Prime Minister Fouad Siniora said on Tuesday that a prisoner swap between Israel and Hizbullah constituted a "huge failure" for the Jewish state and a "national success" for the Lebanese party. "The release of the prisoners, thanks to the German mediator … is a huge failure for the policies of Israel," Siniora said in a public/official statement. "The success of Hizbullah in the negotiations led by a third party is a national success for the party and for the struggle of the Lebanese because it secured national goals which Israel always refused to respect."

Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert said his government was forced to agree to the prisoner swap deal with Hizbullah out of its desire to uncover the fate of the two Israeli soldiers

When Arabs were asked to identify the leader they admire most (in an open-ended question), the number one answer overall in a recent poll, (and especially in predominantly Sunni countries such as Egypt, Morocco, and Jordan) was Hasan Nasrallah, Hezbollah’s leader. The Palestinian problem continues to rank as "most important" problem among non-Palestinian Arabs.

France is a captive to its ties with Syria by Michael Young in the Daily Star - He blames Lebanon's woes on France and suggests that Kouchner is impeding the Hariri court to help Syria.

The French approach to Lebanon has been characterized by remarkable incompetence in the past eight months, and by the absence of any discernible strategy. After trashing Resolution 1559 last November by pleading with Syria to permit a Lebanese presidential election (one the Elysee Palace had thought to follow up with a triumphal Christmas visit to Beirut by Sarkozy), the French stepped back when Assad rebuffed them. Humiliation was swiftly swallowed, however, after the Doha agreement, when the Syrians received the visit of Sarkozy adviser Claude Gueant, their reward for briefly failing to obstruct the Lebanese Constitution.

France: The Gate of Europe: Tishreen, Damascus (Translation thanks to mideastwire.com)

On July 2, the state-controlled daily Teshreen carried the following editorial by Chief Editor Issam Dari: “It is impossible to mention France without mentioning its revolution, which changed the course of history. We cannot talk about France without coming across its scientists, scholars, innovators and leaders who enriched the human culture and raised the slogan of freedom and entrenched the meanings of independence and patriotism.

“We cannot but mention the founder of the fifth French Republic, late President Charles De Gaulle, who has become a headline for resisting the Nazi occupiers and a school to fight for freedom and independence and a model to be pursued in steadfastness in the face of pressures, dictates and calls for “realism”.

“When General De Gaulle led the French resistance from London and through the radio and while he was subjected to pressures and dictates from Winston Churchill, he said: “I was too weak to surrender.” De Gaulle did not surrender. France gained its independence and freedom and De Gaulle established the fifth republic. That was a profound lesson that affirms that freedom does not come from surrendering to the fait accompli, and that no matter how immense the pressures are, they can never force righteous people to surrender.

“We recall General De Gaulle while France is close to commemorating its Independence Day. President Bashar al-Assad will visit Paris, a first visit in many years – upon the invitation of President Nicolas Sarkozy.

“Syria is placing much hope on a balanced French policy in the Middle East, and on an active French role in the issues of the region, in what pushes the peace process forward and entrenches security and stability. Syria realizes that France is Europe’s gate and that, along with Germany, they constitute the dynamo for the European Union, which maintains good relations with the Arabs and huge interests that require this union to carry out its influential and effective role in finding solutions to the crisis – which if continued - will negatively affect the interests of the European and Arab sides equally…..

Prime Minister Ehud Olmert said on Thursday peace talks between Israel and Syria, now mediated by Turkey, would have to be conducted face-to-face "very soon."

"With the Syrians, we are talking seriously and in my estimation very soon the negotiations will have to be direct. They will not be able to continue in the mode in which they are currently being held," Olmert told an economic conference in the southern resort city of Eilat.

U.S. Ambassador Richard Jones said Thursday that Washington would not intervene over Israel's renewed negotiations with Syria, calling it a private Israeli matter. Jones said that the U.S., like many Israeli officials, were wary of establishing contacts with Damascus, but would not opposed the renewed negotiations.

Analyze This: Laying down the law on the Golan: By CALEV BEN-DAVID in Jpost.com

A Golan returned to a Syrian regime headed by the likes of Bashar Assad, who serves as valuable partner of Iran, an invaluable supporter of Hizbullah and Hamas, and a brutal oppressor of his own people, would never pass muster with the Israeli people - whether or not it actually comes to a vote.

"The Necessary Steps for a Responsible Withdrawal from Iraq"

Rep. James McGovern (MA-03), who wrote the preface, said the report provides "a road map for the next administration and Congress to follow". According to McGovern, the report outlines "what it would take to leave – what is required in terms of a cease-fire, reconciliation, recovery and security when the day comes for our troops to begin coming home." The report was authored by a Massachusetts- and Washington-based "task force" working with an advisory group of 14 international experts. These met together in a March workshop at Harvard University’s Weatherhead Center for International Affairs.

We welcome reviews and commentary on the Task Force findings. Sincerely, Charles Knight, Project on Defense Alternatives, Commonwealth Institute, for the Task Force Organizing Committee.  cknight@comw.org 617-547-4474

Salma Al-Shami write about a Syria play she saw in NY City: [salma.alshami@gmail.com]

Hi again, Josh,

A couple of months ago I saw an incredible play called Damascus that was featured as part of the "Brits Off Broadway" series in NYC. It's written by Scottish playwright David Greig, and I was truly impressed by how many of the subtle nuances of Syrian culture he was able to pick up on and write into his characters and plot. The story follows Paul, a salesman who has come to Damascus on Valentine's Day to sell English language textbooks to an indifferent dean of a school and his beautiful assistant Muna. Paul's plane back home keeps getting delayed, and in the meanwhile, he develops relationships with Muna and Zacharia, the young hotel porter who is girl-and-party-obsessed. In the background is Elena, a Ukrainian pianist who acts as a Greek chorus, narrating the moral and theoretical backdrop of the scenes. As the synopsis of the play concludes, "In Damascus, a city of transformations, Paul grapples with language and love, meanings and misconceptions. And as his flight home is delayed by a bomb at Beirut Airport, he begins to wonder, will he ever leave?"

Greig offers all types of social commentary, weaving in elements of what happened to the pre-Ba'ath intelligentsia (the "old generation") after the rise of the party, of the Palestinian narrative and its effects on the thinking and thought processes of Damascines, of the nature of gender relations etc…

In any case, it's an excellent and quick read. I was able to track a copy of the play down from the UK. Don't know if it's available in the US, but if it sounds like something you'd be interested in reading and can't find it here, I'll happily loan you my copy of it.

Here's a link to an interview that features Greig talking about his play and about his experiences working with young Syrian playwrights. http://www.theatrevoice.com/listen_now/player/?audioID=501 

Best,

Salma

Turkey: Direct Israel-Syria Talks Imminent
by Ben-Yechiel

(IsraelNN.com) Direct peace negotiations between Israel and Syria are imminent, according to a Wednesday report in the Arabic language newspaper Al-Hayat. In the report, Turkish officials announced that the direct talks will follow the upcoming round of indirect talks between the two countries.

Yoram Turbowitz and Shalom Turgeman, advisors to Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, arrived in Ankara on Tuesday to discuss the possibility of launching direct talks with the Syrians. The next round of indirect talks, the fourth, is slated to begin in two weeks' time.

Israeli and Syrian negotiators will decide on a start date for the direct negotiations, as well as the composition of the negotiating teams, in about a week and a half, after Syrian President Bashar Assad returns from a scheduled trip to Paris. Assad will be attending a conference in the French capital, alongside Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak.

The Turkish sources were quoted as saying that France also plans to mediate in the talks, primarily with regards to the Shebaa Farms land dispute.

Assad called the political climate in the Middle East Earlier this week "positive," and called on the EU to intensify its involvement in the peace talks with Israel.

"The political climate in Israel is generally positive. We must give the different political processes a new push in order for them to proceed in the right direction," remarked Assad in a Damascus meeting with Norwegian Foreign Minister Jonas Gahr Store, reported Sana, the Syrian government news agency.

Reality check on Middle East talks: Motivation is there, but peace will take time.
By Rayyan Al Shawaf
Christian Science Monitor, July 2

Lebanon - Optimism is taking wing in the Middle East: The Israelis and Syrians have been negotiating and Israel and Hamas are two weeks into a cease-fire. But is the Arab-Israeli conflict moving toward a resolution? A closer look at the situation reveals myriad and contradictory interests at work, making it unlikely that there will be a comprehensive peace in the Middle East soon…..

But what is Syria's stake in all this? Why do the Syrians all of a sudden appear flexible and moderate? ……

For all his eagerness to rejoin the international community, however, Mr. Assad will not budge without first trying to extract a few concessions. Principal among these is an assurance that the UN tribunal charged with bringing to justice the killers of former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Hariri will not implicate the Syrian regime. ……. Assad does not believe he can elicit such a guarantee from the current US administration, and brazenly announced that there will be no Syrian-Israeli agreement in 2008.

• Rayyan Al Sawaf is a freelance journalist in Beirut, Lebanon.

[Landis comment: Who would have guessed that Rayyan al-Shawaf was Lebanese?! Contrary to Sawaf's brazen assertion, Syria is not dealing on the Hariri trial. It has never asked for a deal on the Hariri trial nor has it brought it up in negotiations. To do so would indicate Syria's guilt. Syria insists it is innocent. Shawaf is making up his claim that Syria insists on bringing the trial into the negotiations with Israel or intends to do so with a new administration. Assad's supposition that a deal with Israel will not be signed while Bush is president is not proof – nor does it even suggest – that Syria is searching for protection from the trial. US guarantees for both countries will be at the center of negotiations, but they won't be about the Hariri trial. If we take Camp David as a model, both countries will be looking for bucket loads of money and security benefits from the US. That is why the US must be a participant to the negotiations and an eventual deal. Both countries are counting on the US paying a royal ransom to stop Syria's military support for Hizbullah and Hamas. This is not about Hariri.] 

Spy Games in Iran
By: David Ignatius | The Washington Post

The United States appears to be running some limited covert operations across the Iranian border. But according to knowledgeable sources, this effort shares the defect of broader U.S. policy toward Iran — it is tentative and ill-coordinated, and it undermines diplomacy without bringing serious pressure on the regime….

The covert program illustrates the larger dilemma facing the Bush administration and its successor — what to do about an aggressive and increasingly confident Iran? The Iranians make little effort to hide their own covert-action campaigns — including extensive financial and military support for Hezbollah in Lebanon and Hamas in Gaza. The Iranians have used Syria effectively as a platform for these intelligence operations, from political action to paramilitary operations to clandestine terrorism…

Saudi Arabia has taken a tougher stand to oppose what it sees as Iranian meddling in the region. There are reports out of Syria, for example, that the Saudi military attaché in Damascus was expelled a few months ago after the Syrians uncovered what they believed was a plot to pay $50 million in subsidies to members of a prominent Syrian tribe. One source said the money was simply intended to support the kingdom's longtime tribal friends rather than organize political opposition to President Bashar al-Assad. But the Saudis have made no secret of their desire for regime change in Syria…"

The Odds are Against an Attack on Iran By: Rami G. Khouri | The Daily Star
I expect the U.S. and Israel to finally accept the reality that a military strike, no matter how punitive, would only temporarily set back Iran's nuclear capability, because the technological knowledge is already in Iran's hands and cannot be destroyed with bombs.

Softer Tone From Iran Has Experts Guessing
By: Helene Cooper | The New York Times
Iranian officials on Tuesday continued their long history of befuddling Western diplomats, as two top officials sounded conciliatory notes about the prospects of eventually breaching the impasse between the West and Tehran over the country’s nuclear ambitions.

U.S. States Continue to Divest from Businesses Tied to Iran By: Brian Radzinsky | World Politics Review

Eleven U.S. states have adopted legislation to divest public pension funds from companies with financial ties to Iran's petroleum, defense, and nuclear sectors in an attempt to persuade Iran to give up its uranium enrichment program and alleged sponsorship of terrorism. Almost 20 more states are considering similar legislation to supplement existing federal and international sanctions.

This is the first time that state investments have been leveraged for nonproliferation goals. During the 1980s, anti-apartheid activists urged state and local authorities and some universities to divest holdings from companies invested in or doing business with South Africa. During the 1990s, humanitarian activists persuaded Massachusetts to divest from companies "doing business with" Myanmar. More recently, almost 30 states passed legislation to divest from companies with investments in or engaged in trade with Sudan. The Iran case is unique, however, because divestment legislation explicitly references Iran's alleged sponsorship of terrorists and its uranium enrichment program…..

WorldPublicOpinion.org conducted an 18-nation public opinion poll on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict released yesterday. The poll finds that in 14 nations people mostly say their government should not take sides in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.  Just three countries favor taking the Palestinian side (Egypt, Iran, and Turkey). No country favors taking Israel’s side, including the United States, where 71 percent favor taking neither side.

Israel Still Paying for its Defeat By: Jeff Jacoby | The Boston Globe
Two years after its war with Hezbollah, Israel is still paying for its defeat.

From Triumph to Torture By: John Pilger | The Guardian
Israel's treatment of an award-winning young Palestinian journalist is part of a terrible pattern.

"Everybody is happy about a food drop. I am watching. A blind lady is being helped by a small boy. People are jumping to catch food."

A Food Drop
David Deng Aleu, age 16
Sudanese, Kakuma refugee camp

This illustration is from Sybella Wilkes, One Day We Had to Run!: Refugee Children Tell Their Stories in Words and Paintings, (Brookfield, Connecticut: The Millbrook Press, 1994) All rights reserved.

Today Sybella Wilkes is the spokesperson for the UNHCR in Damascus. She wrote the following heartbreaking story. She is extraordinary. Many journalists have sung her praises to me, explaining how she helped them with their stories on Iraqi refugees and got them set up in Syria.
Sybella Wilkes ‎WILKES@unhcr.org

Seaside break in Syria proves too much for young Palestinians
By Sybella Wilkes and Covadonga de la Campa
30 Jun 2008
Source: UNHCR, Reuters, and AlertNet are not responsible for the content of this article or for any external internet sites.

The views expressed are the author's alone. AL TANF, Syria, June 30 (UNHCR) – It seemed like a good idea. Take a group of Palestinian children to the seaside to help them escape the monotony and hardship of their lives in limbo on the arid Iraq-Syria border.

But it all proved a bit too much for most of the children taken to the Syrian city of Tartus on the Mediterranean Sea earlier this month from the Al Tanf camp, where they and their families have lived for months after fleeing their homes in the violence-plagued Iraqi capital of Baghdad.

The sudden freedom of movement, the cool sea breezes, the abundant food and drink and the other laughing kids showed these nine children what they were missing and what they would miss once again when they returned to Al Tanf at the end of their week's holiday.

They are among a group of more than 750 Palestinian refugees who have been stuck for up to two years in Al Tanf, unable to enter Syria and unable to go back to Baghdad. They live in a tiny strip of no man's land where they must be on the alert for snakes and scorpions and endure the terrible heat, hoping that some country will come forward and offer them resettlement.

 It soon became apparent that all but one of the children given special permission by the Syrian government to go to the coast were too traumatized to appreciate and enjoy their short break from reality with other youngsters at a summer camp in Tartus.

"These kids have gone through such a hard time, and the change in environment has had an impact on them. They are closed, hurt by their lives. They are not used to interacting with the world, with so many other children," said camp superviser Feras Shihabi, who works for the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA).

The camp staff did not push the Palestinians to join in the week's activities, including swimming, dancing, singing, clown shows and daily parties. Eight of them preferred to stay inside darkened bedrooms, missing their families.

"I am here for such a short time. What is the point of enrolling in activities when I am going back to Al Tanf again?" asked Sarab, who felt that the camp gave a false sense of optimism.

Fellow refugee, Naba, said that if she joined in, it would make life that much harder when she had to go back to Al Tanf. "My life is not happy, I need to leave this summer camp right now," she said, adding: "The first day I was happy, but by the second day I was not happy. We are not adapted to this happy life and need to stay strong for our hard life."

Hussam Muktar, an Iraqi who works for the UN refugee agency as an outreach worker, said he felt the pain that the children were living through. "Al Tanf is like a prison – and no child will ever thrive in a prison. They cannot go forwards because they are not allowed into Syria or anywhere else. They cannot go backwards, because they and their families are threatened in Iraq."

In contrast, other Palestinian refugees taking part in the camp – including 24 children who live an easier life at the UNHCR-run Al Hol camp in northern Syria – made the most of their holiday, with many learning to swim in the crystal blue sea. After a few days they began avoiding their compatriots from Al Tanf, unable to relate to their anger and depression.

When Muktar visited the summer camp, some of the Al Tanf children opened up after hearing his Iraqi accent, but they were still too withdrawn to look him in the eye.

"If you look at these children, even though they are the same age as all the other children at the summer camp, their eyes, their body language tells you that they have suffered more than any child should suffer. It hurts to see the trauma in their every movement," Muktar said.

UNHCR provides assistance to Palestinian refugees in Iraq and Syria. Together with UNRWA, it has been looking for solutions for the border refugees at Al Tanf and nearby Al Waleed.

"It is clear that we need to relocate all the Palestinians that are stranded on the Iraqi border. We can meet their material needs with food, water and shelter, but the fact remains that the environment will never be suitable for human habitation," said Philippe Leclerc, UNHCR's deputy representative in Damascus.

UNHCR, UNRWA and the Palestinian Red Crescent care for the Palestinians in Al Tanf, while UNHCR, Islamic Relief and the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) share the load in Al Waleed.

The inhabitants of the two border camps have endured fires, flooding and harsh extremes of temperature. An estimated 15,000 Palestinians remain in Baghdad, compared to some 30,000 in early 2003. They have fled to escape militia threats, kidnapping and killings. A few hundred have been resettled in third countries.

By Sybella Wilkes and Covadonga de la Campa
In Al Tanf, Iraq-Syria Border More . . .

• UNHCR special pages on the situation in Iraq: The Iraq situation
• UNHCR at work in:
• Iraq
• Syrian Arab Republic
• Occupied Palestinian Territory

the POMED Wire On Monday (6/23) Sen. Edward Kennedy (D-MA) introduced Senate resolution S.3177, calling on the President to appoint a White House Coordinator for Iraqi Refugees.  The Coordinator would be responsible for crafting and coordinating a policy to deal with the resettlement and humanitarian needs of Iraqi refugees.

Trial Sheds Light on Ethnic Groups Living in Turkey  (Thanks to Farhan Siddiqui)
Tuesday, June 10, 2008
ISTANBUL – Milliyet

A new study estimates that there are roughly 870,000 Arabs living in Turkey: This group lives mainly in the cities of Siirt, Şırnak, Mardin, Diyarbakır, Şanlıurfa, Hatay, Adana and Istanbul.

A report commissioned eight years ago by the highest advisory body in the land investigates how many Turks, Kurds and people of other extractions are living in Turkey. The report comes to light as part of the trial for the murder of three Christian misionaries.

The smallest ethnic groups include: Roma people with a population of 700,000, about 60,000 Armenians, 20,000 Jews, 15,000 Rums (Greeks with Turkish citizenship) and a very few number of Assyrians live in Turkey.

Although some sources say the population of Alevis in Turkey ranges between 5 and 25 million, it is approximately 8.75 million, according to the MGK report. …… (Read More)

Coup Attempt in Turkey?

Turkish police arrested 24 people, including two retired generals and the head of Ankara's main business lobby, on suspected links to a group of alleged coup plotters.

Retired generals Hursit Tolon and Sener Eruygur were detained early today in Ankara, a spokesman for the Ankara police said in a telephone interview. The spokesman said authorities had to break down the door of Tolon's home. Ankara Chamber of Commerce chief Sinan Aygun was also taken into custody, said Melih Cuhadar, a spokesman for the chamber.

The sweep came on the day prosecutors presented an indictment to the Constitutional Court to close down Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan's Justice and Development Party. They claim Erdogan wants to dismantle the secular state set up by Mustafa Kemal Ataturk and make Turkey more like Iran.

Great journeys: Istanbul to Aleppo by train
By Vicky Frost. The Guardian, July 1, 2008

In the first part of her overland journey into the Middle East, Vicky Frost boards the Toros Express in Istanbul bound for Aleppo

An article in yesterday's New York Times criticized the Bush administration for failing "to develop a comprehensive plan to address the militant problem" along the Afghan-Pakistan border, where Osama bin Laden is reportedly rebuilding the al Qaeda terror network.

In Case of Extraordinary Rendition Victim Maher Arar, U.S. Gets Away with Torture
Center for Constitutional Rights. Posted July 1, 2008.

Citing national security, a federal court rules that Maher Arar, who was kidnapped at JFK and sent to Syria by the U.S., had no due process rights.

June 30, 2008, New York — A federal Court of Appeals ruled against Center for Constitutional Rights (CCR) client Maher Arar's case against U.S. officials for their role in sending him to Syria to be tortured and interrogated for a year under the extraordinary rendition program.

Maher Arar is not available to comment in person, but is issuing the following statement: "The Court's 2-1 ruling is outrageous. It basically legitimizes what was done to me, and permits the government to use immigration law as a disguise to send people to torture without regard for due process."

The court ruled that Mr. Arar's constitutional claims that it was a violation of due process to lock him up for two weeks, obstruct his access to a lawyer and a court, and then to ship him to Syria for the purpose of having him interrogated under torture could not be heard in federal court for two reasons: It concluded that adjudicating the claims would interfere with sensitive matters of foreign policy and national security, and that Arar, as a foreigner who had not been formally admitted to the U.S., had no constitutional due process rights with respect to the government's interference with his access to a lawyer and the decision to send him to Syria to be tortured. …..

Bipartisan Campaign Seeks Presidential Executive Order to Ban Torture
Jim Lobe

Syria sets Arab world record with at least five bloggers and cyber-dissidents detained

[Reporters Without Borders is worried by the lack of news about Hammam Haddad, a Damascus University student and author of magazine and Internet articles, since his arrest on 5 May in the capital without any reason being given. He is the fifth Internet user to be detained in Syria in the past year.

“This arrest turns Syria into the Arab world’s most repressive country towards people who post news and information online,” the press freedom organisation said. “It is an additional attempt to intimidate and silence dissidents and bloggers.”

Activist Mohammad Badi Dak Al Bab, a member of the National Organisation for Human Rights in Syria->http://nohr-s.org/], was meanwhile sentenced to six months in prison yesterday on a charge of “attacking the prestige of the state” under article 287 of the criminal code for posting an article entitled “Damascus, capital of Arab culture”on the organisation’s website. Bab, who has been held in Adra (20 km northeast of the capital) since 2 March, was previously detained from 2000 to 2005.

A blogger, Tariq Biassi, 22, is being held in a Damascus security camp. He was sentenced on 11 May to three years in prison under articles 285 and 286 of the criminal code for “publishing false information” and “undermining national sentiment” for posting a comment critical of the government on a website.

He was one of the first people to fall victim to new government provisions regarding the Internet. Telecommunications minister Amr Salem, decreed on 25 July 2007 that website owners should, for security reasons, keep the personal data of those posting articles and comments online…..

Israel shuts crossings to Gaza after alleged attack

Israel has shut down cargo crossings into the Gaza Strip following an alleged rocket attack by Palestinian militants into southern Israel. Local authorities have yet to find any remnants of the rocket, which Israel say was detected by radar on Monday night. Hamas claim Israel are simply looking for excuses to break the terms of the ceasefire that came into effect last month. Egyptian authorities today opened the Rafah crossing for two days to allow access for those stranded at the border, and for Palestinians needing medical attention.

(Photo:Abed books arriving at Kalamoon University)

I wrote to Haytham Abed to ask his advice on donating books to Syria.

Readers will remember that he is the subject of the previous post; he has donated hundreds of books to Kalamoon University and is now organizing donations to other Syrian universities as well. Here is the kind response from "Ayyoub" Haytham Abed, ya sabour.

Dear Prof. Landis:

The process of getting the books to Syria is not easy. First, one must get the books and prepare a list of all the books. Send this to the university. Get their approval, then the university must get the approval of the Ministry of Higher Education in Syria (this task took about 3 months). Once the approval is received, then the person donating the books must contact, by phone, the U.S. Department of Treasury, Office of Foreign Assets Control (Syria Sanctions). This is the easy part, the person at the Dept. of Treasury is friendly and helpful. He will walk the donor through the Dept. web site, type in the name of university and start the search. In less than a minute you will get an answer, which was that the University of Kalamoon was not on the list of sanctioned institutions. I got the green light from the U.S. government and was ready to ship.

The list of books must be certified by the Syrian Embassy in Washington D.C., That process was very civilized also; Ambassador Mustapha was helpful and supportive. A letter must be given by the donor called "Deed of Donation", an IRS Tax exemption letter must be obtained ( I got that from Syrian American Association in the Bay area).

A commercial invoice must be prepared detailing the number of books, weight, value, etc..Then the search for a shipping company was impossible. Finally I found a ship to Marseilles, France, then to Lattakia. All the books must be boxed, each box must be labeled "University Books, Gift, No commercial value". Boxes must be placed on shipping pallets and shrink wrapped.

The books sat in a Marseilles warehouse waiting for some document (The French were impossible). After many telephone calls to France, the books were shipped to Lattakia. They sat at the port in Syria for 2 months, blocked by the Ministry of Culture in Lattakia, because we did not bother to get their permission.

However, the Syrian Wasta method worked sufficiently well and the books arrive at Kalamoon university 2 weeks ago. In all, the process took me one year!! Having said that, I must admit that I made several mistakes due to ignorance. I believe, I now have learned all the short cuts. So if anyone else would like to contribute, I suggest they e-mail me or call my cell:

925-9984939

I am now trying to set up book collection points on the East Coast and in California and have a long list of requested books from both Kalamoon University and the University in Aleppo.

I hope I did not bore you with these details.
With my best regards,

Haytham H. Abed
925-9984939
haytham@bblconsultants.com

My books will get to Syria

I just received the following kind letter from Haytham Abed. This is the first time I have heard from him. He refers to this story: Syria's Private Universities, written in 2007. I salute him for his initiative and philanthropy. What a wonderful idea. Thank you, Mr. Abed.

From: Haytham Abed haytham@bblconsultants.com
Sent: Sunday, June 29, 2008
To: Landis, Joshua M.
Subject: Thank you

Dear Prof. Landis:

For the past few years I have enjoyed your regular mail, comments, reporting, current Syrian news analysis and book reviews. Your honest views are refreshing.

One particular article you sent me about your visit, last July, to Kalamoon University changed my life. It made me proud and a better person. In that article you talked about the university library with no reference books.  I contacted Dr. Sami Moubayed and offered him my book collection (about 450 books all in English) covering the M.E., World history and current affairs.

Also, I offered to supply the university with text and reference books. Dr. Moubayed came back with a list of what the university needs and I was able to send them a total of 2000 books covering Chemistry, Physics, Algebra, Psychology, Economics, Accounting, Management, Business Law, Marketing, Calculus, Sociology, History , Political Science, Government, English Literature, Art, Medical, Computer Science..etc.

The books arrived last month at the university. Now, I am working with several professors from different universities around the US to collect books and send them to different private uni. in Syria including Kalamoon. All that because of your article. Thank you Joshua!

With my best regards,
Haytham H. Abed