Dear Abby: Why did Bush Win the Elections? By Terry Thurber (Al-Jazeerah, October 21, 2005)

Bush won the election because more votes went his way. Nothing else in your correspondence is valid except the fact that racist propaganda replete is fed to your viewers and readers without fail.

The truth is that indeed none but Muslims may be on any list of candidates (slate) in an apartheid Arab country and all Arab countries except Lebanon are apartheid. Israel has in fact an Arab political party in Parliament and Arab members in other parties.

So, get your correspondents used to the truth and Arabs may get somewhere.

Doron Ur

Melbourne Australia

Editor:

I don't understand why you're bashing Arabs and Muslims while the author is an American publishing his article in an independent US publication.

With regard to the Palestinian Arabs in Israel, aren't they the indigenous population? They must be represented in the parliament because they constitute more than 20 percent of the total Israeli population.

But what about the rest eight million Palestinian Arabs in the West Bank, Gaza, Lebanon, Syria, and Jordan, who were evicted from their homeland by Israelis in 1948, don't they have the right also to be citizens in their homeland and be represented in the parliament, too? Isn't depriving them from returning to their homeland a racial discrimination?

 Your "Dear Abby" Editorial

he he.  I hope you really believe the crap you wrote, because it shows how stupid you are and convinces me that you will never win the clash of civilizations.

Chet Freeman

Editor:

Dear Chet Freeman,

First, the author of this article (Dear Abby: Why did Bush Win the Elections?) is Terry Thurber. He is a Christian American, living in the United States. Now, what clash of civilizations are you talking about? Do you represent a civilization and he represents another? 

Second, can we please address each other with some respect, particularly when we have different opinions? I don't understand why would the word stupid be used. You could debate with the author stating your opinion and only then we would have a civilized dialog.

This is an invitation from the editor to readers who react to authors they disagree with. Please do not slander authors, learn from them and debate with them if you want. They are volunteering their time and energy to educate you. They deserve appreciation.

Dr. Jim Graff Passed Away

Dear Friends,

It is with the deepest regret and sadness we learn of the death of Dr. Jim Graff.

To me, Jim was both mentor and friend. Many would say the same.

This news will come as a shock to many. Jim’s passion for Middle East justice was again manifest in his enthusiastic leadership on the central Planning Committee and the Executive Committee of this week’s International Conference on a Non-Violent Response to the Occupation in Toronto. Earlier this month, Jim was sounding as if he had the flu. He quickly became weak and, only days ago, was diagnosed with a very aggressive cancer. Jim died peacefully this morning, dignified, courageous and undaunted in death as in life. His daughter Noha was able to arrive from overseas to be with him, as was his brother, his son Hani and, of course, Aida.

A professor in the Faculty of Philosophy at the University of Toronto, Jim taught his class as recently as mid-October. However, to many of us, our encounters with Jim were around his life-long commitment and leadership in the Middle East peace and justice movement. I first met him in this context nearly 20 years ago, when he had already been involved in the movement for years. It is not an overstatement to say simply that, particularly throughout North America and in Palestine, Jim has been an icon in the authentic movement for peace and justice in the Middle East. His highly visible work through NECEF (Near East Cultural and Educational Foundation), the publication of a book Palestinian Children and Israeli State Violence during the first intifada, and as vice-chair of the UN NGO coordinating committee on the Question of Palestine, was nonetheless exceeded by his less visible activism.

Jim brought me into the peace movement, and was a mentor in activism. His focused, thoughtful insights gave clear and accurate analysis to the disturbing situation in Palestine, while his principled wisdom, in how to address it provided leadership in the activities in which he was involved. At a personal level, when I was feeling down and isolated during the Gulf War in 1991, it was Jim’s principled commitment and passionate activism, laced with humour, which inspired me to hope. One of his favorite adjectives to accurately describe a person was as “decent”; it would have been be an accurate self-description as well.

There is much more to be said. I’m sure many will have their own reflections.

Farewell, our friend, and eternal salaam.

Robert Assaly