ISRAELI MEDICAL TEAM PERFORM FIRST EVER PEDIATRIC OPEN HEART SURGERY IN MWANZA TANZANIA

August 7, Tanzania--

A medical team from Israel’s Save a Child’s Heart has successfully performed the first ever pediatric open heart surgery in Mwanza Tanzania and on the youngest child in Tanzania.

Laurencia Simon is four years old, the daughter of two farmers, and lives in a mud hut without electricity or running water. Two years ago she was diagnosed with congenital heart disease. Due to a lack of infrastructure, finance and training, doctors in Tanzania are unable to perform open heart surgery on such young children and so they were unable to help her. After hearing an announcement on the radio she and her mother settled into a three hour bus ride to Mwanza as they knew the only hope for Laurencia’s very serious heart condition was to receive care from the Save a Child’s Heart medical team.

“For the past two years, Laurencia has been too sick to go to school,” says Laurencia’s mother Paulina Bujiku, 27 yrs old. “We’ve been coming to the Bugando medical center once a month. But what Laurencia needs is an operation. Thanks to Save a Child’s Heart she’s about to get it. I’m scared, but I have faith.”

After a long surgery Laurencia was recovering well.

“It required incredible team work to create an operating room that could meet our needs,” says Dr. Lior Sasson, Chief Surgeon Save a Child’s Heart and Head of the Cardiothoracic Surgery Department at Wolfson Medical Center. “But we did it- we created an environment where we could carefully and conscientiously perform open heart surgery and we saved the life of little Laurencia. What can I say- I feel incredibly proud.”

Save a Child’s Heart doctors and staff worked in collaboration with the staff at the Bugando hospital in Mwanza Tanzania and Kasbian Nuriel Chirich, Honorary Consul to Israel in Tanzania, to prepare for this moment. And all the hard work paid off, as children with heart disease came from across Tanzania to be examined by the Save a Child’s Heart team of doctors.

“There are about 200 sick Tanzanian children who will be examined by the Save a Child’s Heart team,” says Dr. Akiva Tamir, Chief cardiologist at Save a Child’s Heart and the head of the Pediatric Cardiology Unit at Wolfson Medical Centre. “I am checking over 20 children every day and we all are committed to doing whatever it takes to help them and save their lives.”

8 to 10 pediatric heart surgeries will took place Tanzania. The rest of the children who need operations will be flown to Israel’s Wolfson hospital this upcoming year – with all expenses paid by Save a Child’s Heart.

Once the surgeries are completed 13 volunteers and supporters for Save a Child's Heart will climb Mount Kilimanjaro, Africa’s highest peak, to raise $1 million dollars in order to save the lives of another 100 children in Africa suffering from heart disease.

Amongst the climbers is Dr. Godwin Godfrey from Tanzania. He has been in Israel the past three years training with Save a Child’s Heart at the Wolfson Medical Centre. Dr. Godfrey assisted in the historic pediatric open heart surgery and will take part in all the surgeries in the coming week.
“It’s extraordinary,” says Dr. Godfrey. “I finally see my people benefit from all my hard work. I now know that when I complete my training and return to Tanzania, I will be treating these children and doing everything I can to give them a second chance at life.”

Since its inception in 1996, the Save a Child’s Heart medical team treated over 2,600 children from 42 countries, including the Palestinian areas and Gaza, and has examined and evaluated more than 6,000 children.

For more information, please visit www.saveachildsheart.org .

Lots of good News Stories from Israel (Part 1)

Lots of Good News stories emanationg from Israel this week with thanks to Michael and Lynette Ordman for the compilation

Israeli aid team in Japan. Some clips of the IDF providing assistance in the devastated country. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YDwMbwH_Jh8&NR=1 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xPwIRYspJQc&feature=player_embedded http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eIGM3mXwgoA

Israeli & Iranian teams work together in Japan. Shhh! Don’t let Mahmoud Ahmadinejad know this. http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4051865,00.html

Israeli exoskeleton launches in UK. ReWalk allows paraplegics to stand and walk up stairs. http://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-1374067/Robot-trousers-gives-paraplegics-power-walk-sale-UK.html#ixzz1J307lXcE

Europe approves Israeli treatment. Only last month Brainsway’s trials of its magnetic cortex stimulation treatment for Parkinson’s were successful. This week it received EU CE Mark certification to market it. http://www.globes.co.il/serveen/globes/docview.asp?did=1000635390&fid=1725

Vegan alternative for medical testing. An Israeli company, CollPlant, has found a way to replace animal sources for the production of collagen, a major bio-material used in the medical device industry. http://www.greenprophet.com/2011/04/collplant-vegan-collagen/

Treatment for overweight diabetics. MetaCure’s gastric stimulation system is designed to help type II diabetes patients lower their blood glucose and control their eating habits and body weight. http://www.ilsi.org.il/news_item.asp?ID=340

Solving hunger – bigger, healthier seeds. Israeli agricultural research company, Kalima, is developing high-quality crops without using genetic engineering. http://nocamels.com/2011/04/israeli-company-to-help-fight-world-hunger-by-creating-bigger-healthier-seeds/

Stents for the brain. Israel was a pioneer of the medical stent for unblocking arteries around the heart. Now ITGI Medical has successfully completed studies of its brain stents that could save millions of lives. http://www.globes.co.il/serveen/globes/docview.asp?did=1000636269&fid=1725

Israeli biotech booms. Four new life-science companies have launched in the first 3 months of 2011 (more than the whole of 2010) and several more are planned for the first half of the year. The 21 winners of the Bio Convention Contest for Life Sciences Companies shows how Israel is at the forefront of medical innovation. http://www.ilsi.org.il/news_item.asp?ID=337 http://www.ilsi.org.il/about_event.asp?ID=97

How a medical start-up grows. SMT has developed a filter to protect the brain from clots during minimally invasive procedures. Its chances for success have just been boosted by $10.5 million of funding. http://www.globes.co.il/serveen/globes/docview.asp?did=1000635647&fid=1725

Israel Good Deeds Day. 130,000 Israelis volunteered to help in hundreds of projects around the country. Some examples are pictured here. http://ejewishphilanthropy.com/celebrating-good-deeds-in-israel-a-photo-essay/ http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4052131,00.html

ZAKA expands International Rescue Unit. The Israel-based, UN-recognized volunteer rescue and recovery organization will recruit and train teams of volunteers worldwide to act as emergency medical first responders. http://israel-lightontonations.blogspot.com/2011/04/zaka-expands-international-rescue-unit.html

Watch your donation light-up African lives. Israeli solar technology company SolarEdge Technologies and Jewish Heart for Africa show on-line how sponsors are lighting up schools, clinics and orphanages in Africa. http://www.mfa.gov.il/MFA/IsraelExperience/Israeli_heart_Africa-April_2011.htm http://www.jhasol.org/jhaprojects/ugandacompleted/uganda____completed/uganda.html

Israel-Korea Chamber of Commerce inaugurated. The Korean delegation of coalition and opposition MPs announced South Korea’s goal to advance commercial and economic relations with Israel. http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4051027,00.html

Demand for high-tech Israeli workers. On average each job seeker can choose between at least 3 offers. http://www.globes.co.il/serveen/globes/docview.asp?did=1000636071&fid=1725

Yes, they can: Israeli call center employs the disabled

A unique business empowers people with a range of disabilities to succeed in the workplace that traditionally shunned them Call Yachol (www.callyachol.co.il) is a one-of-a-kind Israeli call center employing 180 Jewish and Arab disabled adults.

In Hebrew, the name means “Everyone Can.” Psychologist Gil Winch, founder of the venture, says there is no reason for these employees’ mental or physical limitations to keep them from excelling on the job. But most have suffered from being shunned by mainstream employers and lack self-confidence in their potential. Up to 90 percent of severely disabled adults face chronic unemployment.

Winch implemented a parent-based management model where workers are given affection and have scheduled time for team fun. The unusual arrangement has garnered interest from people in several countries looking to replicate the idea.

See video at http://www.youtube.com/embed/wip61zrjGZs

Now based Rishon Lezion, future Call Yachol centers are planned for Tel Aviv and Jerusalem

A Palestinian ''Gift'' for Passover- A Kick in the Teeth

Official Palestinian Promotion of Terrorism

The Palestinian Authority has just honored the terrorist mastermind responsible for the ''Passover Massacre'', a terrorist atrocity which claimed the lives of 30 innocent Israeli citizens attending the 'Seder'', the traditional Passover meal, at Netanya's Park Hotel on March 27, 2002. The Seder, symbolizing the liberation f the Jewish People from slavery in Egypt, is the most family oriented of Jewish holidays, somewhat akin to Thanksgiving in terms of sentimental importance.

The Palestinian Authority has chosen a bizarre and troubling way to mark the upcoming Jewish festival of Passover. Despite an often voiced Palestinian commitment to end the glorification of terrorists and incitement to violence, on March 28 Issa Karake, the Palestinian Authority Minister of Prisoners' Affairs, visited the family of Hamas suicide-bomb mastermind Abbas Al-Sayed, awarding them with an official, festive plaque, in celebration of the anniversary of the massacre.

This honor is not the only example of official Palestinian glorification of violence. In recent weeks, the Palestinian leadership named a youth soccer competition in Ramallah after Wafa Idris, the first female suicide bomber. Similarly, they named a square in El Bireh, as well as two schools and a summer camp, in honor of Dalal Mughrabi, commander of the March 11, 1978 massacre of 38 bus passengers on Israel's coastal road.

So that is the Palestinian Authority who many world leaders beleve are interested in peace. And then so many people feel it unjustified that the a large majority of of the Israel population is sceptical

So now we move on the the Hamas in Gaza. As Netanyhu stated very clearly, the tartgeting of a school bus has crossed all red lines. And this is what it was - a deliberate targeting. An anti tank misssile is not like a mortat or Katysha, it is fired on a DIRECT trajectory to a predetermined target and since the target was 100%civilian, this by any definition of the UN is TERRORISM, not militancy as the the world media likes to describe it.

So when Israel reacts to defend its citizens, as one must in this part of the world because this is the nature of the animals we are fighting, suddenly the world starts criticising us again "Israel attacks Gaza Strip in worst violence since 2009 war" cries the Daily Telegraph" in its headline. "Fourteen Palestinians were killed by Israeli forces in the Gaza Strip on Friday, the deadliest day of violence since the war more than two years ago." it continues. Not one word about the 70 missiles fired at Israeli civilians, see http://tinyurl.com/6c3dvp8

And now after another 48 hours, terrorist organizations in Gaza fired over 120 Grad missiles, rockets and mortars at the Israeli home front, throughout southern Israel. Thankfully, since Thursday, about 10 Grad missiles and rockets were intercepted by IAF Aerial Defense Corps forces, using the "Iron Dome" system stationed in Beersheba and Ashkelon.

The farming communities of the Sha'ar Hanegev and Eshkol regional councils have been subjected to continuous mortar and rocket attacks. One of rockets that struck a kibbutz in the Sha’ar Hanegev Regional Council, late on Saturday afternoon, hit a main water pipe. One rocket fell in the Eshkol Regional Council area and caused damage to homes. Three people remained hospitalized at the Barzilai Medical Center in Ashkelon suffering from shock after experiencing rocket attacks. Six other shock victims were released to their homes. Rockets also fell in the Lachish region, in the western Negev.

As a friend of mine writes from these regions under attack “Last Friday an anti-tank missile hit a school bus leaving my Kibbutz after letting off our children from school, if this rocket hit about 5 min sooner a lot more children would have been hurt or killed. Again one child was hurt seriously, not from my Kibbutz and my heart is out to him. One day, I have this fear, one of these rockets will cause many injuries and death. We, in my area, live our daily lives with the fear of rockets falling and this past week, Israel had a warning of terrorist attacks inside communities surround Gaza. In the world media, it makes the headlines only if Israel attacks Gaza, of course this last attack that hit this school bus, it did make the news in the world, but you had to know what to look for. We in Israel want peace, do you in the world think we love sending our children and grandchildren to wars to fight and die in? do you think we love being targeted by rockets in our daily lives? Do you think we love reading about innocent people being killed in Gaza? If you do, then you have no idea of who we are. One last thing, if the Arabs wanted to lay down their weapons and make peace with Israel, life will improve for everyone, Arab and Jews. This area could be one of the leaders in the economy of the world, so instead of killing each other, we should be working together to make our lives better and better for the future of our children.”

Where’s the international outcry against Arab apartheid?

By KHALED ABU TOAMEH 17/03/2011


As Israel Apartheid Week continues, a Palestinian boy was left to die at Lebanese hospital because father couldn’t afford treatment.


Mohammed Nabil Taha, an 11-year-old Palestinian boy, died this week at the entrance to a Lebanese hospital after doctors refused to help him because his family could not afford to pay for medical treatment.Taha’s tragic case highlights the plight of hundreds of thousands of Palestinians who live in squalid refugee camps in Lebanon and who are the victims of an apartheid system that denies them access to work, education and medical care.

Ironically, the boy’s death at the entrance to the hospital coincided with Israeli Apartheid Week, a festival of hatred and incitement organized by anti-Israel activists on university campuses in the US, Canada and other countries.It is highly unlikely that the folks behind the festival have heard about Taha. Judging from past experiences, it is also highly unlikely that they would publicize the case even if they would hear about it.

Why should anyone care about a Palestinian boy who is denied medical treatment by an Arab hospital? The story has no anti-Israel angle to it.Can anyone imagine what would have happened if an Israeli hospital had abandoned a boy to die in its parking lot because his father did not have $1,500 to pay for his treatment? The UN Security Council would hold an emergency session and Israel would be strongly condemned and held responsible for the boy’s death.All this is happening at a time when tens of thousands of Palestinian patients continue to benefit from treatment in Israeli hospitals.Last year alone, some 180,000 Palestinians from the West Bank and Gaza Strip entered Israel to receive medical treatment. Many were treated despite the fact that they did not have enough money to cover the bill.

In Israel, even a suicide bomber who is only (!) wounded while trying to kill Jews is entitled to the finest medical treatment. And there have been many instances where Palestinians who were wounded in attacks on Israel later ended up in some of Israel’s best hospitals.Lebanon, by the way, is not the only Arab country that officially applies apartheid laws against Palestinians, denying them proper medical treatment and the right to own property.Just last week it was announced that a medical center in Jordan has decided to stop treating Palestinian cancer patients because the Palestinian Authority has failed to pay its debts to the center.

Other Arab countries have also been giving the Palestinians a very hard time when it comes to receiving medical treatment.It is disgraceful that while Israel admits Palestinian patients to its hospitals, Arab hospitals are denying them medical treatment for various reasons, including money. But then one is reminded that Arab dictators do not care about their own people, so why should they pay attention to an 11-year-old boy who is dying at the entrance to a hospital because his father didn’t have $1,500 handy? But as the death took place in an Arab country – and as the victim is an Arab – why should anyone care about him? Where is the outcry against Arab apartheid?

Reprinted with permission of the Hudson Institute (www.hudson.org)

Yet Another Example of Israeli "Apartheid"?

To mark Baha'i New Year, an international conference will be held at Hebrew University, Jerusalem on Baha'ism, Judaism, Christianity & Islam

To mark the Baha'i New Year on March 21, an international conference will take place at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem on 'Modern Religions and Religious Movements in Judaism, Christianity, Islam and the Babi-Bahai Faiths'.

"The circle of Baha'i believers is expanding every year – especially in the Western world," says Prof. Moshe Sharon, the conference organizer and head of Baha'i Studies at the Hebrew University. "The number of Baha'i believers has been increasing by about four percent a year, and in recent years there has been an increased penetration into new areas in eastern Europe."

The Baha'i faith is a monotheistic religion founded by Bahá'u'lláh in nineteenth-century Persia, emphasizing the spiritual unity of all humankind. There are currently about six million adherents of the Baha'i faith around the world, of which 250,000 live in Iran, the birthplace of the religion's prophets. The largest Baha'i population can be found in India.

The Baha'i Faith is the world's only religion run by a local, national and international administration. The Baha'is' World House of Justice sits on Mount Carmel in Haifa. Haifa and Acre are the holy cities of the Baha'i faith, and the Bab himself, the first founder of the religion, is buried in Haifa.

Lectures and sessions during the conference include: 'The spread of the Baha'i faith from East to West', 'A 19th century Zoroastrian-Baha'i dialogue', 'The Bab and the Babis – Early accounts in the Western press 1845-1851' and 'Promoting sexual equality through education: Baha'i girls' schools in Iran'.

Other lectures include 'Stretching the borders of religious legitimacy: Baha'is and latter-day saints in China', 'The Bydzhov Israelites and the Frankists – Two sects in 18th century Bohemia', 'Jewish Christianity in 20th century Russia as a form of Jewish national revival' and 'The promise of Monotheism'.

Israeli Invention Saves London's Water

Working with infrastructure companies in London, an Israeli start up, TaKaDu measures and monitors the changing pressure and flow throughout London’s water system. The World Bank stresses that solutions to address water leaks and inefficient practices are sorely needed, as drips and leaks amount to a hefty $15 billion in global funds annually - money just literally going down the drain. Generally, municipal workers don't know there is a problem until a pipe bursts. And as many American cities have found out recently, burst pipes - now occurring randomly across the country - cause millions of dollars of damage.

Based on statistical and mathematical algorithms from online and historical data provided by a waterworks source, TaKaDu software can detect leaks and prioritize and confirm repairs. It requires no additional technology or upfront investment on the client's side. With a return of investment of 250 percent within a day, TaKaDu's model is a pay-as-you-play (or monitor) model.

Plugging the world's leaks

Already working in London, TaKaDu now has a contract with Thames Water of London to create a central nervous system for the city's water pipes. The company has also developed software to enable a smart water grid. This high-tech online software, now being used in Rotterdam, Sydney and Melbourne, gives water infrastructure companies a way to manage and monitor leaks and repairs before any damage is done.

The Thames trial lasted six months before the municipal company decided to award TaKaDu a full contract. The system is monitoring the water serving 75 percent of the population in London. The water savings of two percent, though that sounds small, is significant, translating to hundreds of megaliters per day.

Mainly, however, London is counting on TaKaDu to save money. If water companies in England don't manage repairs in a timely manner, they get fined. "We are talking about millions of pounds per year," says VP Marketing Guy Horowitz. Monitoring some 10,000 kilometers of pipes in London alone, TaKaDu estimates that it saved the British capital millions of pounds in fines over the last year.

"As we do every year, we are currently stepping up all our leakage reduction activity before the winter chill sets in," Thames Water CEO Steve Shine reported last fall. "Our new TaKaDu central nervous system helps us focus our efforts in the right places and the right times."

'It's all on our roadmap'

While the company is still in startup mode, there is hope of breaking even by the end of the year - with the $10 million invested so far being funneled toward making the world's cities, like London, better managed.

Customers have not yet been found in the esteemed market of the United States simply because American water works companies are too far behind the times. "The prerequisite is that we need something [some data] to work with," says Horowitz. The situation could change, though, if the US Environment Protection Agency makes water companies accountable for providing data. Then, the sky would be the limit.

"There is so much we can do with the same algorithms," says Horowitz, who can boast what he thinks is a world record on a patent application for the technology.
"We've got so much on our hands. It's all on our road map. We want to grow and do it all properly," says Horowitz, who is proud that his company was the only Israeli one represented at Davos, selected by the World Economic Forum for its sound business development.

Middle East and Water

The Middle East is likely to plunge into serious humanitarian crisis due to depletion of water resources, unless remedial measures are introduced urgently, says a new Strategic Foresight Group report, and reported in a newswire from Mumbai.

The report prepared by the Strategic Foresight Group, with support from the Swiss Agency for Development Cooperation and the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency, and input from almost 100 leaders and experts from Israel, the Palestine Territories, Jordan, Lebanon, Syria, Iraq and Turkey, also says that water crisis can be converted into an opportunity for regional peace.

The rivers that flow in Turkey, Syria, Iraq, Lebanon and Jordan have been depleted by 50 to 90 per cent from 1960 to 2010. The annual flow of the Yarmouk River declined from 600 MCM to about 250-300 MCM, while the Jordan River has declined from 1300 MCM to 100 MCM. The water level in Barada River Basin in Syria has dropped from 50 meters below ground in 1990 to 200 meters at present.

The renewable freshwater resources in the Mountain Aquifer, shared by Israel and the Palestinian Territories, have been reduced by 7 per cent since the Oslo Accords in 1993 and in the Western Galilee Aquifer by 15-20 per cent. This is assuming full recharge in a normal rainy year.

The water level in the Dead Sea dropped from 390 metres below sea level in the 1960s down to 420 metres below sea level at present and will be 450 metres below sea level by 2040. The water surface area has shrunk by a third, from 950 square kilometres to 637 square kilometres. If the surface water level in the Dead Sea continues to erode, it will be reduced to a lake in 50 years, and will eventually disappear altogether.

Thus there must be a sustainable water management in Turkey, Syria, Jordan, Lebanon, and Iraq, building on cooperation between these countries in trade, transit, and energy. A Cooperation Council will enable the countries to have common standards for measuring water flows and quality, develop regional models for combating climate change, spread new technologies, and facilitate basin level integrated water management.

The report also proposes confidence building initiatives between Israel and the Palestine Authority to agree on the status of water resources and method of functioning of the Joint Water Committee. It recommends decentralised waste water treatment plants for the Palestine Territories.

In the long run, it recommends that the threatened water bodies be managed as Regional units and the export of the waters from the Turkish national rivers via the Mediterranean to the Jordan Valley countries.

For the interest of all peoples in the region surely this makes sense?

The Massive Gap between Private Pragmatism and Public Rejectionism in Palestinian Society

From our friends at Beyond Images www.beyondimages.info comes an excellent analysis of the Palestinian society at large in relation to its preparedness for a peace agreement with Israel

According to the Palestine Papers, PA negotiators were privately willing to accept that Jewish suburbs of Jerusalem (apart from Maale Adumim) could stay in place as part of a two-state solution.

Yet, to the world at large, those self-same negotiators and their supporters worldwide ceaselessly condemn those suburbs as "illegal settlements in occupied Arab East Jerusalem".

According to the Palestine Papers, PA negotiators privately explored only very limited 'rights of return' for Palestinian refugees into Israel. Yet, to the world at large, those self-same Palestinian negotiators ceaselessly proclaim the 'right of return' of all Palestinian people into Israel under UN Resolution 194 and are not willing to consider any compromise on this "inalienable right".

The fact that Palestinian negotiators were privately willing to consider compromise solutions in these areas is not news. To people who have followed the negotiations closely, this has been known for 10 years. But the Palestine Papers reveal the massive gap between private pragmatism and public rejectionism in Palestinian society.

Palestinian negotiators who considered those compromises are frantically denying having made them. They are claiming that they have been falsely accused by al-Jazeera. And they are claiming that they strongly uphold Palestinian rights, and the papers have been tampered with, or taken completely out of context.

Many commentators argue that the Palestine Papers show that the Israelis have a partner for peace. This is too simplistic. All they show is that in private, some 'moderate' Palestinians have begun to realise they must be pragmatic, not ideological. But what they really show is that Palestinian society has not publicly begun to absorb or internalise the changes which will be needed for practical coexistence.

Herb Keinon, diplomatic editor of the Jerusalem Post, points out that the Palestinian reaction "on the street" in the West Bank has been muted (Jerusalem Post, Friday 28 January). He sees this as a glimmer of hope - maybe the people out of sheer weariness with conflict, realise that the behind-the-scenes compromises their negotiators explored are indeed the only way forward. But this is a glimmer of hope, at best.

Key message: Palestinians may be weary of conflict. But they are not ready for the changes in public attitude which will be needed to for a two-state solution to become a reality. Private pragmatism needs to become publicly mainstream for peace to have any chance at all.

Where are the Genuine Human Rights Organisations?

The rhetoric bandied around by the "high and mighty" operating in the human rights field knows no bounds when Israel is concerned. Fiction becomes fact and the roles of justice and injustice are reversed.Why do these hunan rights organisations not focus on the REAL issues instead of the fictional ones.

Below are a number of links to matters concerning the role of women in Palestinian society. Just why is this matter hidden under the carpet?

Gaza's Women: Who Is Defending Their Rights? Khaled Abu Tomeh December 2010

http://palwatch.org/main.aspx?fi=157&doc_id=1294 “Hamas to women: Don't laugh and talk in public”. Palestinian Media Watch

http://palwatch.org/main.aspx?fi=157&doc_id=3574 “PA TV highlights problem of devaluing girls and women in Palestinian society” PMW

http://palwatch.org/main.aspx?fi=157&doc_id=866 “PA: Women and the sick used as smugglers by Hamas “ PMW

http://palwatch.org/main.aspx?fi=587 Miscellaneous examples PMW

Israel's Relationship to the Palestinians - A Jordanian View

Mudar Zahran is a Jordanian of Palestinian heritage, he attended Southern New Hampshire University, graduatng with two masters. He has served as a strategist for the American Embassy in Amman, reporting to it and the American Embassy in Baghdad until recently. During his time there, Zahran covered major political issues for the embassy. His work has been reported to senior officials in DC, including the Department of State, Central Intelligence Agency, the Department of Treasury and DHS.

Zahran writes for several Arab media outlets and has been basically banned from many for his approach towards taboo issues in the Middle East, nonetheless, his articles are available on the Arab Times, the most read Arab newspaper online, and they are highly circulated on Arab internet media. Zahran writes op-eds for the Jerusalem Post. Zahran has also served as an economist and a researcher respectively at the Japanese and the Australian Embassies in Amman. He is considered an insider on Jordanian and Iraqi politic. Zahran is currently a researcher at the University of Bedfordshire, where he will secure a Ph.d in 2011.

One of his latest reports concerns Israel and presents a surprising acknowledgement of what Israel has been saying the whole time but, regretably, the international media ignore these facts.

Israel’s relationship to the Palestinians has always been globally approached with standardized heavy criticism made to Israel. The main charges waved in Israel’s face have always been “the Disapropriate use of force” and “discrimination”.

Israel’s critics, either willingly or out of ignorance, choose to overlook the way many Arab countries mistreat Palestinians. Some Arab countries are almost never blamed for what they have been doing to the Palestinians for decades. Such selective recognition of facts by Israel’s critics is bizarre when weighed by truth instead of myths.

In December of 2008, Israel launched operation “cast lead” against Hamas which was launching rockets on Southern Israel on a daily basis. This operation has resulted in the death of more than 1,400 Palestinians, many said to be civilians; an absolute tragedy, nonetheless, those criticizing Israel fail to recognize that the number of causalities is small comparing to Gaza’s population of 1.5 million, considering the high density of Gaza’s population per square kilometre, the number suggests the Israeli forces were very cautious in carrying out their attacks, despite the fact that they were chasing a moving target, Hamas militants. If Israeli forces were targeting Palestinian civilians, the number of the dead would have reached tens of thousands.

On comparison; in 1976, Lebanese militiamen butchered 2,000 Palestinians; almost wiping out the entire population of Tell al-Zaatar refugee camp within days. This was revisited again in 1982 in Sabra and Shatelah massacre; where, in less than four days, Lebanese militiamen killed thousands of women and children who posed no threat as most Palestinian fighters had left then to Tunisia. Two years ago, al-Jazeera satellite network aired rare footage of Palestinians running to Israeli soldiers for refuge from the massacre.

Furthermore, most Arab atrocities against Palestinians have included documented rape cases, even of children, while not a single rape case has been reported against Israeli forces in more than sixty years of operations.

Arab governments’ oppression of the Palestinians does not stop at bloodshed and wholesale slaughters, in fact the more troubling aspects of the way they treat Palestinians is in the systematic long-range exclusion and discrimination. In Arab countries where Palestinians make up a good percentage of the population; they are depraved of all basic necessities, starting with education, down to basic healthcare. Even at countries that have granted the Palestinians citizenships; the Palestinians stand helpless and banned from every potential to improve their livelihoods.

Israel, on the other hand, has always allowed Palestinians to work there and to get paid in Western standards, and even had allowed them generous access to healthcare. In fact, Israel has also welcomed Palestinians as visitors, patients and even as investors, this generosity was only limited when Hamas started bombing Israeli civilians with no signs of an end in sight.

The complexity Israel has with Palestinians revolves around security rather than ideological issues; Israel does not have an aim to enslave the Palestinians for life or purposely degrade their humanity. While many Arab countries have designed their systems to discriminate and humiliate the Palestinians, squeezing them into illiteracy and poverty while milking them for tax money.

This has become most visible recently with calls in some Arab countries to revoke citizenships of all Palestinians there and actually to force them to seek local guarantors to obtain residency, thus enslaving them for life.

This comes as a deeper shock for Palestinians when they see Israeli Arabs, with many of them describing themselves as “Palestinians in Israel”; those are full citizens of Israel with access to all privileges. Israeli Arabs are fully represented inside the Knesset while Palestinians, in their Arab homeland, are allowed only symbolic presence in parliaments, even at countries where they are the majority. And while some Arab countries selectively withdraw citizenships from Palestinians, many Arab Knesset members do not hesitate to speak against Israel with no fear of losing their citizenships or entitlements.

Still, while the world is most vocal about Israeli military operations, it fails to recognize that Israel has been dealing with non-stop unrest on its soil since the breakout of the Intifada in 1987. Has that Intifada taken place in any Arab country; it would have ended within the first couple of weeks with an Arab army killing more than ten thousands Palestinians, most being civilians. Examples of this are countless and in all Arab countries hosting Palestinians; yet the world seems to think this reality is too overrated to recognize.

Today, with peace negotiations up and running, some Arab governments seem to want to butcher the Palestinians again on the altar of dictatorship by worsening their living conditions and making their lives more miserable, just to secure a better negotiating position or merely a seat at the negotiations table. Not to mention that many of those actually would rather see the negotiations fail in order to keep more international aid money flowing to them for “hosting” the Palestinians.

Quoting a commentator on one of my articles; “the Palestinians, do obviously need a break from their sworn Arab friends”, and perhaps they can reconnect to them when they have learned a lesson or two from their Israeli “enemies”.
Meanwhile, the world will remain silent about the Palestinians’ suffering at the hands of some of their “brothers”, as it’s too occupied with Israel.

First Israeli Arab Woman Becomes a Plastic Surgeon

Another first for the Rambam hospital in Haifa - click on the title to link to a video of this story

For Dr. Rania Elkhatib, the first Israeli Arab woman to become a plastic surgeon in Israel, the job at Rambam Medical Center is a chance to be an emissary for her community.

The first Israeli Arab woman to become a plastic surgeon, Dr Rania Elkhatib works at the Rambam Medical Center, the largest hospital in northern Israel.

After studying medicine at the Technion -- Israel Institute of Technology in Haifa and then specializing in general surgery, the 28-year-old doctor decided to focus on plastic surgery: "... It was important to me because in our community plastic surgery isn't very advanced and it's not well accepted so I feel a bit like an emissary for my community, to go into this field and take it forward," she says.

Situated in Haifa, Rambam is the referral center for 11 district hospitals. Its plastic surgeons treat a number of conditions, ranging from burns, war injuries and cleft palates to breast and facial reconstruction for cancer patients.

Thirty percent of doctors at Rambam are women, and the representation of Arab physicians is proportionate to the numbers in the population in the north.

While the hospital is committed to providing equal opportunities, Prof. Yehuda Ullmann, head of the plastic surgery department, stresses that doctors are chosen purely on merit: "Plastic surgery residency is the most wanted residency in medicine not just in Israel but all over the world, and she was elected not because she's Arab, not because she's a woman, because she is Dr. Elkhatib and she is good and she is a very good doctor over here so we are lucky to have her here."

An Egyptian's scientist's journey from wariness to warmth

By Avigayil Kadesh – for full report see http://www.mfa.gov.il/MFA/IsraelExperience/Egyptian_scientist_journey-Jan_2011.htm

When Dr. Ahmed Moustafa announced his intention to conduct medical research in Israel during the summer of 2008, his family feared for his life and his friends feared for his sanity.

But the Cairo University graduate, who has a Ph.D. in cognitive neuroscience from the University of Louisiana, was eager to accept an invitation from Jerusalem's Hadassah-Hebrew University School of Medicine and Al-Quds University to enhance his study of Parkinson's disease.

"Some of my friends in Egypt advised me not to embark on such an 'unethical' trip," Moustafa recently wrote on the Scholars for Peace in the Middle East website. "For many in Egypt, setting foot in Israel is unthinkable. But the Palestinian professors whom I consulted did not voice such criticism; they encouraged me to visit Israel. My friends in the United States did not make such criticisms either, and I realized that many Americans and Europeans who visit Israel hold different views on Israeli politics, yet they discuss their opinions openly with Israelis."

Wariness due to ignorance

Now 33, Moustafa is doing post-doctoral work at Rutgers University in New Jersey – he explains that widespread wariness regarding Israel is not due to educational indoctrination in Egypt, but rather the result of unflattering newspaper reports and cartoons as well as a lack of exposure to anything Israeli.

"I’ve read recently that they tried to show an Israeli movie in Egypt, but it was not allowed," he relates. "If people could see the 'other side' of Israel, its books and movies and science, I think that might make a difference. Now I talk to everyone about my time in Israel," including those friends back home who had discouraged him from going.

He recalls being on his guard when he first arrived, a bit taken aback by the sight of Israeli soldiers on the streets. But after a short while he realized there was nothing to fear and much to be learned about Israel and its Jewish and Arab citizens.

Surprised by Arabic street signs

"The Arabic street signs everywhere surprised me," he relates. "I thought Arabic would be something they’d stay away from, but every sign has Hebrew, Arabic and English. And I met many Jewish people of Arab origin there. I did not know about that before."

Believing strongly that Arab countries need more scientific interaction with the outside world, including Israel, Moustafa has been trying to encourage Arab colleagues to join the ranks of world-class scientists and graduate students from Italy, the United States, Germany, Canada, Japan and many other countries who learn, visit and lecture at Israeli universities and attend scientific conferences in Israel.

Not there yet

"It is sad that neighboring countries do not participate in these activities," he says. "There is no doubt that Israeli science institutions and Israeli researchers would welcome having Arab researchers visit and collaborate with them. It is an overall win-win game for both sides, if not more beneficial for Arab researchers."

If there is one overall message he'd like to get out to his fellow Arab scientists, it is this: "Separate politics from science and give Israel a try. See for yourself."

Israel brings treatment and training to Kenya

In just three weeks, a team of Israeli aid workers completed construction of a hospital emergency room - the only facility of its kind - in Kisumu, Kenya.

Sick and injured Kenyans can receive quality emergency care at Kisumu East District Hospital in Kenya’s third-largest city, now that a team of 10 Israeli engineers has completed construction of the hospital’s first, fully-equipped emergency room.

Planned and built under the auspices of MASHAV (the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Agency for International Development Cooperation), the ER will provide not only regional emergency treatment, but also regional medical training.

"There is no other such facility in a region of six million people,” says MASHAV director Haim Divon, who traveled to the East African republic at the beginning of November for a ceremony to inaugurate the ER.

Beyond building the state-of-the-art facility and donating all necessary supplies, MASHAV sent specialists to train local medical professionals in emergency medicine to raise the level of care available in the city and its periphery.


Sick and injured Kenyans can now receive quality emergency care thanks to Israel's MASHAV (Photo: MFA)

The project was initiated by MASHAV’s medical adviser, Dr. Yossi Baratz, who served as the agency’s representative in Kenya from 2003 to 2006. Baratz is in charge of MASHAV’s numerous public health missions, the newest of which include setting up a dialysis center in Micronesia and establishing an intensive care unit in Haiti.

The work was carried out - in a record three weeks’ time - by engineering and medical teams from the largest health organization in Israel and one of the most progressive public health associations in the world. MASHAV invested about a quarter of a million dollars, not including ongoing support and capacity building.

Israel and Kenya have enjoyed close and friendly relations since the 1950s, when MASHAV set up ophthalmology "camps" there as one of its first endeavors. "We have a special sentiment for Kenya because it was one of the first countries we established diplomatic relations with.

This model to be replicated in Uganda and Tanzania

Kisumu is best known today as the region encompassing the village where US President Barack Obama’s father was born. But long before most people had ever heard of this area, Israel was helping to improve its citizens’ quality of life.
During a visit last year from Israeli Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman, local officials expressed their interest in upgrading the services of the district hospital. Baratz determined that an ER and provision of emergency medical training would be a good starting point.

Divon, who has visited Kenya many times in an official capacity, promises that MASHAV will next help to train emergency medical responders. "When Kenya’s minister of health was in Israel recently, he expressed interest in our Magen David Adom system, [Israel’s equivalent of the Red Cross]. In Kenya, they don’t have adequate medical knowledge or facilities to treat victims at the site of accidents, so ambulances are mainly just for transport. In our system, the ambulance squad is already administering emergency care and this is a concept they want to adopt," he explains.

Divon cites "respect and appreciation," as the benefit Israel derives from such projects. "The mayor, the minister of health and all the other officials pour praise on us and salute Israel and our embassy. This opens doors. When our ambassador calls, they will pick up the phone because they see him as relevant to the development of Kenya. That is the immediate dividend we receive."

Just What is the Mossad Capable Of?

Newspapers reported last month that a shark that killed and maimed tourists on its Red Sea port may have been intentionally released by Israeli agents in order to sabotage the Egypt's tourist industry.

Now a vulture that strayed into Saudi Arabian territory has now been “arrested” on suspicion of being a Mossad spy.

The bird was found in a rural area of the country wearing a transmitter and a leg bracelet bearing the words "Tel Aviv University", according to the reports.

Although these tags indicate that the bird was part of a long-term research project into migration patterns, residents and local reporters told Saudi Arabia's Al-Weeam newspaper that the matter seemed to be a "Zionist plot."

And as usual, the accusations spread through the Arab media like wildfire claiming that the "Zionists" had trained these birds for espionage.

As Melanie Phillips, the British journalist has said and written recently, “what is striking is the extent to which a patently false and in many cases demonstrably absurd account has been absorbed uncritically and assumed to be true.”

The Alternate National Service

Not everyone is army material in general wherever one lives. Israel is no exception. For different reasons, perhaps of politics or health, some young Israelis cannot, or do not wish, to serve in the military. Through Sherut Leumi (National Service), these people can still contribute. Today, more than 200 such volunteers perform important duties at the Rambam hospital in Haifa– 30 of them are Muslim & Christian Arabs

Visitors to Rambam are politely assisted by a soft-spoken young man with an easy smile. They have no idea of the long path that led Nizar Elkoury, 18, to volunteer at this hospital information desk, giving directions in perfect Hebrew.

Nizar was born in Lebanon. His father was a member of the South Lebanon Army (SLA), a Christian, Israeli-backed militia that fought the Hezbollah. When Israel withdrew from Lebanon in 2000, it granted asylum to the militiamen and their families. Given full citizenship and financial help, close to 1,000 of these families settled in Israel.

The Elkoury family has lived in Haifa since Nazir was eight. He has gone to Israeli schools, and says he has always been accepted and had friends. Hebrew posed no problem for Nazir, who mastered the language in three months. For his adopted country, Nazir expresses only gratitude, “I felt I had to do something for Israel,” he says. “I wanted to give back for the great favor we received.”

Nazir is one of 30 Sherut Leumi (National Service) minority volunteers at Rambam. Sherut Leumi offers 18-21 year olds who cannot or do not wish to serve in the army, an alternative to military service. Volunteers engage in dozens of “helping” projects. Although largely young Jewish women from religious backgrounds, Sherut Leumi volunteers also include men, and minority members. According to Rambam’s Director of Sherut Leumi, Shlomit Katzir, all qualified and motivated volunteers are welcome.

Lubna Kadry, 18, from the Arab Galilean village Nahaf also volunteers at Rambam through Sherut Leumi. Working for the children’s safety organization B’Terem, Lubna teaches children hospitalized at Rambam and their parents about safety in the home. “We work to turn homes into safe havens,” says Lubna.

According to Lubna, a disproportionate number of children from the Arab sector are injured in local and household accidents. “Homes and villages are often not safe, and parents are frequently not aware enough about these matters,” says Lubna, who says she is pleased to be helping her people in this way.

As with most volunteers, Lubna and Nazir feel they receive more than they give. “This position gives me skills for real life,” comments Lubna, who plans to be a doctor. Likewise, Nazir, who wants to be a nurse, appreciates the opportunity to view the world of medicine up close. At any rate, adds Nazir, “I believe that all of us should be connected not only to ourselves, but to our community at large.”

No Room for Israelis in a Palestinian State

So finally Abu Mazen has come out clearly and said it "No room for Israelis in Palestinian state ", see http://www.jpost.com/MiddleEast/Article.aspx?id=200935. He is giving his message loud and clear but do the world leaders even listen to what he says? Absolutely NOT!! And Abu Mazen is "supposed" to be our "peace" partner. Is anybody of any authority out there in the wide world really taking in what
a) the Palestinian leaders are saying in English and in Arabic
b) the Imams are preaching in their mosques week in, week out
c) is appearing on the Palestinian TV for children
d) is being taught in the schools, kindergartens and universities

A Christian supporter of Israel writes the following:-

How in the world can you be so foolish and self defeating, dear Mr. Abbas (Mr. Abu Mazen), to go on record stating that, once you succeed - as you are ceaselessly striving to do - to have the land you are after turned into a Muslim dominated Palestinian state, you will not permit one Israeli man, woman or child to remain living in what once was the very biblical heartland of the Jewish people?

Don't you realize that, by making such a stupid remark, you have let all Israelis know - if they didn't already -that you are not really interested in living in true peace with them; that you are only using the so-called peace process to arrive at your "Judenrein" State of Palestine - a state which, by its very anti-Zionist nature, will become a well-placed stepping stone for the entire fanaticized Muslim World from Iran to the Sudan to use to achieve the ultimate goal of most Muslims and Palestinians: the final eradication of the sovereign Jewish democratic state from your midst?

What if Israel's prime minister were to announce to the world that the price for a two state solution is that all Arabs now living under the sovereignty of the State of Israel need to leave and be made citizens of your to-be-formed Palestinian state? How would you react, and how would the world react to such an announcement, which would mirror completely the one you just dared make concerning the Jews who now live in their own historic land?

With your reprehensible declaration you have foolishly (for you) proclaimed the end of all peace negotiations, even with many among the Israelis who were duped into believing your intentions! Now we know. All you want to use the Europeans (and I am a European) and Americans for is to pressure little Israel into undoing what your Arab friends themselves brought about by their announced wish, as voiced by Abdul Nasser, to drive the Jewish people into the sea. Remember, it was in this war of Israeli self-defense that Jordan lost the so-called 'West Bank'.

For many Israelis this land - illegally occupied by Jordan from 1949 to 1967 - was part of their ancestral land. By joining Egypt at the outbreak of the Six Day War (against the appeal of the Israeli government, "please do not do so") Jordan lost the territory to the people who, by divine decree, once owned it.

And now you, Mr. Abu Mazan, dare to say that, while the Arabs can live in Jaffa, in Haifa and all over Israel, Israelis who live in their Hebron, in their Shiloh, in their Beth El, in their Samaria cannot live among you - not even one - when it becomes a Palestinian state?

180,000 Palestinians Treated in Israeli Hospitals This Year

Thanks to efficient cooperation between the Israeli and the Palestinian sides, tens of thousands of Palestinians patients benefit from treatments in Israeli hospitals each year Humanitarian dilemmas are a recurring issue in the Judea and Samaria region. A terrorist fires at IDF soldiers, is shot and gets wounded. Is an IDF medic to be called to treat him? A building is about to collapse in the heart of Ramallah. Does the IDF enter? Does it jeopardize its soldiers’ lives, or does it call the International Red Cross and risk losing precious time?

To Israel, the answer to these questions is clear. According to its Division Medical Officer “The treatment of the Palestinian population is first and foremost a moral and professional obligation for every one of us. Do we treat them? There is no question about it. But what happens in the long run and how? Where do international organizations fit in? How will an independent Palestinian medical body be established and how does coordination between bodies happen in life? These are the real questions.”

“Up until September 2000, a Ramallah resident could have taken his car and driven to a hospital in Israel, but from September 2000 there has been a state of terror. Hundreds were killed, Jews and Palestinians alike. The battles took place in the heart of the cities, in places where enemies stood side by side with civilians, with difficult conditions and limited ability to evacuate. It was not possible to practice medicine beyond the minimum. In those days, the situation was on the verge of a humanitarian crisis.”

But today, he says, the situation is different. Thanks to many efforts on both sides, stability has been restored. “The political leadership is able to make decisions not in the context of buses exploding. And now, along with direct military activity – patrolling, arrests, crossings – a new kind of routine has started. Medicine is an integral part of it. In today’s reality, it is an obligation to do a lot more than the minimum. The addressing of the situation should be as wide ranging as possible,”

“The Palestinian security system is composed of two centers: that of the Palestinian government and that of international organizations. It is unclear whether it could function if it was based on just one. In the sector, 25 hospitals from the Health Ministry and 30 hospitals from various organizations are operated. Along with patients treated in these hospitals, there are many people who can only be treated in hospitals outside the sector, starting with those located in East Jerusalem.”

The major challenge for medical service is accessibility.. As the Division Commander said, the days when one could drive freely to an Israeli hospital are over. “We face difficulties in transferring patients, personnel and medical equipment. In too many cases moving freely is not possible. But despite these difficulties, there are also many successes.” He cites as an example of patients coming from Gaza, treated in Jerusalem sometimes over a period of three to four months. They receive a special permit from the director allowing them to stay in Israel so they won’t have to go back and forth and are housed in a special hotel in the Mount of Olives. “All these things are ultimately coordinated by the Israeli Civil Administration.”

The medical coordinator of the Civil Adminstration. is the link to everyone who deals with medicine in the territories. In today’s lectures, her name has been mentioned repeatedly, always with respect. In an interview she says pleasantly, “A bond of mutual trust has been created between us. I always tell them the truth. When the Palestinians don’t do what they’re required, I don’t ignore their behavior; but with that, I will always listen. I hear them. I understand their problems.”

The work is twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week. There will always be medical incidents. Health is not something one can impose a curfew on or demand to freeze. “I am available around the clock. Even on Shabbat, even at 3 a.m. if needed. There is a constant contact between me and the doctors on both sides, the ambulance drivers and the patients themselves.”

And, unbelievable though it may sound, because of desire and will, it is working. Last year, 180,000 Palestinian citizens entered Israel to receive treatment. 3,000 emergency patients were transferred from Israeli to Palestinian ambulances using the “back to back” method, without warning. “Ultimately,” said the coordinator, “this is a rewarding experience. There is frustration, of course there is. But on the other hand, there are people who see me on the street or in hospitals, hear my name and say ‘You saved my son’s life’. When you get home in the end of the day and examine your life, you know that you saved lives. You know you did a lot of good.”

Maximising the Use of Waste Water

We are now in the middle of November and are still waiting for the first serious rains of the winter. The Sea of Galillee is fast approaching its black line, the line at which serious damage to the eco system will occur.

Desalination plants are coming on stream one by one, but the need to recycle waste water is paramount.

Out of a total of 500 million cubic meters (MCM) of sewage produced in Israel in 2008, about 70% of the effluents were reclaimed, a figure not many countries can claim to reach.

Local authorities are responsible for the treatment of municipal sewage. In recent years new or upgraded intensive treatment plants were set up in municipalities throughout the country. The ultimate objective is to treat 100% of Israel's wastewater to a level enabling unrestricted irrigation in accordance with soil sensitivity and without risk to soil and water sources.

Some Facts and Figures

500 MCM of wastewater were produced in Israel in 2008

31% MCM of the effluents underwent tertiary treatment (155 MCM)

55% of the wastewater underwent secondary treatment (275 MCM)

92% of the wastewater was adequately treated (460 MCM)

8% of the wastewater remained untreated.

We still need to pray for rain and after the current hot spell with temperatures in the 90's is due to end tomorrow, we have been told by the forecasters to expect rain. Let's hope they are right.

"Would We Go To Israel?"

From the Jerusalem Post this week is an interesting observation by an Arab journalist, urging his colleagues to visit Israel. I have not been able to find the article on the internet version of the newspaper and have therefore reprinted it here.

The journalist claims that it is hard for an Arab to find a safe place to visit in the Middle East... except for the State defined as "the alleged entity".

He writes:-

I have been haunted since early boyhood by an infat­uation with Bilad al-Sham, or Greater Syria — the territories of Syria, Lebanon, Jordan and Palestine. For me, this fascination started with recognizing the voices of singers like Syrian Sabah Fakhry (born 1933) belonging to the al-Sham region.

I conjured up these images and feelings as I was boarding a plane heading for the "land of beauty," dreaming of soirees in Aleppo, touring Damascus's old marketplaces and hanging around its cafes. Such daydreams were flashing through my imagi­nation until the "blessed" plane landed in Syria, when all dreams faded away within half an hour at Damascus Airport.

I was quickly singled out by a security officer, who checked my passport. He reviewed a list, and asked me to stand aside until he had dealt with a "routine problem" that would not take time. Ten minutes later, a grim-faced officer in plainclothes came and told me to follow him. When I asked if I should bring my luggage, he pointed to an office and said it was already there. It was a government office affili­ated with a security department whose name was not disclosed to me.

Two or more hours now passed, with me sitting on a very bad seat inside a vault not much bigger than a jail cell. A third officer then presented himself. He hammered me with questions, starting with my "dubious" profession (journalism) and including my favorite brand of cigarettes, Marlboro Red. I answered with composure and calmness, trying in vain to alleviate the sharp tone he was using. "Your case is under examination," the officer said disgustedly, adding that he would let me know the result "shortly."

An hour later, a fourth officer arrived, no less grim-faced than his predecessors. Addressing the would-be "ambassador of the devil," he told me I was not wel­come in Syria. It was "a sovereign decision," accord­ing to him, and he said he was not obliged to give any explanation. So I had to carry my luggage (which had clearly been subject to a stormy search) back through the airport.

Now, on board a plane heading to Cairo, I recalled all the opinion pieces and TV interviews in which I had been critical of the policies and remarks of some senior Syrian officials. That was the reason for what had happened! My expulsion from Syria took place almost 18 months ago. I preferred at the time to turn a blind eye, as I believed it wasn't worth making an issue out of it, particularly with a regime ruled by a man who had inherited his power.

Yet I cannot help smiling in bitterness whenever I listen to Syrian officials par­roting the Ba'ath Party's famous slogan: "One Arab nation with a timeless message." I have now become totally aware of what that one nation and timeless message stand for!

I thought about visiting Beirut and attending a concert by Lebanon's iconic diva Fayrouz that was scheduled at the Al-Bayal hotel, and actually began to prepare for this once-in-a-lifetime event. I phoned a Lebanese friend and fellow journalist. He was terrified by my daring thought, and taken by surprise by my naivete-merely thinking about visiting Lebanon with my record of dire assaults on Hizbullah (I had once dubbed the powerful Shiite group a "war contractor" and a proxy for Iran's regional aspirations).

I was even oblivious to the fact that Hizbullah men are in de facto control of Beirut Airport – another source of amazement for my colleague, who feared for my safety.

Although it was once a part of Egypt, I don't even feel safe visiting Sudan, due to my verbal attacks on the regime of Omar Bashir, who insists on presiding over a collapsing state.

I am sure that Muammar Gaddafi's Revolutionary Command Council will not deny me access to Libya. Yet I am almost as certain I would never come out again, just like many others. RCC "knights" would not be any more merciful to me than they were to my late Libyan colleague, Lon­don-based journalist Daif al-Ghazal, whose body was found off the coast of Benghazi on June 2, 2005, more than two weeks after his disappearance. He had been tortured almost beyond recognition, according to Reporters without Borders.

No one assumes to know what kind of suffering the 32-year was subject to when he was taking his last breaths, the words he uttered when the electric saw was cutting through his fingers or his screams upon being burnt with mineral acids. Nobody knows. Rather, nobody cared to know about his suffering, and Arab newspapers didn't highlight Ghazal's case; the story was covered only by Western papers, rights groups and some websites.

I remember that I published many reports and opinion pieces on the incident, recalling notorious precedents by the Libyan regime. This is not all; I also commented more than once on Gaddafi's weird, comic remarks, particularly during Arab summit conferences. That's why I couldn't risk going even to Salloum, the Egyptian city bordering Libya.

Being one of those in the Middle East who refuses my assigned role as a regime loyalist, I sometimes face charges of seeking normalization with Israel, apostasy from Islam or designation as an American agent.

Failing to find a glimpse of hope across the greater Arab world, we must concede that Israel has become the only "safe haven" where one can be sure of his life and dignity. Yes, Israel, the state our demagogues continue to call “the alleged entity”.

Just like the Palestinian Helles family who fled Hamas “Jihadist” in Gaza to Israel, I foresee a time when millions of Arabs might stand humbly in front of IDF soldiers, begging for protection.

So I urge you, dear fellow Arab, to visit Israel.