Egypt votes to approve new constitution

A woman cuts another woman’s hair in protest of the new Islamist-based constitution passed in Egypt. Photo reprinted from The Boston Globe.

This past week, Egypt voted to pass a new constitution. While this would seem like a cause for celebration, there are still many people in Egypt who feel the new constitution does not grant sufficient freedom to certain minorities, including Christians and women. Despite the victory for a democratically passed constitution, bitter debates and protests have been waged against the ratification of this new constitution.

Only about 33% of eligible voters turned out to vote on the referendum. Of the 16.2 million people who voted, approximately two thirds voted to approve it. The constitution passed by a higher margin in rural areas, where there are more Muslims, than in the capital city of Cairo, where more minorities opposed it.

The constitution was heavily endorsed by the Islamist President of Egypt, Mohamed Morsi, and his Islamist backers, the Muslim Brotherhood. Morsi was elected in June of 2012, almost a year and a half after the previous President of Egypt, Hosni Mubarak, was forced to resign during a bitter revolt by the citizens in February of 2011.

A cover story in Time magazine in early December declared Mohamed Morsi to be “The Most Important Man in the Middle East”.

As the first democratically elected Islamic leader of Egypt, Morsi was expected to restore economic stability and domestic peace, while representing the interests of all of its citizens. However, minorities in Egypt have worried that Islamist law, or sharia law, will become synonymous with national law. Christians and women have complained that Morsi is already showing signs of favoring Islamists and creating laws that will discriminate against them.

In November, Morsi issued a decree stating that no authority or court can overturn any decisions he has made since taking office until a new constitution is adopted and a parliament elected. Muslim Brotherhood officials, with whom Morsi is allied, said the measures were necessary to ensure the country’s full and healthy return to democracy. However, many people saw this move as a grab for more power, and even accused Morsi of declaring himself “Pharoah”. “God’s will and elections made me the captain of this ship,” Mr. Morsi said.

Demonstrators line the streets of Cairo to protest Mohamed Morsi’s November decree granting himself practically unlimited, dictator-like powers. Photo reprinted from arabianbusiness.com.

The approval of the new constitution was supposed to be a move toward revoking some of Morsi’s self-appointed powers. But the bias toward Islamist law in the new constitution has worried many people that a shift toward an Islamist-biased government is proceeding.

Even supporters of the constitution admit that it was drawn up in haste, and Morsi himself finally made a public statement this week. According to a New York Times articles on December 26, “President Mohamed Morsi of Egypt took responsibility on Wednesday for “mistakes” during the run-up to ratification of the new constitution and urged Egyptians to appreciate the fierce disagreements about it as a “healthy phenomenon” of their new democracy.” He added, “As we all welcome difference in opinion, we all reject violence and breaking the law.”

This New York Times photo shows members of the Egyptian Upper Parliament meeting to discuss the new constitution on Wednesday, December 26.

While Morsi’s statement was praised by Western supporters of democracy, the opposition did not believe a word of it. “Even if this Constitution is considered approved legally,” the opponents said, “it lacks moral legitimacy, political legitimacy and popular legitimacy because it lacks national consensus.”

Another big problem with the approval of this disputed constitution is that it is weakening Egypt’s already weak economy even further. Since President Hosni Mubarak’s ouster in February 2011, the country has lost more than half of its foreign currency reserves — from $36 billion in 2010 to around $15 billion currently. Perhaps in anticipation of further financial woes, Morsi issued a decree on Christmas Eve that bans people from leaving Egypt with more than $10,000 or its equivalent in other currencies.

So, even as Egypt struggles to establish a peaceful Democratic government that fairly represents all of its citizens, namely Muslims and Christians alike, the road to achieve this is still long and winding.

Note to students: Kitchen Table News has posted several stories about Middle Eastern Countries recently. Click here to take a fun quiz on Middle East geography.

Click here to take another fun quiz and see how much you’ve learned about recent changes in Egypt’s government.

Tragedy in Newtown, Connecticut

A line of children from Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut, bravely follow teacher directions after the shooting rampage.

Sometimes the news can be a little dull. Sometimes, it feels like the news doesn’t relate to us, especially if it is something happening halfway around the world. But sometimes, something will happen in the news that is so close to home, and so close to your normal routine, that you can’t help but sit up and take notice.

As you know by now, a terrible tragedy happened in the little town of Newtown, Connecticut. At about 9:30 Friday morning, a 20 year-old man entered an elementary school with guns. He then performed what the Prime Minister of Australia called a “senseless and incomprehensible act of evil.” He began shooting people. And the people were not just adults, they were children, too. By the time he was finished, 20 children and six adults had been killed. Before going to the school, he had performed another unspeakable act. He had killed his own mother. Then, after killing all of those people at the school, he turned the gun on himself and killed himself.

This tragedy is the worst school-age shooting rampage in our country’s history. Things like this just don’t happen very often. But when they do happen, communities come together to reassure each other, and to ensure that things like this will not happen again.

The red dot on this map shows the location of Newtown, CT, in relation to other major cities in the Northeast.

The gunman’s name was Adam Lanza. Authorities are still trying to sort out the details. What was Adam’s relationship to the school? What was his mother’s relationship to the school? Where did Adam get the guns? And most importantly, why did Adam want to do this?

Adam has a 24 year-old brother, Ryan. Ryan lives in New Jersey. So far, Ryan has no idea why his brother would do this. Adam’s father, who was divorced from his mother, lives in another town in Connecticut. So far, Adam’s father has not spoken about the tragedy.

The children at Sandy Hook Elementary School all acted very bravely. In fact, if not for the quick thinking of teachers, more people might have been killed. As soon as the shooting began, all of the teachers locked their classroom doors, and huddled the children into the classrooms and told them to crouch down and be very quiet. If children and teachers had run screaming through the hallways, that would have created a lot more chaos. But thanks to very well behaved children and very calm and level headed teachers, the shooting was confined to only two classrooms.

When President Obama spoke to the nation about the tragedy, he had to stop several times, unable to fight back the tears.

President Obama addressed the country on Friday afternoon. “Our hearts are broken today for the parents and grandparents, sisters and brothers of these little children, and for the families of the adults who were lost,” he said. “Our hearts are broken for the parents of the survivors, as well, for as blessed as they are to have their children home tonight, they know that their children’s innocence has been torn away from them too early and there are no words that will ease their pain.”

He also said, “we’re going to have to come together and take meaningful action to prevent more tragedies like this, regardless of the politics.”

When things like this happen, everyone feels terribly sad. Grown ups feel sad and worried, and kids do, too. You have to remember that all of the grown ups in your life love you and care about you. Every day, the adults in your life are doing things to keep you safe, whether it is making you wear your seatbelt, or teaching you not to talk to strangers, or locking the door to your house at night. School is and will continue to be a safe place. If anything, after a tragedy like this, school will be even safer than it was before.

As a Middle school student, you are probably not allowed to watch R-rated movies or certain television shows. This tragedy is worse than anything that could happen in a movie, and yet you are reading about it. Be sure to talk to your parents and teachers if you have any questions or any feelings you want to discuss. If it seems like an extremely difficult event to comprehend, that is because it is. Sometimes, the news is just the news, and the news can be very, very sad. The saddest news seems to be news like this – when a fellow American – only 20 years old, a child himself – could engage in this kind of senseless violence against an innocent community – a community of children.

One lucky father hugs his daughter tightly as they leave the school.

Susan Rice withdraws her name from consideration as U.S. Secretary of State

Susan Rice was President Obama’s top choice to be the next Secretary of State.

As Kitchen Table News reported a couple of weeks ago, current U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton is planning to resign from her post when the new administration takes office in January. While the head of the Executive branch of government, Barack Obama, will of course be returning, many cabinet posts will have new appointments by the President.

The barrage of criticism by Republican senators over the alleged misleading information Ms. Rice provided in the early days following the terrorist attack on the Libyan consulate in Benghazi has continued in the last two weeks. Ms. Rice finally decided that the nomination process for the next U.S. Secretary of State was too important to allow it to be turned into a political agenda for others. In a letter to President Obama, she said, “the confirmation process would be lengthy, disruptive, and costly — to you and to our most pressing national and international priorities. That trade-off is simply not worth it to our country.”

Obama had defended her, describing the criticism from several key Republicans as “outrageous.” “If Senator (John) McCain and Senator (Lindsey) Graham and others want to go after someone, they should go after me,” Obama said at a White House news conference in late November. “When they go after the U.N. ambassador, apparently because they think she’s an easy target, then they’ve got a problem with me.” In light of her withdrawal, President Obama responded by commending Susan Rice on her graceful and dignified decision, and for putting the interests of the country first.

John Kerry, D-Mass., was the Democratic party’s nominee for President in 2004, ultimately losing to George W. Bush.

John Kerry, the Democratic senator from Massachusetts, is now considered the front runner for the nomination. While serving in the U.S. Senate, he has been the chairman of the Foreign Relations Committee. He also served two tours of duty in Vietnam.

Republicans have already expressed support for Kerry, should confirmation hearings proceed. Many people believe this is because if Kerry vacates the Senate seat in Massachusetts, then a special election would need to be held to fill the seat, and Republicans hope that a fellow Republican would win. Currently, Massachusetts has two Democratic senators: John Kerry, and the newly elected Elizabeth Warren, who unseated incumbent Republican senator Scott Brown in the most recent election. Scott Brown was a popular senator in Massachusetts, and he would have a good chance of winning a special election like this one, especially since he is still riding the wave of his 2012 campaign, where he had many supporters, despite losing the election.

Scott Brown and Elizabeth Warren spent more than $71 million combined in their respective campaigns, making it the second most expensive Senate race in the country in 2012 and by far the most expensive Senate race in Massachusetts history.

Currently, Democrats hold a majority in the Senate, with 53 seats. Republicans have 45 seats and Independents hold two. If a Republican were elected to the Senate in place of John Kerry, this would bring the Republicans one step closer to the needed 51 seats to hold a majority in the Senate, and would provide additional Republican support when the Senate votes on bills.

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U.N. votes to grant Palestine “non-member observer status”

Photo: Last Thursday, November 29, Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas celebrated a victory at the U.N. when the General Assembly voted 138-9 to grant Palestine “non-member observer status”.

Editor’s Note: This blog is intended as a summary of what is being reported in American newspapers. It is not intended as a stance for or against a Two State solution in the Middle East. However, as a Jewish American, I fully support the State of Israel in her quest for peace, and in her right to defend herself. Jodie Cutter.

Two major events occurred in the past week regarding Israel and Palestine that impact the resolution of the conflict in the Middle East via a “two-state solution”. The first was a vote by the United Nations last Thursday to grant Palestine “non-member observer status”. Then, the following day, the Israeli government announced that it will be constructing 3,000 new housing units just east of East Jerusalem, in an area known as the E-1 corridor.

Just what exactly is “The Two State” solution? It would be the creation of two independent states in the Middle East, Israel and Palestine. For thousands of years, these two nations have fought over who should occupy and rule the land now known as Israel.

Map: The tiny country of Israel, shown in green bordering the Mediterranean Sea, has been the center of controversy in the Middle East since biblical times.

In 1948, Israel was approved by the United Nations as a sovereign Jewish State. This decree displaced thousands of Palestinians who had also called this land their home. While the United Nations General Assembly did vote to create Israel as a Jewish state 33-13, all of the Arab countries opposed this move.

In an attempt to pacify the displaced Palestinians, the U.N. created a Partition Plan for Palestine in 1948, which would allow Palestinians to remain living in parts of Israel. The parts are shown in yellow in the map below.

The parts awarded to the Palestinians include the Gaza Strip, the West Bank (so named because it is the west bank of the Jordan River), and a section of East Jerusalem. The Golan Heights, previously a part of Syria, has been occupied by Israel since 1967.

This vote to elevate Palestine to non-member observer status happened to occur on the 65^th anniversary of the U.N. voting to declare Israel a state. While non-member observer status does not elevate Palestine to full statehood, many Arabs view it as a positive step by the world’s nations toward being recognized as a legitimate state.

In his speech to the General Assembly, Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas said, “we do not seek to delegitimize an existing state—that is Israel; but rather to assert the state that must be realized—that is Palestine.”

Among the nine nations opposing this move were Israel, the U.S., and Canada. It is important to note here that the United States, along with Canada, who usually votes with the United States, are the only major members of the United Nations to support Israel in opposing the vote on Palestinian Statehood. The U.S and Israel both sharply criticized the vote, saying it was “counterproductive” and “unfortunate” and would only hinder the peace process.

Photo: In casting a “no” vote for Palestinian non-member observer status, U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Susan Rice said, “This resolution does not establish that Palestine is a state”.

Then, last Friday, the Israeli government announced that it would immediately begin construction on new settlements in a controversial area of East Jerusalem known as E-1. While some people maintain that the timing of this announcement comes as a coincidence, others contend that the announcement is a form of retaliation for the U.N. vote on Palestine. Click here to read more from the New York Times. As part of its demands, Palestine has long asked for a part of East Jerusalem to be handed over in order to make it the capital of the Palestinian nation they hope to someday have. If Israel builds settlements in E-1, then this can never happen.

This map shows the Israeli-occupied areas, in light blue. E-1 would effectively join the Israeli settlement of Ma’Ale Adumin with East Jerusalem.

Secondly, by building in E-1, Israel would be connecting scattered Israeli settlements in the West Bank, thereby separating the two Palestinian halves of the West Bank from each other. This would make the creation of a Palestinian state extremely difficult, given that Palestinian settlements in the West Bank would no longer be contiguous.

Photo: A settler looks from the proposed E-1 building site toward the existing Israeli city of Ma’ale Adumim.

The United States condemned the proposed construction of new settlements in E-1. A spokesman for the National Security Council, Tommy Vietor, said. “We believe these actions are counterproductive and make it harder to resume direct negotiations or achieve a two-state solution.” Secretary of State Hillary Clinton concurred, saying, ““These activities set back the cause of a negotiated peace.” Even former Presidents George W. Bush, a long time friend to Israel, and Bill Clinton objected to settlements in this area during their presidencies.

The Palestinian government released a statement saying, “At a moment where the Palestinian leadership is doing every single effort to save the two-state solution, the Israeli government does everything possible to destroy it.” In response, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said, “No Palestinian state will exist without a declaration of an end to hostilities, and no Palestinian state will exist without real security arrangements that will protect the State of Israel and its citizens. None of these things are remotely mentioned in the Palestinian petition to the U.N.” What Israel wants in this region, like the U.S., is a solution for lasting peace.

Vocabulary:

sovereign

pacify

legitimate

assert

retaliation

contiguous

concur

imminent

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