the central province of Baida, and another 76 were let go in nearby Dhamar province. The move was a sign of “good will” on the occasion of the Muslim fasting month of Ramadan, said the website, citing officials. The detainees in Rada had been captured for allegedly “cooperating with the Arab military coalition and being loyal to the government” of UN-backed President Abedrabbo Mansour Hadi, an official there told AFP. Those freed in Dhamar had been taken in on accusations they had been preparing to join government forces, the official added. The releases come a day after the exchange of 194 prisoners in Taez, in southwestern Yemen, following tribal mediation unconnected to UN-brokered peace talks in Kuwait. Those negotiations, now in their ninth week, have made no major breakthroughs, even on the issue of prisoners. Earlier this month, the rebels freed 187 captives while Saudi Arabia released 52.

Jordan court jails Norwegian-Iraqi for 15 years for ‘terrorism’
AFP, Amman Sunday, 19 June 2016/A Jordanian court sentenced a Norwegian man of Iraqi descent to 15 years in prison on Sunday for planning “terrorist acts” in the kingdom. Khaled al-Rebai, 49, was also found guilty by Amman’s state security court of “possessing explosive material,” according to the verdict delivered in front of Norwegian diplomats in the Jordanian capital. Rebai was found not guilty of belonging to Iran’s Quds Force, the foreign army of the Iranian Revolutionary Guards, an AFP correspondent said. His lawyers said they would appeal the guilty verdicts. Rebai was arrested in July in possession of 45 kilograms of explosives in the northern town of Jarash. Jordan said at the time it had foiled a “terrorist” attack due to be carried out by an Iraqi Quds Force member.

Israeli group urges Brexit over EU west bank policies
AFP, Jerusalem Sunday, 19 June 2016/An Israeli pro-settlement group is campaigning for Britain to leave the EU to punish it for what it says is its pro-Palestinian stance, one of its officials said on Sunday. Regavim is a right-wing NGO that supports Jewish settlements in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, though they are considered illegal under international law and major stumbling blocks to peace as they are built on land the Palestinians see as part of their future state. Its campaign includes a mock video of a masked Palestinian militant purportedly from the Hamas-ruled Gaza Strip urging UK citizens to remain in the European Union because it supports the Palestinians. It also highlights EU financing of Palestinian structures in the West Bank. Meir Deutsch, director of policy and government relations for Regavim, said the NGO wanted to harm the EU over its “intervention in the internal conflict here between Israel and the Palestinians.”Some 60 percent of the West Bank is under Israeli control and Palestinians face extremely difficult odds in receiving building permits in those areas. The EU has helped finance various projects in the West Bank and Israel has regularly demolished those it considers illegal. The cash-strapped Palestinian Authority also receives finance assistance from the EU. The mock video posted by Regavim on its campaign website (http://www.supportisraelleaveeurope.com/) shows masked militants with the logo of Hamas’ armed wing, the Ezzedine al-Qassam Brigades, and in the background a line in English that reads: “Hamas wants UK to stay in the EU.” A male voiceover is then heard delivering a statement in British English in which he praises the EU for carrying out construction projects in the West Bank. “If you truly hate Isra-Hell and the Jews and want to support our struggle, help Britain to stay in the EU,” it says. The voiceover also praised a recent European directive to label produce from Israeli settlements in Palestinian territory. Deutsch called the EU’s actions “one-sided and anti-Israel, in the marking of products as well and paying salaries of terrorists,” he said. “We think they should be acting in a more balanced way. As long as that is not happening, we want the EU to be damaged.”Deutsch said their campaign was aimed at dual Israeli-British nationals living in Israel, and “anyone who cares for Israel” in the UK. Britain’s EU referendum will be held on Thursday.

Saudi deputy crown prince to meet tech giants
Staff writer, Al Arabiya.net Sunday, 19 June 2016/Saudi Deputy Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman arrived in San Francisco on Sunday, in his second phase of a US tour following a visit to Washington where he met with President Barack Obama and other top US officials. The deputy crown prince's visit to California will include meetings with executives in Silicon Valley, the home of the world's tech giants. Several Saudi sources expect a number of tech deals to be announced between the kingdom and Silicon Valley companies during Prince Mohammed’s visit. According to analysts speaking to Al Arabiya News Channel, Prince Mohammed’s meetings will aim to enhance ties with Silicon Valley and create new projects to be implemented in the kingdom. These meetings also aim to establish a high-tech sector to achieve the aims of a diverse economy, as sought by Saudi Arabia’s Vision 2030. The deputy crown prince's visit to California will last for four days and he will head to this third stop, New York, on Tuesday, where he is scheduled to meet with UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon on Wednesday. Saudi deputy crown prince discusses region’s crisis with US leaders

Qatar condemns Mursi and Al-Jazeera trial verdicts
AFP, Doha Sunday, 19 June 2016/Qatar on Saturday rejected the verdict by an Egyptian court in a spy case linking ousted president Mohamed Mursi to passing state secrets to Doha. In addition to Mursi’s conviction being upheld and receiving a life sentence, two journalists from the Qatar-based state-funded broadcaster Al-Jazeera were also handed death sentences. But in a statement released late on Saturday by Qatar’s foreign ministry, officials in Doha said the verdict was unfounded. “Though it is not final, the verdict is unfounded, goes against truth and contains misleading claims which are contrary to the policy of the State of Qatar towards all sister countries, including Egypt,” said the ministry’s director of information, Ahmed Al Rumaihi. “The charge of espionage for Qatar against a former president and media men is surprising and unacceptable.”Rumaihi added that the verdicts lacked “the proper sense of justice.”Mursi was given life in prison Saturday for leading an unlawful organization and 15 years for having “stolen secret documents concerning state security,” his lawyer said. But Mursi was acquitted of having supplied classified documents to Qatar, one of his main backers, Abdel Moneim Abdel Maksoud told AFP. The two Al-Jazeera journalists were tried in absentia. Egypt has long accused Qatar - and Al-Jazeera - of being sympathetic to the Muslim Brotherhood.

Britain's EU Referendum Campaign Resumes after MP Murder
Agence France Presse/Naharnet/June 19/16/Reeling from the murder of MP Jo Cox, the EU referendum campaigns resumed Sunday, with just four days to go until the critical vote that will shape Britain's future. The Remain and Leave camps suspended campaigning for three days after the killing of Cox on Thursday. A 52-year-old man has appeared in court charged with her murder. But with the polls too close to call, leaders were to hit the television studios on Sunday to begin their final push for votes. Prime Minister David Cameron, who wants Britain to stay in the European Union, said the country was facing an "an existential choice" from which there would be "no turning back." Meanwhile Britain's Sunday newspapers picked sides in their final editions before the referendum. The Mail on Sunday and The Observer gave their support to the Remain camp, while The Sunday Times and The Sunday Telegraph broadsheets backed quitting the EU. Resuming the campaign, Cameron said the British economy "hangs in the balance," with trade and investment set to suffer in the event of a Leave vote and a "probable recession" that would leave the UK "permanently poorer". "If you're not sure, don't take the risk of leaving. If you don't know, don't go," he wrote in The Sunday Telegraph. "If we were to leave and it quickly turned out to be a big mistake, there wouldn't be a way of changing our minds and having another go. This is it." Cameron, finance minister George Osborne and opposition Labor leader Jeremy Corbyn, from the Remain camp, were all set for major TV appearances on Sunday. Meanwhile Nigel Farage, leader of the UK Independence Party, was set to do the same for the Leave camp.
Remain poll rise after murder
The What UK Thinks website's average of the last six polls, conducted between June 10 and Saturday, put the Remain and Leave camps absolutely level on 50-50, excluding undecided voters. The Leave camp had been a few percentage points ahead in recent polling, but fresh surveys showing a rise in support for remaining brought the average neck-and-neck. They included the first carried out since Cox's murder: a Survation poll on Friday and Saturday that put the Remain on 45 percent and Leave on 42 percent. The results were the reverse Survation's Thursday poll, which had Leave ahead by 45 to 42.
Labour MP Cox had campaigned for Britain to stay in the EU. She was shot and stabbed in the street in what police called a "targeted" daylight attack in her constituency. Cox's alleged killer Thomas Mair said "Death to traitors, freedom for Britain" when asked to give his name at Westminster Magistrates Court in London on Saturday. He was remanded in custody until his next court appearance on Monday at England's central criminal court, and a psychiatric report has been requested. Cox, 41, is survived by her husband Brendan and their children Lejla, five, and three-year-old Cuillin. The murder, the first of a sitting British member of parliament since 1990, sent shockwaves around the world, drawing tributes from leaders including U.S. President Barack Obama. A fund created in Cox's memory by her friends and family has raised more than £570,000 ($820,000, 725,000 euros) for charities close to her heart.
Weekly newspapers split
In making their decisions, Britain's Sunday newspapers tried to sway their readers in how to vote. The Mail On Sunday warned it was "not the time to risk the peace and prosperity" of the UK. "Our deepest desires must somehow be moderated to suit the increasingly tough reality of a competitive world," the tabloid said. "Those who would have you believe in the plucky Little England of the past are selling a dangerous illusion." The Observer said: "For an international, liberal and open Britain, we need to be part of the EU." The choice was between "going it alone" or a "messy, imperfect collective", but "outside the EU, our role in the world would be diminished." The Sunday Telegraph, meanwhile, backed Brexit, declaring that the EU "belongs to the past." "The Leave campaign has articulated an ambitious vision for Britain as an independent nation, once again free to make its own decisions," it said. The Sunday Times said "Yes, we must be prepared for difficulties, but we should hold our nerve" in voting Leave. "This vote may be the only opportunity we shall ever have to call a halt to the onward march of the centralizing European project. "We can help our friends face a better future."

30,000 Displaced from Iraq's Fallujah in 3 Days
Naharnet/June 19/16/Fighting in the Iraqi city of Fallujah has displaced at least 30,000 people in three days, the Norwegian Refugee Council said Sunday, warning that a humanitarian disaster was unfolding. Iraqi forces achieved a breakthrough on Thursday, taking over the center of Fallujah while the Islamic State group retreated to areas in the north of the city. That allowed thousands of civilians who had been used as human shields to flee the city, a key jihadist stronghold west of Baghdad that had been besieged for months. "The estimated total number of displaced from Fallujah in just the last three days is now at a staggering 30,000 people," the NRC said in a statement. The aid group, which runs displacement camps around Fallujah, said another 32,000 people had already been displaced since the start of the government offensive against the IS bastion nearly a month ago. It said it believed dozens of families were still inside Fallujah, including the most vulnerable civilians such as pregnant women, the sick and the elderly. The aid community has been overwhelmed by the influx of people and many were sleeping in the open, in the scorching summer sun and waiting for a tent at one of the displacement camps. "We implore the Iraqi government to take charge of this humanitarian disaster unfolding on our watch," NRC's Iraq director Nasr Muflahi said in the statement. NRC said it could no longer provide the required assistance, with water rations drying up fast. It cited the case of a newly-opened camp in Amriyat al-Fallujah that houses 1,800 people but has only one latrine for women. "We need the Iraqi government to take a leading role in providing for the needs of the most vulnerable civilians who have endured months of trauma and terror," Muflahi said. Fallujah was the first city to fall out of government control in January 2014, as the jihadists began to establish a foothold on parts of the country. Around 3.4 million people have since been forced from their homes by conflict across the country. More than 40 percent of them are from Anbar, the province in which Fallujah is located.

Latest LCCC Bulletin analysis & editorials from miscellaneous sources published on June 19-20/16

Waiting on Netanyahu
Smadar Perry/Ynetnews/June 19/16
As the Arab world waits for Netanyahu with bated breath, other forces at play are preparing for the moment when all the excuses will fall away and a real effort for peace will begin. An Egyptian, Jordanian, Palestinian and American walk into a crowded hall and each grabs a microphone. It sounds like the start of a joke, and not necessarily one that would bring a smile to your face. But that was exactly what happened three days ago at the Herzliya Conference. Egyptian Ambassador to Israel Hazem Khairat made his first public appearance there and was joined by the generally low profile Jordanian Ambassador Walid Obeidat, Palestinian Standing Cooperation Committee Member Elias Zananiri, and Dr. Robert Danin - an American who has racked up plenty of experience in matters relating to our neck of the woods - all gathered together in an effort to start a dialogue with Israel. To be honest, it was the Palestinian who stole the show.
Each member of the quartet came to offer their own opinion on the Saudi peace initiative that has since morphed into the Arab peace plan - which has yet to receive a concrete response from Israel. We Israelis are experts at announcing that our hands are held out in peace, and yet every prime minister we've had has always run away when it came to plans that were detailed down to the carrot and the stick: full withdrawal in exchange for a true and complete peace. Try finding a leader willing to divide Jerusalem or confront the settlers over this. Recently, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had a flash of inspiration: just prior to the good-riddance peace conference in Paris, he and Defense Minister Avigdor Lieberman started hurriedly talking about a different path to peace. Suddenly, they were ready to dust off the earlier Saudi plan and ingratiate themselves with Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi - anything to get rid of the French. After these efforts were shot down, Netanyahu offered up two more initiatives: the first was given by Foreign Ministry Director General Dore Gold, who promised Israel would lap up the peace offer as long as the 57 Arab countries would agree to normalize their relations with Israel and set up economic cooperation between both sides.
The second initiative, promoted by Netanyahu himself, was even more disappointing: instead of delivering a crushing speech that would have presented his view on peace, he decided not to step on stage at the Herzliya Conference. Rather than map out his red lines, he sent out a tape from Jerusalem, reprimanding former defense minister Moshe "Bogey" Ya'alon. Peace is kindly asked to take a seat until things cool down. It's not as if there are no partners for a dialogue. Al-Sisi in Egypt, King Abdullah II in Jordan, King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud and his heirs in Saudi Arabia, the four rulers of the United Arab Emirates, and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas are all waiting to get a reaction from Netanyahu. Through more discrete channels, they have agreed on a new plan by looking at what doesn't sit well and starting a dialogue over the parts Israel finds unacceptable. Changes can be made, as long as everyone agrees to sit down and begin talking with one another. Netanyahu isn't interested in direct negotiations? Moscow, Washington and Cairo would be happy to act as a go-between together with the Saudis. Netanyahu does want face-to-face negotiations? Then by all means, let him set a date and come out with a statement in the press. Another option is for us to twiddle our thumbs, believe that Abu Mazen and Gaza are no longer relevant, swear that maintaining the status quo is a painless solution and basically sit here and not get ourselves in trouble. Another option is to watch how everyone else starts working together behind our backs, coming to mutual understandings without us being privy to the details, and all the while declaring that Israel will never adhere to outside commands. Or, we could take a look at the Arab peace plan, think a few steps forward and get to work. It's pretty odd to discover the extent that the Israeli public is unfamiliar with the third option. It is also strange to recognize the extent of the public's apathy toward it. Meanwhile, though, teams from the Israeli Peace Initiative are speaking with those on the other side of this issue to prepare an economic plan, touch upon the sensitive matter of the Right of Return, discuss land swaps and try to agree on a road map that progresses through a system of price and reward. If we're being honest again, no one is guaranteeing us we'll be getting everything we want. The same goes for the other side. The road ahead is long and arduous, but at least we're all out of excuses.
 

A call for intervention in Syria after an era of ‘negative neutrality’
Abdulrahman al-Rashed/Al Arabiya/June 19/16
US President Barack Obama thought he was being “different” when he chose to ignore the Syrian crisis since its outset, out of his desire to avoid previous mistakes committed in Iraq. However, many have begun to speak out against policy of "negative neutrality," and say it is important to reconsider the concept. Fifty-one State Department diplomats recently signed an internal memo urging the US to carry out military strikes against the Syrian regime to halt its daily crimes. The memo reflects the increasing number of those in support of intervention and highlights the gravity of the mistake when dealing with an unmatched terrible tragedy. Senator John McCain was pretty much the only one at the beginning of the conflict to demand confronting the crimes of the Assad regime and he warned that ignoring the crisis will create an even bigger one and that the ISIS threat will extend beyond Syria's borders. Today, many military figures, politicians, human rights activists, intellectuals and diplomats share his opinion. Despite the several crises and tragedies across the world, what happened and what's still happening in Syria is beyond comprehensible, even by the standards of mass crimes committed during many other wars. Around half a million Syrian people have been killed in the fighting, most of whom are civilians, and more than 10 million others have been displaced, one third of whom are refugees outside Syria.
Negative neutrality
Negative neutrality has not been limited to rejecting military intervention against the Syrian regime to deter it since the start of the violence, but it has also included preventing US allies in the region from supporting the opposition with advanced US-made arms. Fifty-one State Department diplomats recently signed an internal memo urging the US to carry out military strikes against the Syrian regime to halt its daily crimes. Since the beginning of the conflict, no one asked Washington to send troops or participate in the fighting or give away arms, but what was required from it was not to set restraints against operations to arm the opposition. Arming the opposition would have given targeted areas the chance to defend themselves against the frequent destructive operations which were responsible for the death of tens of thousands of civilians. However, since advanced arms were not provided, the murder and displacement of Syrians became easy as these atrocities were committed systematically, purging entire areas of their residents. Meanwhile, the Iranians and Russians filled the vacuum and formed a new military coalition that also included sectarian militias brought in from different parts of the region. Amid these bleak circumstances, it should have been expected for Syria to become the most dangerous place in the world. It should have been expected for terrorism to spread there and to expand and threaten the region, Europe and the world. The damages resulting from the Syrian tragedy cannot be tallied and the spread of the ISIS and its ideologies are only some of them. The destruction in the country and its demographic composition will make it difficult to achieve any peace, regardless of whether global powers agree to a solution. Remaining silent over the fact the Iran is turning into a regional military power that's fighting outside its borders is a dangerous development which we first saw in Syria and we are now witnessing in Iraq. The chaos which we see today is a result of the policy of neutrality and this is why US State Department diplomats signed that memo - which is pretty rare - to demand intervention as they're aware that the size of the damage in Syria exceeded all estimates. In addition to this stance, there is an increasing number of intellectuals and academics who also reject negative neutrality regarding Syria. Is it a good stance? Yes. But is it influential? No, especially that time is not in their favor as the US will be busy for a long time with its domestic affairs, considering the upcoming presidential elections. Following that, it will spend months inaugurating the new presidential term and forming an administration. A year is a long time of waiting for the US to alter its policy. This calls on the region's countries not to depend on the US to end the tragedy in Syria. The increasing support for intervention may make it easier for regional countries - if they want - to increase their support for the Syrian opposition and thus push the negotiations towards a reasonable, peaceful solution. This article was first published in Asharq al-Awsat on June 19, 2016.

Syria is Obama’s shame
Hisham Melhem/Al Arabiya/June 19/16
It was a moral rational Cri de Coeur for taking steps to end the carnage in Syria, but it was also grounded in equally clear and compelling strategic imperatives. For weeks, scores of State Department officers in Washington and in U.S. embassies in the Middle East have been circulating a draft of a sharply critical “dissent cable” of the Obama administration’s fickle policies towards the tragic war in Syria, and forcefully urging the United States to end its dithering and carry out military strikes if necessary to compel the Assad regime to end its systematic mass murder of Syrian civilians. About two weeks ago the message titled Syria Policy was posted on the “Dissent Channel” signed by fifty one mostly middle ranking and junior officers who worked over the last five years on aspects of Syria policy, and who were exposed to the daily gut-wrenching accounts that came across their desks of the demoralizing and very depressing depredations, mostly from the Assad regime. The Dissent Channel was set up during the Vietnam War as a vehicle for officers who had strong political and moral disagreements with official policies, to express their dissent to their senior officials without fear of retaliation. Although the military recommendations in the dissent message are thoughtful and the signatories believe that “perhaps most critically, a more muscular military posture under U.S. leadership would underpin and propel a new and reinvigorated diplomatic initiative.” It is very unlikely that President Obama, who pursued half-heartedly and with stunning detachment several tentative, incomplete and contradictory approaches to Syria will fundamentally alter his current policy, which involves only criticizing the Assad policies but steering away from undermining him or his regime, and focus instead on containing the threat of ISIS.
A history of dissent
During the Vietnam War a number of National Security Council staff, including Anthony Lake, who served later as President Bill Clinton’s first National Security Advisor resigned in protest over the war. During the Bosnian war in the 1990’s, a number of midlevel young officers involved in that conflict resigned out of frustration with the incremental, tentative and very cautious approach to the war, particularly the lack of resolve of the Clinton administration to compel the Serbs to end their atrocities against the Muslim Bosnians. The Clinton administration continued its muddling through until Serb forces in the summer of 1995 massacred methodically and in cold blood more than 7000 Bosnian men of all ages at the village of Srebrenica. The guilt generated by the shame of Srebrenica, the worst mass killing on European soil since WWII, which tarnished America’s credibility as the leader of the NATO alliance finally forced President Clinton, before the onset of his campaign for reelection to decisively use military power to force the Serbs to accept a political outcome.
President Obama remained immune to the shame of the many Srebrenicas that the Assad regime has committed in Syria
The conscientious objectors to America’s policies towards the wars of Vietnam, the Balkans and Syria have always been midlevel and young officers, maybe because group think and bureaucracy have not jaded them enough, and maybe because of their youth they don’t have burdensome family responsibilities, or because they can find other careers. Senior officials rarely resign over moral and political objections to a president’s policies. The last senior official to resign over a principled disagreement was Cyrus R. Vance, who quit in 1980 to protest President Jimmy Carter’s decision to attempt to rescue American hostages held in Iran. The Syria crisis led two ambassadors, Fred Hof and Robert Ford in 2012 and 1214 to resign out of frustration with President Obama’s handling of the Syrian tragedy. Former senior officials who served in Obama’s first term including Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta, and Director of the Central Intelligence Agency David Petraeus have disagreed with aspects of President Obama’s Syria policies, but none of them resigned in protest. Secretary of State John Kerry has called on occasions for a more robust approach to Syria, and he is believed to share some of the views expressed in the dissent message, but he is the muddling through type of a senior official who would never contemplate resignation.
A slow, rolling genocide
President Assad has avoided committing large scale massacres like Srebrenica; he prefers the non-stop grinding methodical killings that produce many a Srebrenica over weeks and months, for Syria has been nothing if not a slow, rolling genocide. After stating that Assad’s “systematic violations against the Syrian people are the root cause of the instability that continues to grip Syria and the broader region”, the draft calls for “a judicious use of stand-off and air weapons, which would undergird and drive a more focused and hardnosed U.S.-led diplomatic process”. Without initiating targeted military strikes to stop the regime’s repeated violations of the Cessation of Hostilities there will be no real ceasefire and no serious negotiations. The draft says the current policies are leading nowhere. “With the repeated diplomatic setbacks of the past five years, together with the Russian and Iranian governments’ cynical and destabilizing deployment of significant military power to bolster the Assad regime, we believe that the foundation are not currently in place for an enduring ceasefire and consequential negotiations”. The draft correctly states that “an undeterred Assad will resist compromises sought by almost all opposition factions and regional actors. Shifting the tide of the conflict against the regime will increase the chances for peace by sending a clear signal to the regime and its backers that there will not be a military solution to the conflict”. The draft sees that“ a more assertive U.S. role to protect and preserve opposition-held communities, by defending them from Assad’s air force and artillery, presents the best chance for defeating Daesh (ISIS) in Syria.” Why? Because “the prospects for rolling back Daesh’s hold on territory are bleak without the Sunni Arabs, who the regime continues to bomb and starve”. The draft warns that, “a de facto alliance with the regime against Daesh would not guarantee success: Assad’s military in undermanned and exhausted. Kurdish YPG fighters cannot-and should not- be expected to project power and hold terrain deep into non-Kurdish areas. And, crucially, Syria’s Sunni population continues to view the Assad regime as the primary enemy in the conflict”. The draft correctly states that stopping the regime’s atrocities would have a mitigating impact on the refugee and internally displaced Syrians whose plight “has deeply affected Syria’s neighbors for years and is now impacting our European partners in far-reaching ways that may ultimately jeopardize their very character as open, unified and democratic societies”. The signatories of the draft re-iterate that “we are not advocating for a slippery slope that ends in a military confrontation with Russia; rather, we are calling for a credible threat of targeted U.S. military responses to regime violations to preserve the Cessation of Hostilities (CoH) and the political track, which we worked very hard to build”. After acknowledging that military action is not a panacea, and after recognizing that there is a risk of further deterioration in U.S.-Russian relations, the draft states, “nonetheless, it is also clear that the status quo in Syria will continue to present increasingly dire, if not disastrous, humanitarian, diplomatic and terrorism- related challenges.” The draft concludes that the “United States cannot contain the conflict with the current policy. In this regard, we firmly believe it is time the United States, guided by our strategic interests and moral convictions, lead a global effort to put an end to this conflict once and for all”.
Moral clarity in perilous times
The dissent cable is a moral indictment of a bankrupt and intentionally deceptive policy, leveled by honorable men and women who saw evil at work and sought to stop it. These fifty one dissenting voices spoke for many more officials, who agreed with them but opted not to sign it for one reason or another. This is the largest number of dissident official voices who have affixed their names to such a document. Fred Hof, a great American patriot, a man of impeccable integrity who always spoke truth to power was succinct and blunt when he wrote “fifty-one loyal and effective officials have risked their careers to protest a policy that is profoundly wrong and fully counterproductive. Their superiors should press President Obama one more time to change his policy. If he refuses, their choice is plain: stand up and publicly defend the indefensible, or resign”. In a separate email to me Fred wrote of the dissent cable that it is “an honorable gesture; one that may resuscitate elements of our reputation among Syrians. But I doubt it will have any effect at all on the President and his entourage”. In fact, the State Department spokesperson John Kirby totally rejected the recommendation of the dissent cable for the use of judicious force against the Assad regime by stating explicitly that “there isn’t any U.S. effort to target Bashar al-Assad. That’s not part of the calculus.” He added “none of the other options are better than the one we have been pursuing”. There are many villains in the Syrian tragedy; chiefly among them is Assad and his regime, his enthusiastic allies the Iranians and the Russians and their auxiliary the Shiite militias particularly the Lebanese Hezbollah, and the assortment of ruthless Sunni extremists from ISIS to Jabhat al-Nusra. But, President Obama who reneged on his promises to help the Syrian people and did not deliver on his threat to punish Assad’s use of chemical weapons against Syrian civilians, cannot escape the charge of being complicit in the death of as many as 500,000 Syrians. Former President Bill Clinton was shamed by the massacre at Srebrenica to move militarily against the Serbs, but President Obama remained immune to the shame of the many Srebrenicas that the Assad regime has committed in Syria. One would hope that years from now when President Obama recalls the victims he could not save at Sandy Hook, Aurora, and Orlando, killed at the hands of tormented individual souls, that only the likes of Dostoyevsky may be able to lay bare to us, he will remember also the thousands of Syrians systematically massacred by the Syrian, Iranian and Russian regimes, that he could have saved had he not withdrawn to a closed and cold universe that not even Dostoyevsky could explore.

Sistani and Saudi Arabia: Relations to face sectarianism
Hassan Al Mustafa/Al Arabiya/June 19/16
In 2005, I visited the Iranian city of Qom - the largest center for Shiite scholarship in the world - with Dr Abdul Jabbar al-Rifai, editor of the magazine Contemporary Islamic Issues, who has contributed to the provision of modern interpretations of religious texts. He and I went to meet Jawad al-Shahristani, who represents powerful religious figure Ali al-Sistani. Shahristani received us with great generosity and took us to his private bureau, where we met alone and talked about the region’s issues, particularly Iraq. At the end of the meeting, he asked me to pass a message to a prestigious Saudi media figure, expressing his appreciation of him and his articles on Iraq. He asked me to tell him that on Sistani’s behalf, he would like to invite him to Qom to introduce him to Sistani’s scientific and charitable institutions. I thanked Shahristani for his courtesy, and a few days later I met the friend to whom I was supposed to pass the message and invitation. He welcomed the invitation, but apologized for not being able to accept it at the time due to other arrangements and preoccupations. During the reign of late Saudi King Abdullah bin Abdul-Aziz, a special envoy of the monarch went secretly to the Iraqi city of Najaf, not far from the shrine of Imam Ali bin Abi Talib, which is sacred to Shiite Muslims. He went there to see Sistani, in a private meeting arranged with care and without media. The aim was to establish trust and respect between Riyadh and Najaf, contributing to the fight against sectarianism and provocation between Muslims. The envoy sent King Abdullah’s regards to Sistani, and conveyed his praise for his rejection of extremism and sectarianism. The envoy invited him on an official visit to Saudi Arabia, where he would be hosted by the Royal Court. Sistani thanked the king and reiterated his support for Muslim unity, his rejection of sectarianism, and the importance of civil peace. He appreciated the invitation, but apologized for not being able to make it due to health reasons. There is a desire to communicate and build a good relationship based on trust and respect because they are aware of the threat to the region from sectarian conflict in Iraq, Syria and other Arab countries. The high-ranked Saudi official who told me the story of King Abdullah and Sistani said the kingdom appreciated Sistani’s positions in combating sectarianism, and his fatwas against killings and revenge between Sunnis and Shiites. He added: “We respect the independence of Sistani in being a religious authority who does not abide by any political diktats, and pursues a policy line independent from Iran, maintaining the Arab character of Shiite Arabs… in addition to [refusing] to implicate Shiites in the ongoing Syrian conflict.”
Mutual benefit
There is a desire to communicate and build a good relationship based on trust and respect. This is what can be deduced from the above stories, which are publicly disclosed for the first time. Both Najaf and Riyadh have outstretched hands, because they are aware of the threat to the region from sectarian conflict in Iraq, Syria and other Arab countries. This is confirmed by the story told by Iraqi President Fouad Maasum in an interview with Al-Hayat newspaper. He said Sistani stressed the need for closer ties with Saudi Arabia because “this is in the interest of Iraq,” adding that he transmitted this view to King Abdullah, who described Sistani as “a wise and virtuous man.” Lebanese religious figure Hani Fahs said: “Sistani and the Najaf authority are a guarantee of moderation and the protection of Arab Shiites.” Fahs told me in Beirut that Sistani was a safety valve for coexistence between Sunni and Shiite Arabs. The Najaf authority does not get involved in politics, except regarding major issues affecting civil peace, the state, the interests and safety of the people, injustice and tyranny.
Independence
Even after the participation of Shiite religious parties in the Iraqi government after the fall of Saddam Hussein’s regime in 2003, the Najaf authority preferred to stay independent. The authority, led by Sistani, said it did not want a religious - or specifically Shiite - state. Lebanese journalist Jihad Zein, who visited Najaf in 2010, quoted the authority’s sources as emphasizing that they believe in the plurality of a civil state, as they did during the development of the new constitution years ago. Despite the modesty of his small house and the difficult security conditions, Sistani preserves the tradition of hosting people from different countries who come to visit the shrine of Imam Ali Ibn Abi Talib. After being subjected to security inspection, the visitors sit in a small lounge and wait for Sistani, who comes out and delivers a quick lecture that goes along with the nature of the audience members and their nationalities. Sheikh Habib al-Jamii, a Saudi Shiite cleric and editor of Sahel magazine, visited Sistani’s home in Najaf several times. He says Sistani has always been keen to draw the attention of young people and visitors to the importance of respecting rules, adding that Shiite Muslims must “maintain their gains in their countries, and work to achieve their goals through peaceful and legal means.”He also said Sistani often recommends Shiites to “take part in their homelands, not be subject to regional… agendas, and to live with their fellow Sunnis because they are brothers.” Regarding demands and rights, Jamii said Sistani “does not support clashes with government, but rather he calls for the respect of laws and constitutions, promoting the civil state.”As for the Syrian civil war and the participation of armed Shiite factions there, such as Lebanon’s Hezbollah and Iraq’s Abu al-Fadl Abbas battalions, Sistani’s stance differs from that of Shiite polity led by Iran. He does not support involvement in the war, and only considers those killed defending the shrine of Sayeda Zeinab and its narrow surroundings as martyrs. This position demonstrates Sistani’s independence from Iranian policy. He urged Iraqis to “help your displaced brothers from the cities of Mosul, Ramadi, Salah al-Din and other cities, and provide them with shelter, money and food without asking them if they are Shiite or Sunni.” He said when the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) “attacked the cities of Iraq, killed and destroyed cities, I issued fatwas about the necessity of self-defense and protecting sanctuaries against foreigners, not against our Iraqi Sunni brothers. “When you fight now in Ramadi and other Iraqi cities, you shall be defending your brothers to save them from ISIS. You shall not be conquerors. You shall sacrifice your souls for your brothers against intruders.” These attitudes come in the context of maintaining civil peace and ending sectarian assaults on unarmed civilians. This leads to say that a balanced relationship with great Islamic authorities, with a profound long-term vision would contribute to the consolidation of coexistence between various components under the wing of the civil state, guaranteeing freedom of belief for everyone without constraints or discrimination.

Christmas will come early for Putin if Britain votes to leave EU
Dr. Azeem Ibrahim/Al Arabiya/June 19/16
By now it cannot be denied that Vladimir Putin is a gambler. It also cannot be denied that he has been remarkably successful in the gambles he has taken. His adventure in Syria has paid off much better than anyone could have expected – he has secured just the outcome he wanted, and has gained a huge amount international clout while doing so. And he continues to ride high despite his intervention in Ukraine, where, let us not forget, he has achieved what was supposed to be impossible in Europe in the 21st Century: he has annexed an entire province from another European country. But Putin seems to be lucky even beyond the gambles he has actively chosen to take. And nowhere is this more the case than in Europe. The EU and its previous incarnations have been a bulwark against Russian power. Under the umbrella of NATO and the protection of the United States, Europe has been unassailable militarily from the Russian threat. But specifically under the European common market project, it has also been economically protected from Russian domination. And as the European project has moved Eastwards after the collapse of the Iron Curtain, more and more countries have enjoyed both those protections. The centrifugal forces which a Brexit would unleash could easily see a number of other member states follow that precedent. But safety, it seems, breeds complacency. Even as Russia is becoming ever more assertive militarily, more and more Europeans, especially in Western countries, seem to have no notion of threat from this resurgence. So much so, that they seem quite happy to let the very international institutions that have guaranteed the longest period of peace in this continent’s history wither away. Most European nations have been spending less than they are required to under NATO arrangements for many, many years. And the European Union is looking increasingly fragile these days. Many fear that Brexit may well be the straw that breaks the camel’s back. To be fair, it would be a very big straw. Not only is Britain one of the most important countries in the EU, alongside Germany and France, but Brexit will set a very dangerous precedent. And the centrifugal forces which a Brexit would unleash could easily see a number of other member states follow that precedent, now that Euroscepticism is riding high in many member countries.
Putin’s investment
Putin, for his part, probably cannot believe that his investment in Eurosceptic far-right and left political movements in the last few years could pay off quite so spectacularly. I don’t imagine that when he set out to do this he envisioned that the slow disintegration of the European Union would have been on the cards. More likely, his aim was no more than to stir up trouble to keep Western leaders distracted from his designs on the Middle East, and on the countries he regards as in the Russian sphere of influence: the former Soviet countries. And yet, here we are: staring down the barrel of the gun. A referendum on leaving the European Union in Britain, France with the real prospect of a Front National president next year, Austria barely having avoided a neo-Nazi president, and every kind of extremism running rampant throughout the continent. When the Leave campaign in Britain stops pushing anti-immigrant propaganda eerily reminiscent of the Third Reich, they will tell you that this is about “Sovereignty” and “Freedom” from Brussel’s yoke. What they neglect to mention is that sovereignty does not necessarily look like it does for the United States and China. It can also look like it does to Ukraine. Britain has not had the experience of being a middle-sized country pushed around by forces beyond its control for the better part of 300 years. Brexiters seem to think that outside of the European Union they will have the freedom to do trade and regulation just the way they want to – just like Britain used to have when it was the largest Empire in the world. But those days are gone. Freedom to do what you want whatever you want to do is not the same as the capacity to do whatever you want to do – as any broke teenager who moves out of their parents’ house soon discovers. If Britain does not have the maturity to understand this in advance of a potential Brexit, it will suffer the due consequences. But much worse, so will the rest of Europe. Ukrainians will be looking on with dismay. And the Baltics with despair.

Immortal and mortal art duos in our entertainment scenes
Turki Aldakhil/Al Arabiya/June 19/16
During his recent appearance in the television show “al-Shirian,” Kuwaiti actor Abdulhussain Abdulreda was as great as usual. He has a history in bringing delight to viewers as his success is a story of creativity. When Abdulreda teamed up with Kuwaiti actor Saad al-Faraj, they formed an exceptional duo and starred in famous plays. However, the circumstances of Faraj's education in the US prevented them from working together and they put their cooperation on hold. They have now eventually teamed up after several years. The duo between Abdulreda and Faraj is unique in Gulf’s entertainment scene.
Duos are many such as those between Kuwaiti actresses Souad Abdullah and Hayat al-Fahad, Saudi actors Nasser al-Qasabi and Abdullah al-Sadhan and Fayez al-Malki and Hassan Asiri. There are duos that succeed but come to an end, sometimes following the tragic death of one of them. Perhaps this is due to stardom and their desire to share it, as well as a lack of understanding that art originally depends on individuality. There have been successful duos in the Arab world between writers and actors such as that between Egyptian actor Adel Imam and writer Youssef Maati. There's currently Saudi actor Nasser al-Qasabi and writer Khalaf al-Harbi becoming known as duo. It's a sensational success and I think this duo brought out all of Qasabi's talents.
Art is an original expression of one's relation with existence
As for duos between musicians, we recall those between Yemeni singer Abu Bakr Salem and poet Hussein al-Mehdar, Saudi singer Abadi al-Johar and poet Saud Salem and Saudi singer Mohammad Abdu and composer Omar Kadras. German Philosopher Martin Heidegger (1889-1976) said the origin of artistic work is individuality - meaning that art is an original expression of one's relation with existence. Double acts face constant challenge, especially when it comes to actors and actresses. Who doesn't remember the fights between them over whose name is written first in the title sequence? There've been struggles and lawsuits, but then again, this is what lights up the fire of the arts. This article was first published in Okaz on June 19, 2016.

Father Naddaf: Beacon of Light to the Christians of Israel
Susan Warner/Gatestone Institute/June 19/16
http://www.gatestoneinstitute.org/8288/gabriel-naddaf-christians-israel

Chapter one of this story began when Father Gabriel Naddaf, a Greek Orthodox priest in Nazareth, started to speak up for the idea that it was time for Christians to embrace their homeland, Israel, and their Jewish roots.
"Christian Arabs are hostages." — Father Gabriel Naddaf.
We have a joint fate in this land [Israel], because whatever happens to the Jews here will happen to us." — Father Gabriel Naddaf.
"On what authority does President Abbas claim that Jesus was a Palestinian? The Bible says that He was born in the Jewish city of Bethlehem to Jewish parents from the city of Nazareth and was circumcised on the 8th day as a Jew and presented to the Jewish Temple by His parents according to the Mosaic law." — Father Gabriel Naddaf.
Father Naddaf has been providing leadership to unite Christians and Jews; a rapidly increasing number of Christians see him as offering them the opportunity to envision and build a tremendous future.
When Father Gabriel Naddaf, a Greek Orthodox priest in Nazareth, Israel, launched his campaign to convince Israeli Christians to enlist in the Israel Defense Force (IDF), he unwittingly ignited a firestorm between opposing forces within and around Israel's Christian and Muslim communities.
His decision, born of his love and respect for his native land -- combined with his acknowledgement of Judaism and Israel as the cradle of Christianity -- perhaps has set the stage for a long overdue reunification in Israel between contemporary Christians and Jews.
In the short term, Father Naddaf's decision has polarized the Christian community, a large part of which has aligned itself with the Arab-Palestinian narrative -- a narrative engineered by forces behind Yasser Arafat in the 1960s -- and designed to obliterate Israel as a Jewish nation.
In the long term, however, Father Naddaf's decision could facilitate an opportunity for Christians to focus on the value of Israel as its most important friend and partner. Naddaf's journey has the potential to model the way in which Israeli Christians relate to each other, to their homeland and to their Jewish neighbors.
Perhaps by announcing his support of Israel and by boldly acknowledging Christianity's roots in Judaism, Naddaf took one small step towards decoupling contemporary Israeli Christians from their current misplaced identity of themselves as "Arabs," as "Palestinians," and as a kind of fifth column within Israel.
As a Times of Israel article by Mitch Ginsburg asserts:
"Naddaf wants to carve out a new identity and a separate community. He believes that in the coming years he can rally 50,000 Arabic-speaking Christians in Israel to align themselves with the Jewish people and with Israel. The first order of business on the path toward that new identity, he said, was 'breaking the fear' that has gripped the community. He likened the Arabic-speaking Christians in Israel, the minority of the minority, to the Jews of the Diaspora: good grades, pretty good jobs, few troubles. 'Christian Arabs are hostages,' he said, adding, 'the only time they feel free to identify as Christians is when they are castigating me.'
How Christians in the region began to identify as Arabs is a complex puzzle; Christian history from 30 CE until the Siege of Jerusalem in 637 CE was not Arabic at all, but rather Jewish and Roman.
Early Christian anti-Semitism, evidenced as early as the second century CE, certainly played a large part in separating Christians from their Jewish roots. Another wedge was the seventh century invasion of the region by Arab Islamic armies, which turned the region into an Islamic colonialist stronghold where Christians lived largely as dhimmis (second class, "tolerated" citizens who had to follow a humiliating set of laws and buy protection) until the collapse of the Ottoman Empire in 1916 and the end of World War I.
Father Gabriel Naddaf is now at the forefront of what one side sees as a hopeful unity movement and what others loudly decry as a political plot to fragment the Arab-Palestinian political cause.
Chapter one of this story began when Father Gabriel Naddaf, then a newly appointed priest of Greek Orthodox Church, started to speak up for the idea that it was time for Christians to embrace their homeland, Israel, and their Jewish roots. At the time, the Patriarch of the Greek Orthodox Church, Iranaeus, rejected the idea as too controversial.
Mitch Ginsberg's article points out how unique and extraordinary is Naddaf's decision:
"[A]n Arabic-speaking Christian clergyman, Father Gabriel Naddaf, a Greek Orthodox priest, has done the unthinkable: He has issued a call for Christian Arab citizens of Israel to reassess their Arab identity and to consider themselves indigenous Christians, of Greek and Aramaic origin, inextricably linked to the Jewish people and the Old Testament, and to fortify that bond by serving in the Israeli army."
Chapter two launches the remake of an identity. It starts in 2007 when a member of the Maronite Christian Church from the Northern Israeli town of Jish (Gush Halav), IDF Captain (res.) Shadi Khalloul met with soon-to-be member of Knesset (MK) Yariv Levin. Out of that meeting came a new term from an ancient saga -- Arameans. It also became a cause of interest for Levin, who, when elected MK in 2009, began to advocate on behalf of Israeli-Arameans.
Arameans, considered by historians a lost civilization, are of Semitic origin. The Aramaic language -- a language similar to Hebrew -- was a common trade language throughout a large swath of the Middle East during the Second Temple period. Jesus and his Apostles spoke the Aramaic language, which, at least until recently, was still spoken in towns throughout Syria -- long after its ethnic origins had disappeared.
The term "Aramean" has not yet caught on with the news media which continues to call the Christians in the Middle East "Christian Arabs" -- a confusing term, in part because "Christians" from many different streams of Christianity, and "Muslim Arabs" have been thrown into the same convenient pot.
Typically, and for reasons that can only be speculated on -- the Catholic and Eastern Orthodox denominational streams have aligned themselves with the Palestinian-Arab and Muslim politico-religious agendas. Similarly, some Protestant denominations, which have aligned themselves with Palestinian Arabs, have joined the chorus against Israel.
Father Naddaf's ideas run counter to some Christian theologies today that seem less religious than politically motivated. Christian "Palestinianism," for example, is a manipulative and erroneous theology linking Jesus with the Palestinian Arab political cause.
It is not too surprising that the Palestinian Authority (PA) has jumped on this bandwagon citing the "Palestinian Jesus" narrative as a rallying cry for its cause, but submitting to a radical Islamic replacement theology would negate archeology and history, as well as Christianity.
In a 2015 article for Breaking Israel News, Ahuva Belofsky writes:
"In response to repeated statements by Palestinian Authority (PA) officials that Jesus was a Palestinian, Israeli Christian leader Father Gabriel Naddaf denounced the claims. 'On what authority does President Abbas claim that Jesus was a Palestinian?' Naddaf wrote. 'The Bible says that He was born in the Jewish city of Bethlehem to Jewish parents from the city of Nazareth and was circumcised on the 8th day as a Jew and presented to the Jewish Temple by His parents according to the Mosaic law.'"
Chapter three captures Father Naddaf's sense of destiny for Christians hand-in-hand with Israel as a Jewish State. A day came when Naddaf realized that he did not identify at all with the epithet "Arab Christian" and that it neither applies to him nor to his Greek Orthodox followers. "We have a joint fate in this land [Israel], because whatever happens to the Jews here will happen to us," he asserted in a recent statement.
Since those early days, he has been working continuously to differentiate himself from the "Arab" label attached him by the media, by religious tradition and until recently by the Israeli government, which has now formally recognized Aramean as an official "minority group" eligible to receive benefits from the Israeli government.
Naddaf's work to enlist Christian youths into the IDF started quietly at first. In 2014 the Jerusalem Post reported that the IDF, which does not require Christians or Muslims to serve, began to send official enlistment notices to Christian youths of military age, inviting them voluntarily to enlist for duty. From an inconspicuous start, now more than 100 Christian youths each year are volunteering to serve, and Naddaf believes the number will increase rapidly. Through the IDF, Christians will be able to assimilate more easily into Israeli society.
However, life for a visionary is never easy. According to Ginsburg in his 2014 article in Times of Israel:
"He knows that his life is in danger. He has been called a traitor. His car tires have been slashed; bloody rags have been left outside his apartment building. He is regularly threatened over the telephone and, last year, his son was attacked outside his home by a youth wielding an iron club."
News reports do not make it clear who the attackers are, but a billboard near his church in Nazareth, put up after his son was attacked, leaves little doubt:
The large billboard in the center of Nazareth warning Christians against slandering Allah, photographed January 2014.
The Israeli government has unfortunately been slow to prosecute the perpetrators of these attacks; evidently there are few fingerprints. But Naddaf is committed to this path, even while others of his friends and allies have abandoned the project due to threats from the religious hierarchy and elsewhere.
Many theologians, both Jewish and Christian, identify Israel as the center of God's world -- the "apple of God's eye," it says in Zechariah 2:8. But there are many Christians for whom the Bible is less an "authoritative" historical document and more a book of poetry or inspiration. There are also those Christian groups (some say a majority) who follow "replacement theologies," which have written off Israel altogether. This widespread but erroneous version of Christianity transfers the covenant promises God made with Israel to the Christian Church.
In a similar vein, a common Muslim narrative says that Islam replaces both Christianity and Judaism. There are many in the Muslim world intent on rewriting the history of the Middle East; they have vowed to blot out the name of Israel and the Jews altogether. In some circles, these two groups have been in collaboration with each other. As we have been seeing recently in Nigeria, Syria and Iraq, after the Jews are targeted, the Christians are targeted next: "First the Saturday people, then the Sunday people, " goes the saying in the Middle East.
Father Naddaf, by contrast, has been providing leadership to unite Christians and Jews. A rapidly increasing number of Christians see him as offering them the opportunity to envision and build a tremendous future.
**Susan Warner is a Distinguished Senior Fellow of Gatestone Institute and co-founder of a Christian group, Olive Tree Ministries in Wilmington, DE, USA. She has been writing and teaching about Israel and the Middle East for over 15 years. Contact her at israelolivetree@yahoo.com.
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The Impact of Islamic Fundamentalism on Free Speech
Denis MacEoin/Gatestone Institute/June 19/16
http://www.gatestoneinstitute.org/8280/islamic-fundamentalism-free-speech

The 57-member-state Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) have been working hard for years to render Islam the only religion, political system and ideology in the world that may not be questioned with impunity. They have tried -- and are in many respects succeeding -- to ring-fence Islam as a creed beyond criticism, while reserving for themselves the right to condemn Christians, Jews, Hindus, democrats, liberals, women and gays in often vile, even violent language. Should anyone say anything that seems to them disrespectful of their faith, he or she will at once be declared an "Islamophobe."
Like almost every world leader, Obama declares, with gross inaccuracy, that "Islam is a religion of peace". It is politically expedient to deny the very real connection to jihad violence in the Qur'an, the Traditions (ahadith), shari'a law, and the entire course of Islamic history. They do this partly for political reasons, but probably more out of fear of offending Muslims. We know only too well how angry many Muslims can become at even the lightest offence.
"If PEN as a free speech organization can't defend and celebrate people who have been murdered for drawing pictures, then frankly the organization is not worth the name. ... I hope nobody ever comes after them." – Salman Rushdie, on the PEN members who objected to giving its award to Charlie Hebdo, after 12 of its staff were murdered by jihadists.
The OIC succeeded in winning a UN Human Rights Council resolution that makes "defamation of religion" a crime. But the OIC knows full well that only Muslims are likely to use Western laws to deny free speech about their own faith. Last year, the US Congress introduced House Resolution 569, also purportedly intended to combat hate speech. It contains an oddity: it singles out Muslims for protection three times. It does not mention any other faith community.
One of the greatest achievements of the Enlightenment in Europe and the United States is the principle of free speech and reasoned criticism. Democracy is underpinned by it. Our courts and parliaments are built on it. Without it, scholars, journalists, and advocates would be trapped, as their ancestors had been, in a verbal prison. It is enshrined in the First Amendment to the US Constitution, in the words
"Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the government for a redress of grievances."
Without full freedom to express ourselves in speech or in print, none of us could criticize a religion, an ideology, a political party, a law, an academic theorem, or anything else we might feel to be misguided, flawed, or even dangerous. Through it, we are free to worship as we choose, to preach as we see fit, to stand up in a parliament to oppose the government, to satirize the pompous, to take elites down a peg or two, to raise the oppressed to dignity, or to say that anything is nonsense.
Sir Karl Popper, the philosopher, wrote The Open Society and Its Enemies in defence of democracy, freedom and free speech. In Popper's open society, all people have to be able to think and express themselves freely, without fear of punishment or censorship.
Closed societies are totalitarian and depend on claims to absolute truth. The citizen is not free to challenge the ideas of the state. Theocracies, including past and present Islamic states, rest for their authority on the rigid application of infallible scripture and divinely revealed laws.
The chief threat to free speech today comes from a combination of radical Islamic censorship and Western political correctness. Over the past century and more, Western societies have built up a consensus on the centrality of freedom of expression. We are allowed to criticize any political system or ideology we care to: capitalism, socialism, liberalism, communism, libertarianism, anarchism, even democracy itself. Not only that, but -- provided we do not use personalized hate speech or exhortations to violence -- we are free to call to account any religion from Christianity to Scientology, Judaism to any cult we choose. Some writers, such as the late Christopher Hitchens, have been uncensored in their condemnations of religion as such.
It can be hard for religious people to bear the harsher criticisms, and many individuals would like to close them down, but lack that power. Organizations such as Britain's National Secular Society (established in 1866) flourish and even advise governments.
It used to be possible to do this with Islam as well. In some measure it still is. But many Muslim bodies -- notably the 57-member-state Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) -- have been working hard for years to render Islam the only religion, political system and ideology in the world that may not be questioned with impunity. They have tried -- and are in many respects succeeding -- to ring-fence Islam as a creed beyond criticism, while reserving for themselves the right to condemn Christians, Jews, Hindus, democrats, liberals, women, gays, or anyone else in often vile, even violent language. Should anyone say anything that seems to them disrespectful of their faith, he or she will at once be declared an "Islamophobe."
I am not talking here about hate literature comparable to the ubiquitous anti-Semitic writing so freely available on the internet. Much milder things have fallen and continue to fall afoul of Islamic defensiveness. We know some of the more obvious: a novel, a bunch of cartoons, some films, some political speeches, and a few blogs which have resulted in savage floggings, imprisonment, torture, death threats and murders. There is plenty of vulgar anti-Muslim comment online, just as there is plenty of everything in the public arena. But Muslim sensibilities have become so tender now that even fair, balanced, and informed questions about Muhammad, his early followers, the Qur'an, various doctrines, aspects of Islamic history, the behaviour of some Muslims, even the outrages committed by them, are rejected as Islamophobic.
Politicians and the media rush to disavow any connection between jihadi violence and Islam, and hurry to protect Muslims from the anticipated anger that massacres might provoke. Officials are not wrong to urge against reprisals or hatred targeting ordinary, uninvolved Muslims. But many often seem too quick to avoid pinning blame on actual Islamic laws and doctrines that inspire the jihad attacks.
Just after the horrendous slaughter in a gay nightclub in Orlando on June 12, U.S. President Barack Obama made a speech in which he described the attack as an "act of hate" and an "act of terror". Not "Islamic terrorism" or even the misleading phrase "Islamist terrorism". Like almost every world leader, he declares, with gross inaccuracy, that "Islam is a religion of peace". It is politically expedient to deny the very real connection to jihad violence in the Qur'an, the Traditions (ahadith), shari'a law, and the entire course of Islamic history. Obama and many others simply deny themselves the right to state what is true, partly for political reasons, but probably more out of fear of offending Muslims in general, and Muslim clerics and leaders in particular. We know only too well how angry many Muslims can become at even the lightest perceived offence.
The list of threats, attacks, and murders carried out to avenge perceived irreverence towards Islam, Muhammad, the Qur'an or other symbols of Islam is now long. Even the mildest complaints from Muslim organizations can result in the banning or non-publication of books, distancing from authors, condemnations of alleged "Islamophobes" by declared supporters of free speech, the cancellation of lectures, arrests, and prosecutions of men and women for "crimes" that were not crimes at all. There are trials, fines and sentencings for advocates of an accurate and honest portrayal of Islam, its sources, and its history.
Danish author Lars Hedegaard suffered an attack on his life and lives in a secret location. Kurt Westergaard, a Danish cartoonist, suffered an axe attack that failed, and is under permanent protection by the security services. In 2009, in Austria, the politician Susanne Winter was found guilty of "anti-Muslim incitement," for saying, "In today's system, the Prophet Mohammad would be considered a child-molester," and that Islam "should be thrown back where it came from, behind the Mediterranean." She was fined 24,000 euros ($31,000) and given a three-month suspended sentence. The phrase "child molester" was based on the fact, recorded by Muslim biographers, that Muhammad had sexual relations with his new wife A'isha when she was nine years old.
In 2011, Elisabeth Sabaditsch-Wolff, a former Austrian diplomat and teacher, was put on trial for "denigration of religious beliefs of a legally recognized religion," found guilty twice, and ordered to pay a fine or face 60 days in prison. Some of her comments may have seemed extreme and fit for criticism, but the court's failure to engage with her historically accurate charge that Muhammad had sex with a nine-year-old girl and continued to have sex with her until she turned eighteen, regarding her criticism of it as somehow defamatory, and the judge's decision to punish her for saying something that can be found in Islamic sources, illustrates the betrayal of Western values of free speech in defence of something we would normally penalize.
The stories of the bounty placed on Salman Rushdie's head by the Ayatollah Khomeini, the threats and attacks against the artists who drew the Danish cartoons of Muhammad, or the murderous assault on the editorial team at Charlie Hebdo on January 7, 2015 are well known. Accustomed to free speech, open blasphemy, and satire, at home with irreverence for individuals and institutions, and assured of the legality of those freedoms -- threats and attacks like those terrify us. Or should.
Iran's then Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khomeini put a cash bounty on the head of British novelist Salman Rushdie 27 years ago, because he deemed Rushdie's novel, The Satanic Verses, offensive. In February 2016, a group of Iranian media outlets added $600,000 to the cash reward.
But even more terrifying is the way in which so many politically correct Western writers and politicians have turned their backs on our most basic values. There are many instances, but the most disturbing has to be the reaction of Pen International, the internationally acclaimed defender of free speech everywhere, to Charlie Hebdo. PEN International is known worldwide as an association of writers. Together they work tirelessly for the freedom of authors from imprisonment, torture, or other restrictions on their freedom to write honestly and controversially. In 2015, PEN's American Center planned to present its annual Freedom of Expression Award during its May 5 gala to Charlie Hebdo. The award was to be handed to Gerard Biart, the publication's editor-in-chief, and to Jean-Baptiste Thorat, a staff member who arrived late on the day when Muslim radicals slaughtered twelve of his colleagues. This is the sort of thing PEN does well: upholding everyone's right to speak out even when offence is taken.
When, however, this was announced, six PEN members, almost predictably, condemned the decision to give the award to Charlie Hebdo, and refused to attend the gala. Peter Carey, Michael Ondaatje, Francine Prose, Teju Cole, Rachel Kushner and Taiye Selasi exercised their right to double standards by blaming Charlie Hebdo for its offensiveness. Kushner expressed her discomfort with the magazine's "cultural intolerance." Does that mean that PEN should never have supported Salman Rushdie for having offended millions of Muslims just to express his feelings about Islam?
Peter Carey expressed his support, not for the satirists, but for the Muslim minority in France, speaking of "PEN's seeming blindness to the cultural arrogance of the French nation, which does not recognize its moral obligation to a large and disempowered segment of their population." We never heard Carey speaking out when a young Jewish man, Ilan Halimi, was tortured to death for weeks in France, or when Jews in Toulouse were shot and killed. He seems to be saying that the French government should shut up any writer or artist who offends the extreme sensitivities of a small percent of its population.
Teju Cole remarked, in the wake of the killings, that Charlie Hebdo claimed to offend all parties but had recently "gone specifically for racist and Islamophobic provocations." But Islam is not a race, and the magazine has never been racist, so why charge that in response to the sort of free speech PEN has always worked hard to advance?
A sensible and nuanced rebuttal of these charges came from Salman Rushdie himself, a former president of PEN:
"If PEN as a free speech organization can't defend and celebrate people who have been murdered for drawing pictures, then frankly the organization is not worth the name. What I would say to both Peter and Michael and the others is, I hope nobody ever comes after them."
Those six later morphed into something like one hundred and forty-five. By April 30, Carey and the others were joined by another one hundred and thirty-nine members who signed a protest petition. Writers, some distinguished, some obscure, had taken up their pens to defy the principle of free speech in an organization dedicated to free speech -- many of whom live in a land that protects free speech in its First Amendment precisely for their benefit.
The Organization of Islamic Cooperation had succeeded in winning a UN Human Rights Council resolution (16/18, 2010) that makes "defamation of religion" (read: blasphemy in the eyes of its followers) a crime. But the OIC knows full well that only Muslims are likely to use Western laws to deny free speech about their own faith. Five years later, in December 2015, the US Congress introduced House Resolution 569, intended to combat hate speech and other crimes. Insofar as it addresses matters of genuine concern to us all, it seems beyond reproach. But it contains an oddity. It singles out Muslims for protection three times. It does not mention any other faith community.
The greatest defence of our democracy, our freedom, our openness to political and religious debate, and our longing to live in Popper's open society without hindrance -- namely freedom of expression -- is now under serious threat. The West survived the totalitarianism of the Third Reich and the Soviet Union without any loss of our freedoms. But today, a new enemy has arisen, global in its reach, more and more often militant in its expression, rooted in 1.6 billion people, seated at the UN and other international bodies, and already partially cowing us into submission to its repressive prejudices. Since the edict against Salman Rushdie, there is no way of calculating how many books have been shelved, how many television documentaries have never been aired, how many film scripts have been tossed in the waste bin, how many conferences have been cancelled or torn down, or how many killers are waiting in the wings for the next book, or poem, or song or sport that will transgress the strictures of Islamic law and doctrine.
*Denis MacEoin PhD is a specialist in Islamic affairs. He is currently writing a study of concerns about Islam in the Western world.
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