Presenter, Male #1
The Muslim Brotherhood Shura Council in Jordan decided to boycott the upcoming parliamentary elections. The group boycotted the elections in 1997 in protest of the one-person-one-vote law. For its part, the Jordanian government criticized the Muslim Brotherhood’s decision, saying that it will not affect the success of the parliamentary elections. Our correspondent Ahmed Jarar provides an insight into the Muslim Brotherhood

Reporter, Male #1
Contrary to all the predictions and leaked information, the Muslim Brotherhood was determined to boycott the upcoming parliamentary elections. It is important to note that the decision was made by a large majority of the group’s Shura Council, instead of its traditional decision-making process. The group justified its decision with what it called “the regressing situation of freedom in the country”. It specifically indicated that the government continues to block the group and shut down its facilities, insists on keeping the one-vote law, and fails to take any real steps that would guarantee that the mistakes made in the last election will not be repeated. In the last election, the group said that a large-scale fraud was committed against its candidates.

Guest, Male #1 (Jamil Abu Bakar, spokesman for Muslim Brotherhood)
The image of the 2007 elections is still in our minds, and its bitterness still lingers for the people who witnessed the obvious fraud, which was unprecedented in the kingdom’s history. They never really had any follow-up, which indicates that this image could be changed, at the very least.

Reporter, Male #1
But the government, which appeared to be unsatisfied with this decision, affirms that the success of the coming elections will not be connected to the participation of the Muslim Brotherhood or its absence. At the same time, the government was surprised that the Muslim Brotherhood would boycott the elections even though there have been no conflicts or friction between the group and the current government. In addition, the group participated in past elections, which were supervised by governments that the group had acute disputes with.

Guest, Male #2
The success or failure of the elections is not connected to one party’s participation. We had hoped that everyone participates, which is normal for an active political party. But other parties will run in the elections. There’s an opposition party that is participating, and a centrist party, and a social party. The majority of Jordanians are familiar with independent parties and social organizations. So the government’s elections are not limited to the Muslim Brotherhood’s participation.

Reporter, Male #1
The Muslim Brotherhood boycotted the elections in 1997 in protest of the electoral law. Political observers think that the previous boycott experience was unsuccessful, as the group failed to create a political platform as a real substitute for parliament. But this time, more than 70% of the group voted for the boycott that prompted its leadership to have a repeat of its boycott experience. Internally, it seems that the cost of the boycott may be high for the movement. Despite the boycott decision, the leadership of the group affirms that it is ready to work with any real government initiatives, on which the group’s position in the upcoming parliamentary elections could be built upon. Ahmed Jarar, al-Jazeera, Amman.

Presenter, Male #1
The deputies of the Phalanges did not respond to the Baabda invitation because President Amin el-Gemayel was not invited. Meanwhile, a delegation from the Lebanese Forces was present. Deputy Sethrida Geagea confirmed that nation-building is more important than formalities. She said: “Our presence is meant to honor our great guest to Lebanon, the Saudi king, despite the grave error that was committed against Samir Geagea.”

Reporter, Female #1
In celebration of the visit of the two leaders from Syria and Saudi Arabia, Lebanon got rid of all the political tension that it has been experiencing for the last few weeks. The president and the king went to the Baabda Palace; international resolutions and the international court did not manage to divide them. A meeting took place in the presidential palace, it was held between Saudi King Abdullah Bin Abdul Aziz, Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, and Lebanese President Michel Suleiman. The tripartite conversation focused on the importance of strengthening the national agreement, Lebanon’s stability and of improving the opportunities for economical and social development. The leaders noted the positive developments that Lebanon has achieved since the Doha Agreement, affirming the continuation of the peaceful approach and dialogue, the strengthening of national unity and the prevention of external dangers. The leaders also stressed the importance of continuing to support the Doha Agreement and completely implement all the articles of the Taif Agreement, and continuing to work on the national dialogue while committing to non-violent policies. They agreed that Lebanon’s interests is beyond any class interests, and affirmed the necessity of having recourse to the constitution and a united national government to solve all the disputes. The leaders looked into the economic situation and affirmed the importance of Arab solidarity in order to face the Israeli challenge, which continues to occupy Arab territories, besiege Gaza and judify Jerusalem. Even though the presidential palace did not mention the international tribunal, Arab leaders confirmed their rejection of tales of conspiracies and plots in the region, meant to stir sectarian problems in all Arab countries. After the meeting, the Saudi king joined the guests for lunch where the Lebanese and Syrian presidents discussed their countries’ bilateral relations.

The UN has slammed Israel’s violation of human rights, and demands Tel Aviv take action against targeted killings. The UN Human Rights Committee says it is worried about Israeli restrictions on the movement of Palestinians in East Jerusalem. A panel of experts says that since 2003, the Israeli armed forces have executed 184 individuals in the Gaza Strip.

Palestinian Authority President Mahmud Abbas has demanded that Israel accept three conditions before he agrees to direct peace talks. He wants the negotiations to start where they left off in 2008. He insists that all settlement construction in East Jerusalem and the West Bank stop, and that Israel agree to return to the 1967 borders. The Netanyahu government calls those demands non-starters.

Presenter, Male #1
In Pakistan, floods and heavy rain fall have led to the death of nearly 400 people. Hundreds of thousands were stranded after the worst floods in 100 years hit the country.

Reporter, Male # 2
Following 3 days of floods and heavy rain fall, nearly 400 people have been killed in Pakistan. That number is expected to rise, in addition to the hundreds of injured and the thousands who are stranded and those made homeless. Rescue teams are still searching for dozens of people who are still missing, at a time when massive flooding, caused by monsoon rains, has submerged villages. Khyber Province in northwestern Pakistan is the most severely hit province; this is the worst flood the province has witnessed since 1929. In that province alone, nearly 400 thousand people have no shelter, according to the preliminary estimates. The flooding of the past 3 days has continued the series of nature’s anger, which started last week when dozens of people met their fate in the Baluchistan Province floods. Rescue efforts have slowed down, and the rain has cut off the already rugged roads.

Presenter, Male #1
On the eve of the anniversary of the 2006 war, how serious are Israel’s warnings to Hezbollah? Following the discovery of gas in the Mediterranean, will the new tension by the border lead to another round of exchanged warnings between Hezbollah and Israel? Or, is the increase of pressure on Iran the major reason for this escalation? Is the matter reduced to media rivalry, or will the situation escalate to the battleground?

Reporter, Male #1
4 years after the Second Lebanon War, tension appears to be escalating again by the Lebanese-Israeli border and between Lebanon and Israel in general. The first phase of this tension is exhibited in the nervous statements issued by both sides over the natural gas reserves discovered under the waters of the eastern Mediterranean. Lebanon, which also demands rights to the gas reserves, accused Israel of stealing and looting the resource. In response, Israel announced its readiness to protect these reserves by force. Subsequently, the Israeli military published a report about the deployment of Hezbollah’s forces in southern Lebanon, analyzing that they are preparing to set up targets that they will destroy in case military operations begin. Hezbollah’s leadership responded by announcing that the organization is preparing to resist Israel’s potential aggression this summer, and that it is ready to launch responsive strikes on targets inside Israel, including the most recent ones. Hezbollah’s representatives affirmed that they have no desire to see the tension on the Lebanese-Israeli border escalate. They said that the newly released information by the Israeli army, which claims that the deployment of Hezbollah forces in southern Lebanon is in violation of UN Security Council resolution 1701, was fabricated, false and groundless. However, many political observers and politicians, including Secretary-General of the United Nations Ban Ki-moon, have shown concern over the possibility of another Lebanon-Israel war, which may lead to disastrous consequences in the near future.

Presenter, Male #1
Joining us from Jerusalem is Mr. Shlomo Brom, former deputy security advisor to the Israeli prime minister, former director of strategic planning in the Israeli army and a negotiator. He is now a senior researcher in the Institute for National Security Studies. Welcome Mr. Shlomo Brom. Former US ambassador to Cairo and Tel Aviv, Daniel Kurtzer, currently a professor at Princeton University, recently published an article talking about the possibility of a third Lebanon war, or so he called it. He says that there is great potential for armed conflict or a wide-ranging Israeli military campaign against Hezbollah in the next several months. Do you share his prediction?

Guest, Male #1
Not at all, I don’t agree with Kurtzer’s analysis on this matter, nor do I expect large confrontations to take place in the near future.

Presenter, Male #1
Fine, but his article points to Hezbollah’s improving and increasing military capabilities, and that it now owns more rockets. The Israeli military fears Hezbollah’s increasing threat and its capability to launch lethal attacks on Israel.

Guest, Male #1
Yes, that’s true; there is concern over that issue. Both Israel and Lebanon share this concern. I don’t believe that either side wants any wide-scale confrontations to take place at this time, because they both realize the kind of harm that it could cause them. I think that this creates a kind of balance between the two sides, which stabilizes the situation.

Presenter, Female #1
Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmedinejad’s image has become a symbol that holds negative connotations within US political propaganda. Media producers in the United States have been using Ahmedinejad’s image as a negative symbol in their propaganda. Pierre Ghanem reports.

Reporter, Male #1
In the last two years, Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmedinejad’s image has become a symbol for all bad things in the eyes of Americans. And political propaganda has been using his picture to represent evil.

Guest, Male #2 (Steven Kull, World Public Opinion)
“We have the phrase: Be in America’s face”, and that implies being hostile. Ahmedinejad looks at America as if it’s inferior to him, and he enjoys it.

Reporter, Male #1
A poll revealed that, among world leaders and presidents, the Iranian president is the most hated figure by Americans. 84 per cent of them negatively view Ahmedinejad.

Guest, Male #3 (Chuck Conconi, Qorvis Communications)
Ahmedinejad looks serious. He is evil, and threatens us and the people of this country.

Reporter, Male #1
This explains why media producers use the photo of the Iranian president in films that draw a comparison between what is good and what is bad for the United States. Conconi explains how this happens in production offices.

Guest, Male #3 (Chuck Conconi, Qorvis Communications)
“So you go, who’s the most well-known bad guy?” People easily recognize his photo, and the answer is Ahmedinejad. So it becomes easy to grab their attention by using his face.

Reporter, Male #1
The US’ problem with Ahmedinejad does not simply lie with his personality. It goes back to the hostage-taking incident in 1979, then the street demonstrations and the calls for the death of the US. 85 per cent of Americans negatively view Iran. That figure has been this high since the 1980s.

Guest, Male #2 (Steven Kull, World Public Opinion)
The biggest factor is the relationship with Iran, and Ahmedinejad now symbolizes Iran’s confrontation with the international community.

Reporter, Male #1
If the status-quo remains, Americans will continue to represent evil with the character of Mahmoud Ahmedinejad, until something changes, at some point in the future. Pierre Ghanem, al-Arabiya, Washington.

Presenter, Male #1
For over half a century, the language of war has dominated the Palestinian-Israeli conflict. However, a number of people from both sides have decided to adopt a new language that might not be accepted in their communities, the language of dialogue and peace.

Presenter, Female # 1
Palestinian Nour el-Deen Shehadah and Israeli Eyal Weinberg used to be armed activists, each on his own side. Today, they are peace activists in an organization called Combatants for Peace, which was formed in 2005 and has since attracted thousands of supporters.

Guest, Male # 2
I grew up in a leftist home that accepts the other. On the other hand, it was also a home with a goal and a purpose. We are here and one has to offer something to their country, which means joining the army at the age of 18.

Guest, Male # 3
There is no safe place for you as a Palestinian child, and you get easily swept into the resistance against the occupation. So I spent 7 years of my youth in Israeli prison, at the age of 17.

Guest, Male # 2
In the first meetings, it was very hard for me to listen to their stories. I heard the bloody stories and I realized that I was ready to approach these people and try to find a solution to our joint historical predicament, and they are also willing to take a similar step. Then we have a very special thing here.

Guest, Female # 2
I couldn’t believe that these people served in the Israeli army, firing at us and bombing us. And now they gave up bombing us and hitting our children. It was then that my transformation began.

Presenter, Male #1
For more about this subject, joining in the studio is former IDF soldier Eyal Weinberg. Former Fatah combatant Nour el-Deen Shehadah also joins us in the studio. Good evening. Before we start our conversation about Combatants for Peace, would you introduce yourselves and tell us about your individual turning points. I will start with you Nour el-Deen Shehadah.

Guest, Male # 4 (Nour el-Deen Shehadah, Former Fatah combatant)
My name is Nour el-Deen Shehadah; I was born in the Tulkarm Camp, the refugee camp. I was displaced from the village of Karkun in 1948. I am a social worker. I am a former prisoner and was held for 5 years in the prison of the Israeli occupation. I used to be a Fatah combatant, and still am. However, the means of my resistance and struggle have changed from a violent and legitimate resistance to a non-violent, peaceful resistance, in order to accomplish the goals of freedom, independence and the establishment of a Palestinian state for my people. My turning point came about while I was looking into the future of our Palestinian people, and the direction in which we’re heading.

Presenter, Male #1
Let’s now listen to Eyal Weinberg.

Guest, Male # 5 (Eyal Weinberg, Former IDF solider)
I think that my turning point was after my military service. Some time after, I met Palestinians without my uniform and dealt with them as humans. The second Lebanese war and the war on Gaza made me realize that I need to be responsible and take responsibility for my major transformation as a combatant for peace.


** Mosaic News is produced by Jamal Dajani. Contact: mosaicnews{at}linktv{dot}org