Washington Report on Middle East Affairs, November 2006, pages 54-55

Northern California Chronicle

Egypt Calls on Nations to Address the “Root Cause of the Middle East Conflict”

By Elaine Pasquini

EGYPTIAN CONSUL General and Mrs. Abderahman Salaheldin hosted more than 400 friends, diplomats and members of San Francisco’s Arab community July 24 in a commemoration of the Free Officers Revolution of July 23, 1952. Special guests at the reception included Hoda Elmikaty, director of Egypt’s Bibliotheca Alexandrina’s Planetarium Science Center, and six members of the California Friends of the Bibliotheca Alexandrina. Through the joint efforts of the Egyptian Consulate, the California Friends of the Bibliotheca Alexandrina and the American Cultural Center in Egypt, Elmikaty was able to intern at the San Francisco Exploratorium during the month of July.

In his opening remarks Consul General Salaheldin addressed the subject uppermost in the guests’ minds, Israel’s military bombardment of Lebanon and Gaza and Hezbollah’s missile attacks on northern Israel.

“This year we cannot be as festive in our commemoration of Egypt’s National Day while hundreds of innocent civilians’ lives are lost, civilian infrastructure destroyed and peace is shattered in our part of the world,” Salaheldin stated. “Each human soul is sacred whether it is Lebanese, Palestinian or Israeli. It is time for moderate Muslims, Christians and Jews to reach out to each other and to work together for peace.”

Egypt welcomed “the call for dealing with the root causes of the conflict and violence such as ending the Israeli occupation, releasing all prisoners and agreeing on mutual security arrangements for all the parties,” the diplomat said.

In order to promote better understanding between cultures, religions and civilizations, the consul general said he and his staff would continue to present artistic, cultural and intellectual programs.

Shadi Elkarra Appointed to San Francisco Youth Commission

Shadi Elkarra has grown up surrounded by activism. His Palestinian-born parents, Basma and Ibrahim, direct the after-school program at San Francisco’s Arab Cultural and Community Center. His oldest brother, Basim, is executive director of CAIR, Sacramento. And his three other siblings, while pursuing academic studies, are active in their community.

Recognizing the 17-year-old’s leadership qualities, this summer Mayor Gavin Newsom appointed the Independence High School graduate to the San Francisco Youth Commission, a panel of 17 children and young adults ranging in age from 12 to 23.

Shadi recently spoke to the Washington Report about his exciting new foray into politics in California’s most progressive large city.

“I feel that one way to give back to my community is by actively participating in the process of change,” the San Francisco native explained. “I want to be directly involved with the process of policy development and advocacy to ensure future stability and success, especially in terms of youth-related issues.”

For the past four years, Shadi was involved in the Coleman Advocates’ youth leadership program “Youth Making a Change,” a multi-racial program and national model for engaging young people in youth-led social change work. The handsome teenager is currently a junior board member of the Arab Cultural and Community Center and is involved with student government at City College of San Francisco, where he is majoring in political science.

Feinstein Blasted for Supporting  Israel

“We are here to condemn Senator Dianne Feinstein’s support for Israel’s criminal aggression against the Lebanese and Palestinian people,” Ramiz Rafeedie, president of the San Francisco Bay Area chapter of the American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee, said at a July 27 press conference outside the senator’s San Francisco office. “As taxpayers of the United States we condemn our government for using our hard-earned money to commit war crimes in Palestine and Lebanon.”

Prompted by Feinstein’s appearance at a “Solidarity with Israel” rally the previous weekend, the afternoon demonstration and press conference, sponsored by the Break the Siege Coalition, drew a crowd of some 500 pro-Palestinian and pro-Lebanese supporters.

Noting that the mainstream U.S. media was now providing less coverage from the occupied Palestinian territories, Dr. Jess Ghannam, just back from a trip to Gaza, described what he saw during his visit. “The West Bank is under closure right now,” he stated, “and there is no ability for medicine and food to get into Gaza. Cancer patients are dying—the situation in Gaza right now is catastrophic.”

The Palestinians he spoke with, the psychologist added, all told him: “The whole word is watching and no one is doing anything about it.”

Green Party senatorial candidate Todd Chretien also addressed the crowd. “There is a challenge being posed by what our government is doing today in complete unity with the Israeli government,” he said. “The occupation of Gaza is worse than it has ever been. They have reoccupied Lebanon and they are re-tightening the siege against the rest of the occupied territories.”

Israeli Bombing of Lebanon Protested

As Israel ratcheted up its relentless air attacks on towns and villages throughout Lebanon and sent thousands of ground troops across the border into south Lebanon, San Francisco’s energetic activist community continued taking to the streets in support of the traumatized Lebanese people.

On Aug. 5, as dozens of tourists standing in line in Halliday Plaza to board the city’s famed cable cars looked on, protesters carried signs reading “Massacre in Qana: Made in the U.S.” and “Stop U.S. Aid to Israel.” An elderly gentleman displayed his unique homemade sign stating, “Israel–U–R Your Worst Enemy: Back 2: 67 Border.” Denouncing Israel’s excessive use of force against civilians, one speaker at the International Action Center-sponsored event reminded the crowd that Aug. 6 was the 61st anniversary of the U.S. dropping of an atomic bomb on Hiroshima, Japan.

Middle East Musicians for Peace

Sharing not only an artistic creativity, but also a commitment to peace in their war-torn part of the globe and throughout the world, four renowned Middle Eastern musicians came together for an Aug. 31 concert at San Francisco’s Grace Cathedral entitled “Music Heals—A Call for Peace.” Israeli violinist and composer Yair Dalal, Lebanese percussionist and vocalist Souhail Kaspar, Palestinian-Jordanian oud player Naser Musa, and Israeli percussionist Dror Sinai headlined the event, the proceeds of which were donated to Doctors Without Borders. Program sponsors included Grace Cathedral, Wisdom of the World Productions, American Friends Service Committee, Arab Film Festival, and the Jewish Music Festival.

Prior to the concert, Dalal and his wife, Middle East dancer and choreographer Kimberley Michelle, hosted a reception in Sausalito in celebration of their June wedding in Israel.

Kimberley, who performed at the Grace Cathedral concert, shares her husband’s interest in bringing people together through music and dance and feels particular empathy for children who suffer war-inflicted injuries, since she suffered a life-threatening spinal-cord injury six years ago.

The son of Iraqi immigrants to Israel, Dalal is one of only a few artists who preserve Babylonian musical tradition. Reflecting his love of the desert, particularly the Sinai and Negev where he travels frequently, Dalal’s compositions incorporate Iraqi, Palestinian and Bedouin elements.

Elaine Pasquini is a free-lance journalist based in the San Francisco Bay Area.

< Prev		Next >