Publication of this issue offers the opportunity, and the obligation, to thank the hundreds of readers who responded to the appeal we sent out in October. We said that we needed to raise $20,000 in order to bring together here a range of Palestinian opinion and analysis about the Oslo accord and its implications. We did, thanks to you, raise more than $19,000. And more than half of those who contributed were doing so for the first time. MERIP’s financial difficulties are far from over. But it would be hard to exaggerate how important your response has been to our work, not only in terms of being able to pay printers and the post office, but also in terms of morale. You gave us a terrific new year’s present.

We want to call your attention to the announcement on page 31 regarding the Philip Shehadi New Writer’s Award. All of us on the staff, the Editorial Committee and the Board of Directors congratulate the co-winners, Ali Abdullatif Ahmida and Kaveh Ehsani, and honorable mention author Melissa Cefkin.

Although country of origin played absolutely no role in the selection, we are pleased to note that both co-winners are themselves from the region -- Libya and Iran, respectively. This magazine strives to present not just analysis of the Middle East but analysis by Middle Easterners. We will be doing more so over the next several years. Beginning in early 1994, we will be working closely with Ahmed Abdalla in Cairo, and Ghassan Abdullah and Anita Grossmann in Amman on a special project designed to identify new writers, thinkers and activists who can bring to our pages fresh assessments of the crises affecting the region and its relations with the world.

Middle East Report cannot provide, by itself, the range of detailed information and perspective that many of our readers want and need. Our “Editor’s Picks” regularly highlights new books and reports that we think merit your attention. From time to time, and as space permits, we will recommend other periodical sources that deserve the widest possible circulation.

The Weekly Report of the Jerusalem Media and Communications Center< (JMCC) provides excellent coverage of breaking developments in the Occupied Territories; it is available to individuals for $100 per year from JMCC, Nashashibi St. 18, PO Box 25047, East Jerusalem via Israel, or fax (972 2) 829-534. The Alternative Information Center publishes The Other Front (weekly) and News From Within (monthly), with critical updates and analyses of developments in Israel as well as the Occupied Territories. For subscription rates, contact the Center at PO Box 31417, Jerusalem, Israel, or fax (972 2) 253-151. Challenge, a bimonthly magazine that admirably reflects the diversity of the Israeli left, features reports and commentary on Israeli occupation policies and broader political issues. Subscriptions are $30 (institutions $50), from PO Box 14338, Tel Aviv 61142, Israel, or fax (972 2) 251-614.