26 thoughts on “Goldberg-Ibish: Peace Process Not Lost, Bibi-Abbas Can Still Pull Iron Out of Fire – Tikun Olam תיקון עולם إصلاح العالم
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    1. I have received confirmation from a trustworthy anonymous source that Hussein Ibish was raised in the USA by a Syrian Kurdish father and a white American mother. Ibish does not speak Arabic.

      1. Goddammit ! ;-D (Is that too harsh in English ?) The guy isn’t even a Palestinian. I knew he was the son of some prominent scholar, someone once explained his position as due to his father’s reputation. I looked up his entry on wikipedia and it states that he’s the son of a prominent scholar, Yusuf Ibish.
        Here’s an article on his father, stating as you say, Syrian of Kurdish descent: so our “Palestinian Uncle Tom” isn’t even Palestinian.

          1. You can find Yusuf Ibish’ obit at http://www.independent.co.uk/news/obituaries/professor-yusuf-ibish-755428.html .

            Here are the basics.

            Yusuf Hussein Ibish, Islamic scholar: born Damascus 29 March 1926; Professor of Political Studies and Public Administration, American University of Beirut 1960-84; Henry Luce Professor of Religion and Ethics, Amherst College 1982-85; Professor of Islamic Studies, American University, Washington, DC 1985-86 (Emeritus); Director, al-Furqan Islamic Heritage Foundation 1999-2003; married 1946 Ramzieh Abdel-Kader (died 1997; one daughter; marriage dissolved 1960), 1961 Joan Schenck (two sons; marriage dissolved 1987); died London 19 January 2003.

            Joan Schenck must be Hussein’s mother. Schenck is not a Palestinian name unless one consider’s the Zionist invaders of the Mandatory period to be Palestinian.

            Schenck is a Jewish name: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nicholas_Schenck .

          2. I couldn’t care less whether he is Palestinian or Martian. That is not the issue with him at all. I don’t have a drop of Palestinian blood, and there isn’t anyone who questions my credentials as a supporter and activist on behalf of Palestinians. One of the most productive national leaders against the Iraq sanctions was a Lebanese-American, and one of our most active and productive leaders locally was a Palestinian-American. Neither of them had ever even set foot in Iraq, and they did not have an Iraqi ancestor anywhere in their background, yet no one questioned their credentials as activists on behalf of Iraqis.

            Hussein Ibish could be as Palestinian as anyone, and he would still be an overinflated, shamelessly self-promoting know-nothing jackass whose main goal seems to be pleasing the “white man”.

          3. “Schenk” is not particularly a Jewish name, but rather German, like Goldberg . . . or Friedeman.
            And Shirin is right, it has no importance whether Ibish is Palestinian or not, but I have the impression that he’s ‘sold’ to the public as an insider, maybe I’m wrong.

          4. I brought up Ibish’ possible half-Jewish (halakhically Jewish) status because Shirin suggested Ibish’ mother might be Palestinian.

            Anyway from Behind the Name, The Etymology and History of Surnames:

            Schenck
            Usage: German, Dutch, Jewish
            Extra: Statistics
            From Middle High German, Middle Dutch schenke meaning “wine server” (from Old High German scenken “to pour out”). As a German name it also denotes a tavern keeper.

            ———–

            One cannot overemphasize how common the occupation of tavern keeper was among Eastern European ethnic Ashkenazim.

        1. I stand corrected. I don’t understand how someone like Ibish becomes a Fatah man, or more correctly a pro-Israel Arab. Perhaps he has an inferiority complex because he clearer has achieved much less than his father, who appears to have been genuinely distinguished.

      2. Not defending Hussein Ibish by any means, but there are many hundreds of thousands of Arab-Americans who do not speak Arabic, and many of them are deeply committed to Palestinian rights and other Arab and Arab-American issues. Speaking Arabic is not a requirement for credibility as an Arab activist.

  1. Glad to see you read the piece, which probably struck you across the face like a dead fish in all its subtlety. And to think, I was ready to write you asking if you’d seen it. Hah! How could one not see it? Jeffrey Goldberg really is an anthropomorphic emetic. And I thought pretty much the same as you in attempting to determine why the Times does print garbage like this and even occasionally will hire as writers malevolent fools like Bill Kristol; namely, “It seems to be a requirement of the position that the op-ed editor periodically has to publish a few embarrassing pieces in order to satisfy the pro-Israel powers that be.” But truly, isn’t the timing of this quite bizarre in light of the release of the Palestine Papers only a day or two ago? Puck was really understating his case about dopey mortals.

  2. “It seems to be a requirement of the position that the op-ed editor periodically has to publish a few embarrassing pieces in order to satisfy the pro-Israel powers that be.”

    Newspapers are on financially shaky ground these days, and the NYT has a vested self-interest in catering to those in its subscriber base who are in the grip of dysfunctional Exodus fantasies, if you get my drift.

  3. Don’t know when the PNC last met, or where, but it should convene itself (does Tunis sound good, still?), fire the Abbas group, welcome Hamas, agree that the PA must either hold elections soon or disband.

    It must then take stock of recent changes — WikiLeaks, Tunisia, Palestine Papers (and Israeli intransigence revealed), Gaza, Gaza, and Gaza, Mavi Marmara, Turkey, all of South America, Russia — to see if they justify turning to the UNSC (with UNGA as backup) to seek a sanctions-energized international demand that Israel remove all settlers and dismantle all settlements and the wall on a public schedule (say of 1-year duration).

    [The UNSC has already called on Israel to remove all settlers and dismantle all settlements — by UNSC 465 (1980). But there were no sanctions and everyone ignored it.]

    With Israel discredited, Goldstone Report still available, US and UK discredited along with Israel, American and European publics tipped off to what their governments have been up to, the time might be right.

  4. You DON’T want to hear how Hussein Ibish is regarded in the Arab-American community. You REALLY DON’T want to hear how he is regarded in the Arab activist community!

    1. Aw c’mon. You’ve got me curious. Do tell…(just joking)

      All I can tell you is that the guy is incredibly prickly & thin skinned. I invited him to join the blogger panel at the first J St. conference & he refused because he believed that another panel member had once dissed him. He’s full of self-righteousness & self importance. What an ego! I can’t understand how he could be an analyst at American Task Force for Palestine. What do they see in him?

      1. He is a thin-skinned, self-promoting jackass who long ago sold out his own people to make himself prominent. He yaps on and on about things regarding which he obviously hasn’t got a clue. He is far more interested in pleasing the “white man” than in standing for anything, let alone ever making any kind of sense.

        Sorry for being so indirect.

      2. In French, there’s a great expression for Ibish’ kind of people, “l’Arabe de service”, somewhat like an “Uncle Tom”. Khaled Abu Rahmeh of the Jerusalem Post is another example. How could their words be doubted, they are Palestinians . .

        1. I’ve got the Abu Rahmeh family on my mind. Khaled Abu TOAMEH, of course. I do apologize to any Abu Rahmeh around.

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