Sunday, March 01, 2009

Dream Well

Salvador Dalí, Study for the Dream Sequence in Spellbound 1945


في انتظار حلم عظيم


الحضارة الإنسانية هي نتاج سلسلة من الأحلام والمبادرات العظيمة، ومن هنا فالقدرة على الحلم، هي أهم ما يميز الإنسان عن سائر المخلوقات الأخرى، التي تعيش الحياة كما تجدها. أما الحضارة الإنسانية، فتتميز بوجود قفزات نوعية غير مفهومة. تبدأ المبادرة بحلم بسيط وعظيم، يولد في خيال أحد الحالمين، يخترق من خلاله الضباب الذي يفرضه الواقع بأبعاده المادية المعروفة، ومحدداته التي تخضع للمنطق الموجود والمستقر، ليحلق الحالم وينفذ عبر أحجبة الزمن المعتمة من خلال ومضة صدق، تستمد وهجها من مخزون أودعه الخالق في ضمير الإنسان في عصر البراءة، فيرى الحالم المستقبل من خلال رؤية نافذة وبصيرة ثاقبة، يراه لا كما يجب أن يكون، بل كما يمكن أن يكون، وكما يجب أن يُصنع.


يؤمن الحالم برؤيته الغريبة عن الواقع، ويلهم مجموعة مميزة من المقربين والمريدين، حتى يؤمنوا بالحلم، ويعتنقوا الرؤية، ويشاهدوا المستقبل الذي عليهم أن يشاركوا في صنعه، فيولد فيلق التغيير. فيلق المؤمنين. فيلق المجددين. فيلق المصلحين. ومن أجل أن يتحول الحلم ليصبح واقعاً يشكل ملامح المستقبل، عادة ما يكون من ضمن أعضاء الفيلق، بعض البراجماتيين، الذين يستطيعون من خلال قدرتهم على التعامل مع الواقع بمعطياته، أن يصنعوا جسوراً مادية، تربط بين ذلك الواقع غير المرغوب فيه وبين المستقبل الذي يجب التحول إليه. وبعكس الحالمين والمثاليين، الذين قد لا يبحثون عن مصلحة شخصية من وراء تحقيق الحلم، يرى البراجماتيون في الحلم فرصة ليس فقط لتحقيق المصلحة العامة، بل أيضاً لتحقيق مصالحهم الشخصية، وهنا تكمن المفارقة.


فبدون الحالمين والمؤمنين من أصحاب المثل العليا، لا يمكن أن يولد الحلم أو يكتسب القوة الروحية الدافعة والمحركة للقلوب والمشاعر. وبدون البراجماتيين، تبقى الأحلام حبيسة الخيال، وإن خرجت عنه لا تتجاوز الأوراق أو الرقاع، فالبراجماتيون هم الذين يحولون هذه الأحلام لخطط وخطوات عملية، تغير من الواقع، وتعبر بالأمم نحو المستقبل. ويأتي الصراع عندما يشكو الحالمون من تحول الحلم من طور المثالية لأطوار الواقعية، خاصة عندما يجدون أن البراجماتيين يستغلون المبادرة في تحقيق مصالحهم الشخصية. ومن الناحية الأخرى، يشكو البراجماتيون من الحالمين، الذين يهددون بتفكيرهم الرومانسي عملية التحول من طور الحلم، لطور المبادرة فالتنفيذ على أرض الواقع. وعادة ما يستأثر البراجماتيون بجل غنائم هذا التحول، فيشعر المثاليون بالمرارة، ويتهمون المنفذين بالانتهازية، رغم أن هذه الانتهازية هي التي تكفل تحقيق الحلم وتنفيذ المبادرة.


وعندما تنسحب المبادئ ويرحل المثاليون، يفقد البراجماتيون تدريجياً الصلة الروحية بالحلم، ويصبح الحلم مجرد أداة لتحقيق المنفعة الشخصية، بعد أن غاب ضمير الفيلق وتوقف عن توجيه مسار المبادرة، فتنتهي المبادرة بصورة مبتسرة، ويتحسر أفراد المجتمع على ما كان يمكن أن يكون. أما المبادرات العظيمة، فيكمن سر استمرارها وقدرتها على التأثير في الحضارة الإنسانية، يكمن في "توليفة" فريدة تميز فيلق التغيير، يعمل من خلالها المثاليون جنباً إلى جنب بجوار البراجماتيين. وفي الواقع، فإنه لا يوجد تعارض في المصالح، لأن تحقيق الحلم في حد ذاته هو الجائزة التي تشبع تطلعات الحالمين، كما أن الغنائم المادية لازمة لتحفيز البراجماتيين وإرضاء طموحاتهم، وهي الوقود اللازم لاستمرار المبادرة وتوسعها. نعم، يكمن سر المبادرات العظيمة، في التوازن بين المصالح الشخصية والعامة، بين اعتبارات الفرصة وبين الثوابت المبدئية والقيم الروحية، بين محددات الواقع وبين ملامح المستقبل.


والأمم العظيمة تصنعها الأحلام العظيمة. الأمم العظيمة هي التي تسمح للحالمين بالحلم، وتتيح الفرصة لأصحاب المبادرة أن يأخذوا المبادرة، ويحققوها على أرض الواقع، ويستفيدوا بصفة شخصية من نجاحها، ما دامت تلك المبادرات سوف تسهم في النهاية في النهوض بالمجتمع وتعبر به نحو المستقبل. أما الأنظمة التي تخاف من الأحلام، وتطارد الحالمين، وتئد أحلامهم، أو تعاقبهم على مجرد الحلم، في سبيل تكريس الواقع والحفاظ على مصالح النخبة الحاكمة، تحت دعاوى الاستقرار والإصلاح التدريجي، فهي أمم محكوم عليها بالتدهور والتذيل، ثم الاندثار والفناء. الأنظمة التي تحاصر أصحاب المبادرات، وتنكر عليهم الاستفادة من مبادراتهم، خشية أن يصعدوا فيهددوا النخبة الموجودة، هي أنظمة تطلب العقم وتحرص عليه، وتمارس التعقيم والتقليم، والإخصاء والإقصاء، بدعوى الحفاظ على الاستقرار وحماية السلام الاجتماعي تارة، أو مراعاة مصالح محدودي الدخل تارة أخرى، أو تذويب الفوارق بين الطبقات تارة ثالثة، وغيرها من الشعارات الكاذبة، التي تستخدم لتبرير كراهية النجاح ومحاربة الناجحين، وملاحقة المتعثرين والتشفي فيهم، رغم أن التعثر صفة تلازم المبادرات الجديدة أكثر من النجاح، والقبول بالتجربة وباحتمالات التعثر هو شرط لإدراك ذلك النجاح. إن تلك الأنظمة المعقِمة تحارب النجاح وتضطهد الموهوبين، حتى تختنق الأحلام، ويحجم كل صاحب مبادرة عن العمل الخلاق، أو يهاجر هرباً من هذا الجو المسموم، ويترك وطنه لينتمي لمجتمعات أخرى يحقق فيها النجاح ويحصل على التقدير، فتستفيد تلك المجتمعات من هذه الموارد البشرية النادرة، بعد أن اضطُهدت تلك الموارد في أوطانها الأصلية.


ولأن الحالمين وأصحاب المبادرات وأعضاء فيلق التغيير هم عملة نادرة، ويخضع ظهورهم لنسب إحصائية ضئيلة، فإن فقدان واحد منهم يمثل خسارة فادحة لا تعوض بسهولة، أما موضوع أن "مصر ولادة" وأنها قادرة على إنجاب "سيد سيده"، فهو قول حق يراد به باطل. فمصر ولادة بحق، ولكن إذا كانت طبيعة النظام هي أن يقضي على الموهوبين ويبعد الحالمين ويطارد أصحاب المبادرات بصورة تلقائية، فكثرة الولادة لن تفيدنا بشيء، سوى أن تتسبب في تفشي البطالة والفقر والجهل، واستشراء السماجة والسخافة، وانهيار الفنون والآداب والعلوم، وتدهور النشاط الاقتصادي والثقافي والاجتماعي، فضلاً عن تدني الذوق العام وتسمم المناخ المحيط بالحياة اليومية لكل منا.


نتحدث عن النهوض بالاقتصاد والاستثمار، وعن تطوير التعليم والثقافة، و كل هذا جميل، ولكنني أقول لكم بكل صراحة، بدون حلم عظيم، بل أحلام عظيمة، لن نتقدم خطوة إلى الأمام. بدون هؤلاء الحالمين والموهوبين المضطهدين سوف يتدهور وضعنا يوماً بعد يوم. بدون فيلق التغيير سوف نغرق في قيعان التخليد والتجميد. بدون تداول المقاعد في كل موقع، والحرص على تشجيع الحراك الاجتماعي في كل مجال، سوف نتكلس ونتحجر، وندخل التاريخ كأول أمة معاصرة، يتم تصنيفها ضمن الآثار الغابرة. والآن، علينا جميعاً أن نجد حلاً لهذه المشكلة، قبل أن نستقر في ذيل كل قوائم الأداء المعروفة والمستحدثة.





Wednesday, February 18, 2009

Ayman Nour is Released

Release of Ayman Nour

Sparks Hope of Political Reform



Khaled Desouki AFP/Getty Images



Ayman Nour was released today around 6pm where he just walked into his home at Zamalek, Cairo, unexpectedly. A media frenzy broke out and in a few minutes, his home was packed with reporters from local and international news agencies.


His release came as a result from the Egyptian Attorney General, on medical grounds! Nour was first arrested on 29th January 2005, 90 days after El Ghad Party was given legal status in October 2004. Ayman Nour was released on 12th March 2005 and he ran against Mubarak un Egypt's first multi-candidate presidential election Egypt witnessed where he came first runner up after Mubarak.


Nour was then re-arrested on 5th December 2005 - merely 90 days (again) after his participation in Presidential Elections, sentenced to 5 years in Jail on 25th December 2005. Appeal was turned down in May 2006.


Upon his release on Wed 18th Feb 2009, Ayman Nour announced that he seeks no revenge, that he is more persistent than ever on pursuing the cause of reform and that he will focus his efforts to rebuild El Ghad party to advance the cause of reform, liberty and democracy in Egypt. Nour announced that he seeks no position in El Ghad Party other than the honorary position as Leader of the Party, and that he will be in charge of membership committee under the current president of the Party, Ehab El Kholy, elected by the General Assembly in march 2007. State Commissioners Court issued a ruling on 7th Feb 2009 acknowledging El Kholy as president. General Assembly held on 30 Dec 2005 had elected Nagui El Ghatrifi as president and Ayman Nour, who was in jail at the time, as leader of the Party. General Assembly of March 2007 then elected Kholy as president.

El Ghad announced in a press release that it shall strive to create a national dialogue with opposition leaders to reach some consensus on an Agenda of Reform such that the outcome of such dialogue must be some sort of a meaningful political process built on the priniciples of pluralism, real democracy and freedom.


We hope that this may be the start of a new era in Egypt's political scene, where a new social contract can be drafted through a package of comprehensive reform.



Thursday, February 12, 2009

Post Realism - 6




So pro-Israel that it hurts






By Daniel Levy




The new (2006) John Mearsheimer and Stephen Walt study of "The Israel Lobby and U.S. Foreign Policy" (Note: Now a Book published in Britain as no US publisher would take the risk. Incidentally, the Publisher is Jewish.) should serve as a wake-up call, on both sides of the ocean. The most obvious and eye-catching reflection is the fact that it is authored by two respected academics and carries the imprimatur of Harvard University's Kennedy School of Government. The tone of the report is harsh. It is jarring for a self-critical Israeli, too. It lacks finesse and nuance when it looks at the alphabet soup of the American-Jewish organizational world and how the Lobby interacts with both the Israeli establishment and the wider right-wing echo chamber.


It sometimes takes AIPAC omnipotence too much at face value and disregards key moments - such as the Bush senior/Baker loan guarantees episode and Clinton's showdown with Netanyahu over the Wye River Agreement. The study largely ignores AIPAC run-ins with more dovish Israeli administrations, most notably when it undermined Yitzhak Rabin, and how excessive hawkishness is often out of step with mainstream American Jewish opinion, turning many, especially young American Jews, away from taking any interest in Israel.


Yet their case is a potent one: that identification of American with Israeli interests can be principally explained via the impact of the Lobby in Washington, and in limiting the parameters of public debate, rather than by virtue of Israel being a vital strategic asset or having a uniquely compelling moral case for support (beyond, as the authors point out, the right to exist, which is anyway not in jeopardy). The study is at its most devastating when it describes how the Lobby "stifles debate by intimidation" and at its most current when it details how America's interests (and ultimately Israel's, too) are ill-served by following the Lobby's agenda.


The bottom line might read as follows: that defending the occupation has done to the American pro-Israel community what living as an occupier has done to Israel - muddied both its moral compass and its rational self-interest compass.


The context in which the report is published makes of it more than passing academic interest. Similar themes keep recurring in influential books, including recently, "The Assassin's Gate," "God's Politics," and "Against All Enemies." In popular culture, "Paradise Now" and "Munich" attracted notable critical acclaim. In Congress, the AIPAC-supported Lantos/Ros-Lehtinen bill, which places unprecedented restrictions on aid to and contacts with the Palestinians, is stalled. Moderate American organizations such as the Israel Policy Forum, Americans for Peace Now and Brit Tzedek v'Shalom - each with their own policy nuances - have led opposition to the bill and Quartet envoy Wolfensohn has seemed to caution against it. In court, two former senior AIPAC officials face criminal charges.


Not yet a tipping point, but certainly time for a debate. Sadly, if predictably, response to the Harvard study has been characterized by a combination of the shrill and the smug. Avoidance of candid discussion might make good sense to the Lobby, but it is unlikely to either advance Israeli interests or the U.S.-Israel relationship.


Some talking points for this coming debate can already be suggested:


First, efforts to collapse the Israeli and neoconservative agendas into one have been a terrible mistake - and it is far from obvious which is the tail and which is the dog in this act of wagging. Iraqi turmoil and an Al-Qaida foothold there, growing Iranian regional leverage and the strengthening of Hamas in the PA are just a partial scorecard of the recent policy successes of AIPAC/neocon collaboration.


Second, Israel would do well to distance itself from our so-called "friends" on the Christian evangelical right. When one considers their support for Israel's own extremists, the celebration of our Prime Minister's physical demise as a "punishment from God" and their belief in our eventual conversion - or slaughter - then this is exposed as an alliance of sickening irresponsibility.


Third, Israel must not be party to the bullying tactics used to silence policy debate in the U.S. and the McCarthyite policing of academia by set-ups like Daniel Pipes' Campus Watch. If nothing else, it is deeply un-Jewish. It would in fact serve Israel if the open and critical debate that takes place over here were exported over there.


Fourth, the Lobby even denies Israel a luxury that so many other countries benefit from: of having the excuse of external encouragement to do things that are domestically tricky but nationally necessary (remember Central Eastern European economic and democratic reform to gain EU entry in contrast with Israel's self-destructive settlement policy for continued U.S. aid).


Visible signs of Israel and the Lobby not being on the same page are mounting. For Israel, the Gaza withdrawal and future West Bank evacuations are acts of strategic national importance, for the Lobby an occasion for confusion and shuffling of feet. For Israel, the Hamas PLC election victory throws up complex and difficult challenges; for the Lobby it's a public relations homerun and occasion for legislative muscle-flexing.


In the words of the simplistic Harvard study authors, "the Lobby's influence has been bad for Israel ... has discouraged Israel from seizing opportunities ... that would have saved Israeli lives and shrunk the ranks of Palestinian extremists ... using American power to achieve a just peace between Israel and the Palestinians would help advance the broader goals of fighting extremism and promoting democracy in the Middle East." And please, this is not about appeasement, it's about smart, if difficult, policy choices that also address Israeli needs and security.


In short, if Israel is indeed entering a new era of national sanity and de-occupation, then the role of the Lobby in U.S.-Israel relations will have to be rethought, and either reformed from within or challenged from without.

________________________________________
Daniel Levy was an advisor in the Prime Minister's Office, a member of the official Israeli negotiating team at the Oslo B and Taba talks and the lead Israeli drafter of the Geneva Initiative.

________________________________________



________________________________________







John Mearsheimer and Stephen Walt: The Israel Lobby,
London Review of
Books
, 23 March, 2006. Available at:




Available at Amazon:

________________________________________




Friday, February 06, 2009

The Age of Judgment (1) ... o o o o




An Ordinary Egyptian




I am an ordinary person.

I look at our old photos and I realize that the sinful world in which you now think that I am living, existed all along when we were little.

You and I.

We lived in this world peacefully and comfortably. You never thought it was sinful.

We co-existed.

You had your own ways and I had mine.

Neither of us thought the other had to change.

Neither of us used loud speakers to insult the other and label him as Kafer.


At the time when I was a child ... Egypt was full of people like me. Like us. Like you and me, at the time. Egypt, surprise surprise, was full of Egyptians ... Ordinary Egyptians ...

Then one day you decided you could not take it here. You decided you wanted to have more. So, you left. You found a job somewhere in the Gulf.


I did not stand in your way.

In fact, I wished you well.

I said that each of us had a role to play.

I stayed behind. Trying to make a living and plant a few more trees.




Years went by. How did they go by? They just went by and I kept on trying.




Then one day you came back.

You looked different.

Your wife looked different.

Your kids looked different from mine.




I felt a little strange, but I honestly did not mind.

But then you started to mind how I looked.

How my wife was dressed ... "safera" unlike yours.
But, brother, when we were little, you never thought that our mother was a whore because she did not cover her hair.

Now you mind how my kids play joyfully, sing, listen to music, whistle and smile casually at everyone in our little village.


Then, one day, after a long debate, you called me Kafer.

And you threatened me with hell and suffering.

Kafer, you said.

Misguided. Min Al Daleen.






My dear brother. Let me tell you this.



It is not my fault that you have gone all nuts and think that there are demons inside your own bathroom.

It has nothing to do with me that you now believe that music is the voice of Satan.

It is not my fault that you see evil where I see beauty.


That you see hell where I see heavens.

You were not like that.

We were not raised to be like that.

I am not like that.




Thank God I am not like that.




Now my brother. Either you mind your own business and let me live my life the way I do.

Or you get the hell out of my sight and go find your own paradise on earth elsewehere.

I am not asking you to change.
I am just asking you to stop asking me to change.



Friday, January 30, 2009

UN Book or the Jungle Book? ... o o o

Statehood Responsibilities and

the Principle of Proportionality






By:

Wael Nawara



Today, I was discussing the massacres in Gaza with a friend and he said ... "well, you poke a bear, even lightly, you should expect that the bear would eat you." I had to agree with that argument about the bear. But then I thought, well, a bear is a wild animal. It has neither a mind nor a conscience. A bear has no choice. The bear is just an animal.

I denounce Hamas for killing Israeli civilians and for taking Gazans as hostages for months to achieve some political gains which are related to Hamas alone, and not to the Palestinian cause or the Palestinian people. But the massacres which Israel performed in Gaza are war crimes of the worst proportions.


Are we to allow States to act like animals? Would this be OK? To act like you were in Jungle Book?


I would like us to reflect for a moment on the concept of "responsibility" and the concept of "proportionality". Israel, as a State has a responsibility to act like a state. Hamas is not a state. It is an organization. Some, perhaps even many say, it is a terrorist organziation. Hamas claims itself as a resistance movement which started in the eighties, with a bunch of kids throwing stones at Israeli soldiers of the occupation forces which in return crushed the children's bones with heavy rocks and hammers. As Oslo peace process reached a dead end, Hamas unfortunately started adopting violence. This shift, in my opinion, did more damage to the Palestinian cause than anything that has happened during the past 20 years.


When Hamas attacks Israel and kills innocent civilians, Israel is expected to have some response and try to protect its citizens. As a State, Israel, on the other hand, must respond with reasonably proportional force. But to kill children and civilians in this way, is neither proportional nor responsible. This behavior is not Stately.


Israel, therefore, must bear consequences to its choices. Hamas is already classified by many countries as a Terrorist Organization. Israel should today be classified as a State which uses, endorses and mass-produces terrorism. Israel must pay.


So, what should we do?


Shall we bring Israel to pay for these war crimes, as responsible states should be expected to?


Or shall we start to consider Israel as a mindless bear which threatens its neighbors and world peace at large?


Shall the UN and the Security Council deal with Israel as per its charter, as per the Book?


Or shall we endorse the Jungle Book?




Thursday, January 29, 2009

WE WILL NOT GO DOWN - song for Gaza


WE WILL NOT GO DOWN

a song for Gaza




Written and Performed by















This is an awesome song. Art can and does inspire people. Art can and does awaken our human conscience ...



... as Boudica would say ... (http://www.lit.org/view/44402)

"Poets come riding on the fearless writer horse" ... (or heart for that matter)


I denounce Hamas for killing Israeli civilians and for taking Gazans as hostages for months to achieve some political gains which are related to Hamas alone and not to the Palestinian cause or the Palestinian people. But the massacres in Gaza are war crimes of the worst proportions.


Michael Heart performs here like a true Hero.


See the Video Here






WE WILL NOT GO DOWN (Song for Gaza)

(Composed by Michael Heart)


Copyright 2009




A blinding flash of white light
Lit up the sky over Gaza tonight
People running for cover
Not knowing whether they’re dead or alive


They came with their tanks and their planes
With ravaging fiery flames
And nothing remains
Just a voice rising up in the smoky haze


We will not go down
In the night, without a fight
You can burn up our mosques and our homes and our schools
But our spirit will never die
We will not go down
In Gaza tonight


Women and children alike
Murdered and massacred night after night
While the so-called leaders of countries afar
Debated on who’s wrong or right


But their powerless words were in vain
And the bombs fell down like acid rain
But through the tears and the blood and the pain
You can still hear that voice through the smoky haze


We will not go down
In the night, without a fight
You can burn up our mosques and our homes and our schools
But our spirit will never die
We will not go down
In Gaza tonight



All Music and Content Copyrighted. All rights reserved. © 2009



Photo of Michael Heart









Thursday, January 22, 2009

Obama Engages a New Era of
US Diplomacy & Soft Power


Obama Engages a New Era of



US Diplomacy & Soft Power



أوباما "يحظر" التعذيب


يأمر بغلق جوانتانامو


ويدشن "عصر جديد" للدبلوماسية الأمريكية




في ثان يوم عمل، انتقل أوباما بنفسه إلى وزارة الخارجية ليعلن تدشين عصر جديد من الدبلوماسية الأمريكية، تعتمد فيه الولايات المتحدة ليس فقط على قوتها المسلحة أو موارها الاقتصادية، ولكن على قوة المبادئ والقيم الإنسانية. وكان أوباما في الصباح قد اصدر عدة قرارات رئاسية بإغلاق معتقل جوانتانامو في فترة أقصاها 12 شهر، وحظر استخدام التعذيب. ثم اتجه أوباما إلى مقر الخارجية ليعلن عن فريقه بعد أن وافق الكونجرس على تعيين هيلاري كلينتون كوزيرة للخارجية. وخلال الزيارة أعلنت هيلاري تسمية السيناتور جورج ميتشل كمبعوث الولايات المتحدة الخاص لمنطقة الشرق الأوسط، وهو المبعوث السابق لمفاوضات إيرلندا، كما خدم كمبعوث لبوش في منطقة الشرق الأوسط من قبل. وأعلن أوباما أن ميتشل سوف يتمتع بالصلاحية الكاملة على طاولة المفاوضات في سبيل تحقيق اتفاق سلام بين إسرائيل والفلسطينيين والدول العربية الأخرى، وقيام دولة فلسطينية بجوار إسرائيل، والعمل على إعادة إعمار غزة من خلال العمل مع الرئيس الفلطسيني محمود عباس وحكومته.


My Page on Facebook

Wael Nawara on Facebook