OBAMA VICTORY ENHANCES INTERNAL AND EXTERNAL PERCEPTIONS OF AMERICA
by Forrest Broman
The November 4th victory of President-Elect Barack Hussein Obama will stand as a major historical event in this century. Despite the fears of many that a racial backlash would derail his quest for the White House, Americans voted for him by the overwhelming margin of 53%, to 46% for his popular opponent, Senator McCain.
Whatever their political preferences, most Americans appreciate and applaud the fact that a gifted, intelligent Black American could be elected to the nation's highest office. In a November 5th Gallup Poll, 67% of Americans were both "proud" and "optimistic" about the election of Obama, revealing the belief that this step reaffirms the nation's adherence to its highest ideals. Both Senator McCain and President Bush expressed their sincere appreciation of this aspect of the election.
This election represents a watershed in American History, leaving behind 400 years of racism that not only prevented the progress of Black Americans, but that deprived them of basic rights such as voting freely until 1965. Working in anti-poverty programs in the Sixties, I recall how most educated and intelligent Black men could not get a white collar job, outside of the government programs spawned by that era. One also remembers that during WW 2, Blacks fought for their country in segregated units, a policy that was ended by President Eisenhower only in the early Fifties.
For non-Americans this event also resonates with enthusiasm and excitement. As noted by the British historian, Tristram Hunt: "Obama's election the narrative that everyone wants to return to-that America is the land of extraordinary opportunity and possibility, where miracles happen." Perhaps we will witness a new page as well in the perception of America as a nation that embraces its ideals and still has the capacity to be the beacon of the free world.
One fears, of course, that expectations are running so high for immediate economic and political solutions to the world's current, dire problems, that disappointment is inevitable. But rejoice we must, for the reaffirmation of America as a nation that welcomes and embraces those of every race and religion who want to share in the ideals of equality, freedom and the opportunity too realize their inherent talents.
Sunday, November 9, 2008
Why Obama? A Personal Confession
Sent: Sun, 2 Nov 2008 6:13 am
Subject: Inspiring !!
Paul You will have to forgive me this: I believe Obama has the intelligence, skills and values to be a different and great leader of our nation. But I am also emotionally overwhelmed by the possibility that Americans might elect a Black man as their President: something I never expected to see in my lifetime. This makes an Obama victory into one of the happiest and most inspiring days of my life! For Americans to do this in the face of 400 years of outrageous and destructive racism against Black folks, restores and renews my faith in our people and our nation. And all the nations of the world will be astounded. Even though you prefer McCain, I hope you will share in the pride of seeing so many Americans turning their backs on a racist past!
Your Buddy Forrest
Subject: Inspiring !!
Paul You will have to forgive me this: I believe Obama has the intelligence, skills and values to be a different and great leader of our nation. But I am also emotionally overwhelmed by the possibility that Americans might elect a Black man as their President: something I never expected to see in my lifetime. This makes an Obama victory into one of the happiest and most inspiring days of my life! For Americans to do this in the face of 400 years of outrageous and destructive racism against Black folks, restores and renews my faith in our people and our nation. And all the nations of the world will be astounded. Even though you prefer McCain, I hope you will share in the pride of seeing so many Americans turning their backs on a racist past!
Your Buddy Forrest
Monday, September 22, 2008
Whose Sky is Falling In?
OR, Should the Panic of Henry Paulson be the Panic of the Nation?
Something strange is going on when, a few short days after nationalizing Fannie and Freddie, and bailing out AIG, Henry Paulson found it necessary to tell the nations' political leaders that our entire financial and economic system is about to collapse.
But a quick look at what happened that very day to Goldman Sacks stock prices clears up the mystery. As hedge funds discovered that the much vaunted Goldman was also hiding nearly worthless derivatives and packaged mortgages, they drove the price of GS down from 145 to 103. The same day the administration banned selling short financial shares like GS, and Henry took his case to the assembled US leaders that the sky is falling in, and only giving him a trillion dollars to save his old firm and others like it can prevent a national collapse.
At least one Wall Street Journal writer has pointed out that this is a huge SCAM. Henry Paulson was running Goldman when they dug themselves in the same hole as Lehman Brothers. The near or actual collapse of Goldman would be a catastrophic embarrassment to Paulson and the President, and a colossal erosion of confidence in the ability of this administration to deal effectively with our real economic challenges. It is not a huge threat to this nation's economy.
The crisis is really one for Paulson, GS and the other reckless investment banks. There is no dire crisis in our other markets or the economy, other than for mortgage holders who can't meet their payments (and for whom no help whatsoever is being offered by Paulson). Walmart, Home Depot and my supermarket are crowded; our 6.1% unemployment rate is hardly catastrophic; and the stock market fell more in all three crises since 1930, than it has this year.
Folks, we are being asked to pony up a trillion dollars in more national debt, for Paulson to bail his own firm and those of his cronies. Not to save the nation, but to save them from further harm and ridicule. If we do this, Goldman's young employees will still get their $500,000 to $2,000,000 bonuses this Christmas; but GM and Ford will never be given a nickel to save an auto workers job that is threatened right now.
And we, the taxpayers, will be saddling ourselves and our grandchildren with a national debt that will reduce this country to a second rate power and lead to a fiscal disaster in record time. If we are so reckless with our nation's money and credit, why would the nations of the world even continue to use the dollar for most international transactions?
Fortunately, many leading Republicans and financial analysts see the "Paulson Gambit" for what it is. One only hopes that a spineless Democratic leadership will not be stampeded into agreement by Paulson's rant. If he is so brilliant as to predict a looming disaster, where has he been all year through this growing crisis?
Please correct me if I am missing something here; or use this to help others consider what is really going on in America this week.
Something strange is going on when, a few short days after nationalizing Fannie and Freddie, and bailing out AIG, Henry Paulson found it necessary to tell the nations' political leaders that our entire financial and economic system is about to collapse.
But a quick look at what happened that very day to Goldman Sacks stock prices clears up the mystery. As hedge funds discovered that the much vaunted Goldman was also hiding nearly worthless derivatives and packaged mortgages, they drove the price of GS down from 145 to 103. The same day the administration banned selling short financial shares like GS, and Henry took his case to the assembled US leaders that the sky is falling in, and only giving him a trillion dollars to save his old firm and others like it can prevent a national collapse.
At least one Wall Street Journal writer has pointed out that this is a huge SCAM. Henry Paulson was running Goldman when they dug themselves in the same hole as Lehman Brothers. The near or actual collapse of Goldman would be a catastrophic embarrassment to Paulson and the President, and a colossal erosion of confidence in the ability of this administration to deal effectively with our real economic challenges. It is not a huge threat to this nation's economy.
The crisis is really one for Paulson, GS and the other reckless investment banks. There is no dire crisis in our other markets or the economy, other than for mortgage holders who can't meet their payments (and for whom no help whatsoever is being offered by Paulson). Walmart, Home Depot and my supermarket are crowded; our 6.1% unemployment rate is hardly catastrophic; and the stock market fell more in all three crises since 1930, than it has this year.
Folks, we are being asked to pony up a trillion dollars in more national debt, for Paulson to bail his own firm and those of his cronies. Not to save the nation, but to save them from further harm and ridicule. If we do this, Goldman's young employees will still get their $500,000 to $2,000,000 bonuses this Christmas; but GM and Ford will never be given a nickel to save an auto workers job that is threatened right now.
And we, the taxpayers, will be saddling ourselves and our grandchildren with a national debt that will reduce this country to a second rate power and lead to a fiscal disaster in record time. If we are so reckless with our nation's money and credit, why would the nations of the world even continue to use the dollar for most international transactions?
Fortunately, many leading Republicans and financial analysts see the "Paulson Gambit" for what it is. One only hopes that a spineless Democratic leadership will not be stampeded into agreement by Paulson's rant. If he is so brilliant as to predict a looming disaster, where has he been all year through this growing crisis?
Please correct me if I am missing something here; or use this to help others consider what is really going on in America this week.
Whose Sky is Falling In?
OR, Should the Panic of Henry Paulson be the Panic of the Nation?
Something strange is going on when, a few short days after nationalizing Fannie and Freddie, and bailing out AIG, Henry Paulson found it necessary to tell the nations' political leaders that our entire financial and economic system is about to collapse.
But a quick look at what happened that very day to Goldman Sacks stock prices clears up the mystery. As hedge funds discovered that the much vaunted Goldman was also hiding nearly worthless derivatives and packaged mortgages, they drove the price of GS down from 145 to 103. The same day the administration banned selling short financial shares like GS, and Henry took his case to the assembled US leaders that the sky is falling in, and only giving him a trillion dollars to save his old firm and others like it can prevent a national collapse.
At least one Wall Street Journal writer has pointed out that this is a huge SCAM. Henry Paulson was running Goldman when they dug themselves in the same hole as Lehman Brothers. The near or actual collapse of Goldman would be a catastrophic embarrassment to Paulson and the President, and a colossal erosion of confidence in the ability of this administration to deal effectively with our real economic challenges. It is not a huge threat to this nation's economy.
The crisis is really one for Paulson, GS and the other reckless investment banks. There is no dire crisis in our other markets or the economy, other than for mortgage holders who can't meet their payments (and for whom no help whatsoever is being offered by Paulson). Walmart, Home Depot and my supermarket are crowded; our 6.1% unemployment rate is hardly catastrophic; and the stock market fell more in all three crises since 1930, than it has this year.
Folks, we are being asked to pony up a trillion dollars in more national debt, for Paulson to bail his own firm and those of his cronies. Not to save the nation, but to save them from further harm and ridicule. If we do this, Goldman's young employees will still get their $500,000 to $2,000,000 bonuses this Christmas; but GM and Ford will never be given a nickel to save an auto workers job that is threatened right now.
And we, the taxpayers, will be saddling ourselves and our grandchildren with a national debt that will reduce this country to a second rate power and lead to a fiscal disaster in record time. If we are so reckless with our nation's money and credit, why would the nations of the world even continue to use the dollar for most international transactions?
Fortunately, many leading Republicans and financial analysts see the "Paulson Gambit" for what it is. One only hopes that a spineless Democratic leadership will not be stampeded into agreement by Paulson's rant. If he is so brilliant as to predict a looming disaster, where has he been all year through this growing crisis?
Please correct me if I am missing something here; or use this to help others consider what is really going on in America this week.
Something strange is going on when, a few short days after nationalizing Fannie and Freddie, and bailing out AIG, Henry Paulson found it necessary to tell the nations' political leaders that our entire financial and economic system is about to collapse.
But a quick look at what happened that very day to Goldman Sacks stock prices clears up the mystery. As hedge funds discovered that the much vaunted Goldman was also hiding nearly worthless derivatives and packaged mortgages, they drove the price of GS down from 145 to 103. The same day the administration banned selling short financial shares like GS, and Henry took his case to the assembled US leaders that the sky is falling in, and only giving him a trillion dollars to save his old firm and others like it can prevent a national collapse.
At least one Wall Street Journal writer has pointed out that this is a huge SCAM. Henry Paulson was running Goldman when they dug themselves in the same hole as Lehman Brothers. The near or actual collapse of Goldman would be a catastrophic embarrassment to Paulson and the President, and a colossal erosion of confidence in the ability of this administration to deal effectively with our real economic challenges. It is not a huge threat to this nation's economy.
The crisis is really one for Paulson, GS and the other reckless investment banks. There is no dire crisis in our other markets or the economy, other than for mortgage holders who can't meet their payments (and for whom no help whatsoever is being offered by Paulson). Walmart, Home Depot and my supermarket are crowded; our 6.1% unemployment rate is hardly catastrophic; and the stock market fell more in all three crises since 1930, than it has this year.
Folks, we are being asked to pony up a trillion dollars in more national debt, for Paulson to bail his own firm and those of his cronies. Not to save the nation, but to save them from further harm and ridicule. If we do this, Goldman's young employees will still get their $500,000 to $2,000,000 bonuses this Christmas; but GM and Ford will never be given a nickel to save an auto workers job that is threatened right now.
And we, the taxpayers, will be saddling ourselves and our grandchildren with a national debt that will reduce this country to a second rate power and lead to a fiscal disaster in record time. If we are so reckless with our nation's money and credit, why would the nations of the world even continue to use the dollar for most international transactions?
Fortunately, many leading Republicans and financial analysts see the "Paulson Gambit" for what it is. One only hopes that a spineless Democratic leadership will not be stampeded into agreement by Paulson's rant. If he is so brilliant as to predict a looming disaster, where has he been all year through this growing crisis?
Please correct me if I am missing something here; or use this to help others consider what is really going on in America this week.
Sunday, May 18, 2008
The Primaries Are Over; Obama is The Candidate
Thankfully, Obama's choice as the Democratic nominee for President is now a foregone conclusion. The burning question now is whether Hillary will make a graceful exit by June 3, one calculated to enable her fiercely loyal supporters (poorer Whites and elderly women) to at least vote for Obama rather than McCain. Those who distrust the Clintons and see them mostly as a self-interest political couple bent on reliving their White House years, fear that Hillary will try passively or covertly to undermine Obama, setting McCain up for a 2008 win, and her for a 2012 comeback.
The optimists among us believe that she will, as she had said: "Work tirelessly for a victory for the party's anointed candidate."
The outcome of the vote in December depends on one thing: Will the media and debates be focused on the primary issues facing the nation, or will it be muddied by extremely personal, religious and racial attacks on Obama. On the issues (Iraq,Iran,taxes, energy policies,global warming, foreclosures, the overall econmy, etc.), Obama should emerge as the decisive winner. The big question is whether the lower and middle class Whites who voted overwhelmingly for Hillary in the primaries, will resort to being Reagan Democrats and vote for McCain rather than a Black candidate. I say this, because as distasteful as it is to say this, many of Hillary's supporters in Pennsylvania and West Virginia seem willing to go against their own self-interest, rather than vote for a Black man.
Only the strongest support of Hillary for Obama has the chance of overcoming this predilection, which could restore the Republicans to another 4 years of power.
The optimists among us believe that she will, as she had said: "Work tirelessly for a victory for the party's anointed candidate."
The outcome of the vote in December depends on one thing: Will the media and debates be focused on the primary issues facing the nation, or will it be muddied by extremely personal, religious and racial attacks on Obama. On the issues (Iraq,Iran,taxes, energy policies,global warming, foreclosures, the overall econmy, etc.), Obama should emerge as the decisive winner. The big question is whether the lower and middle class Whites who voted overwhelmingly for Hillary in the primaries, will resort to being Reagan Democrats and vote for McCain rather than a Black candidate. I say this, because as distasteful as it is to say this, many of Hillary's supporters in Pennsylvania and West Virginia seem willing to go against their own self-interest, rather than vote for a Black man.
Only the strongest support of Hillary for Obama has the chance of overcoming this predilection, which could restore the Republicans to another 4 years of power.
A New Middle East; A Challenging Call for Change
This article recently appeared in a major United Arab Emirate newspaper. Please see my response following the article, and the Sultan's response to me.
Welcoming our long-gone neighbors
By Sultan Al Qassemi
Many of us have heard of the famous advertising empire known as Saatchi & Saatchi, laughed at the jokes of Jerry Seinfeld, tapped our feet to the beats of Paula Abdul and shopped at Max Azria's BCBG stores. So what do all these successful people from various industries have in common? They are all of Arab origins.
The Jewish presence in what is now the Arab world dates back thousands of years; in fact, the very religion was founded in this region. Arab Muslims, Christians and Jews have been living in peace and harmony for centuries, so what happened? In short, after the violent wave of European anti-Semitism in the mid-20th century there was an exodus of European Jewry into historic Palestine, much of it forced, armed and violent, led by groups such as the Haganah and the Irgun (who were responsible for the bombing of the King David Hotel).
Unfortunately, many Muslim Arabs from across the region reacted violently to these developments and decided to reciprocate; as a result, Jews who were living among them were shunned and assaulted. In Iraq, for example, about 120,000 Jews were compelled to emigrate to Israel, the U.S. and Europe in just less than three years.
Advertisement
The streets of Cairo, the historic neighborhoods of Syria, the mountainous terrain of Lebanon and the bustling markets of Baghdad were, for the first time in thousands of years, emptied of one of the most successful ethnic minorities living within their communities. Doctors, architects, businessmen, scientists, poets and writers started to pack up and leave, some with good reason and some to avoid the repercussions of the founding of the state of Israel.
It wasn't all bad blood between the Arabs and the Jews; in fact, there were stories of heroism that have gone unreported and unnoticed in the Arab media. In the midst of the horrors of the Nazi occupation of France in the 1940s, the imam of the Paris Mosque saved the lives of scores of Jews by issuing certificates stating that they were Muslim. In Tunis, entire Jewish families were saved by a local hero, Khaled Abdelwahhab, who hid them in his farm at great risk to himself and his family; he was honored posthumously for his bravery by the Anti-Defamation League. As a result of such actions, fewer than 1 percent of the Jews of Arabia - who numbered in the hundreds of thousands - perished compared to more than 50 percent of the Jews of Europe.
Since then, there has been predominantly negative coverage of Judeo-Arab relations. Europe, after the Second World War, was able to turn the page almost immediately, yet many Arabs still paint all Jews with the same brush used for Israelis.
In 1975, in the wake of the death of the Egyptian revolutionary leader Gamal Abdel Nasser, many countries in which he had financed and encouraged revolutions shed the burden of his pan-Arab nationalism and scaremongering and decided to take action in order to restore the social unity of their countries. The pre-Saddam Iraqi Revolution Command Council issued advertisements in The New York Times and elsewhere inviting Jews to return to their home countries and guaranteeing their rights. Anwar Sadat's Egypt and Hafez Al Assad's Syria also issued such statements.
In recent history, only the two forward-thinking Middle Eastern kingdoms of Morocco and Bahrain have broken the mold of suspicion toward their Jewish citizens and integrated them into the social and political spheres. The former with the case of Andre Azoulay, an adviser to the previous and current kings; and the latter with the recent appointment of Huda Ezra Ebrahim Nonoo as the new Bahraini ambassador to America.
Today in New York City alone there are more than 75,000 Jews of Syrian origin, many of them educated in the best schools, who speak or understand Arabic and still have an affinity for Syria. Is it not possible to imagine that such persons have the right, if they so choose, to be full citizens of Syria?
Is it not time to reassure the Jews of Arab origin that their ancestral homes are mature enough to welcome them back if they decide to invest, visit or even take up citizenship? If football players who spend a few months in the Middle East are given citizenship, shouldn't people who have a natural birthright, tremendous wealth, and valuable education and skills be accorded the same?
Of course such statements will be met with criticism and reminders of what the Israelis are doing to our Palestinian brothers and sisters. To that one can reply that in the Middle East, no one has been more cruel and violent to Arabs, more exploitive of the Palestinians and more manipulative of their cause than Arabs themselves. Have we forgotten that it was Iraq that invaded Kuwait, Egypt that encouraged bloody revolutions throughout the region and mostly militants from the Arabian Peninsula who perpetrated atrocious crimes of terrorism in Iraq? We ourselves have been the victims of unfair generalizations by the Western media - but should we learn from past lessons, or should we continue to reciprocate?
Sultan Al Qassemi is a Sharjah-based businessman and graduate of the American University of Paris. He is founder of Barjeel Securities, Dubai, and can be reached at sultan.alqassemi@gmail.com. This article originally appeared in The Nation.
My Response"
Dear Sir,
I read with admiration and respect your suggestion that Jews who formerly lived in Arab countries should be asked to return. You so clearly represent a tradition of humanistic and civilized thinking that one sees returning to the Arab world and their spokesmen.
After living in Israel for 20 years ,during which terrible conflicts left one thinking all Arabs are bent on Jewish/Israeli destruction, I have for 3 years been on a Saudi education board, led by a Prince of the Royal Family. Here I have met and worked with a number of prominent Saudis, and been welcomed warmly with real friendship and consideration. I have found them to be very concerned, caring people,with a great sense of humor. Like so many enlightened people, they are struggling, with some considerable success, to move their nation toward a more modern, just and compassionate future.
I take every opportunity I can to inform my Jewish friends of the reception I have received in Saudi Arabia. Obviously, many Israelis trading in Qatar, Dubai and other centers have already discovered, and are renewing the traditional ties between Jews and Arabs.
Is there some way we can help promote this process? Help the Palestinians to see the tremendous potential a peaceful resolution with Israel could bring them? Promote trade and relations with Israel, so they can stop believing they are threatened with annihilation?
With warmest regards and gratitude
Forrest Broman
The Sultan's Response to my note:
Dear Forrest
Thank you Sir for the kind words. I am greatly encouraged by many of the replies. The fact that the article appeared in a UAE government owned newspaper says a lot. They have also asked to contact President Perez to write an official article on the 60th anniversary of the founding of the State of Israel to appear in the very newspaper. I hope for peace but I will also write and lobby for peace for as long as I can.
Kind regards
Sultan Al-Qassemi
P.S. I would appreciate it if your reply appeared under the article so that Haaretz and the other commentators read positive replies as well.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Welcoming our long-gone neighbors
By Sultan Al Qassemi
Many of us have heard of the famous advertising empire known as Saatchi & Saatchi, laughed at the jokes of Jerry Seinfeld, tapped our feet to the beats of Paula Abdul and shopped at Max Azria's BCBG stores. So what do all these successful people from various industries have in common? They are all of Arab origins.
The Jewish presence in what is now the Arab world dates back thousands of years; in fact, the very religion was founded in this region. Arab Muslims, Christians and Jews have been living in peace and harmony for centuries, so what happened? In short, after the violent wave of European anti-Semitism in the mid-20th century there was an exodus of European Jewry into historic Palestine, much of it forced, armed and violent, led by groups such as the Haganah and the Irgun (who were responsible for the bombing of the King David Hotel).
Unfortunately, many Muslim Arabs from across the region reacted violently to these developments and decided to reciprocate; as a result, Jews who were living among them were shunned and assaulted. In Iraq, for example, about 120,000 Jews were compelled to emigrate to Israel, the U.S. and Europe in just less than three years.
Advertisement
The streets of Cairo, the historic neighborhoods of Syria, the mountainous terrain of Lebanon and the bustling markets of Baghdad were, for the first time in thousands of years, emptied of one of the most successful ethnic minorities living within their communities. Doctors, architects, businessmen, scientists, poets and writers started to pack up and leave, some with good reason and some to avoid the repercussions of the founding of the state of Israel.
It wasn't all bad blood between the Arabs and the Jews; in fact, there were stories of heroism that have gone unreported and unnoticed in the Arab media. In the midst of the horrors of the Nazi occupation of France in the 1940s, the imam of the Paris Mosque saved the lives of scores of Jews by issuing certificates stating that they were Muslim. In Tunis, entire Jewish families were saved by a local hero, Khaled Abdelwahhab, who hid them in his farm at great risk to himself and his family; he was honored posthumously for his bravery by the Anti-Defamation League. As a result of such actions, fewer than 1 percent of the Jews of Arabia - who numbered in the hundreds of thousands - perished compared to more than 50 percent of the Jews of Europe.
Since then, there has been predominantly negative coverage of Judeo-Arab relations. Europe, after the Second World War, was able to turn the page almost immediately, yet many Arabs still paint all Jews with the same brush used for Israelis.
In 1975, in the wake of the death of the Egyptian revolutionary leader Gamal Abdel Nasser, many countries in which he had financed and encouraged revolutions shed the burden of his pan-Arab nationalism and scaremongering and decided to take action in order to restore the social unity of their countries. The pre-Saddam Iraqi Revolution Command Council issued advertisements in The New York Times and elsewhere inviting Jews to return to their home countries and guaranteeing their rights. Anwar Sadat's Egypt and Hafez Al Assad's Syria also issued such statements.
In recent history, only the two forward-thinking Middle Eastern kingdoms of Morocco and Bahrain have broken the mold of suspicion toward their Jewish citizens and integrated them into the social and political spheres. The former with the case of Andre Azoulay, an adviser to the previous and current kings; and the latter with the recent appointment of Huda Ezra Ebrahim Nonoo as the new Bahraini ambassador to America.
Today in New York City alone there are more than 75,000 Jews of Syrian origin, many of them educated in the best schools, who speak or understand Arabic and still have an affinity for Syria. Is it not possible to imagine that such persons have the right, if they so choose, to be full citizens of Syria?
Is it not time to reassure the Jews of Arab origin that their ancestral homes are mature enough to welcome them back if they decide to invest, visit or even take up citizenship? If football players who spend a few months in the Middle East are given citizenship, shouldn't people who have a natural birthright, tremendous wealth, and valuable education and skills be accorded the same?
Of course such statements will be met with criticism and reminders of what the Israelis are doing to our Palestinian brothers and sisters. To that one can reply that in the Middle East, no one has been more cruel and violent to Arabs, more exploitive of the Palestinians and more manipulative of their cause than Arabs themselves. Have we forgotten that it was Iraq that invaded Kuwait, Egypt that encouraged bloody revolutions throughout the region and mostly militants from the Arabian Peninsula who perpetrated atrocious crimes of terrorism in Iraq? We ourselves have been the victims of unfair generalizations by the Western media - but should we learn from past lessons, or should we continue to reciprocate?
Sultan Al Qassemi is a Sharjah-based businessman and graduate of the American University of Paris. He is founder of Barjeel Securities, Dubai, and can be reached at sultan.alqassemi@gmail.com. This article originally appeared in The Nation.
My Response"
Dear Sir,
I read with admiration and respect your suggestion that Jews who formerly lived in Arab countries should be asked to return. You so clearly represent a tradition of humanistic and civilized thinking that one sees returning to the Arab world and their spokesmen.
After living in Israel for 20 years ,during which terrible conflicts left one thinking all Arabs are bent on Jewish/Israeli destruction, I have for 3 years been on a Saudi education board, led by a Prince of the Royal Family. Here I have met and worked with a number of prominent Saudis, and been welcomed warmly with real friendship and consideration. I have found them to be very concerned, caring people,with a great sense of humor. Like so many enlightened people, they are struggling, with some considerable success, to move their nation toward a more modern, just and compassionate future.
I take every opportunity I can to inform my Jewish friends of the reception I have received in Saudi Arabia. Obviously, many Israelis trading in Qatar, Dubai and other centers have already discovered, and are renewing the traditional ties between Jews and Arabs.
Is there some way we can help promote this process? Help the Palestinians to see the tremendous potential a peaceful resolution with Israel could bring them? Promote trade and relations with Israel, so they can stop believing they are threatened with annihilation?
With warmest regards and gratitude
Forrest Broman
The Sultan's Response to my note:
Dear Forrest
Thank you Sir for the kind words. I am greatly encouraged by many of the replies. The fact that the article appeared in a UAE government owned newspaper says a lot. They have also asked to contact President Perez to write an official article on the 60th anniversary of the founding of the State of Israel to appear in the very newspaper. I hope for peace but I will also write and lobby for peace for as long as I can.
Kind regards
Sultan Al-Qassemi
P.S. I would appreciate it if your reply appeared under the article so that Haaretz and the other commentators read positive replies as well.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Sunday, January 27, 2008
South Carolina Speaks Loudly
Obama has surprised us all again, and renewed our faith in America and in politics. His SC speech is in itself transforming---and the NYT report of Caroline Kennedy's endorsement is indicative of the rise of the younger generation into political action..Hard to imagine how any other candidate in either party can even come close to Obama's ability to uplift, enthuse and activate voters, across the spectrum.
This does not mean he is a shoe-in to capture the nomination. He can hardly have the intense, immediate impact on all 22 states voting Feb. 5, so the existing machine still has a presumptive advantage. But notice how fired up the news media (MSNBC,CNN and Fox) and anchors are about Obama's message and his ability to deliver it. Combined with their resentment at Bill Clinton's antics and distortions, the media could make the difference to Obama on Feb. 5.
The primary results, and the general election might come down to the significant leap in the participation of age 18-24 voters, and their strong inclination to back Obama. More than any other sector of our society, these younger Americans are relatively free of the old attitudes and the racism that seem to many to make Obama's victory an impossible dream. Let's remember how improbable JFK's victory appeared early in the primaries, and how only Obama has a comparable ability to inspire us all to work for a better nation.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
This does not mean he is a shoe-in to capture the nomination. He can hardly have the intense, immediate impact on all 22 states voting Feb. 5, so the existing machine still has a presumptive advantage. But notice how fired up the news media (MSNBC,CNN and Fox) and anchors are about Obama's message and his ability to deliver it. Combined with their resentment at Bill Clinton's antics and distortions, the media could make the difference to Obama on Feb. 5.
The primary results, and the general election might come down to the significant leap in the participation of age 18-24 voters, and their strong inclination to back Obama. More than any other sector of our society, these younger Americans are relatively free of the old attitudes and the racism that seem to many to make Obama's victory an impossible dream. Let's remember how improbable JFK's victory appeared early in the primaries, and how only Obama has a comparable ability to inspire us all to work for a better nation.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Wednesday, January 9, 2008
The Obama Phenomenon: A Defining Moment
Whether or not Barack Obama wins the Democratic nomination, or the subsequent election, he has already changed American politics forever. Forgetting race for the moment, he has galvanized a rapidly expanding cadre of Americans who want to believe again that the policies and decisions of the US government can be liberated from the greedy grasp of corporate lobbyists and special interests. This is a hard sell among a dispirited and cynical public who have seen energy policy, the war in Iraq, illegal immigration, FEMA relief, health care and the economy held hostage to very narrow, corporate interests. Barack's political genius is his consummate ability to convince millions of people that special interests can be brought down as the arbiter of American policy, and to reconnect the younger generation to political activism.
But seeing a Black American gather tremendous support in states mostly made up of white voters is the real miracle of Obama's ascendancy. Tremendous gains have been made since 1960 in the ability of Black Americans to work their way into the middle class, through education and equal rights legislation. But racism persists in America, stifling the lives and futures of far to many young Blacks, and particularly the young Black men who fill our prisons, and the 50% who never complete a secondary education.
Obama wisely never plays the race card. But the startling symbolism of a young and relatively inexperienced young Black man, with a Law degree from Harvard Law School, turning the most exciting American electoral process in years on its ear, is a powerful, healing proof that the American dream lives on. One cannot imagine an election in any other country where a minority person could be so strongly supported by an overwhelming majority with excellent candidates from their own ethnic group.
As an American who witnessed in the Fifties and Sixties the fierce obstacles preventing Blacks from economic and political success, and the blatant racism that Black Americans faced in every aspect of their lives, I am thrilled to see the Obama phenomenon unfold. However it ends, his popularity is proof that a huge majority of Americans have moved beyond racial prejudice, so substantially that they can embrace a dynamic Black leader seeking the nation's highest office. In this is a reassurance that America is indeed, despite its flaws, the last, best hope for mankind.
But seeing a Black American gather tremendous support in states mostly made up of white voters is the real miracle of Obama's ascendancy. Tremendous gains have been made since 1960 in the ability of Black Americans to work their way into the middle class, through education and equal rights legislation. But racism persists in America, stifling the lives and futures of far to many young Blacks, and particularly the young Black men who fill our prisons, and the 50% who never complete a secondary education.
Obama wisely never plays the race card. But the startling symbolism of a young and relatively inexperienced young Black man, with a Law degree from Harvard Law School, turning the most exciting American electoral process in years on its ear, is a powerful, healing proof that the American dream lives on. One cannot imagine an election in any other country where a minority person could be so strongly supported by an overwhelming majority with excellent candidates from their own ethnic group.
As an American who witnessed in the Fifties and Sixties the fierce obstacles preventing Blacks from economic and political success, and the blatant racism that Black Americans faced in every aspect of their lives, I am thrilled to see the Obama phenomenon unfold. However it ends, his popularity is proof that a huge majority of Americans have moved beyond racial prejudice, so substantially that they can embrace a dynamic Black leader seeking the nation's highest office. In this is a reassurance that America is indeed, despite its flaws, the last, best hope for mankind.
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