Current Analysis Après Nous, Nous It was vintage Shimon Peres. On April 18 Israel’s deputy prime minister emerged from a tete-à-tete with French President Jacques Chirac proclaiming a shining vision of Israeli-Palestinian coexistence. “We could convert a settlement into a Club Med,” he suggested. “We must not wait for the political solution, but create Thomas Hill, Peter Lagerquist • 14 min read
MER Article The US Media, Samuel Huntington and September 11 Paradigms do not have to be true to become accepted wisdom. Samuel Huntington’s “clash of civilizations” is a case in point. When in 1993 Huntington first presented his notion that future international politics would be based on cultural conflicts -- especially between Islam and the West -- most commentators Ervand Abrahamian • 7 min read
MER Article Donning the Uniform In his book The Making of Israeli Militarism, Uri Ben Eliezer described Israel as a nation-in-arms—the Jewish collective identity in Palestine was constructed mainly through the militarization of the society. The Zionist leadership used the army as the principal agent of development and integration. Ilan Pappe • 12 min read
Current Analysis News Not "Fit to Print" On February 8, at 12:45 am, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) launched a series of air strikes against Lebanon as revenge against recent Hizballah attacks in south Lebanon. Three power switching stations, the most vital electricity facilities in the country, were bombed -- one in the Jamhour district of Jennifer Loewenstein • 7 min read
MER Article Satellite Television and Development in the Middle East Upon hearing a Dutch diplomat recite a dismal litany of statistics indicating the current social and economic plight of most Middle Eastern states, a Jordanian academic heaved a sigh. “This is a triple tragedy,” she said. “Not only are the figures bad, but they have to be collated by foreign agencie Naomi Sakr • 9 min read
MER Article Short-Circuiting the Media/Policy Machine Media coverage of the February 1998 showdown with Iraq highlighted subtle but significant changes in the relationship between the mainstream media and US foreign policymaking. Although the major media -- despite some alleged soul searching by media professionals [1] after the Gulf war -- have change Sam Husseini • 10 min read
MER Article Countering Israel's Fiftieth on the Internet The struggle over the historical record and popular memory of 1948 has reached the Internet. A number of websites and posted materials devoted to the Palestinian experience in 1948 known as the nakba (national catastrophe) offer a wealth of information to counter the virtual media silence about the Steve Niva • 1 min read
MER Article Al Miskin International/Tainted Love What is up in Egypt? In Cairo, Mustafa Bakri, was deposed as editor-in-chief of al-Ahrar following the failure of the mutiny he led in the halls of the Liberal Party to depose of its leader, Mustafa Kamal Murad. Bakri stormed the party headquarters with 600 armed followers and had himself voted pres Al Miskin • 3 min read
MER Article Column: Globalization and Its Discontents “Globalization” is currently fashionable among privileged quarters of American society. It stands as the umbrella term for contemporary trends in culture, production, finance, marketing, technology, consumption, ideas, values and institutions that are variously celebrated, denounced, dissected and d Al Miskin • 3 min read
MER Article Kurdish Broadcasting in Iraq In the transition from exile to autonomy, Iraqi Kurdish parties have set up the first Kurdish-controlled television channels in the Middle East. Their broadcasts now reach more than half of the estimated 3 to 4 million people in “Free Kurdistan.” [1] Ann Zimmerman • 4 min read
MER Article Islam and Public Culture Walk the streets of Cairo or village lanes in Egypt any early evening and you will see the flicker of television screens and hear the dialogue and music of the current serial (musalsal). Read the newspapers and you will find articles and cartoons that can only be understood if one is following these Lila Abu-Lughod • 15 min read
MER Article Politics and Media in the Arab World Hisham Milhem is the Washington correspondent of the Beirut daily al-Safir. Born in Lebanon, Milhem has lived and worked in Washington since 1976. Joe Stork and Sally Ethelston spoke with him in Washington in September 1992. What are the salient features of the power structure of the Arab media? Wh Sally Ethelston, Joe Stork • 10 min read
