Kameel Majdali's Road Ahead

NOTE: on 3 October I gave a public lecture on the above topic. Many of my blog readers do not live in Melbourne or Australia so, for their sakes, I am providing a summary of the public lecture in three parts. This is Part 03, the final part.   PALESTINE @ THE UNITED NATIONS Many are wondering what is going to happen between Israel and Palestine since Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas asked for Palestinian statehood recognition from the United Nations, even in the absence of a peace agreement with Israel (which includes, among other things, recognized borders). The short answer: not much. The international community is mostly in agreement that the way to solve the Israel-Palestine conflict is by a ‘two-state solution.’ Two state means:   1.   Israel and Palestine will share the land between the Jordan River and the Mediterranean; this land measures 420 kilometers north to south and 100 kilometers east to west. 2.   The city of Jerusalem must be shared...

NOTE: on 3 October I gave a public lecture on the above topic. Many of my blog readers do not live in Melbourne or Australia so, for their sake, I am providing a summary of the public lecture in three parts. This is Part 02. With the uprising taking up most of 2011, what are some of the preliminary results across the Arab world? Arab Spring Report Card: Morocco: After protests, King Muhammad VI announced constitutional reforms which were voter approved in a national referendum. Parliamentary elections are due in November 2011. Pressure may be mounting to convert Morocco to a constitutional monarchy, such as is enjoyed in Europe, Australia, Canada, and New Zealand. Algeria: Protests were tapered off when the government stabilized food prices and increased wages for state workers. But promised reforms of President Abdelaziz Bouteflika’s government have not yet occurred. Tunisia: The interim government which replaced President Zine el Abidine Ben-Ali is holding elections in Oct...

NOTE: on 3 October I gave a public lecture on the above topic. Many of my blog readers do not live in Melbourne or Australia so, for their sake, I am providing a summary of the public lecture in three parts. This is Part 01. It all began with a simple but tragic event. On 17 December 2010, Muhammad Bouzazizi, 26, a Tunisian street vegetable vendor and sole breadwinner to his widowed mother and 7 siblings, was smacked by a policewoman and his dead father cursed while being told he was illegally selling. He went to the provincial office to complain but they didn’t want to listen. So he returned to the scene, doused himself with petrol, and set himself alight. Though he didn’t die immediately, Bouazizi’s immolation set in motion a chain of events that led to Tunisia’s ‘Jasmine Revolution.’ Within days, long-term president Zine el-Abidene Ben Ali, in power since 1987 was chased out of office and into exile in Saudi Arabia. Within a short time, the rumblings of revolution spread acr...