MER Article Melman, The Master Terrorist Yossi Melman, The Master Terrorist: The True Story Behind Abu Nidal (New York: Adama Books, 1986). Yossi Melman has pieced together “an interim report” that provides, within limits, a substantial sketch of Abu Nidal and his Palestinian fringe group, most widely known as the Abu Nidal group, or t Roger Gaess • 2 min read
MER Article PNC Strengthens Palestinian Hand The most striking impression to a casual observer at the Club des Pins Conference Center in Algiers where the Palestine National Council met over April 20-25 was the emotional intensity of the greetings and reunions between long-lost friends among the 2000 or more Palestinians in the corridors outsi Rashid Khalidi • 5 min read
MER Article Shipler, Arab and Jew David Shipler, Arab and Jew: Wounded Spirits in the Promised Land (New York: Times Books, 1986). Reading this massive 556-page book by David Shipler, the New York Times correspondent in Jerusalem from 1979-1984, is dizzyingly similar to reading 200 Times feature stories in a row. Shipler’s compendi Penny Johnson • 5 min read
MER Article "You Have to Prove to the Palestinians That You Are Serious About Peace" Arie Arnon has been a leading Israeli proponent of political negotiations between Israel and the Palestine Liberation Organization, and opponent of the occupation of the West Bank, Gaza and Golan. He is currently a member of the Progressive List for Peace, and teaches economics at Beersheva Universi Zachary Lockman • 10 min read
MER Article "The Pressure Should Be on the US and Israel to Recognize the PLO" Hilton Obenzinger is a member of the executive committee of the November 29 Committee for Palestine, and on the staff of their bimonthly, Palestine Focus. His book of poems, This Passover or the Next I Will Never Be in Jerusalem, was reviewed in our February 1982 issue. Joel Beinin interviewed him i Joel Beinin • 7 min read
MER Article "The US Must Start Negotiations with the PLO" Gail Pressberg is the Middle East coordinator for the American Friends Service Committee (AFSC). Joe Stork spoke with her in Washington in late March 1987. Where is the peace movement at now with regard to Middle East issues? Joe Stork • 9 min read
MER Article "They Control the Hill, But We've Got a Lot of Positions Around the Hill" Jim Zogby is the director of the Arab American Institute in Washington. He was a founder of the Palestine Human Rights Campaign (PHRC) and the American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee (ADC). Joe Stork spoke with him on March 18, 1987. How did you get engaged in Middle East organizing? Joe Stork • 14 min read
MER Article From the Editors (May/June 1987) The fate of Palestine seems strangely linked to years ending in seven. Theodore Herzl’s new Zionist movement held its first congress in Basel in 1897. In November 1917, the Balfour Declaration tried to define the Palestinians into oblivion as the country’s “non-Jewish inhabitants.” In July 1937, the The Editors • 3 min read
MER Article Israel Cracks Down on Jewish Peace Activists Jerusalem, March 10 -- On November 7, 1986, 21 Israeli peace activists landed at Ben-Gurion International Airport, returning from a three-day trip to Romania. Within minutes, four were ordered to report for interrogation by the Israeli police. The four -- Latif Dori (of the left-Zionist MAPAM party) (Author not identified) • 3 min read
MER Article Thought Control in the US From a comparative perspective, the United States is unusual if not unique in the lack of restraints on freedom of expression. It is also unusual in the range and effectiveness of the methods employed to restrain freedom of thought. The two phenomena are related. Liberal democratic theorists have lo Noam Chomsky • 12 min read
MER Article The PLO and the European Peace Movement In July 1985, the European Nuclear Disarmament movement (END) convened in Amsterdam. One plenary session featured a discussion between Ilan Halevi and Mary Kaldor concerning peace movement support for liberation struggles in the Third World, and for the Palestine Liberation Organization in particula (Author not identified) • 19 min read
MER Article Hundreds of Communities Hold "Speak Out" Activities It was a small but brave demonstration. On October 23, in Ann Arbor, Michigan, 20 people marched down a major street during lunch hour, carrying an Israeli and a Palestinian flag. Sponsored by a local coalition of Jews, Palestinians and peace activists, the group distributed leaflets and postcards a Dorie Wilsnack • 3 min read
