I chose the first week of this month to review the material I receive through the Internet. I will skip the e-mails that I receive on a daily basis claiming that I won one million pounds or ten million dollars – which if were true, the reader would have needed to pass through three different secretaries before being able to reach me – and I will focus on certain forms of online activism, some of which is patriotic and well-known, while others are by unknown soldiers struggling in patience and determination without expecting any rewards, nor recognition of any kind. One of the oldest sites I subscribe to in my email is “Al-‘Awda” [The Return]. As suggests its name, it champions the Palestinian cause and deals with a variety of topics, which could be anything from commemorating the Nakba [Catastrophe] day (15/5) in the Silicon Valley, the capital of American technology in California, to the Dabkeh dance during the conference of return, or the Golan heights, the Congress, and the Gaza solidarity day on the 6th of June. In all cases, this is a well known website, and I just want to pay my tribute to its unknown soldiers; there are individuals whose names are frequently mentioned and who are doing a great patriotic effort, such as Jess Ghannam, Raja Chmayel, Zahi Damuni, Annie Annab, Badria and Nizar Sakhnini, and Yousef Abudayyeh and others. Similar activism can be found on the Palestine Network, which is among the most active Palestinian sites, although I only subscribed recently to it via e-mail. Its topics range from politics to culture and poetry. It publishes many articles, and it is often too difficult to choose between names and the titles from the contributions to the website. On the other hand, and while Al Quds Center for Political Studies is less productive, its subjects are very analytical and go beyond Palestine to Arab issues. I even recently read a news story about the elimination of sponsorship laws in Qatar following similar steps by Bahrain. Meanwhile, the Institute for Palestinian Studies, which is widely active in the Arab world, deserves the title of “The Dean.” It preceded almost everyone and was founded even before the Palestine Liberation Organization in Beirut. I am personally pleased that the institute distributes through its electronic site articles by colleague and friend Nadia Hijab, whom I have known since my college days in Beirut and in the Daily Star, before she moved to the United States. Nadia has always been an intelligent patriot faithful to her cause. Similarly, the Council for Arab-British Understanding (CAABU) is almost as old as the Institute for Palestinian studies, and its roots go back to the Suez campaign or the tripartite invasion, when British MPs and ministers went against their government in support for Egypt. Today I am a member of CAABU's Board of Directors, while there are still many Britons who support the Arabs in their causes, especially the Palestinian cause. The Council organizes conferences, oversees the publication of books and distributes a daily news roundup from relevant newspaper stories, and may participate in film festivals, like the one organized between the 11 and the 16 of this month. Its Director is Chris Doyle. Then there is antiwar coalition, and most of its members are British who advocate Arab causes. They had a very honourable and influential stance on the recent war on Gaza. Moreover, I receive regular reports, news updates and analyses from the Arab American Institute, which was founded when I was still living in Washington in the eighties. It never faltered, especially when it comes to dealing with the Congress, conducting polls and surveys, and providing commentary, rectifications and follow-up. The Institute's chairman is James Zogby, one of the most successful and most capable Arab-American intellectuals. He writes his articles under the title “Washington Watch.” In parallel, there are individual initiatives that outdo entire organizations. I have written many times about Mazin Qumsiyeh without giving him his due credit. He is originally a geneticist and was an associate professor at Yale University before returning to the Palestinian territories. He has published many books, studies and scientific research, but first and foremost, he is a Palestinian activist who misses nothing about the cause of his homeland. He closely monitors American politics and politicians, especially the supporters of Israel. Then there is the friend Rajai Masri, who writes, comments, and exchanges messages with other intellectuals, or hosts writers on his website if he decides that a certain article is worth publishing. I will also not forget in my haste Jon Alterman, director of the Middle East program at the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington. He is fair and very well-informed, and I benefit a lot from his work. There is also Gershon Baskin who writes in the right wing newspaper Jerusalem Post. He is a moderate, however, and seeks a solution to the conflict between the Palestinians and Israel. Sometimes the names get mixed up for me. When I opened an e-mail from Marwa El Gendy, the letter turned out to be from a global human resource development organization about training programs. I thought the e-mail was from Marwa Abdel Karim or Fatima al Najdi, the two friends who are Egyptian television hosts whom I have been following from London to Cairo and Washington. As for colleague Nadia Hijab, I opened what I thought was an e-mail message from her but I found a link to a website selling hijabs (headscarves)!
