Excerpts: Fake study.Israeli nuclear capability.Arab democracy? 11 March
2005

+++JORDAN TIMES 11 Mar. '05:
"Pamphlet urging polygamy draws criticism"
By Rana Husseini

QUOTES FROM TEXT:
"Women activists on Thursday (10 Mar.) criticised a pamphlet ...
encouraging married men to take a second wife in return for financial
rewards."

"UJ officials denied conducting such a study and said the professors
named in the pamphlet were not part of the university staff."

"Press and Publications Department Director Hashem Khreisat also said
no one had approached him for permission to circulate such a
publication
in the Kingdom."
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
EXCERPTS:
AMMAN - Women activists on Thursday (10 Mar.) criticised a pamphlet
...encouraging married men to take a second wife in return for financial
rewards.
The pamphlet, which bears no letterhead or organisation's name, urges
"married Muslim men to preserve the honour of our Muslim sisters and
daughters by seriously thinking of taking a second wife because the
percentage of unmarried women is on the rise."
The pamphlet said a committee (anonymous) and an Islamic Arab organisation
would take care of the wedding expenses and offer JD3,000 ($4,200) to any
wife who approves her husband's second marriage.
"If this pamphlet is authentic, and I doubt it is, it would be degrading for
women's dignity. We are against this backward phenomenon," Jordanian Women's
Union Vice President Nadia Shamroukh said.
. . .
Sisterhood is Global Institute Coordinator Lina Kura echoed Shamroukh's
concerns, saying such a call would only work to destroy families.'
. . .
Abdul Latif Arabiat, head of Al Afaf Charity Society, also criticised the
pamphlet saying it was most probably a hoax.
"This is a na?ve circular that has nothing to do with Jordan. Marriage is a
personal choice between two people and this is not the way to handle it.
This is simply a fake document or a silly joke," Arabiat said.
Established in 1993, the society holds mass weddings for couples who can-
not afford a marriage party.
. . .
According to the circular, a study conducted by the University of Jordan
(UJ) based on figures obtained from the Civil Registration and Passports
Department (CRPD) indicated that the percentage of unmarried citizens was 70
per cent, "which reflected negatively on the percentage of unmarried women
in the Kingdom."
It also listed the names of university professors who allegedly took part in
preparing the study and a fax number where people could send their
applications.
UJ officials denied conducting such a study and said the professors named in
the pamphlet were not part of the university's staff.
CRPD Director Awni Yervas told The Jordan Times that his department had
never conducted such a study or released any statistics on this issue.
"I never authorised a request by any party to conduct such a study and we
never held a study of this nature at our department," Yervas said. Press and
Publications Department Director Hashem Khreisat also said no one had
approached him for permission to circulate such a publication in the
Kingdom.
"Any person wanting to circulate a pamphlet should first obtain a permission
from our department and no one did so in this case," Khreisat said.
Khreisat added that he plans to refer the pamphlet to the concerned
authorities to follow up on the case and try to determine its source.

+++JORDAN TIMES 11-12 Mar.'05:
"The danger of an Israeli attack on Iran"
Jonathan Power
QUOTE FROM TEXT:
"Now that Saddam is defeated, Israel must seriously consider foregoing
its nuclear weapons as part of a grand bargain with Iran and the other Arab
states that are covertly the possibility of going nuclear must open up and
renounce the effort as Libya recently did."
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------EXCERPTS:Howis the ordinary mortal able to make up his mind on whether Iran isdevelopingnuclear weapons or not, and if so whether this poses a seriousthreat toIsrael or other neighbours?... ... even if Iran does have, or almost have,the capability to build a fewnuclear weapons, who would it use them againstin a real-life situation, asopposed to the make-believe scenarios that gameplaying strategists love tocreate? Against Israel, Europe or the US? Theseputative antagonists allhave enough submarines, hardened silos and nuclearmissiles to ensure asecond strike ability that would wipe Iran off the faceof the planet.. . .. . .... Now that Saddam is defeated, Israel mustseriously consider foregoingits nuclear weapons as part of a grand bargainwith Iran. and the other Arabstates, which are covertly developing thepossibility of going nuclear, mustopen up and renounce the effort, as Libya
recently did. [IMRA:But author Power argues in his second paragraphthat Iran would notattack Israel because Israel has second strikecapability.]That is a big apple to bite and will demand some ingenious,combined Westerndiplomacy. But present-day piecemeal bites come up against ahard core ofintractable problems - and the very real danger that Israel,feeling time isworking against it, may lash out with its own attack, anddamn theconsequences.+++JORDAN TIMES 11-122 Mar.'05:" 'Something tocelebrate' "Daoud KuttabQUOTES FROM TEXT: "Democracy may be the rule ofthe people, by the people, but once the people take up this right,there's no telling what they will decide." "independence from Syria isnot to be understood as moving any closer to peace with Israel orrejecting pan-Arabism." "Until recently, most calls for reform anddemocracy in the Arab worldwere easily shrugged off as unacceptablebecause they would be effected in response to America or ,even wor!
se,
Israeli demands." "The recent successful elections inPalestine have also been a major source of inspiration." "theelections in Iraq, where voters were given real choices, certainlyprovided much of the backdrop for the successful turn of events inLebanon."---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------EXCERPTS:A curious thing is happening in Lebanon andother parts of the Arab world.Democracy might be the rule of the people bythe people, but once peopletake up this right, there is no telling what theywill decide. Anti-USforces (like ... Nasrallah) are temporarily (at least inBeirut) puttingtheir guns aside and taking up democratic tools likenon-violentdemonstrations ... . Pro-democratic groups in Lebanon are alsonotautomatically embracing the US but are publicly supporting theanti-Israeliresistance. ...The anti-Syrian opposition groups in Lebanon wereunpredictable in their newrhetoric. ... following the fall of the Karameh pro!
-Syrian
government, WalidJumblatt insisted thatseeking independence from Syria is not to beunderstood as moving any closerto peace with Israel or rejectingpan-Arabism. ... the Arab patriotism thathe was speaking about, is not thesame as the classical pan-Arabism (oftenreflected in Baath and otherideological movements)....for the first time inmodern Arab nationalism, a respected Arab patriothas succeeded in presentingan alternative and a genuinely democratic formof Arab nationalism. Untilrecently, most calls for reform and democracy inthe Arab world were easilyshrugged off as unacceptable because they wouldbe effected in response toAmerican or, even worse, Israeli demands anddictates. For a well-respectedArab leader to state opposition to calls forthe withdrawal of troops of afellow Arab country and still sound supportiveof relations with thatparticular country seems very odd to ...most Arabs.While what is happeningin Lebanon ...has sent shock waves throughout theArab world, where t!
he
populations of the 23 Arabcountries all but gave upon the possibility of the success of a peacefuldemocratic movement that isalso patriotic....the Bush administration'sstrong push for democracy ... has made Arabdemocrats very uneasy. ...thiscall echoes deep-seated demands that havegone unnoticed .... Arabs fightingfor genuine democracy, human rights andthe civilian transfer of power havebeen gagged, jailed, imprisoned andkilled. Those who survived placedthemselves in self-imposed exiles to avoidthe wrath of regimes....these sameArab democrats believed that fellow Arabs in Palestine deservethe samedemocratic independence from the Israeli occupation that they wereseekingfrom their regimes. When President George Bush publicly embracedthedemocratic calls without backing down from his relentless support forthehard-line Israeli occupiers of Palestine, many Arab intellectualschosesilence. They were afraid that responding positively to Bush's calls willappear to be backing down i!
n their
support forPalestine and the right ofits people to be rid of the pro-US Israeligovernment... .The recent successful elections in Palestine have also been amajor sourceof inspiration. [IMRA: Under US influrnce possiblepost-Arafat.]Mahmoud Abbas had to compete with a number of competentcontenders and wonwith a solid ...percentage ... . This election, that wasfollowed by theelections in Iraq, where voters were given real choices,certainly providedmuch of the backdrop for the successful turn of events inLebanon. [IMRA: To Bush's credit.] It wasn't surprising, therefore, tohear pro-democracy playwrights like theCairo-based Ali Salem declare on CNN:"We Egyptians are jealous of what theLebanese have done.". . .With twoArab peoples (Palestinians and Iraqis) suffering under foreignmilitaryoccupation and with most of the rest of the Arab nation sufferingfrompossibly more damaging and painful autocratic rule, the Arab world hasnever been so fragmented and hopeless. !
[IMRA:
AndLebanon under Syrian occupation.] But despite this miserable state ofaffairs, a glimmer of hope has finallyemerged giving lovers of peace,democracy and human rights something tocelebrate. [IMRA: Anexaggerated glimmer of hope.]Dr. Joseph Lerner, Co-Director IMRA