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ISSUE 2 VOLUME 1 SUMMER 2021
Mission Statement Founded in 2020 Fenjan is the University of Pennsylvania s premiere journal on the Middle East Through non partisan quarterly issues Fenjan is dedicated to increasing empathy for and understanding of the Middle East among the Penn Community Our written and visual work covers countries commonly recognized as part of the MENA region We welcome people of every cultural identifier and background Editorial Board Editors Editors in Chief Advisory Board Marissa Ephron 22 Zeynep Karadeniz 22 C Brian Rose Ali Hamandi 22 Laila Shadid 23 James B Pritchard Pro Nadia Mokhallalati 23 Alex Norris 22 Managing Editor Bruce Shen 24 Ali Osman 22 Zaid Tabaza 24 Ece Yildirim 23 Donya Zarrinnegar 22 Contributing Writers Yasmin Abdul Razak 24 Emre Duvenci 24 Erim Murat 24 Tara Yazdan Panah 22 Zane Pasha 24 fessor of Archaeology John Ghazvinian Interim Director of the Media Editor Middle East Center at Iman Syed 23 Penn Design Team Feride Hatiboglu Abdel Hubbi 23 Yasmine Mezoury 23 Copy Editor Anika Prakash 23 Lecturer of Turkish Language Turkish Program Coordinator Robert Vitalis Professor of Political Science Former Director Ben Winer 23 of the Middle East Center Thanks Special thanks to the Middle East Center at Penn for making this publication possible with their funding and support Contact Us Discover More upennfenjan gmail com upennfenjan www fenjanupenn com Fenjan The Middle East Journal upennfenjan Cover art and design by Abdel Hubbi The views expressed in each individual piece are independent of Fenjan and do not necessarily represent the views of the editorial board or the University of Pennsylvania 1 2
05 My Grandfather An Israeli Force Unto Himself 11 When in Iran 15 19 3 Reframing The Conflict Social Media Activism s Impact on the Israel Palestine Narrative Al Qaeda s Failed Migration to Electonic 25 Jihad and Twitter Propaganda The Kafala System State Sanctioned 27 Violence Against Migrant Workers Israel United States 33 Works Cited 4
My Grandfather An Israeli Force Unto Himself By Ben Winer My grandfather Emanuel Halevi Winer grew up in a tiny impoverished apartment on Yona Hanavi Street in Tel Aviv Israel a stone s throw away from Gordon Beach a popular destination today for tourists and locals seeking to enjoy the fresh breeze off the Mediterranean coast and bask in the pleasant heat of the comforting sun On a typical afternoon sunbathers surfers volleyball players and Matkot players overwhelm the beach to relish in a moment of leisure Seventy years ago the beach scene was a bit sparser but still a precious spot for rest and tranquility My grandfather however didn t have much time for either instead he saw the sea as an economic opportunity He used the rocky tides of the ocean to fund his teenage adventures which he achieved through ingenuity ambition and sheer force of will Foreign businessmen were attracted to the Israeli coast to trade with Arab merchants selling renowned oranges grown in the nearby Jaffa port Over time the area became an economic hub for commerce more generally Merchant vessels would sail close to the port and when transferring their goods from cargo ships onto smaller tugboats unwieldy commodities like lumber would sometimes fall into the ocean and float on the water s surface Instead of building sandcastles and burying themselves in the sand like typical ten year olds my grandfather and his friends were opportunists swimming miles off the coast to collect anything of value that could be salvaged and resold When I ask my grandfather if he was the fastest swimmer among his peers he tells me in his thick Israeli accent Near the shore there were rolling valleys of sand and water and because my friend Ezri wasn t a good swimmer he would hold onto my hips and go for a ride through the deep water channels when we got tired we would lay on our backs But yes I was a good swimmer After mentioning Ezri my grandfather digresses to tell me how their friendship started Ezri s family his parents and seven siblings moved from Romania to Israel and lived in a oneroom flat smaller than my grandfather s apartment When Ezri first moved to the neighborhood I walked up to him on the street and punched him my grandfather says When Ezri asked me Why did you punch me I answered Just so that you know who is the boss around here Seventy years later Ezri and my grandfather don t go a day with5 My grandfather Emanuel Halevi Winer 6
out speaking to one another They are the best of friends and my grandfather reassures me that no one else ever laid a hand on Ezri while he was around Like many young idealistic Jews at the turn of the 20th century Emanuel s father my great grandfather Yitzhak moved alone as a teenager from his home in Bialystok Russia to Tel Aviv to fulfill his dream of making a life in his people s ancient homeland the Land of Israel A bright and intellectual mind Yitzhak began working as a freelance journalist when Israel was still under British control and even attempted to establish his own political journal Yitzhak was a follower of Ze ev Jabotinsky a prominent leader of the Zionist right wing revisionist movement This made work for Yitzhak difficult in the predominately left wing culture of Zionist journalism even landing him in a British jail in Acre As a result for most of his life he worked as a government administrator cataloging Israeli imports and exports a job that was just capable of putting food on the table and paying for rent for his small family Later in his life he served as the personal secretary to Chaim Nahman Bialik Israel s great est national poet As an only child my grandfather did not take part in nor celebrate these dramatic exploits When he was only ten years old his mother passed away from brain cancer Embittered by this terrible loss Yitzhak was very harsh on my grandfather even though he was his only remaining treasure in life and told him this many times When Yitzhak got angry and yelled at my grandfather all the neighborhood kids would run to help Yet despite these traumatic encounters my grandfather describes his relationship with his father as one of unbounded love In school my grandfather enjoyed math physics and chemistry but his free spirited and irrepressible nature made cooperation with his teachers difficult He recalls a frequent interaction he had with his elementary school teacher Halevi do you want to stay in the classroom and behave or should I send you outside And if the weather was nice he would say I think I ll go outside On one occasion the teacher was so offensive and insulting that my grandfather punched him right in the face Despite the troubles he faced as a 7 was killed in a bombing by an Egyptian plane on a bus station My grandfather himself had to dodge bullets fired by local Arab snipers perched in the minarets of Jaffa on more than one occasion As a teenager my grandfather developed a passion for aeronautical engineering When the time came for his mandatory military service he enrolled in the Air Force Academy where he studied to become an airplane mechanic But his experience in the military was not merely academic once again he saw wars up close and personal In 1956 Israel and Egypt re engaged militarily in what became known as the Suez Canal Crisis during which the Israeli Air Force patrolled the skies over Israel and the Sinai Peninsula My grandfather was stationed at a makeshift young child my grandfather tells me that his childhood was romantic and that he still thinks about it often When he wasn t scrapping debris in the ocean he spent his time playing soccer watching weddings on the beach and listening to music played in the nearby cafes When Israel declared its independence in 1948 my grandfather recalls dancing in the streets with thousands of other Israelis from all walks of life Not a day later the Arab Israeli War of 1948 broke out Egyptian planes flew over Tel Aviv dropping bombs just meters from his apartment building and when my grandfather hid in the bomb shelter his father would strangely go to the rooftop to watch the events unfold The casualties of the war became personal to my grandfather when his close friend s sister 8
air base in the Egyptian city of Ras Sedr located on the coast of the Gulf of Suez One dark night while on duty over the weekend he decided to taxi a plane from the airfield back to the hangar without permission because he thought it would be fun however he failed to see a tall metal post sticking out of the ground near the hangar and the plane s wing crashed right into the post He knew that if the plane wasn t fixed by Monday he would face severe punishment from his superior so he enlisted a buddy who was a mechanic to patch a deep gash in the wing successfully restoring the plane by the end of the weekend With complete insouciance he also recounted another day when he and his military friends looted abandoned civilian homes in Ras Sedr His excuse Everyone was doing it In the late 1950s Israel faced its worst economic depression as hyperinflation and unemployment plagued the country Looking for more opportunities in life my grandfather emigrated to the United States in 1960 at the age of 23 He only notified hisfriends of his decision the night before he left He remembers spending his last night in Israel with his father both crying in anticipation of his departure He would not see his father again for many years My grandfather arrived in the United States on a student visa where he was enrolled in a Yeshiva an Orthodox in 9 stitution for boys to study Jewish law and bible A secular Israeli through and through my grandfather s appearance perplexed the immigration officer who expected to see him wearing a Kippahhead covering and Tzitzit fringes and therefore doubted the sincerity of his spiritual beliefs What you can t see is what s in my heart was my grandfather s response For his first few years in America my grandfather lived with his uncle an Orthodox Rabbi in the Bronx and found work in the Schmatta rags manufacturing business a common occupation for new immigrants He then worked as a plumbing manufacturer a synthetic fiber dye technician in a clothing shop and a busboy in a hotel kitchen While taking a vacation at the Laurel Country Club in the famed Catskill Mountain resorts of New York where all the nice Jewish boys went to find nice Jewish girls he met someone who asked him how much he was making a week 125 he said The man said that he would match that salary if my grandfather came with him immediately to 10 work for Albee Homes a Jewish owned home building company operating in the Midwest Seeing the man with a Cadillac my grandfather jumped into the car moved to Youngstown Ohio and never looked back Before leaving the Catskills however he got the phone number of a young lady from Cleveland whom he stumbled upon while wandering near a parking lot Five years later they were married My grandfather spent over 40 years selling and building homes across the Midwest He started as a salesman pitching sales at model homes and gradually moved into the home building business He started his own company and built his own house in Dayton Ohio where my father aunt and uncle grew up Today my 84 yearold grandfather lives in Sunny Isles Beach Florida a stone s throw away from Miami Beach He enjoys swimming in the pool watching the Israeli news channel playing Texas Hold Em in the casino and talking daily with his childhood friends who still live in Israel He occasionally visits the beach but
nothing can match his teenage days on Gordon Beach in Tel Aviv When I asked my grandfather if he would be comfortable with me doing an interview and writing a short biography about him he said I don t know why you would want to interview me but of course To me the reason is simple he is the most interesting man in the world and I am proud to share his story He is my hero and inspiration in life His sto ries encourage me to set ambitious goals and achieve them with the same ingenuity and work ethic that took my grandfather from the shores of Tel Aviv to Ras Sedr New York Ohio and Florida He is a man of courage resolve savvy and ambition Emanuel Halevi Winer was cut from a mold that no longer exists By sharing his story I hope to rejuvenate this spirit 11 12
When in Iran By Tara Yazdan Panah After over four years of being away from my family in Iran I finally had the opportunity to once again visit my homeland in May 2021 Vaccinated and feeling comfortable enough to travel I boarded an Emirates flight to Tehran as soon as the semester ended After landing in Imam Khomeini Airport we first went to Qom my family s hometown Located around two hours away from Tehran Qom is known as the birthplace of the Iranian Revolution While we were there we stayed with my 91 yearold grandma who mashallah still had the energy to prepare ab goosht a classic dish of lamb beans and potatoes cooked in a tomato broth My heart had ached for her and I was incredibly grateful for our reunion While family was my primary reason for visiting Iran nostalgia and exploration were no small part of the trip I missed the tight knit community that made every interaction no matter how mundane feel special In the mornings my mom and I would walk together to the local produce shop bakery and convenience store to buy fresh ingredients for our meals These simple transactions felt more personal to me in Iran than in the United States The same people have served the same community for decades and you know exactly where your food comes from and the stories of the peo ple who are selling it to you At the end of every transaction a shopkeeper will say Ghabel nadare which means Be my guest The custom is to decline the offer of free merchandise however and instead insist on a fair price for the shopkeeper Since the last time I visited Qom many new attractions had popped up One restaurant the Yazdanpanah Historical House was particularly special to me During the Qajar and Pahlavi periods it was the home of one of my ancestors captured by our shared name Since then it has been renovated and preserved as a historical traditional restaurant At the restaurant my mom and I shared a piece of joojeh chicken kabob saffron rice a plate of fresh herbs and marinated olives A few days later I traveled to Tehran with my mother and grandmother to visit other family members and of course do some sightseeing With Covid 19 case rates still high in Iran many attractions and sites were closed but we still made the most of our time We went out to restaurants and caf s including Caf Naderi Iran s oldest cafe that was popular among some of Iran s most famous 20th century artists and writers such as Sadegh Hedayat and Jamal al Ahmad We visited the Tabriz Bazaar Tehran s largest bazaar that boasts 13 14
an array of merchandise such as rugs copper pots spices and fruit There I bought chesm o nazars evil eyes for my friends back home We then took a trip up to Darband a place I have many fond memories of from my childhood Darband is a neighborhood carved into Tehran s mountains where many locals love to hike get fresh air play backgammon smoke hookah and eat kabobs On our last day we visited the historical home of Dr Hesabi one of Iran s most famous engineers and architects The home has now been transformed to an open air art museum displaying small scale replicas of famous Iranian landmarks and a restaurant that serves Iranian and European foods Beyond seeing my family and visiting the country s sights I missed the friendliness of Iranians striking up conversations with random strangers talking about our struggles and national politics and exchanging numbers in the hope that we would one day see each other again Within a few minutes of meeting we cried with a glassware shopkeeper who told us about his children that were kicked out of university 15 for participating in the 2009 protests he looked at me and told me that my generation was his only hope for change We had another memorable exchange with a Kurdish man in line at the bank who described to us his hope for a free Kurdistan and later unprompted offered us a free washing machine from his appliance store which we politely declined After three weeks our trip came to an end but I longed to stay I tearfully said goodbye to my family and flew back to San Diego On the bright side I know that Iran will always be waiting for me I would recommend that any lover of history beautiful architecture and delicious cuisine visit Iran at least once in their lives Many Americans do not realize that visiting Iran is an option while the Visa process may take longer than a trip to Europe the wait is undoubtedly worth it Visiting Iran is an opportunity to change your perspective on the country contrary to popular belief Iranians welcome American visitors with open arms and traveling through the country is incredibly safe I am counting down the days until I can visit Iran once more 16
Reframing The Conflict Social Media Activism s Impact on the IsraelPalestine Narrative By Zane Pasha This May Israeli forces brutalized Palestinians during invasions at the Al Aqsa Mosque forced evictions in East Jerusalem and relentless bombings of the Gaza Strip over several weeks 1 2 The global community s response varied along the political spectrum many on the left expressed solidarity with the Palestinian people while those on the right largely reaffirmed their support for Israel s limitless violence on the basis of Palestinian terrorism 3 4 Today the crisis in Israel Palestine is no closer to resolution Both the occupation and Israel s egregious human rights abuses have not yet ceased however this summer marked the first time in several years that the Israeli Palestinian conflict garnered extensive media coverage worldwide 5 Notably social media played a significant role in allowing Palestinians to share their perspectives and thus have a say in shaping the Israel Palestine narrative 6 Last summer the rise of social media activism surrounding the Black Lives Matter movement and police violence against Black Americans had an undeniable impact on issues of racist policing and racism in general Millions of people demanded change at protests in cities across the globe 7 In the United States we have indeed seen progress in policy reform mainly at the local level 8 but the shift in public opinion is perhaps the most consequential A June 2020 poll found that the number of Americans who view racial and ethnic discrimination as a big problem rose to over 75 percent from just 51 percent in 2015 9 A year later social media became a platform to share news and images of the violence in the Israeli Palestinian region as well as a tool for digital organizing among Palestinian activists and their supporters Although the mainstream Western media remains solidly pro Israel there has been a promising shift in the public and political discourse around this issue This summer arguably because of social media activism a substantial number of people in the West were willing to consider and support the Palestinian cause after decades of Israeli propaganda effectively controlling the framing of the conflict 10 11 Unlike broadcast television which is controlled by political and commercial elites social media allows ordinary Palestinians to share their stories and 17 18
broadcast footage of events as they occur 12 Knowing that this kind of information sharing can be impactful the Israeli government colluded with social media companies to restrict and remove pro Palestinian content 12 13 Despite Israel s censorship efforts numerous users on apps such as Twitter Instagram and TikTok were able to call attention to the forced evictions in Sheikh Jarrah and Jerusalem the devastating bombings in Gaza and the general plight of Palestinians living under occupation 6 Furthermore celebrities such as Bella and Gigi Hadid who are Palestinian themselves and Dua Lipa publicly declared their support for Palestinians on social media 14 Taking into account their collective 180 million followers on Instagram one can imagine the influence of their posts on Palestine Shortly after posting these three women were accused of antisemitism in a full page advertisement in The New York Times 15 Unsurprisingly the ad was paid for by the World Values Network a nonprofit that aims to promote and defend the state of Israel 16 Dua Lipa strongly condemned the smear attempt saying the organization was shamelessly using her name to advance their ugly campaign She and the Hadids refused to let this deter them from using their voices to raise awareness for the Palestinian cause In an Instagram post with 1 24 million likes Bella Hadid said I won t stop talking about the systemic oppression pain and humility that Palestinians face on a regular basis 15 17 Although US opinion polls from recent years have indicated steadily increasing support for Palestinians people who publicly speak out on their behalf or condemn the Israeli government for its well documented human rights abuses have routinely been labeled antisemitic and thereby denounced and silenced 18 19 20 Thus these celebrities 19 fearless response to the backlash they faced does not bode well for Israel s public diplomacy strategy known in Hebrew as hasbara 21 Hasbara is the investment of massive amounts of time and effort into polishing Israel s external image and hiring well groomed and articulate representatives to speak on behalf of their government 22 These PR campaigns depend upon portraying Israel as a victim of a perpetual terrorist threat an innocent actor in a sea of Arab aggressors In addition to the self defense justification the Israeli state s most common tactic has been to link any criticism of Israeli policies whether it s human rights violations or illegal colonisation of Palestinian land to anti Semitism 21 Not long ago most would not dare to use the word apartheid to describe the situation in Israel Palestine This has recently changed in part because of the widespread attention that the Palestinian cause has received 11 On May 15 U S Representative Alexandria Ocasio Cortez tweeted Apartheid states aren t democracies referencing Israel s human rights violations in the days prior The tweet received over 320 000 likes and AOC was joined by other members of the Squad in calling out Israeli apartheid 23 Moreover videos with the hashtag apartheidisrael currently have a combined 4 6 million views on TikTok This development was not limited to social media however In fact 25 percent of American Jews once a staunchly pro Israel demographic now believe that Israel is an apartheid state according to a July poll 24 The Palestinian solidarity movement s latest strides are much more than just words and posts online Many millennials and members of Generation Z who participated in the racial reckoning and Black Lives Matter protests last year wanted to take action to support Palestinians as well Thousands of people gathered for pro Palestinian protests in cities across the U S and around the world 25 Organizing efforts fueled by youth groups such as the Boycott Divestment and Sanctions BDS movement also gained traction In the past any endorsement of BDS would likely have been targeted and labeled antisemitic by pro Israel organizations and the media but advocating for BDS is another measure that has moved further into the mainstream in recent months Aside from the hundreds of thousands of Instagram posts tagged BDS the call to action has reached teacher unions in San Francisco Seattle and Los Angeles who voted to endorse boycotts of Israel 26 Long championed as a business with progressive values popular ice cream company Ben and Jerry s has spoken out in favor of left leaning stances on many issues such as racial injustice climate justice and criminal justice reform 27 Many people took note of Ben and Jerry s silence following the escalation of violence in Palestine however Ben and Jerry s was heavily scrutinized by the Palestinian solidarity movement for their hypocrisy in taking a stand on numerous progressive issues except for Palestinian rights 28 Likely due to the extensive criticism they faced on social media Ben and Jerry s broke their silence in July 2021 We believe it is inconsistent with our values for Ben Jerry s ice cream to be sold in the Occupied Palestinian Territory OPT We also hear and recognize the concerns shared with us by our fans and trusted partners 29 Ben and Jerry s recognized the occupation of Palestinian territories as unlawful and pledged to stop selling their ice cream in Israeli settlements in the West Bank where Palestinian homes are regularly invaded and demolished by Israeli forces and settlement organizations 30 Though this step by Ben and Jerry s does not come close to meeting the demands of BDS nor the expectations of Palestinians and their allies Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett has vowed to act aggressively against the decision 31 Israel s Ambassador to the U S and the United Nations Gilad Erdan urged American governors to speak out against the boycott which he described as the de facto adoption of anti Semitic practices and advancement of the de legitimization of the Jewish state and the dehumanization of the Jewish people 32 Ben and Jerry s decision is simply a protest against Israel s human rights abuses but the Israeli government s extreme response reveals their anxiety about the changing landscape and their loss of total control over the framing of the conflict It is clear that the Israel Palestine narrative has evolved Social media activism has made many people aware of and outraged by Israel s flagrant violations of international law and Palestinians basic human rights As media attention dwindles however it is imperative that we do not disengage and become complacent The horrors of the occupation and apartheid in Israel Palestine cannot stay hidden We must continue watching Sheikh Jarrah and other Palestinian communities facing expulsion and we must continue taking action and demanding change This summer Israel s war crimes were met with some of the largest protests in the history of the Palestinian liberation movement and more people than ever were willing to publicly declare their support for Palestine 33 Those in solidarity with Palestinians should be encouraged by this shift but it is up to us to ensure that this progress persists 20
Al Qaeda s Failed Migration to Electronic Jihad and Twitter Propaganda By Taylor Nelson Beginning in the early 2000s terrorist groups like Al Qaeda expanded their propaganda to the virtual world With the rise of the Internet these groups could use blog sites internet forums and other webpages to send messages and recruit supporters Today many terrorist groups seek to broadcast their messages to even wider audiences through social media and Al Qaeda is no exception That being said however Al Qaeda has not found success in their social media efforts in the same way as groups like the Islamic State ISIS Al Qaeda lacks social media savvy compared to other jihadist groups and their inefficient use of social media is also a reflection of their declining operational capabilities leadership challenges and organizational problems Al Qaeda has not seen the same levels of buy in from social media recruitment and propaganda particularly on Twitter that other terrorist groups like ISIS have Setting the Stage for Al Qaeda s Twitter Propaganda Since its inception as a terrorist group Al Qaeda has adapted to challenges over the years This of course also applies to Al Qaeda s online propaganda however Al Qaeda s migration from physical space to cyberspace was not as seamless as the migration of Osama Bin Laden 1957 2011 to Sudan in the 1990s This process occurred over many years eventually leading to the development of social media propaganda such as that found on Twitter While it is difficult to pinpoint Al Qaeda s emergence on Twitter it appears that it occurred during 2010 The Ansarullah blog launched a Twitter account in October 2010 titled Ansaruddin Although there might have been others like Ansaruddin in 2010 it was the only account particularly active in generating tweets that distributed Al Qaeda propaganda The account also followed other jihadist groups Of course this was not an official Al Qae 21 da sanctioned Twitter account but it is important because it seems to be the first instance where content promoting Al Qaeda was known to circulate on Twitter In December 2011 Harakat AlShabaab Al Mujahideen otherwise known as Al Shabaab a group that would later become an affiliate of Al Qaeda in February 2012 posted their first official tweet under the handle HSMPress The tweet Bismillahi Rahmani I Rahim translated as In the name of God the merciful invoked a Koranic phrase often used when starting new and serious ventures Thus Al Qaeda s official presence reached Twitter in 2011 with representation from Al Shabaab Twitter shut down this account in January 2013 but just two weeks later Al Shabaab set up a new account and resumed tweeting In March 2013 Al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb AQIM created their first official Twitter profile using the handle Andalus_Media Al Qaeda verified the account about twelve days later on a jihadist forum By that point Al Qaeda had established their roots in the Twitter network The Impact of Al Qaeda s Electronic Jihad on Twitter While organizations such as AlShabaab and AQIM were first able to establish their accounts in 2013 by 2016 Twitter continued shutting down more accounts making it difficult to share content For example Twitter suspended AQIM s account nine months after it was created By 2016 Twitter became even more vigilant in suspending terror related accounts throughoutt 2016 Twitter suspended over 235 000 accounts that promoted terrorism many of which were undoubtedly related to Al Qaeda In addition Twitter suspended the accounts of Al Qaeda s spiritual leader Abu Qatada and two other influential scholars Despite these suspensions Al Qaeda still utilizes Twitter to incite violence link to content containing terror training recruit more followers gain new funding and issue statements Groups like Al Qaeda use Twitter to encourage violence Many of Al Qaeda s communications are designed to encourage lone followers to carry out operations in their name By publicly applauding the actions of lone wolves such as the Boston Bombers and other extremists Al Qaeda helps online sym22 pathizers feel connected to the larger jihadist movement Al Qaeda uses Twitter to link to training content that leads to terror operations For example Al Qaeda based affiliates link to external websites forums and even YouTube where followers can see videos and documents about weaponry explosives and terror tactics Al Qaeda affiliates differ in their content for example the majority of Al Shabaab tweets during 2013 did not link to external websites YouTube or contain any images The case of Jabhat al Nusra JN an affiliate of Al Qaeda in Syria until their split in 2016 is different however In 2013 while JN was still an affiliate of Al Qaeda thousands of their tweets contained links to YouTube and websites ensuring thousands of views These videos were also used as a tool for recruitment Recruitment is one of the primary reasons behind Al Qaeda s Twitter usage Al Qaeda s recruitment process via the internet follows a bottom up strategy in which sympathizers who are predisposed to be affected by propaganda perhaps indoctrinate themselves
Today many terrorist groups seek to broadcast their messages to even wider audiences through social media and Al Qaeda is no exception endeavors Enter Twitter which allows funds to be more easily diverted to Al Qaeda front organizations Twitter also enables Al Qaeda to mobilize crowdfunding from sympathizers for their activities While Twitter allows for private donations from Al Qaeda s followers it also enables content and external link sharing to websites which sell inspirational tracts advocacy literature audio cassettes videos CDs and other iconic paraphernalia All of these methods allow more money to reach Al Qaeda s pockets From terror financing to recruiting to training to inciting violence Twitter has a great deal to offer Al Qaeda To truly understand Al Qaeda s Twitter capacity one must compare it to the success of other terror groups such as ISIS through repeated exposure to these sites and videos Twitter has expanded Al Qaeda s geographic and demographic reach bringing radicalization directly to the user Twitter also enables expatriates of Middle Eastern and African countries to see Al Qaeda s presence which motivates them to fight jihad in their country of origin Many would not see these messages if they were solely on an Al Qaeda website but Twitter s far reach exposes otherwise protected users to such campaigns When it comes to terror financing militant Islamist organizations typically raise funds through private donations gathering revenue from charities and other religious institutions Since terror funds are outlawed however Al Qaeda utilizes money laundering and has sought out new methods to finance their 23 ISIS and Al Qaeda on Twitter A Comparison ISIS propaganda strategy uses opposing themes of brutality and utopianism The glorification of extreme violence and brutality is a tactic that ISIS uses to showcase their strength Twitter is also a means to bypass media outlets that do not share graphic content which is why ISIS uses it to post screenshots and other propaganda On the other hand ISIS uses Twitter to demonstrate how people living under their control live normal happy lives For example propaganda videos show doctors treating children or people shopping at markets This utopian offer is alluring to new recruits Thus ISIS sophisticated strategy is just one reason why it has been successful in winning over hearts and minds through propaganda ISIS better uses technology to build their brand For example through the use of custom apps to bolster their visibility Beyond their vast twitter network ISIS uses bots and twitter hashtag bombs to gain more impressions While it appears that ISIS has maximized their online presence there is no evidence of Al Qaeda ever using such sophisticated technology to bolster their propaganda network Whereas ISIS is intent on publicly boasting their victories Al Qaeda s strategy involves a far lower profile For example Al Qaeda has sought to obscure their connections with militant groups This applies to their Twitter operations as well While a less prominent social media presence might mean less success in recruitment and incitement it also benefits the terrorist organization In June 2015 U S Air Force personnel were combing through social media and found an ISIS fighter bragging about command and control capabilities even posting a selfie of his location Less than a day later the Air Force bombed the entire building to dust By the numbers Al Qaeda and their affiliates tweet far less than ISIS and their affiliates While volume of propaganda is not necessarily an indication of success more posts allow for greater access to visuals and thereby more recruits When ISIS is compared to either AQIM or Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula AQAP ISIS still produces far more propaganda per week In just one week in 2015 ISIS issued 141 propaganda posts conversely AQIM achieved this same number over A custom developed app called Dawn of Glad Tidings allows IS to send out centrally written tweets through their accounts Released simultaneously the messages swamp social media and extend IS s online presence much further than normal In addition to centralized Twitter accounts provincial accounts publish live feeds about local IS operations Also an online fan club of thousands of IS supporters retweets its hashtags and translates messages from Arabic to Western languages 24
the span of a year and none of the content was comparable in terms of quality and impact While ISIS has a more sophisticated propaganda strategy and a larger network than Al Qaeda the content of their propaganda is simpler A study released in 2017 found that less complex communication similar to ISIS style of communication is more effective for groups and organizations seeking to gain power and political success Thus although ISIS online propaganda tactics are more complicated their content is easier to understand The key lies in understanding why Al Qaeda has fallen behind There are a few reasons why Al Qaeda s Twitter capabilities have not enjoyed the same level of success as ISIS firstly Al Qaeda s lack of social media knowhow In 2013 an Al Qaeda Twitter account asked followers for suggestions on public relations and media development ideas This attempt backfired with many users offering satirical advice suggesting that Al Qaeda should release cat videos and sell Osama bin Laden s pornography collection on eBay The account was eventually suspended by Twitter Al Qaeda s Twitter propaganda has suffered in their general lack of resources and lack of solid leadership pushing the organization and their affiliates to truly integrate electronic jihad as ISIS has In fact much of the recent literature on Al Qaeda has emphasized their leadership challenges organizational problems and overall decline both before and after the rise of ISIS This suggests that Al Qaeda s organizational decline can explain in part why their Twitter propaganda has not seen success similar to ISIS With the threat of radicalization both globally and domestically terrorism will not disappear anytime soon Years ago parents had little concern that a child may see egregious content at the hands of terrorists but ISIS and Al Qaeda s increased social media presence especially on Twitter ensures that violence is broadcast to thousands across the internet daily Twitter enables these groups to expand their organizations globally which they will continue to take advantage of Despite the number of account suspensions they have seen throughout the years new accounts will be created and new ideologies will be propagated Like other social media platforms Twitter has unwittingly become a host for the spread of dangerous ideologies across the world all with the click of a button 25 Twitter has unwittingly become a host for the spread of dangerous ideologies across the world all with the click of a button 26
The Kafala System State Sanctioned Violence Against Migrant Workers By Yasmin Abdul Razak Hidden behind a structure of work sponsorship for foreign nationals many Gulf and other Middle Eastern countries practice a form of state sanctioned violence against migrant workers The Kafala system derived from the Arabic word for sponsor kafeel is the regulation of labor migrants by private sponsorship in Middle Eastern and Gulf Cooperation Council GCC states Under this structure an individual s work visa and residency permit are bound to an employer who has almost complete control over their workers The history of the Kafala system traces back to the 1950s when Gulf countries needed a large supply of workers to support their infrastructure projects relating to the oil industry Since migrant workers could be paid less and had little agency under the Kafala system the Gulf countries were able to adjust their workforce according to economic fluctuations This system has remained in place in most Gulf countries today Over the past few decades there have been numerous cases of abuse and exploitation under the Kafala system Workers under the Kafala system face poor working conditions with restricted movement and occupational mobility For example workers must have their sponsors permission to switch jobs or enter and exit the country When migrant workers are treated poorly they often abscond leaving hurriedly and secretly and causing them to be considered of illegal and undocumented status When employees are accused of absconding they face severe repercussions in losing their legal status and visa as a foreign worker Workers are frequently trapped in the host country since their passports are often confiscated by their employers An Amnesty International report found that out of every 32 migrant workers that were interviewed only five were allowed to keep their passports The lack of employee mobility and agency is a serious human rights concern that can only be tackled by dismantling the Kafala system The exploitation faced by migrant workers is also laced with racial and gender based violence Darker skinned South Asian and African workers face a higher level of discrimination by employers For example one migrant worker in Lebanon Ms Nyambura reported that her employers called her slave because she was African and deprived her of payment for months The majority of domestic workers who perform household duties are women Amnesty 27 International revealed that female domestic migrant workers reported physical abuse by their employers in the form of choking hair pulling and having their heads slammed against the wall Furthermore female domestic migrant workers who are sexually abused risk facing imprisonment under zina laws in countries such as Kuwait and Qatar Zina laws punish victims of sexual assault or those practicing premarital sex As a result of this law female domestic migrant workers who are sexually assaulted by their employers are less likely to report incidents to authorities Despite dismal working conditions under the Kafala system many migrant workers choose to remain with their employers because pay in these countries is typically higher than pay in their home countries A large portion of migrant workers pay under the Kafala system is sent home as remittance The Council on Foreign Relations CFR reported that the majority of remittance from countries employing the Kafala system goes to India Egypt and Pakistan with an estimated amount of 50 billion 20 billion and 14 billion respectively Such a high volume of remittance suggests that the majority of migrant workers send their wages home to support their families in their home countries In recent years a few countries have attempted to reform labor laws but these changes have lacked accountability In March 2021 Saudi Arabia introduced a law allowing employees under the Kafala system to change their jobs without their current employer s consent if they had already adhered to one year of contractual work This is only a minor improvement in the bigger picture of the Kafala system however The reforms still exclude workers on short term visas and migrant workers still face the prospect of fake absconsion charges by their employers In 2015 the Lebanese Ministry of Labor created a hotline for migrant workers to report abuse however there is no research suggesting that the hotline has been a safe and or reliable option for survivors of abuse The Kafala system is a decades old institution that must be delegitimized The poor working conditions lack of worker agency and domestic abuse suffered by migrant workers under the system essentially constitutes it as a form of modern slavery Though certain countries such as Saudi Arabia and Lebanon have attempted to reform labor laws to protect migrant workers rights the steps taken are not drastic enough to provide migrant workers with the freedom and basic human rights they deserve 28
Israel United States and the Rest of the West By Muhammad Ashar Khan Habib University Karachi 29 The nation state of Israel is often seen as a product of Western imperialism in the Muslim world It is widely suggested that the struggle for a Jewish state in the Middle East was used as a tool to perpetually cement Western hegemony in the Arab World Garry Leech an investigative journalist who has spent more than two decades in Colombia Cuba Venezuela and Palestine West Bank for example argues that the existence of Israel alludes to a continuation of colonialism in Palestine Similarly it is emphasized that the foundations of Israel are rooted in the Western colonial project that continues to subject the Palestinian people to military occupation land dispossession and unequal rights Furthermore contemporary pro Palestine activists claim that Western powers are blindly complicit in the physical and metaphorical erasure of Palestinians in the occupied territories of the West Bank and in Gaza While these claims hold historical relevance as underlined in this article it is important to analyze the changing trends in Western countries relationships with Israel Thus this article aims to contribute to foreign relations literature by introducing a nuanced understanding of the West s relationship with Israel by detailing the contrasting positions of the United States and Western European States with regard to Israel Palestine This article presents an analysis of foreign policy evidence and public polling data from different Western states revealing a contrast in approval of Israeli policies Moreover this article conceptualizes The West as an ideological strategic and trans geographic alliance of Europe and the United States 30 Conceptualizing The West and its historical relationship with the State of Israel After the Second World War the prospect of Soviet expansion threatened the United States interests in Europe which resulted in a U S alliance with Western European nations Later in 1949 this alliance materialized with the formation of NATO a twelve member security and geostrategic treaty committed to the idea of a free world The Soviets formed their own counter alliance under the Warsaw Pact in 1955 These alliances divided Europe into two blocs the Western bloc under the influence of the U S against the Eastern bloc under the influence of the Soviet Union Simultaneously the epochal end of the decade also marked a major change in the Arab world In 1947 the United Nations U N adopted resolution 181 II formalizing the partition of Mandatory Palestine into Arab Jewish and International territories Subsequently the Declaration of Independence of Israel on May 14 1948 led to the first Arab Israeli war The end of the war made one thing clear Israel was encircled by hostile Arab nations and thus required support from powerful states outside the Middle East The quest of forging new relationships was also confronted by the dilemma of choosing sides in the Cold War While Israeli leadership saw U S support and aid to its European allies as a lucrative opportunity the Israeli Prime Minister David Ben Gurion advocated non alignment to garner support from left leaning Zionists and keep all options open
In the following years however Israel slowly abandoned its policy of non alignment and increasingly became pro West due to the need of economic and military aid By the 1950s Israel was openly pro West and even proposed a strategic partnership with the U S as its front line ally in the Middle East Moreover warming relationships between the Soviet Union and Egypt under the leadership of Egyptian President Gamal Nasser also compelled Western powers to solidify their relationship with Israel Thus the U S not only increased its military support to Israel during this period but also persuaded Canada and France to follow suit Similarly Britain and France the two major European powers saw Israel as an important regional player and forged a tripartite alliance with Tel Aviv against Egypt s nationalization of the Suez Canal The three countries jointly invaded Egypt in 1956 leading to the Suez Crisis In the following decade Israel entered another round of confrontation with its neighboring Arab states During the Second Arab Israeli War of 1967 the Western powers once again supported Israel against the Arab states Simultaneously the Soviet s conviction that Israeli aggression against Arabs during the war was largely driven by Western interests further polarized the crisis making it an international issue Moscow s support for Arabs further cemented Israel s relationship with the West Similarly when joint Egypt Syrian forces attacked Israel in 1973 to regain their territories lost during the 1967 War the U S was quick to initiate a rescue mission for their ally This time however Arab States reacted by imposing an oil embargo on Western states supporting Israel in the war on October 17 1973 Among other reasons the embargo resulted in one of the greatest economic slumps since World War II in Western economies Dissuaded by the oil crises and the consequent recession of 1973 NATO allies demanded that the U S withdraw its support for Israel The U S nevertheless continued its support unimpeded even defying the concerns of other NATO member states Since then the U S has largely pushed European countries to the background of the conflict Conversely while the European states share Washington s conviction of Israel s right to a peaceful existence they have grown skeptical of Israel s internal policies Thus Tel Aviv only enjoys an ambiguous diplomatic leverage in Europe Israel s Relationship with the United States Analyzing the Past Present and Future The United States relationship with Israel trumps its diplomatic and military support to any other country Israel has been the largest annual recipient of direct U S economic and military aid since 1976 and the largest total recipient since World War II Since the 1970s Washington has vetoed more than 40 United Nations Security Council U N S C resolutions censuring Israel It was only once in 2016 when the U S abstained from vetoing a resolution condemning the Israeli annexation of the West Bank allowing the resolution to pass Washington s unrivaled support to Israel is also one of the primary reasons behind several territorial and diplomatic compromises Arabs have made since 1967 For example during the Camp David Accords sponsored by the U S in 1978 Israel was successful in deleting the inadmissibility of territories acquired by war provision from Resolution 242 thus compelling Egypt to vaguely accept Israeli autonomy in the West Bank Similarly during Oslo I and II 1993 95 not only did the Palestine Liberation Organization PLO fully accept resolutions 242 and 338 which called for the cessation of hostilities through a ceasefire along with the implementation of resolution 242 in all of its parts but 31 also ceded much of Palestinian land to Israel Since 1967 Israel has only relinquished its military presence from 30 percent of the Palestinian land promised in the U N Partition Plan of 1947 Furthermore in the early 21st century U S President George W Bush backed the Quartet s Road Map formulae sponsored by U N E U and Russia to end the conflict Instead of persuading Israel to halt its settlements in the West Bank however Washington focused its efforts on delivering Palestinian compliance with Israel s security demands Under the initiative a vote was held in Palestine to elect a new PNA governing body however Hamas an Islamist liberation party recognized by Western states as a terrorist organization bagged the victory As a result when Hamas assumed office in March 2006 the U S ended its ties with Palestine and also persuaded other Western countries to cut off funding to the Palestinian Authority jeopardizing the prospect of peace Then British Prime Minister Tony Blair later regretted this decision Blair admitted that instead of plainly boycotting under Israeli and U S insistence the international community along with the European leadership should have persuaded the Islamist faction to be a part of the peace dialogue The American relationship with Tel Aviv remained unaffected even with the arrival of a progressive president in 2009 Barack Obama actually increased military and diplomatic aid to Israel more than any of his predecessors Such unrivaled leverage certainly hinted toward strong lobbying by pro Israel organizations such as the American Israel Public Affairs Committee AIPAC and the Conference of Presidents of Major Jewish Organizations in the U S Nonetheless circumstances have changed in recent years Polarization in U S politics has reshaped public perceptions of Israel Recent studies indicate that Democratic Party supporters are becoming increasingly skeptical of the U S s unconditional support for Tel Aviv On the contrary Republican voters have become increasingly pro Israel Public polls show that only 26 percent of Democrats view the Israeli government favorably whereas Republicans come in at 60 percent Similarly nearly 66 percent of Democratic voters support placing economic sanctions on Israel to curb settlements in the West Bank while 76 percent of Republican voters think that the U S should do nothing Polls also reveal that 48 percent of Democratic voters even support the Boycott Divestment and Sanctions BDS movement against the Israeli government That being said an imminent change in U S policy towards Israel is not very likely This is because of the solid diplomatic foundations forged between the two countries during the Cold War If polarization continues however incoming Democrats to the White House might have to reconsider their positions under mounting public pressure Israel s Relations with the Rest of the West Contemporary Trends from Europe Israel is one of the primary trade partners of the E U in the Middle East The total trade between the E U and Israel amounted to 31 billion Euros in 2020 The E U has also long been supportive of Israel s right to existence This support is largely conditioned around the idea of a peaceful co existence between Israel and Palestine as encapsulated in the Berlin Declaration of 1999 In this regard the E U has pursued a policy of institutionalizing the Israel Palestine conflict under the U N while opposing recent Israeli settlements in the occupied Palestinian territories Similarly it has reiterated that no Bantustan like 32
arrangement which violates basic human rights shall be endorsed by the European states In July of last year the foreign ministers of France and Germany the two most influential E U member states demanded that Israel halt the annexation of the West Bank Subsequently Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu s announcement of his plan to formally annex the Jordan Valley and parts of the West Bank elicited widespread condemnation in Europe In Berlin Foreign Minister Heiko Maas warned that the move would jeopardize the prospect of peace in the Arab region Likewise more than a thousand lawmakers in parliaments across the E U condemned the annexation plan in a joint letter Correspondingly British Prime Minister Boris Johnson underlined that annexation would represent a violation of international law His words resonated with Britain s long standing commitment to the two state solution as a viable resolution of the conflict There have been a number of strong voices critical of Israel s policies in the U K Former Foreign Secretary Jack Straw for instance was among the most critical voices against U N S C s double standards regarding the condemnation of human rights violations in Israel as opposed to those in Iraq An overtly pro Israel stance is also often met with strong criticism from the public For example in October 2017 U K Aid Minister Priti Patel had to resign over allegations of secret meetings with Benjamin Netanyahu during her visit to Israel Studies and polls show that Britons are more sympathetic toward Palestine than toward Israel A plurality 38 percent to be exact also believes that in Israel one religious group dominates in politics and public affairs making it an oppres sive democratic state Public polls from E U member states reflect similar trends According to Pew Research more people in major European states hold favorable views regarding Palestine than Israel Similarly according to a report by the Middle East Monitor nearly two thirds of Europeans believe that Israel does not treat all religious groups equally They also believe that the armed Israeli response against Palestinians between 2008 and 2010 was illegal Differences in opinion between the U S and Western European states regarding Israel Palestine reveals a failure in the argument of Western Hegemony to recognize European support for Palestinians A nuanced analysis of these opposing stances indicates that European foreign policy is more in line with the two state solution advocated for by moderate factions of the Palestinian Authority than with the position of the hawks in Tel Aviv As discussed a number of European states along with the E U believe that the two state solution is the only long term solution for peace between Israel and Palestine Moreover drawing a clear distinction between the U S and European states in their support for Palestinian human rights may help advocates for Palestinian rights garner public support in Europe Consequently if such support is achieved it may become a potent tool against the U S s burgeoning support for Israel in Western diplomatic circles Likewise similar diplomatic leverage may be used to lobby against Israel s illegal settlements in the West Bank Recent trends and changing political dynamics suggest that young Democratic party voters are more likely to steer the party s position on the conflict toward Palestinian human rights 33 34
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Traveling it leaves you speechless then turns you into a storyteller Ibn Battuta Moroccan scholar 37