America’s “Other Options” on Iran

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America’s “Other Options” on Iran

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Editorial A Weekly Political News Magazine

The Vienna talks which have been on hold since Iranian presidential elections are set to resume the 1+5 negotiations on the Iranian nuclear deal. As more hardline stances by the new President Ebrahim Raisi are expected in the talks, regional powers including Israel are expressing concerns over U.S. response to the Iranian intransigence. However, last week’s meeting between US President Joe Biden and Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett pinpointed new implications in US policies towards Iran as Biden pointed out to “other options” on the table if diplomacy fails.

In this week’s cover story, Ahmed Taher writes about the difference between American and Israeli policies on Iran’s nuclear program. Bennett confirmed that his country is adopting a “comprehensive strategy” against Iran while Biden’s current policy is to revive the path of negotiations. To confront a potential nuclear Iran, the U.S. should not rule out other paths, i.e. economic sanctions, security and even military options can be used in parallel with diplomatic endeavors to ensure that Iran will comply with resulting agreements that would prevent it from developing a nuclear weapon and stop its provocative behavior in the region.

In another article, Latifa al Hassanyeh writes about critical medicine shortage in Lebanon which has been exacerbated by authorities’ negligence and showy actions that have put large numbers of Lebanese patients at risk of death. The crisis has prompted community campaigns led by Lebanese activists who are offering a glimmer of hope in the desperate search for medication and life.

Read these articles and more on our website eng. majalla.com. As always, we welcome and value our readers’ feedback and we invite you to take the opportunity to leave your comments on our website.

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French President Macron tours the Old City of Mosul French President Emmanuel Macron tours the Old City of Mosul, Iraq, August 29, 2021., Iraq )Reuters Photos(

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Moldova celebrates 30 years of independence Women soldiers make selfie while waiting for military parade in Chisinau, Moldova, 27 August 2021. The parade was delayed for more than one hour, waiting for arrive of Romanian and Ukrainian presidents, cause of heavy morning fog. Moldova celebrates 30 Years of Independence on 27 August )EPA Photos(

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America’s “Other Options” on Iran First Biden-Bennett Meeting: Addressing a Comprehensive Approach on Iran

By Ahmed Taher

Naftali Bennett in the White House on August 27. “But if diplomacy fails, we’re ready to turn “We’re putting diplomacy first and seeing where to other options,” Biden added. These statements that takes us,” US President Joe Biden said dur- expressed the US policy not only towards the ing his first meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Israeli ally but also on Iranian behavior in the

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region. The perilous Iranian policies range from developing nuclear arsenal which threatens regional security and stability, to Tehran’s intervention in the neighboring countries’ affairs through its affiliates and proxies.

In light of the announced U.S. approach which gives priority to diplomacy via resuming the 5+1 negotiations, the United States has not overlooked other options it can resort to if the diplomatic approach fails due to obstacles or stumbles brought by the dodgy Iranian attitude. However, Biden didn’t reveal what these options could be, which raises many questions about their nature and forms; Are they economic or military options, or are they both? In case the United States resorted to the military option, will it take the form of direct military strikes, or will take a different approach? Will these choices be taken subsequently or simultaneously? Will the new rightist Israeli government have an opportunity to follow the American approach, or will it adopt the Netanyahu government’s method of launching unannounced direct strikes against Iran’s nuclear program and interests in the region as it did in Syria?

U.S. President Joe Biden shakes hands with Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, DC, on August 27, 2021. (Photo by Nicholas Kamm / AFP)

In an attempt to answer these questions, we explore the American options, the Israeli stance and the Iranian response according to the following two pivotal points: First: Iran’s Nuclear Program According to American and Israeli Perspectives

ONE THREAT, DIFFERENT POLICIES It is not an overstatement to say that the US vision, whether under a Republican administration as with Donald Trump or Democratic as with Barack Obama and now Biden, believes that Iranian attempts to develop a nuclear program poses a threat to the regional security and the US interests in the region. This comes in line with the Israeli view of Tehran as the first threat to Israel’s security. But the difference is clear in the way of tackling the Iranian quest. Israel believes it is important to direct an abortive strike to Iran’s nuclear program, in an operation that resembles targeting the Iraqi and Syrian nuclear projects in 1981 and 2008 respectively, fearing that Tehran

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The United States has not overlooked other options it can resort to if the diplomatic approach fails due to obstacles or stumbles brought by the dodgy Iranian attitude. can take further steps towards having a nuclear bomb, which will be the most dangerous threat to the region, particularly under the policies adopted by Tehran since its 1979 revolution. The Iranian principle of exporting the revolution would mean intervening in the internal affairs not only of the neighboring countries, but also elsewhere, which may mean Europe, Africa and some Latin American countries. According to numerous reports and studies, Iran’s proxies and affiliates exist in these areas.

Therefore, Israel insists on its stance against Iranian development of nuclear weapons, as Israeli PM Bennett said on the sidelines of his meeting with Biden, “We’ve developed a comprehensive strategy that we’re going to be talking about with two goals: The first goal is to stop Iran on its regional aggression… and the second is to permanently keep Iran away from ever being able to break out to a nuclear weapon.” He also confirmed that the Israeli stance cannot be changed in this regard, and added, “We will never outsource our security. It’s our responsibility to take care of our fate. But we do thank you for the tools and the backing you’ve been giving us and you’re giving us,” in an explicit remark that Israel may be obliged to take stricter options on Iran if the U.S. didn’t take the Iranian threat more seriously.

The Israeli Premier’s stance reflects the domestic pressures he is facing, prominently the Netanyahu-led opposition camp’s criticism by which the former PM tries to outbid Bennett’s performance on Iran and describes it as weak.

On the other side, the American perspective on

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addressing the Iranian policies shows discrepancies between Democrats and Republicans. The Republican US administration was aligned with the Israeli vision despite taking some distance from it. Indeed, the Republican administration under Donald Trump scrapped the nuclear deal of the Obama administration, but it didn’t opt for the military option against the Iranian threats.

Instead, Trump’s administration decided that economic sanctions are more efficient along with turning a blind eye to undeclared cyberattacks by Israel against the Iranian nuclear program, and some military strikes against Iranian targets in the sea, such as Iranian oil tankers, or some of its representatives and proxies in the region.

Previous negotiations with Tehran have proved the Islamic Republic’s ability to dodge, manipulate and buy time until it is able to be a nuclear country.

On the contrary, the U.S. Democratic administration still see diplomacy as a priority in addressing Iranian threats. This explains President Biden’s approach on emphasizing its priority, particularly that he was Obama’s Vice President during the signing of the nuclear deal, and he wants to validate his view on the priority of diplomacy on Iran.

Therefore, Biden’s current policy is a resumption of this perspective which seeks to revive the path of negotiations to reach understanding and agreement with Iran, without ruling out other options in case the negotiations fail. Although the nature and order of these options are not determined, they are almost confined to three options as follows: - The economic option: It implies imposing further economic sanctions which would negatively affect Iran domestically and subsequently have repercussions on the country’s internal stability amid deteriorating living conditions due to the firmer economic blockade.

- The security option: This means launching cyberattacks against Iranian nuclear facilities that

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In this Jan. 13, 2015, file photo released by the Iranian President’s Office, President Hassan Rouhani visits the Bushehr nuclear power plant just outside of Bushehr, Iran. (AP Photo/Iranian Presidency Office, Mohammad Berno, File)

An Iranian Saeqeh missile is launched during war games on April 25, 2010 in southern Iran, near the Strait of Hormuz, the narrow strategically located waterway through which 40 percent of world’s seaborne oil supplies pass. (MEHDI MARIZAD/AFP via Getty Images)

would disrupt the nuclear program, such as the attacks that targeted Natanz nuclear facility in Iran.

- The military option: this means directing swift strikes against some Iranian facilities, in addition to some bases and affiliated militias in the region, such as American and Israeli attacks against Iranian militias in Syria.

In light of the aforementioned options, the U.S. administration can use all of them in a way that would force Iran to acquiesce to the negotiations and comply with its obligations. That would be in the interest of both parties (U.S. and Israel) in preventing Iran from obtaining nukes, as Biden said before the meeting, “We are going to discuss the threat from Iran and our commitment to ensure Iran never develops a nuclear weapon.”

SECOND: HOW TO CONFRONT NUCLEAR IRAN? Obviously, it is essential that the United States sets a comprehensive strategy of options in addressing Iranian threats, due to Iran’s intransigent positions on one side, and the past expe-

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It is imperative that the path of negotiations adopted by the U.S. coincides with other economic, security and even, if needed, military paths to force Iran to resume serious negotiations. riences in dealing with this issue on the other.

President Biden should take advantage of the experiences he gained as Obama’s Vice President.

The 2015 nuclear deal did not stop Tehran from pursuing nuclear weapons, but it rather enabled it to develop a ballistic missile system and achieve financial gains which helped it support its proxies in the region and strengthen its position in the negotiations.

Thus, it is imperative that the path of negotiations adopted by the U.S. coincides with other economic, security and even, if needed, military

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paths to force Iran to resume serious negotiations. The talks have already reached a stalemate due to Iranian hardline stances resulting from Iran’s view of the current moment as a golden opportunity to achieve various gains. As for the U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan and its implications on the U.S. approach towards an intransigent Iran, the American failure in Afghanistan has given way to Iran, despite its differences with Taliban, to achieve gains by contacting the movement. Tehran is turning a new page with Taliban using the Shiite minority of Afghan Hazaras and the increasing volume of trade between both countries, as a new bargaining chip with the Americans to limit the U.S. pressure to comply with required guarantees on its nuclear program.

This means that resumption of negotiations, according to Iran, is a kind of distraction until enrichment is completed and a nuclear Iran is announced. If this happens, interests of the US and its regional allies, particularly Israel, will be vulnerable to Iranian threats. Iran’s recent intransigent threatening rhetoric was clear in a tweet posted by the Secretary of Supreme National Security Council Ali Shamkhani, in which he wrote, “The first meeting between #Bennett and #Biden and the emphasis on using ‘Other Options’ against #Iran, while being an illegal threat to another country, establishes the Islamic Republic of Iran’s right to reciprocal response to

U.S. President should not focus on diplomacy alone in the present time without considering other options which should be addressed in parallel to ensure that the resulting agreements and understandings will be binding.

‘Available Options.’”

In the field of action, Iranian threats were also various. Iran’s repeatedly denied responsibility for targeting American forces in the region, as in March 2021 missile attacks against Assad Air base which houses most US forces of 2500 soldiers, or targeting Israeli tanker MT Mercer Street operated by Zodiac Maritime off the Omani coast, as well as attacking US regional allies via its proxies, such as Houthis’ continued assaults against Saudi Arabia. However, no one forgets the aggressive drone attack against oil refineries in Riyadh in March 2021, which “did not target the Kingdom alone, but more broadly the security and stability of energy supply to the

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Workers are pictured at Abha International Airport after a drone attack

by Houthi group, Abha, Saudi Arabia August 31, 2021. (REUTERS/Mohammed Benmansour)

world, as well as the global economy,” as stated by the Saudi Ministry of Energy following the attack.

In short, the threat posed by Tehran whether by developing nuclear program or planting its proxies in the region and elsewhere, is a real menace to regional and international peace and security.

Its danger heightens amid the deconstructive crises faced by some regional countries on one side, and the transformation of world order represented in U.S. decline, Russian comeback and Chinese emergence on the other. All that requires a rapid, comprehensive and firm confrontation to achieve the targeted results. Previous negotiations with Tehran have proved the Islamic Republic’s abil-

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ity to dodge, manipulate and buy time until it is able to be a nuclear country.

Thus, the first U.S.-Israeli summit witnessed a kind of American shift towards a stricter position against Iran due to Biden’s talk about “other options”. However, the President should not focus on diplomacy alone in the present time without considering other options which should be addressed in parallel to ensure that the resulting agreements and understandings will be binding and will restrict Iranian expansion on one side, and revive cooperativeness in the volatile region on the other. Otherwise, diplomacy will not yield satisfactory results or accepted transformation in Iranian policies.

Addressing Antisemitism and Preventing Extremism in Germany German Government Acts to Fight Rising Hate Crimes

By Jassim Mohamad - Bonn Antisemitism is a security issue for Jewish communities and individuals in regions across the world and the driving force of a range of violent extremist ideologies. Like all forms of intolerance and discrimination, antisemitism has a profound impact on the whole of society, undermining

democratic values and human rights. In recent years, the changing geopolitical climate and media environment have led to a situation where open antisemitism is no longer confined to extremist circles and has become increasingly mainstreamed. Addressing antisemitism through education is therefore both an immediate security imperative and a long-term educational investment to promote human rights

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German Chancellor Angela Merkel receives the BuberRosenzweig-Medal 2020 for her commitment against antiSemitism and racism, during a ceremony in Berlin, Germany, August 31, 2021.

(Kay Nietfeld/Pool via REUTERS)

and global citizenship.

The World Jewish Congress held its first post-war assembly in July 1948, where it passed a resolution clearly expressing the determination of the Jewish people to not settle again on the blood-stained land of Germany. The Jews in Germany consisted of two very distinct groups: the German-born Jews, most of who were highly assimilated into society. The second group was Jewish refugees displaced from Eastern European countries who unwittingly found themselves in Germany.

In July 1950, the groups joined forces and created an umbrella organization to represent them: the Central Council of Jews in Germany. This led to pragmatic cooperation on the part of international Jewish institutions. When the German Central Council was established, the WJC said: “While the opinion and policy of the WJC was that Jews should leave Germany, those who chose to remain in Germany would gladly receive advice.” By 1954, the World Jewish Council and many other international Jewish organizations had close cooperative relations with the German Central Council Calls have been raised to tighten anti-Semitism laws, following the violence that accompanied the anti-Israel protests in several German cities, in the context of the military escalation between Israel and Hamas. Thousands of people demonstrated in the German streets during the May 2021 to express their solidarity with the Palestinians. Another reason for the demonstration was related to the anniversary of Palestinians expulsion from their lands, while the Israelis celebrate the anniversary of the establishment of their state in 1948. “If Jews in Germany are held responsible for what is happening between Israel and the Palestinians, words are not enough as a reaction,” wrote the newspaper, Badesche Tagblatt (May 14, 2021). “There are many explanations for the violence taking place in the Middle East, but it is unjustified violence, most people there they want to live in peace. There is no justification for closing synagogues in Germany because of criticism of the policy of the Israeli government, or justification for incitement against Jews and burning Israeli flags in front of synagogues.”

Wolfgang Schäuble, President of the German Parliament, “Bundestag”, made it clear that people have the right to criticize Israeli policies and may protest against them.

However, he went on to explain to the popular newspaper, “Bild”, that “there is no justification for anti-Semitism, hatred and violence.” For his part, German Interior Minister Horst Seehofer strongly condemned the anti-Israel protests and said that Germany would not tolerate the burning of Israeli flags or attacks on Jewish institutions on German soil.

JEWISH COMMUNITY IN GERMANY The influx of Jews from the former Soviet Union to Germany since its reunification in 1990. The number of Jews in Germany is about 118 thousand (40%). The “ZdJ “is

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Wolfgang Schäuble, President of “Bundestag”, made it clear that people have the right to criticize Israeli policies and may protest against them. However, he explained that “there is no justification for anti-Semitism, hatred and violence.” considered the largest organization representing Jews in Germany. The “ZdJ” runs about 23 organizations, and have about 100.000 members: The most important synagogues in Germany are: The Dresden Synagogue, was opened in 2001, Berlin Synagogue, reopened in 2007, the Schwerin Synagogue, was opened in 2008, and the Jewish center of worship in Halle, Saxony.

ECONOMIC COOPERATION BETWEEN ISRAEL AND GERMANY Germany is Israel’s second most important trading partner they have close cooperation on the economic and security levels. Israel’s most important exports to Germany are machinery, optical equipment, chemical and plastic products, Israel’s most imports from Germany are machinery, transportation equipment, and chemical products. Israel signed an agreement with Germany to supply defense systems to the German Ministry of defense on February 23, 2021, and to supply the German Army’s “Leopard 2” tank with a defense system called “The Wind Coat”.

As well as to protect tanks, interceptor missiles, spare parts, and operational and technical systems. Berlin has exported submarines to Israel, in addition to extensive cooperation in several projects in the fields of science and research. Israel and Germany signed a deal worth 430 million Euros, about a third of deal is financed by the Berlin government. The deal includes the purchase of 4 warships to protect offshore installations to extract natural gas.

GERMANY BLAMES COVID-19 PROTESTS FOR RISING EXTREMISM Germany will increase funding to tackle right-wing extremism, amid warnings that anti-lockdown protests have increased anti-Semitism in the country. Education Minister Anja Karliczek said conspiracy theories had gained popu-

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larity on the fringes of the Querdenker movement, a group of self-styled “lateral thinkers” who protested against Covid-19 restrictions. Coupled with wider polarisation, this meant that Jewish life in Germany was “as threatened as it has been for a long time”, she said. “The poison of anti-Semitism, the poison of nationalism and of far-right extremism continue to take hold in our country,” Ms Karliczek said.“We have to fight these poisons with all our determination. This fight can only be won if we pull together as a society.” Some of the conspiracy theories that grew up on the fringes of the Querdenker movement were aimed at Jews, the minister said.

Since the Holocaust, there has been a belief among Ger-

man Jewish that they should always have a suitcase packed and ready in case history ever repeated itself. But German Jews – some estimates place their number at up to 250,000, according to a report by Time of Israel on January 28, 2021, most of whom are unaffiliated with any Jewish community or congregation - have not immigrated to Israel or otherwise left in large numbers over the years.

Fewer than 1,000 Germans have moved to Israel since 2014, compared to the more than 27,000 French Jews who have also openly feared the violent anti-Semitism that persists in their society during the same period.

German Jews – some estimates place their number at up to 250,000 most of whom are unaffiliated with any Jewish congregation - have not immigrated to Israel or otherwise left in large numbers over the years.

In October 2019, a right-wing terrorist attack on a synagogue in “Halle an der Saale” led to two victims and reminded the German public of rising anti-Jewish violence and right-wing extremism. In the aftermath of the attack, Chancellor Angela Merkel called for more protection for Jewish people. Sadly, statements like these expose the fact that politics in Germany has been underestimating the growing threat against Jewish life. The return of anti-Semitism into the mainstream of German society highlights the question of where political parties stand in respect to its manifestations. The question also weighs heavily on those affected, namely Jewish people living in Germany. Linda Rachel Sabiers, a German author and columnist of Jewish descent, tried to describe the psychology of Jewish voters.

According to Sabiers, many hinge their voting decisions

ANTI-SEMITISM IS RESURFACING AGAIN IN GERMANY

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Counter protestors carry a banner reading: “ Against corona opponents and right rush” during a protest against the government’s restrictions, amid the coronavirus disease (COVID19-) outbreak, in Konstanz, Germany October 2020 ,4.

(REUTERS/Arnd Wiegmann)

German Chancellor Angela Merkel (C, at podium) gives a government declaration at the German parliament ‘Bundestag’ in Berlin, Germany, 24 June 2021. Chancellor Merkel’s government declaration on the European Council, taking place on 24 and 25 June 2021, is expected to be her last one in her legislative period. (EPA/ CLEMENS BILAN)

on two key questions. Which party does the most against anti-Semitism and how to “vote Jewish.”

Post-Holocaust anti-Semitism is associated with dealing with Nazi mass crimes, for example, when recalling Nazi crimes is refused, as happened in Munich on October 23, 2019 : “A Jewish Facebook user receives an anti-Semitic message, saying: “Can’t you leave the Germans alone?

Enough of what you did during and after World War II.” This last mentioned form of anti-Semitism after the Holocaust was strong in 2019. A comparison of the rural city of Berlin and Brandenburg reveals that anti-Semitism associated with Nazi crimes rejects the culture of remembrance more in the desert than in the city.

THE CREEPING RETURN OF ANTISEMITISM TO MUNICH The German state of Bavaria has become home to a rising number of anti-Semitic incidents, with many of them linked to protests against coronavirus measures. Jews in the state are growing increasingly nervous. The Department for Research and Information on Anti-Semitism (RIAS) in Bavaria registered more than 100 such antiSemitic incidents in the state in 2020. The leader of RIAS in Bavaria, Annette Seidel-Arpacı, says there has been a “worrisome increase” in anti-Semitism among conspiracy theorists In late October 2020, posters with photos of signs from the Nazi period were found stuck to the doors of three Munich shops, reading “Jews Not Served Here.” A resident of Augsburg, on whose Instagram profile an Israeli

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The return of anti-Semitism into the mainstream of German society highlights the question of where political parties stand in respect to its manifestations. flag can be seen, received a message reading: “You Zionist bastard swine, you should be gassed.” In July 2020, four men followed and insulted Rabbi Shmuel Aharon Brodman. RIAS says that the number of reported incidents in the first half of 2020 was 40 percent higher than the same period of time the previous year.

ATTACK IN COLOGNE MOTIVATED BY ANTISEMITISM After a brutal anti-Semitic attack on a young man in Cologne on August 24, 2021, police are operating on the presumption that the injured man and the suspects do not know each other. Apparently, the 18-year-old was attacked by a group of about ten because of his kippah, said a spokesman for the investigators. The man had been sitting in a park with an acquaintance late night. As they

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were about to leave, he is said to have been insulted in an anti-Semitic fashion. The 18-year-old wanted to know why and was then beaten, the spokesperson explained. “He was badly battered in the face.” The injured man was hospitalized with a broken nose and cheekbone.

GERMANY UPS FIGHT AGAINST ANTISEMITISM, FAR-RIGHT EXTREMISM Chancellor Angela Merkel’s Cabinet passed new measures on October 30, 2019 aimed at helping fight far-right extremism and anti-Semitism following an attack on a synagogue earlier that month. The proposals include tightening gun laws, stepping up prosecution of online hate, and boosting financial support for projects fighting antiSemitism and far-right extremism.“The horrible attack on the Jewish community in Halle showed again what the unleashing of hatred online can lead to,” Justice Minister Christine Lambrecht said at a news conference in Berlin when she introduced the bundle of measures alongside Germany’s interior and family ministers.

On December 21, 2020, a German court has delivered its verdict in the trial of a right-wing extremist who attacked a synagogue on Judaism’s holiest day, Yom Kippur, in 2019. Stephan Balliet has been sentenced to life in prison for murder and attempted murder. The October 9, 2019 attack is considered one of the worst anti-Semitic assaults in Germany’s post-war history. The 28-year-old defendant, Stephan Balliet, posted a screed against Jews before trying to shoot his way into the synagogue in the eastern city of Halle while broadcasting the attack live on a popular gaming site. He shot and killed two people when he failed to enter the synagogue.

Merkel’s Cabinet passed new measures on October 30, 2019 to help fight farright extremism and anti-Semitism. They included tightening gun laws, stepping up prosecution of online hate, and boosting financial support for projects fighting anti-Semitism and extremism.

COUNTERING RACISM AND ANTI-EXTREMISM IN GERMANY In May 2020, just days before the United States became engulfed in another serious crisis over the issue of racism and racial violence, the first meeting of the German federal government’s committee against right-wing extremism and racism occurred. The committee, newly created in March 2020, is a direct response to a series of violent crimes in Germany that have been attributed to perpetrators belonging to the extreme-right spectrum. What followed was an intense national debate in Germany-about hate crimes, xenophobia, extremism, and the like-and in March 2020, at the 11th Integration Summit (the “Integrationsgipfel” has been held under the auspices of the chancellor since 2006), the German government announced the creation of a cabinet committee that addresses the issues of right-wing extremism and racism. It might be surprising to some observers that anti-racism efforts are discussed at the same time as integration matters, especially considering that most of the victims of the three aforementioned crimes were not recent immigrants (they were predominantly German citizens and individuals born in the country).

GERMANY GIVING OVER $40 MILLION TO FIGHT ANTI-SEMITISM The German government on August 4, 2021 according to the AP report, said it will strengthen its battle against the quickly growing antisemitism in the country by investing 35 million Euros ($41.5 million) into research and educational projects focused on understanding its causes and effectively fighting hatred of Jews. Police registered 2,351 cases of antisemitism in Germany last year, which was an increase of 15% compared to the year before, officials reported. “This is the highest number in the last couple of years,” German Education and Research Minister Anja Karliczek said. “There’s reason for worry that this is only the tip of the iceberg and that the unreported number of daily attacks on Jews is substantially higher.” Karliczek said that the government wants to invest millions into researching the causes of antisemitism “because we need deep knowledge in order to be able to efficiently fight” it.

After 76 years , the end of World War II, the two countries (Germany and Israel) maintain close relations, which were especially marked in August 2020 by unprecedented exercises conducted by the Israeli Air Force in Germany under the slogan of memory, which included a flight over the former Nazi camp Dachau. The German Air Force had previously participated in joint exercises in 2019 in the Israeli Negev desert.

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Black roses hang on a grid in front of the New Synagogue, above them a sign with the inscription “Anarchists against Antisemitism”.

The alliance for a cosmopolitan and tolerant Berlin had called for a human chain under the motto “We stand by your side! to set an example against anti-Semitism and hatred. (Photo by Paul Zinken/picture alliance via Getty Images)

ASSESSMENT Since the end of World War II, German political leaders have rejected the hate-filled “Nazi” ideology that led to the genocide of millions of Jews during the Holocaust. Instead they steered their country toward democracy and reconciliation, including paying more than $80 billion in reparations to Jews for the unimaginable crimes that Nazi Germany committed against them.

Merkel has a good reputation In Israel, despite differences of opinion over the settlements. Merkel was the first foreign head of government to speak German in the Knesset in 2008. During her historic speech to the Knesset, the chancellor said: “Specifically on this site, I say very clearly that every German government and every chancellor before were committed to Germany’s special historical responsibility for Israel’s security.”

Israel has recorded record numbers of tourists from Germany. Mutual trips between high school classes also developed. Germany has also emerged as a steadfast friend and ally of the State of Israel. Although much work remains to be done to promote between the two nation, German and Israeli.

Relations between Germany and Israel have reached high levels of economic, political and intelligence cooperation. Berlin is one of the most important partners of the European Union in the field of trade to Israel.

Germany always pledges to protect Israel’s security, reach a solution to the Palestinian issue through dip-

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It might be surprising to some observers that anti-racism efforts are discussed at the same time as integration matters, especially considering that most of the victims of the three aforementioned crimes were not recent immigrants. lomatic means, and hold talks for a two-state solution.

At the internal level, crimes in Germany rose and took many forms through physical attacks and hate messages, which prompted the German authorities to tighten anti-Semitism laws.

Historian Cauders says “that the movement of Jews to Germany today, whose grandfathers survived the Holocaust and fled, is a historical transformation, Indeed, it is wonderful that Israelis are in Berlin now, showing pluralism in Israeli society, and in German as well, that we overcome the times of war.”

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Academic Year Commences at Saudi Schools Students and Parents Have Mixed Feelings

By Motasem Al Felou - Jeddah Between distance learning from the comfort of their own homes through mobiles, tablets and laptops, and waking up early, getting dressed for school and attending classes, Saudi students, who have resumed their studies at actual school classes and university halls on the 29th of August, have mixed feeling about going back to school after a year and a half of studying at home.

Grade 7-12 (intermediate and secondary schools), vocational schools, high institutes, and universities’ students, who are fully vaccinated, are back to “normal” school life.

Students have different opinions; those who are homebodies and used to online classes feel uncomfortable these days, and those who are social feel excited. Some parents believe distance learning saves money and time while others think that real education takes place only offline at actual classrooms.

CLASSROOM LOVERS “I am pretty excited about resuming studies at classrooms.

I miss my students and colleagues. After the suspension of attendance to contain the spread of COVID-19 for 3 con-

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Saudi students wearing face masks attend a class at a school in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia August 2021 ,29.

Picture taken August 2021 ,29. (REUTERS/ Mohammed Benmansour)

secutive semesters, we are finally back to normal. It is not the ‘normal’ we had before Mach 2020, but it is a step in the right direction,” Fatima Mohammed, a Saudi social studies teacher based in Jeddah told Majalla.

“Private education sector investors were hard hit over the past two years. Our salaries were reduced due to the school fees reduction. Students’ parents and guardians won’t pay the same fees for online classes. The sector is picking up again; we are optimistic things are getting better,” she added.

The Saudi Ministry of Education has made it obligatory for Grade 7 students and above to get a double shot of COVID-19 vaccination to go back to classrooms. Students who fail to do so will be considered ‘absent’.

Students from Grade 1 to 6 (elementary schools) will continue their online classes at home until further notice.

Joud, a Grade 2 student, feels totally disappointed. She has never tried the actual classrooms. She joined school last year when the pandemic was at its height when the vaccinations were being tested, but not approved for mass use.

“I want to meet my classmates in person. We just e-meet during classes. It is boring!” Joud expressed her feelings.

Joud’s dad, Khalid, is concerned about the social development of his daughter away from classrooms.

“We have hundreds of thousands of students who do not know how classrooms look like! There must be a negative impact on the social development of little kids. They need to interact with their peers in the real world, not virtually!” he added.

DISTANCE LEARNING LOVERS The results of a new survey conducted by the Saudi Center of National Opinion Polls has shown that 52% of the population prefer distance learning and 54% have concerns of potential COVID-19 infections.

The results suggest that people are still divided between the fans of classrooms and offline lessons, and distance learning.

“Health concerns are ok; however, only students who got a double shot are allowed to enter schools. This makes parents more assured about the safety of their children. I still prefer online classes for a number of reasons including flexibility, and saving the time and effort needed to drop and pick my kids.”, Abdulmajeed Hassan, an ex-teacher and father of three schoolgirls, told Majalla English.

“Parents need to allocate more money for school buses and other costs, adding new expenses to their budget. Social distance is now being applied in school buses, doubling the cost of transportation fees compared to the fees before the

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The Saudi Ministry of Education has made it obligatory for Grade 7 students and above to get a double shot of COVID 19- vaccination to go back to classrooms.

Students who fail to do so will be considered ‘absent’. pandemic. Online classes only need a good Internet connection.”, he explained.

Before the pandemic, public and private schools’ classrooms used to accommodate 30-40 students per classroom.

With strict adherence to social distance, classes need to be restructured to follow the safety standards of the Ministry of Education. This could be a challenge for school managers. That’s why the MoE ordered schools to follow a mixed mode, where students go to school for 2 or 3 days and attend online classes at home for the remaining days. This way, students will get used to the shift gradually until they go back to classrooms fully.

PROSPECTS According to the statistic of the Saudi MoE, 87% of students were committed to attendance on the first day. The remaining students were not fully vaccinated. The MoE said the absence days will be calculated two weeks after the beginning of the new academic year to allow parents to have their children vaccinated.

Teachers need some more time to cope with the new situation. They used to teach their students using online platforms for the past three semesters.

“I was away from classrooms and I didn’t interact with kids for a long time. The first day was hectic. I am not prepared psychologically for the change. It is actually a challenge. I believe going back to normal life motivates me big time.”, commented Hani bin Ali, a student supervisor at a Saudi school when asked about his feelings on the first day.

Some parents were told by their kids’ school managers that the experience will be evaluated by the MoE. According to the findings, the ministry will take a decision to continue the offline classes at schools or go back to distance learning for the first semester.

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Rival Egyptian Basmati for Arab Biryani Will Egypt break the Indian-Pak Basmati stronghold?

By Meera Ravi Fragrant and long-grained, the slender Basmati rice grain packs a flavorful punch into the much-loved Arabic biryani and other rice dishes, perfectly complementing meat, fish and poultry as a festive main dish. Little wonder that Basmati exports are a cherished trade touchstone of India which, according

to the All India Rice Exporters Association (AIREA), exported Rs 29,859 crore worth of Basmati rice in 2020-21 globally - of which the western Asian nations accounted for Rs 22,849 crore. (one crore is 10 million) - well over 70% of the exports.

For some time now, this lucrative trade has been facing difficult times. First came the

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decision by Oman, Egypt, Jordan UAE and Saudi Arabia to adopt pesticide residue norms at par with those in the European Union (EU) - and Indian Basmati simply could not match this standard, leading to large-scale rejection.

But last week, a potential rival to India’s rich Basmati export market in the MENA came knocking and it has gotten Indian Basmati farmers very worried. The threat came from Egyptian scientists who have produced a new variety of basmati rice that consumes less water than the average species, paving the way to start cultivating the new variation with plans to release it on the market next year and even start exporting it abroad.

Rice Farmers in Palacode, Tamil Nadu, India. (Photo

by Deepak kumar on Unsplash)

According to Alaa Khalil, director of the Field Crops Research Institute at the Ministry of Agriculture, older varieties of basmati rice consume 7,000 to 8,000 cubic meters of water per feddan, while this newer species consumes 5,000 cubic meters of water. Good for the planet and good for the economy. As of right now, Egypt imports basmati rice from Asian countries at a cost of over $100 million annually. With this new cultivation effort, basmati rice imports to Egypt will likely decrease. Not only that, but big players like India will have to watch out for competition.

Egypt’s success poses a larger threat because it will open the floodgates to ‘generic Basmati’ cultivation by other countries. Last October, India tried to apply for the GI tag of Basmati in the European Union, which basically means that they would be the sole exporters of the rice breed. But Pakistan was able to overturn their application, leaving Egypt room to enter into the basmati rice market.

One of the crucial aspects on which India got the Basmati patent of US firm RiceTec cancelled was the photoperiod sensitivity (PS), which is development responses of plants to relative lengths of light and dark periods. Normally, traditional Basmati is sown in June and harvested in November with its growth based on climate and weather pattern. But the new varieties of the fragrant rice are of 100-120-day duration that reduces

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The decision came by Oman, Egypt, Jordan UAE and Saudi Arabia to adopt pesticide residue norms at par with those in the European Union (EU) - and Indian Basmati simply could not match this standard, leading to large-scale rejection the PS. “This is one way in which India could lose its exclusivity or even GI tag,” fears S Chandrasekharan, author of “Basmati Rice: The Natural History and Geographical Indication”.

Even within India, the Punjab Rice Exporters Association’s demand to denotify Basmati not conforming to the sow-in-June-harvestin-November cycle, was rejected by courts.

Basmati rice quality has a historical reputation but today it was moving on to gaining “generic reputation” than one with a GI tag. This could result in countries such as the US, Egypt, Thailand and others countering that Indian Basmati does not have such a reputation.

“The Basmati rice could become a generic variety than an exclusive GI tagged one,” warns the author. Chandrasekharan says that in the past decade, an unknown process had been initiated to naturalize evolved Basmati rice varieties. “If corrective measures are not undertaken in the form of protective discrimination in Basmati rice, its protection will become meaningless,” he argues.

For India, Basmati rice is crucial as about 4.5 lakh ton are exported annually fetching about 30,000 crores in precious foreign exchange.

Will Egypt get its hands on this helping of biryani?

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Food Security: Saudi Determination Tames Obstacles of Nature

Outstanding Experience in Enhancing Research, Using Technology in Production

By Mohammed al-Hadi The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia has been able to overcome the natural obstacles that stand in the way of achieving food security for its people. It adopted integrated strategies and plans that bring together farming abroad with the use of modern technology

in poultry and animal industry, resulting from an increasing interest in food industries. Today, Saudi has become one of the major players in the Middle East markets.

The great development in the Kingdom’s food security appeared during the COVID19- crisis, during which many food exporting countries tended to impose

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Wheat fields in Tabuk City, northwest of Saudi Arabia. (AFP)

protectionist policies and reduce the volume of their exports. Unlike many developed countries, the Kingdom did not face any shortage of food supplies.

Its stores did not witness a rush of citizens, and its shelves were not emptied of goods, owing to people’s certainty of the abundance of products.

The Saudi experience is remarkable. How can a primarily desert country with a 35 million inhabitants not suffer from the lack of food? However, the wise leadership has been keen to address this issue by taking innovative measures to provide the well-being of all its citizens.

Saudi Arabia currently has the largest storage capacity in the Middle East for wheat and flour, exceeding 3.3 million tons, with a daily milling capacity of more than 15,000 tons. In June, the Kingdom received the first shipment of Saudi Agricultural Investment and Livestock Production Company (SALIC)-produced Australian wheat, weighing 60,000 tons. The shipment was part of the Saudi Grains Organization’s tender to purchase 355,000 tons of wheat.

The Gulf country has wide options for wheat sources, through either international tenders that are launched abroad or the tenders launched abroad exclusively for the Saudi investors, for which %10 of wheat purchases are allocated annually. It also purchases local quantities from farmers according to the rules of green fodder cultivation, which determine the area of cultivation according to the size of each investment.

Small farmers are allowed 50 hectares or less, medium-sized farmers are allowed between 50 and 100 hectares, while companies and large farmers who are project owners are allowed 10 hectares (1 hectare is equivalent to 10,000 square meters).

The Kingdom has developed 11 programs in its five-year strategy for food security. These programs include achieving a sustainable local food industry system by improving levels of self-sufficiency in ecological goods, enhancing productivity and adopting sustainable practices in local industry, supporting small farmers, developing rural agriculture, and supporting the local development of the strategic food industry sector while minimizing food loss and waste.

Some of the means used to achieve food security in the Arab countries are related to reducing the quantities of wasted food by changing the prevailing popular mentality of preparing large quantities of food and throwing out the leftovers, said the Professor of Management Accounting at Ain Shams University in Egypt, Dr. Abdul Rahman al-Olayan. He stressed that the costs of food wastage are substantial, especially in the Arab world where it amounts to about 40 million tons.

According to official statistics, food wastage in

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The great development in the Kingdom’s food security matter appeared during the COVID- 19 crisis, during which many foodexporting countries tended to impose protectionist policies and reduce the volume of their exports. the Kingdom amounts to 4,066,000 tons at a cost equivalent to 40 billion riyals annually. This has major negative effects on the environment, health and economy and requires people to balance the purchase of food in a way that meets their needs without causing this massive food waste.

The development of food transport and storage processes was one of the main means for achieving food security, Olayan told Majalla. These processes, he added, increase the shelf life of products and prevent them from being exposed to rapid damage, especially in hot areas that depend mainly on imports to get most of their needs. This forces the economy to bear the burden of import and waste as well.

The Kingdom’s strategy also included achieving a diversity and stability of external food sources.

For this purpose, it established mechanisms and frameworks for commercial partnerships to be transferred into a regional hub for food trade. It also initiated cooperative procedures in the field of food security between the Gulf Cooperation Council states at the regional and international levels, enhanced its participation in the international organizations and agreements related to food security, and prepared and launched its overseas agricultural investment plan.

In addition, Olayan stressed the need to carry out awareness campaigns for citizens and add explanations to school curricula on the burden of food wastage as well as the cost incurred by the economy to achieve food security. He pointed out that the Kingdom has already achieved this goal by developing an institutional work model at the national level and preparing training and awareness programs to enhance the capability of national cadres to understand the various concepts, policies and operations related to food security which are reflected by infrastructure investment.

The strategy also included building capacities to face the risks related to food security, in addition to

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designing and establishing an effective information and risk management system. Moreover, it covered developing mandatory protocols, systems and capabilities, managing and examining the crises and emergencies, and formulating the appropriate mechanisms and policies for the operation and management of strategic food stocks in the country, in partnership with private sector actors.

Saudi Arabia has experience in cultivating wheat, as it began producing it in the 80s by relying on groundwater. It then enhanced its performance in the 90s to produce four million tons, making it the second largest producer of Arab wheat after Egypt. But it later decided to reduce the cultivated areas in order to preserve the underground water reserves and adopt new strategies for agriculture.

The Kingdom eventually studied a request for the possibility of raising its productivity of wheat to 1.7 million tons annually while reconsidering an increase of the purchase price of wheat to 2,000 riyals per ton.

Saudi Arabia fortunately has all the essential elements and has a promising future in the way of exporting food and not only producing it for the benefit of its people.

It forced farmers not to use more than 5,500 cubic meters per hectare and not to plant any summer crops after wheat and barley in order to preserve the stock.

The Ministry of Environment, Water and Agriculture has also exploited the relative virtues of each region in terms of climate and water availability, which created a growth in production. This led to achieving high sufficiency rates in many agricultural products, accompanied by an improvement in quality, and a lower consumption of groundwater for agricultural purposes.

The Kingdom’s agricultural output amounted to 61.4 billion riyals, representing %2.33 of the gross domestic product. Its self-sufficiency rate for dates exceeded %125, while the self-sufficiency rate for vegetables and poultry reached %60, eggs %116, fresh milk and its derivatives %109, and fish 55 %, raising the its rank in the Global Food Security Index (GFSI) to 30th out of 113 countries in 2019.

The local production of fruits (excluding dates) amounted to 800.4 tons, with watermelon topping the crops at a sufficiency rate of %81 ,%98 for melons, %59 for grapes, %52 for mangoes, %28 for pomegranates, and %25 for lemons. Many other fruit crops were also produced throughout the year and contributed to achieving food security in the Kingdom, according to local official data.

The organic agriculture sector is also witnessing a significant growth after its capacity reached 270,000 dunams (1 dunam is equivalent to 1000 meters) and the amount of local organic agricultural production during one year reached 98 million kilos. The turnover of the local food market amounted to more than 752

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A Saudi farmer in Al-Kharj Governorate.

(Reuters)

Coffee farms in Jizan, KSA. (Getty)

million riyals. Meanwhile, the government showed great interest consistent with deeming the organic agriculture sector to be the fastest growing and most in-demand in the global food industry.

FOOD INDUSTRY The Kingdom is currently highly interested in agricultural industrialization. It is in the process of launching a giant agricultural holding that produces dates and all palm tree products and is working hard to market them abroad. It is worth mentioning that it has about 30 million palm trees that produced about 1.6 million tons in 2020.

The fruit and vegetable canning factories top the list of food factories in the Kingdom with about 296 plants, followed by “bakeries” with about 240 plants.

While investment in the food industry amounts to 87 billion riyals, which constitutes eight percent of the total investments in the industrial sector, food product factories account for %11 of the total number of factories and provide more than 82,000 jobs.

In this regard, a report issued by the National Center for Industrial Information showed that the number of food factories in the Kingdom amounted to about 1,121 until Q2021 1, with an activity growth of nine percent. The report also revealed an increase of %61 in the number of industrial licenses issued in 2020 compared to the year 2019, noting that food product factories are producing more than 1,582 products.

It is worth noting that the Kingdom’s food exports reached 13.5 billion riyals in 2018, when the sector ranked fourth in the list of non-oil manufactured

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The Saudi experience is remarkable...

How can a primarily desert country with a 35 million inhabitants not suffer from the lack of food? exports. Dairy products topped the list with a 4 billion riyals of exports, followed by the pastry sector with about 2.2 billion riyals, fruits and vegetables with about 1.2 billion riyals, and cereals with 578 million riyals.

DAIRY INDUSTRY In 2017, Saudi Arabia launched three initiatives within the National Transformation Program aimed at enhancing animal and food production to meet the needs of the local market. Red meat constituted %30 of the market’s needs which required an increase in the poultry production sector to about %48.

Fresh milk and its derivatives provide the individual with about 135 calories, which represent %4.7 of the total calories consumed in the daily diet, in addition to 7.4 grams of protein, which constitutes about %28.2 of the total daily nutritional requirement and is equivalent to the world average.

There are more than 17.5 million sheep, 6.1 million goats, 1.4 million camels and 354,000 cows across the

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Kingdom, according to the 2016 agricultural census issued by the General Authority for Statistics.

By the end of 2020, the number of companies specialized in the production of fresh milk and its derivatives reached about 12 national companies producing seven million liters with a daily filling capacity of 18 million containers, including 35 different products of fresh milk and its derivatives.

This covers the total local consumption for the Kingdom, which usually exports to the Gulf markets about %25 of its dairy products, with milk exports amounting to about %56.4.

Saudi Arabia has adopted the latest means of industrial livestock production in farms relying on technology, after the traditional system of production

The development of food transport and storage processes was one of the main means for achieving food security. These processes increase the shelf life of products and prevent them from being exposed to rapid damage.

ended decades ago in the 80s. It started to follow the vertical expansion in agriculture by using foreign breeds, cattle genetic improvement and providing the appropriate environmental atmosphere for increased production.

POULTRY INDUSTRY The poultry industry witnessed a record growth in the Kingdom. In fact, production increased from 7,000 tons per year in 1971 to 425,000 tons in 2000, and 535,000 tons in 2006, before attaining approximately 670,000 tons in 2016 and 750,000 tons in 2019, with a self-sufficiency rate that exceeds %60 for broiler chickens and more than %106 for table egg production.

Saudi recorded the highest consumption of chicken in the world with a per capita consumption average of 50 kg annually. The country consumes about 1.5 million tons per year, which is a very high rate per capita compared to similar countries. Therefore, the Kingdom needs to import the remaining quantities for its local market, especially from Brazil, which ranks first among exporters.

The number of birds and poultry in the nonspecialized holdings is more than 5.6 million, along with 1.8 million birds that breed at home. There are nine types of breeding in the farms specialized in poultry production in the Kingdom, namely, “broiler chickens, chickens, mother broiler chickens, mother chickens, grandmother broiler chickens, grandmother

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A satellite image of crops circles in the Wadi AsSirhan Basin, Northern Saudi Arabia. (Getty)

Palm trees in Najran.

(Getty)

chickens, quails, and ostriches.”

The Saudi government has taken several measures to develop the sector, mainly redirecting direct financial support according to the type of product. Contrary to the previous methods of support, this redirection would maximize the benefits by enhancing production and improving the quality of local products in all the poultry production projects. Moreover, it would contribute to the stability of the poultry prices for the final consumer. It is worth noting that the Kingdom also launched the “Sajjel” (Register) program a few years ago to encourage hundreds of informal farms to become registered.

FISHING INDUSTRY The number of farms specialized in fish production reached about 55 holdings, containing more than 13 types of fish in aquaculture farms. Fish production increased at a rapid pace, so that the Kingdom’s exports of farmed fish products in 2019 amounted to about 60,000 tons, with revenues of more than one billion riyals.

The experience of fish farming in the Kingdom dates back to 1982 when the first tilapia fish farm was licensed in the Eastern Region before the freshwater fish farms were established south of Riyadh. Fingerlings were then distributed free to farmers, so that the Kingdom’s exports of shrimp increased by 40,000 tons, with returns exceeding 800 million riyals in 2018, making the Kingdom one of the leading countries in this field.

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Last April, NEOM signed a memorandum of understanding to establish a fish farm which is the largest in the Middle East and North Africa. Dubbed “Tabuk farm,” this hatchery is specialized in applying the new generation of aquaculture technologies within the NEOM region, with a production capacity of 70 million eggs. It also focuses on improving the productivity of local fish species in the Red Sea to contribute to achieving Saudi Arabia’s goal of producing 600,000 tons of fish products by 2030.

FRUIT INDUSTRY Saudi Arabia currently produces 50 types of winter vegetables on 100.7 thousand acres, led by the potato crop, which constitutes %30.6 of the total cultivated area, followed by the melon crop with %18.5, and then tomatoes with %15.3. The Kingdom also produces 40 types of summer vegetables on 80.4 thousand acres, in addition to 40 species on 1.5 thousand acres of 66,529 greenhouses, and 19 types of cut flowers on 380 acres.

The number of beehives in all agricultural holdings reached 38.8 thousand, and the total production of honey amounted to 109 tons, following government plans to develop bee pastures in order to maximize the economic returns to the industry. The country’s institutions continue to support this industry in light of the continuous growth of the number of beekeepers who practice modern methods of honey production and the ability to increase the number of highly qualified specialists in this field.

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Saudi Arabia imported approximately 25,000 tons of honey annually, but the Ministry of Agriculture kept seeking to change this situation through a package of programs that improved the honey bee industry and production sector in 2018. Honey revenues are about 660 million riyals, representing %1.07 of the country’s agricultural GDP.

AGRICULTURE INVESTMENTS ABROAD Saudi agricultural investments abroad amounted to more than 10 billion riyals (3.75$ billion) during the last 10 years in several countries, including Sudan, Egypt, Ethiopia and Morocco. These investments

Saudi Arabia is currently investing in about two million hectares in several African countries with %60 of the world’s uncultivated lands.

depend on the use of industrial intelligence as well as digital and vital technology to sustain growth and achieve the highest economic benefit as well.

Dr. Rashad Abdo, head of the Egyptian Forum for Economic Studies, said that Saudi Arabia has been making strides over the years to vigorously address the food security issue. However, its efforts increased significantly during the past years in light of the leadership’s acknowledgement of the country’s need to import in order to face any local demand shocks.

The Kingdom has an abundance of money that qualifies it to import at any time, Abdo told Majalla.

However, it is well aware that the imports may face emergency crises such as fires, floods and epidemics, in addition to the repercussions of climate change that may affect productivity. Therefore, it sought to diversify its investments to include all continents: Asia, Africa, the Americas, Australia and Europe, ensuring easy importing from anywhere at any time.

In 2019, SALIC, which is affiliated with the stateowned Saudi Public Investment Fund, carried out the first agricultural investment operation in Australia. It purchased Baladjie Company, which owns agricultural land of more than 494,000 acres in the wheat belt in Western Australia, along with a flock of 40,000 head of Merino sheep.

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Rose farms in the city of Taif, western Saudi Arabia. (AFP)

A bee farm in Jizan, KSA. (Getty)

Moreover, a few years ago, SALIC acquired a large farming company “Mriya Agro Holding” in Ukraine to manage about 494,000 acres, after it purchased two Ukrainian agricultural companies operating on multiple levels and merged them together under the name of “Continental Farmers Group” to manage 195,000 hectares of agricultural land in western Ukraine.

Saudi companies also have investments in Brazil in the agricultural sector, meat, industrial and chemical products, as well as tracts of land in Los Angeles, Arizona, and Argentina. Some of this land is planted with red clover silage, which is used as a forage for cows and regularly imported to the Kingdom for dairy production companies, according to the green fodder cultivation mechanism that ensures those companies meet their needs.

This strategy ensures the regular import of agricultural requirements over a long period of time, especially since the Kingdom took into account the temporal and geographical dimensions of importing, Abdo added. It pumped investments in some neighboring countries such as Egypt, Sudan and Ethiopia to produce basic commodities, ensuring that goods can be transported from these countries whether by land, sea or air.

The agricultural sector in Africa is currently the most attractive to Saudi investors, as the Kingdom has been

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able to get a foothold in a region that will become within a few years the most attractive global area for food-related investments. Studies show that by 2030, the African agricultural sector will be able to create a trillion-dollar market with the exploitation of renewable water resources inasmuch as only two percent of it has been exploited so far.

In this regard, African economic studies indicate that Saudi Arabia is currently investing in about two million hectares in several African countries that have %60 of the world’s uncultivated lands and employ %70 of the workforce. The agricultural sector represents the fastest growing sector with future expectations of more than %31.

Finally, Abdo noted that the food security is achieved through several elements, foremost among which is the availability of sufficient quantities of appropriate food from local or imported industry.

In other words, it is fundamental to provide food and goods by all means, and to use appropriate storage practices, in line with the sustainability of its availability at all times, even in emergency situations.

Apparently, Saudi Arabia fortunately has all the aforementioned essential elements and has a promising future in the way of exporting food and not only producing it for the benefit of its people.

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Women-led Humanitarian Campaigns to Rescue Patients

Majalla Goes Deep into Lebanese Struggle in Search for Medicine

By Latifa al Hassanyeh – Beirut Lebanon appears first on the Google search engine as one of the countries suffering from drug shortages. Although challenges can be noticed in various countries, they usually come up with strategies to fill the gaps. However, Lebanon is

now going through several crises that seem like a horror movie for many people. These include drug shortages, deterioration of the health sector, hospital crisis, cancer patients with no medication, etc…

Do patients really die on the streets? Is a child suffering from asthma really at risk of dying due

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to a lack of access to oxygen? Does the patient really go from one city to another, crossing thousands of kilometers to buy a pill? Just one pill?

No this not a movie, these are the facts on the ground in Lebanon.

According to medical sources, about 10% of cancer patients have not had access to their medication over the past two months. The same situation applies to the treatment of other patients in the country. The Lebanese social media platforms have become a means to search for medicine in a country where factions fight to outdo each other in humiliating citizens, threatening their health and the security of their livelihood.

SHOW RAIDS, ONGOING DRUG SHORTAGE

People queue to buy medicines in Lebanon before the shortage during the past two months. (Reuters)

Cartels that monopolize medicines for dealers who are backed by the ruling parties are all over Lebanon. Meanwhile, many citizens are dying for a lack of access to their treatment. Documented raids are garnering enough media hype and applause, while the country still suffers from drug shortages. Despite the recent raids and investigations, one question remains: Why is the Lebanese citizen still deprived of medicine until now?

Most of the Lebanese social media platforms include successive campaigns demanding access to drugs. While foreign-funded associations have shown that they participate in supporting patients, most of the Lebanese people do not trust their local administrations and believe that many of these associations are complicit in the ruling parties’ corrupt system.

In the meantime, and amid the chaos the country is going through, some of the internet funding accounts may take advantage of the circumstances to launch fraudulent campaigns to collect money from donors for profitable commercial purposes.

Therefore, Majalla conducted a thorough search of some of the social media pages to highlight the few reliable sources that volunteer to provide medicine and treatment to the patients.

TESTIMONIALS FROM PATIENTS WHO SUFFER Laila is the mother of an eight-year-old child who suffers from leukemia and is in the last stages of

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The campaign receives donations from the Lebanese expatriates, as well as citizens from the Arab world, including the Gulf region, topped by Saudi Arabia, as well as Jordan, Iraq and Egypt. his treatment. She and her family fear they won’t be able to provide medical care for their child, despite the recent progress in therapy. Some hospitals ask their patients to secure their medicines in a country where all of the means of earning a decent living have been lost. We can only imagine a child dying because he has the misfortune to be living in a country ruled by avaricious politicians.

Sultan, 28, suffers from bone cancer and cannot walk normally. He needs surgery but although he can afford the cost of surgery, the deterioration of the health sector has ruled out this possibility.

He was expected to undergo surgery in August, but the hospital postponed it due to the crisis and a lack of medical equipment.

Sultan told Majalla he was shocked when he knew about the hospital’s decision to delay the procedure. “As you can see, I use crutches to walk, but this is tiring. I have been longing to undergo the operation to walk again normally, but I wake up every day to painful news of the hospital’s inability to conduct the operation due to the lack of equipm/ent,” he explained.

Jawad, 50, is a taxi driver who suffers from heart disease and diabetes and needs medication on a daily basis. “I was terrified when I heard the news about the drug shortage in the country,” he told Majalla. “How can I protect myself from clots and other symptoms without taking my medication? I don’t have relatives who live abroad to secure my medicines, and seeing the pharmacies closed is enough to cause great concern.” He stressed that this crisis has resulted in a medical condition that required his admission to the hos-

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travelling on flights to Lebanon to bring suitcases of medicine with them.

After years of hard work in the humanitarian field with the aim of supporting families in need, these activists currently dedicate their time and efforts HUMANITARIAN CAMPAIGNS PLAY GOVT’S ROLE TO PROTECT PATIENTS to support patients and secure the medicines.

The women who launched the campaigns listed In light of the severe crises, several Lebanese below do not belong to any party and have no female activists played a major role and vol- political background. They make sure the bills unteered to secure drugs for suffering patients. are paid and recorded to secure treatment for paThey coordinated with the Lebanese at home and tients from different sects. the expatriates, as well as with neighboring Arab Majalla interviewed these Lebanese activists citizens, making it a priority to recruit passengers who explained their methods and pointed to the obstacles they face. pital. “Is it possible for our country to let us die slowly every day?” he asked, wondering why no government has been formed so far.

Lebanon is now going through several crises that seem like a horror movie for many people.

These include drug shortages, deterioration of the health sector, hospital crisis, cancer patients with no medication -

JOYCE ABOU ZEIDAN (KAFFAKBI-KAFFI) The “Kafak-Bi-Kaffi” (Hand in Hand) humanitarian aid campaign was launched following the October 17, 2019 revolution in Lebanon. Back then, a Lebanese family asked the activist for help to secure a medicine for a family member who had been deprived of it for two months.

Abou Zeidan narrates how a media campaign was launched afterwards to continue helping the needy.

She pointed out that citizens used to ask her

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Medicine bags transported on flights to Lebanon (Supplied)

Social Activist Joyce Abou Zeidan

to pay their house rent, school fees or provide food aid. However, now they only ask for medicines, and some travel long distances to get just one pill, which has become a dream due to the black market monopolization. The drugs people need to treat cardiovascular diseases such as high blood pressure can only be bought from the black market, she noted.

The campaign receives donations from the Lebanese expatriates, as well as citizens from the Arab

Social Activist Paulina Keiro

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world, including the Gulf region, topped by Saudi Arabia, as well as Jordan, Iraq and Egypt. Many American, French and Italian citizens also send donations after hearing about the campaign’s activities from the Lebanese people there.

Abou Zeidan shed light on the great support she receives from Arab states, especially Saudi Arabia. “Arab states have never let Lebanon down and have been supportive to the Lebanese in all the crises,” she said. The activist further warned people from sending donations to the wrong source.

“Many associations received huge funds to secure medicines and aid, especially after the Beirut blast, but unfortunately nothing was delivered to the relevant authorities or the people in need,” stressed the campaigner who is involved in following up the work of campaigns and associations in Lebanon.

She searches for medicines in pharmacies across Lebanon and relies on her personal Twitter account to benefit from any ties between other tweeters and owners of pharmaceutical companies. She has recently launched an appeal to secure cancer drugs, given their high black market prices. These drugs could only be purchased with hard currency, leaving dozens of patients without treatment.

Commenting on whether she receives aid from

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the ruling parties, Abou Zeidan said she refuses to accept any help from the officials, since they are the reason behind the current situation in the country. “All the officials offered to help provided that I mention it on the media, but I refused to cooperate with them,” she added.

SOAD ELIAS GHARIOS (NIHNA WAHAD CAMPAIGN) “Nihna Wahad” (We are One) campaign was launched in 2015 before the outbreak of the economic crises in Lebanon. It aimed at organizing environmental and social activities. However, in light of the drug crisis in the country, it has become involved in providing medication for patients, especially for the poor.

In an interview with Majalla, the campaign founder, Soad Elias Gharios, said there is no actual shortage of medicine in Lebanon, but rather their distribution is monopolized by mafias and merchants.

Gharios affirmed that everything needs an intermediary in Lebanon, even inside pharmaceutical companies. Therefore, activists work on securing the medicines by coordinating with pharmacies in the country and abroad, she explained, adding that her Twitter account serves as a means to publish her message and announce cases that require aid, especially those who need treatment.

After years of hard work in the humanitarian field with the aim of supporting families in need, Lebanese female activists currently dedicate their time and efforts to support patients and secure the medicines.

The campaign also relies on foreign donors, especially from Switzerland and France, from which funds and drugs are received. (13 medicines are sent from Switzerland and 18 medicines from France) According to Gharios, the most requested medicines are for chronic diseases such as blood pressure, diabetes, liver diseases, stomach diseases, bone diseases, and also for coronavirus treatment.

When asked about the campaign’s methods, Gharios said she requests the prescription from the patient and then intensifies her calls abroad to secure the medicine or visits various pharmacies to check whether it is available. She also visits the homes of the sick or needy to provide as much aid as possible.

Commenting on the absence of an active role from the Ministry of Social Affairs, she said it has not played its role for years, especially in terms of caring for people with special needs. “It does not provide for them the necessary medical

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Social Activist Soad Elias Gharios

packages of medicine are received from Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and other Arab countries, and expressed appreciation for their efforts. She also pointed to regular Saudi donors, whom she considers to be the greatest supporters.

PAULINA KEIRO (WAJAA’K WAJAAI)

Paulina Keiro’s son carrying bags of medicines on his way to Lebanon (Supplied)

equipment or treatment,” she stressed. Gharios urged the Minister of Social Affairs to conduct a comprehensive survey and sort out those who actually need the aid and those who are beneficiaries due to their political connections.

According to the activist, the medicine crisis started two years ago when the market saw a hike in drug prices. Lebanese citizens also played a role in the lead up to this crisis by storing medicines. “The Lebanese people’s homes have turned into pharmacies after fearing they could lose these drugs later.”

Gharios also pointed to how hospitals are addressing the crisis and to people’s great suffering.

“Even after obtaining the approval of the Health Ministry for the patient’s admission and after securing the amount needed from the donors, some hospitals ask patients to bring their medicines under the pretext of the crisis,” she said.

Gharios further outlined the active role played by Arab citizens and their donations. She said many

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The campaign, dubbed “Wajaa’k Wajaai” (Your Pain is my Pain), was launched by an expatriate who is member of the Syndicate of Professional Artists in Lebanon. Paulina Keiro is a cancer patient who is receiving treatment in France. She told Majalla that her campaign was started during the October 2019 revolution and then became active after the Beirut blast and during the outbreak of the medicine crisis.

Keiro buys the drugs from France and sends them to the needy for free but sells them to those who can afford to pay their prices. She sends many drugs with Lebanese passengers when they agree to take a bag of medicines with a capacity of 23 kilos.

Last year, she faced many obstacles in the process, but Lebanese General Security facilitated the transportation mechanism after ensuring that her goal is humanitarian and not profit-making.

The Lebanese heading to their homeland from Paris now call Keiro to deliver the parcels of drugs. She also sends her children regularly to Lebanon to deliver drugs to the patients while she receives funds from expatriates. Her acquaintances and friends working in pharmaceutical companies help her secure the necessary medicines either free or at the previously subsidized price.

Keiro hailed the role played by the expatriates and the campaigns supporting patients in Lebanon while the government “lies” and the associations “show off.”

What if the drug-securing campaigns had not been active in Lebanon? What does a patient who is not affiliated with any of the ruling parties do? While some parties defy brotherly Arab countries and isolate Lebanon from its neighboring countries, Lebanese activists highlight these countries’ support for citizens. Where is the ruling party taking Lebanon with its hostility in light of decades-long corruption?

A Weekly Political News Magazine

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Issue 1868- September- 03/09/2021

Abdel Rahim Kamal: The Sophisticated Scriptwriter and Novelist

www.majalla.com

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Egyptian Amphibian Whale Walked the Land 43 Million Years Ago! “We Have Heritage Older Than the Pharaohs” – Author of The Research Paper to Majalla

By Salma Adham A research team led by Egyptian scientists has succeeded in recording the discovery of the genus and species of the ancestors of amphibian whales, which

roamed Egyptian waters about 43 million years ago and documented its discovery in a research paper published on 25th August in one of the world›s most significant journals in biology, the Proceedings of the Royal Society of Biological Sciences.

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The discovery is important because it represents a historical event with all meanings. After all, for the first time in history, an entire Arab-Egyptian team was able to lead a scientific paper and document the discovery of a new species of whale named in a branch of science that has remained the preserve of foreign scientists for a long time.

THE DISCOVERY

Abdullah Gohar, a researcher at El Mansoura University works on renovating the 43 million-year-old fossil of a previously unknown four-legged amphibious whale called «Phiomicetus Anubis», that helps trace the transition of whales from land to sea, which were discovered in the Fayum Depression in the Western Desert of Egypt, near the town of El Mansoura, north of Cairo, Egypt August 2021 ,26. (REUTERS/ Mohamed Abd El Ghany)

The fossils were discovered in 2008 by a team from the Ministry of Environment while they were searching for fossils of whales in the Wadi El Rayan Protected Area, Fayoum Governorate, in the Western Desert of Egypt. The team was led by Dr. Hisham Salam, Professor of Paleontology at the American University and Mansoura University, and Dr. Muhammad Sameh, Director General of the Central Reserves of the Region and the researcher Abdullah Gohar, who studies at the Faculty of Science, Department of Zoology.

After the discovery, the fossils were given to the Mansoura University Center for Vertebrate Fossils within the framework of a cooperation protocol between the Ministry of Environment and Mansoura University to be the subject of a master›s thesis by the researcher Abdullah Gohar who is the main author of the research paper. Abdullah worked on the paper from 2017 to 25th August 2021, and then the research was published.

Mansoura University Center is the first center in Egypt – and in the Arab world and the Middle East – to be concerned with the research of vertebrate fossils, despite the richness of the Arab region and Egypt in fossils.

The center aims to study ancient fossils that lived millions of years ago and to attract scholars from the Middle East and all over the world to develop the science of vertebrate paleontology. The center collaborates with research groups, universities and natural history museums from all over the world, such as the University of Southern California, Ohio University, the University of Cambridge and the Carnegie Museum of Natural History.

«The real study of the excavations started from 2017 until the 25th of August 2021. Four years of detailed analytical study, genealogical studies, statistical analysis, ostensible anatomical studies on fossils and comparisons with all whales of the same species from all places of the world to decide whether they are

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For the first time, an entire ArabEgyptian team was able to lead a scientific paper and document the discovery of a new species of whale named in a branch of science that has remained the preserve of foreign scientists. new species or (if this species) have been discovered before,» Abdullah Gohar said to Majalla.

Gohar›s study was a comparative and detailed anatomical one of all the phenotypic characteristics of the whale›s bone till he reached the full name and description.

«The research represents a key point because it increases our understanding of the evolution of whales from land to water as it is located in the middle of the evolutionary chain,» Gohar explained.

«It is an amphibious whale with four limbs and represents a development in paleontology, not only in Egypt but in all the African continent,» he added.

THE MAIN RESULTS OF THE RESEARCH With a detailed anatomical study and comparisons, the researchers concluded that a new genus and type of whale which was not known before had been discovered and which represents an amphibious whale that lived in Egypt 43 million years ago. It has biological importance in paleontology because it represents a pivotal point in the middle of the evolution of whales from land to water.

The research also said that the discovered Egyptian whale, with a length of about 3 meters, weighing about 600 kilograms was able to walk on land and swim in the sea. The whale was distinguished by its strong olfactory (ability to smell) and hearing abilities, such as those possessed by mammals that live on land.

«The whale has on both sides of its skull, which we call the temporal fossa, it has a very large temporal fossa that were filled with muscles for biting and predation, and since it is large, it qualifies him to have a strong bite and strength in closing and opening the mouth, which gives him strength in predation,» Gohar

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explained.

Gohar added that the whale was the fiercest one in the area he lived and was preying on most of the creatures that were with it. As a result, it could be a predator of some other whales.

THE MEANING OF THE WHALE’S NAME Scientists named the new Egyptian whale «Phiomicetus Anubis «: In honor of the Fayoum Oasis, from which fossils of this whale were excavated, while Cetus is a Latin word meaning whale.

«In honor of the ancient Egyptian god of the dead, Anubis, we decided to add the name of the Pharaonic

Scientists named the new Egyptian whale «Phiomicetus Anubis» : In honor of the Fayoum Oasis, from which fossils of this whale were excavated, while Cetus is a Latin word meaning whale.

character to the whale›s scientific name,» Gohar said.

«Anubis represented with the body of a man and the head of a wolf, and we found a similarity between the wolf and the skull of the newly discovered whale,» Gohar added.

Anubis is the god of the dead as we knew, and at the same time, the whale’s extremely predatory behaviour made him seem like the god of the dead for all the animals that lived nearby.

«The choice of the name was not by chance - we wanted to tell the world that we do not only have civilization that extends for thousands of years, but we also have what is older than the pharaohs and the pyramids, we have a rich fossil heritage that extends for millions of years,» Abdullah stated.

The issue of including the discovery in a museum is a point that is still under discussion, but the research team has received many comments from the most significant scientists from all over the world who are willing to see the whale in the future and work on it scientifically.

In addition to that, Abdullah told Majalla that the research has been covered extensively by scientific journals and news and scientific websites to the extent that it is classified as one of the most researched studies mentioned in social media and news agencies such as BBC, Reuters, Associated Press, The Independent and The Times.

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Abdullah Gohar, a researcher at El Mansoura University works on renovating the 43 million-year-old fossil. (REUTERS/ Mohamed Abd El Ghany)

Abdullah Gohar, a researcher at El Mansoura University works on renovating the 43 millionyear-old fossil. (REUTERS/ Mohamed Abd El Ghany)

Laid out on a tray are parts of the 43 million-year-old fossil of a previously unknown four-legged amphibious whale called «Phiomicetus Anubis”. (REUTERS)

THE RESEARCHER PASSION Gohar is from Fayoum governorate and lives in an area somewhat close to Mount Qatrani there. He noticed that he was very close to an area that is rich in fossils.

«Through my readings, I discovered that I live in an area full of fossils of organisms that lived 37 million years ago. So my passion prompted me to study, research and communicate with Dr. Hisham, and he chose me to be one of a research team at the university to study fossils, and I succeeded to be a

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whale specialist in the team which includes various disciplines so far,» Gohar told Majalla.

Although Egypt is one of the richest places in the world in fossils, we cannot find many Egyptian researchers who study this heritage. The discovered whale is like Nefertiti and Ramses II, however, there are no specialists in this science, and no books are talking about it, except for a rare few in the entire Arab World.

«You are researching unseen creatures that reigned over the earth and in a world, we had never lived in before. Imagine that you reveal with your brush an object that you are the first person in life to see 43 million years ago! This in itself is an event that deepens your passion and knowledge in science.»

Gohar aspires to continue on this path and set up a school, bigger than the research group that includes various disciplines, in which their aim as researchers in paleontology is to raise generations capable of learning this science and offer an answer to the scientific puzzles, which have not been deciphered in the world through the Egyptian geology, the Egyptian natural heritage and the fossils found throughout the Arab world.

«The most important thing is to take part in the preparation of generations capable of the scientific competition in the field of vertebrate fossils all over the world.» he added.

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Mahfouz Finally Meets Márquez at Anniversary Exhibition

Egypt Opens Mahfouz’s Museum for Free for One Week

By Menna A. Farouk After the great Egyptian writer late Naguib Mahfouz was subjected to a failed assassination attempt in 1995, the Colombian writer Gabriel García Márquez sent him a letter in which he said, “The sun’s rays always triumph over the clouds, no matter how dark or rainy they are.”

Márquez urged Mahfouz to continue his writings under all circumstances. Ten years later, Mahfouz gave Márquez the same advice after he was subjected to a personal ordeal that made him unable to write at the time.

He told him: “You must have nothing to write until you hold the pen, hold the pen in all cases and write.”

Despite the international fame of Mahfouz and Márquez as they both obtained the Nobel Prize in Literature and despite their exchanges of written letters, they never met.

According to the writer Mohamed Salmawy, author of the book “In the Presence of Naguib Mahfouz”, the Egyptian Nobel writer told him that he wished to meet Colombia’s Márquez.

But the wish, which was never fulfilled in the lives of the two, was hypothetically fulfilled after their death at an exhibition that is now being held at the Naguib Mahfouz Museum in Cairo.

The exhibition, which was inaugurated on August 31 and which will last until September 9, has been held every year over the past two decades in the Nahdat Masr hall at the Mahmoud Mokhtar Museum in Cairo.

But now after the Egyptian government opened the first museum dedicated to the Egyptian Nobel prize laureate Mahfouz, the exhibition has moved to Mahfouz’s museum. Minister of Culture Enas Abdel Dayem issued a decision to receive visitors to the Naguib Mahfouz Museum for free for a week, starting August 31.

The exhibition, titled “Naguib Mahfouz in the Eyes of Caricature”, is also held on the occasion of Mahfouz’s 15th death anniversary. The exhibition includes a selec-

A painting of Egyptian famous writer Naguib Mahfouz by artist Omar Turcios. (Supplied)

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Despite the international fame of Mahfouz and Márquez as they both obtained the Nobel Prize in Literature and despite their exchanges of written letters, they never met.

A painting of Egyptian renowned writer Naguib Mahfouz that was displayed in an exhibition in Cairo this week. (Supplied)

tion of 40 paintings by caricature artists from different countries of the world.

Fawzi Morsi, the curator of the exhibition, said that Mahfouz is a milestone in the history of world literature and a source of inspiration for creators around the world.

Artist Hosni Farouk showing Mahfouz and Marquez next to each other while Marquez grabs his phone to take a selfie picture for the memory with the background highlighting two covers of their novels (Between the Two Palaces) for Mahfouz and (Love in the Time of Cholera) for Marquez. (Supplied)

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“When I reached out to artists I found a quick response from them as they loved the idea of combining the two Nobel giants. So, many gathered them in one painting, while others chose to express their ideas and vision for each writer separately,” he told Majalla.

The Iraqi artist, Arkan Al-Zaidi, combined the two writers in the cafe where Mahfouz used to sit in Cairo while another painting showed the two writers next to each other while Marquez grabbed his phone to take a selfie picture for the memory and the background highlighted two covers of their novels (Between the Two Palaces) for Mahfouz and (Love in the Time of Cholera) for Márquez.

Morsi said that the message of the exhibition is to remind the world of the great writings of Mahfouz and highlight his friendship with Márquez who is also a great writer.

Mahfouz, born on December 11, 1911, is one of the most famous and prominent Egyptian and Arab writers, and the first Arab writer to win the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1988.

Colombia’s Márquez, who was born on March 6, 1927 and who spent most of his life in Mexico and Europe, is one of the most famous writers of miraculous realism.

His work “One Hundred Years of Solitude” is considered the most representative of this literary genre and he won the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1982.

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Abdel Rahim Kamal: The Sophisticated Scriptwriter and Novelist

By Majalla Illustrated by Jeannette The Egyptian President Abdel Fattah AlSisi saw that “the issue of awareness in its comprehensive concept is the most important issue” that can be addressed through art, and seemed more specific in talking about “awareness of religion,” saying: “We all have to know that we are supposed to reformulate our understanding of the belief that we walked upon.”

The name of the Egyptian writer and scriptwriter, Abdel Rahim Kamal, topped the search engines, after the Egyptian president praised his writings on television drama.

President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi called Azza Mostafa, presenter of the “Tahrir Hall” program, on the “Sada El Balad” channel, during which he was keen to send a message to the guest, writer and scriptwriter Abdel Rahim Kamal.

The President said, addressing the guest of the episode, Abdul Rahim Kamal: “You are a wonderful role model who speaks in a way that reflects a volume of knowledge and sophistication of thought and culture, and I tell you: Prepare what you want and I am with you. You are doing a job that mobilizes all the talent as quickly as possible to build true awareness.”

The Egyptian writer Abdel Rahim Kamal possesses an exceptional talent that gave

him extreme privacy, and a wonderful ability to present flesh and blood experiences on television and cinema.

Whoever contemplates his creative record finds it filled with important works of art, including “Al-Rahaya”, “Al-Kinz”, “Wanous”, “Al-Khawaja Abdel-Qader”, and the fact that he was able to captivate the viewer through his easy dialogue, and his skill in narrating events.

Abdel Rahim Kamal, born in Al-Isawiya, east of Suhag, Upper Egypt in 1971, graduated from the Higher Institute of Cinema, screenwriting department in 2000. He has authored several novels such as “Journey to Denmark”, “Luxury Torment”, and “Other Countries”, and two short story collections.

He drew the attention of the Arab public and critics with his works on the Egyptian level and the mastery of his tales, due to his upbringing in Upper Egypt, which put him in a different position from the rest of his fellow writers.

He started his artistic career with a sitcom entitled “Shabab Online” in 2002, and presented his first movie in 2008, “On the Side, O Osta”, with star Ashraf Abdel Baqi, who monitors the suffering of one of the groups that he did not highlight before, namely “taxi drivers”.

He collaborated with the great star Yahya Al-Fakharani in several works, including: “Sheikh Al-Arab Hammam (The Last King of Upper Egypt)” in 2010,

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“Al-Khawaja Abdel Qader” in 2012, “Dahasha” in 2014, “Wanous” in 2016, and finally “Naguib Zahi” Zarkash” in Ramadan 2021.

While the last series of Abdel Rahim Kamal, “Cairo Kabul” last Ramadan, caused a sensation, for addressing a thorny issue of terrorism, in addition to the artists embodying the characters in a unique literal way, the audience applauded, and the series starred a distinguished elite of senior stars headed by Tariq Lutfi, Fathi Abdel Wahab, Khaled Al-Sawy, and Hanan Mutawa, and Nabil Al-Halfawi and others and was directed by Hossam Ali. The Egyptian scriptwriter and novelist is a member of the Writers Union and the Syndicate of Cinematographers and was awarded the best Arabic Scenarist for the series “Al Khawaja Abdulqader,” in the Taiki Festival in Jordan. Abdelrahim is also a member of the jury of the short documentary film festival in 2010 and the jury of the graduating class Scenario in 2014 and 2015 from the Higher Institute of Cinema - Academy of Arts.

He has won many local awards for the script in several Egyptian newspapers, magazines and media organizations and was assigned to be a member of the jury of the Sawiris Cultural and Arts Competition Committee in 2015 and 2018.

He has a weekly article in Al-Masry AlYoum newspaper and other articles in “AlAhram” and “Al Qahira” newspaper.

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Take Control of Your Knee Pain

Simple Home Exercises Can Help Ease Some Common Types of Knee Pain

By Kelly Bilodeau

a dull, aching pain in the front of the knee that’s made worse by daily activities, such as squatting, going up or down stairs, or standing up after sitting for a long period of time. The pain is caused by irritation of the cartilage underneath the kneecap when it does not glide or sit properly. Exercise can help to eliminate problems that lead to this irritation. Stretches can loosen tight muscles on the side of the knee that may be pulling the kneecap out of its groove as it moves. Strengthening weak hip muscles or stretching tight muscles in the front or back of the legs can also reduce discomfort.

Chronic degenerative meniscal tears. When one or both pads of cartilage that cushion each of your knee joints deteriorates or tears, you may feel pain and a sticking or locking sensation. While surgery is sometimes necessary, doctors usually first recommend physical therapy to help build up the muscles around the knee to take the pressure off the joint and reduce discomfort.

If you’ve got sore knees, exercise might seem like the hardest thing you can do -- but it’s also one of the best.

“Exercise is one of the most important things you can do for knee pain,” says Dr. Lauren Elson, an instructor in physical medicine and rehabilitation at Harvard Medical School.

The right combination of strengthening and stretching exercises can relieve pain by helping to improve the way the joint moves and functions.

“The knee is often an innocent bystander between the hip and the foot. Knee pain is often caused by problems occurring above or below,” says Dr. Elson.

For example, weak hip muscles may cause more strain on the knee, intensifying your pain. Strengthening the muscles around the hip joint can help relieve it, says Dr. Elson.

In addition, knee pain is sometimes caused or aggravated by tight muscles around the knee, a problem that is often successfully addressed by stretching. If the muscles aren’t Osteoarthritis. If you’re over age 50 and you have stiffflexible, the knee joint sometimes won’t move properly, ness, pain, or swelling, it may be osteoarthritis. Years of wear and tear can break down the cartilage in the knees, says Dr. Elson. leading to chronic joint inflammation. A past injury may WHAT CONDITIONS CAN EXERCISE HELP? also lead to arthritis. While nothing can reverse these physical changes, you can reduce pain by building up the Knee exercises and stretches can help relieve knee pain muscles around the knee as well as in the pelvis and core. caused by many conditions, including these three that Strong muscles act like scaffolding, taking some of the pressure off the joints. Stretching to increase flexibility commonly affect older women: Patellofemoral pain. This condition typically causes can help the joint function properly.

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“Knee pain is often caused by problems occurring above or below” (Photo: ipopba/Getty Images via TNS)

KNOW WHEN TO SEE YOUR DOCTOR While many conditions that cause knee pain can be helped by exercise, in some instances it may not be appropriate, says Dr. Lauren Elson, an instructor in physical medicine and rehabilitation at Harvard Medical School. You should stop exercising and see a doctor if you have any of the following symptoms: fever pain that is not improving pain that intensifies with activity pain that wakes you up in the middle of the night.

EXERCISES TO TRY To ease knee pain, you’ll want to perform exercises that work a number of different muscles, from the hip abductors to the hamstrings and quadriceps, says Dr. Elson.

Two to add to your routine are the side-leg raise, and the single-leg lift. Do this workout at least two days a week to start and ideally work up to every other day.

How many exercises you do in each session is your choice. But keep in mind that rushing through exercises can be counterproductive.

“It’s more important to have good form than it is to have volume,” says Dr. Elson. Start slowly with fewer repetitions to ensure you get your form right. Then add more as it becomes easier.

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“Exercise is one of the most important things you can do for knee pain.” The right combination of strengthening and stretching exercises can relieve pain by helping to improve the way the joint moves and functions.

SIDE-LEG RAISE Starting position: Lie on your right side, with your legs straight. Bend your right forearm upward and rest your head on your hand.

Movement: Keep your legs straight and slowly lift your left leg up toward the ceiling. Pause, then slowly return to the starting position. Finish all repetitions, then repeat on the left side.

Tips and techniques: Throughout the movement, keep your hips straight and still as if you were lying with your back against a wall.

Contract your abdominal muscles and keep your pel-

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vis still (no rocking) throughout.

Lift your leg up as high as possible without letting your hip move and while maintaining good form.

Make it easier: Lift your top leg a shorter distance, or lean your back against a wall for support.

Make it harder: Tie resistance tubing around your up- routine. Try using a foam roller to work out the kinks per thighs, or increase the number of repetitions. in your muscles. The roller targets tight, rigid, and painful areas in both the muscles and the myofascial SINGLE-LEG LIFT tissue (a layer of connective tissue around the muscles). This process, called myofascial release, which Starting position: Lie on your back with your legs can also be performed through a hands-on massage, straight. Extend one leg, foot slightly flexed. Rest is designed to relax this tissue to reduce pain. It does your hands at your sides on the floor. this by releasing tension in muscles that are pulling Movement: Tighten your thigh muscles and slowly lift abnormally on the knee joint, says Dr. Elson. the leg in the air until your knees are aligned. Pause, then slowly lower your leg to rest on the floor. Finish Below are two stretches to try. Ideally, you should all repetitions, then repeat with the other leg. aim to do three or four repetitions of each, holding for Tips and techniques: 10 to 30 seconds each time.

Keep your abdominal muscles contracted.

Keep your hips on the floor as you lift one leg.

HAMSTRING STRETCH Exhale as you lift.

Make it easier: Lift your leg a shorter distance.

Starting position: Lie on your back with your legs Make it harder: At a slow, controlled pace, try tracing straight and your arms by your side. the letter T with your leg in the air. Lift up one leg Movement: Grasp your right leg with both hands befour inches, move the leg four inches to the left, return hind the thigh. Extend your leg to lift your right foot to center, move the leg four inches to the right, return toward the ceiling, foot flexed. Straighten the leg as to center, then lower your leg to the floor. Finish all much as possible without locking the knee to feel a repetitions, then repeat with the other leg. stretch along the back of the right thigh. Hold. Return to the starting position and repeat with the left leg.

STRETCHING Tips and techniques: You should also incorporate daily stretching into your Stretch the leg extended toward the ceiling to the

You should also incorporate daily stretching into your routine. Try using a foam roller to work out the kinks in your muscles. The roller targets tight, rigid, and painful areas in both the muscles and the myofascial tissue 56

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Illustration of side-leg raise exercise. (solar22/ Getty Images via TNS)

Single-leg lift exercise

While many conditions that cause knee pain can be helped by exercise, in some instances it may not be appropriate. You should stop exercising and see a doctor if you have: fever, pain that is not improving or is intensifying foot, to increase the stretch.

Hamstring stretch

point of mild tension without any pressure behind the This article was originally published by Harvard knee or any pain.

Women’s Health Watch.

Relax your shoulders down and back into the floor.

Make it easier: Don’t lift your leg as high, or use a strap instead of your hands to support your leg.

Make it harder: Pull your leg closer to your chest.

QUADRICEPS STRETCH Starting position: Stand on the floor with your feet spaced shoulder-width apart.

Movement: Bend your right knee and bring the heel toward your right buttock. Reach back with your right hand and take hold of your foot. Hold the stretch, then slowly lower your foot to the floor. Repeat the stretch with your left leg.

Tips and techniques: Stand straight.

Keep your bent knee aligned with the hip, not pointing out to the side.

Make it easier: Lie on your stomach to do the same stretch. Place a yoga strap around your foot and hold on to both ends as you get into the starting position.

Then use the strap to assist with the stretch.

Make it harder: Doing the stretch on your stomach, lift your knee off the floor slightly, without pulling your

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Quadriceps stretch

B

ook Reviews

Secret History of War in “The Afghanistan Papers” Did Past US Administrations Mislead the Public?

By Mohammad Ali Salih – Washington

earlier top American civilian and military officials in Afghanistan believed that the Afghanistan War About a month before the publication of this book, on was unwinnable. In his book, Whitlock detailed the the 31st of August, The Washington Post published documents, interviewed more top officials, made excerpts from it, for the main reason that the book comparisons with Vietnam’s “Pentagon Papers,” author, Craig Whitlock, had been one of its leading and reached the conclusion of «explicit and sustained reporters. The excerpts were published before the efforts by the US government (under three presidents, fall of Kabul into the hands of the Taliban, but the George W. Bush, Barack Obama and Donald Trump) excerpts – and, later, the book – gained more publicity to deliberately mislead the public.”

“Unlike the wars in Vietnam and Iraq, the US after the fall.

Not only was the book’s title in the footsteps of “The invasion of Afghanistan in 2001 had near-unanimous Pentagon Papers,” another “secret history” of another public support. At first, the goals were straightforward war, the Vietnam War (1975-1965), but also the and clear: to defeat al-Qaeda and prevent a repeat of new book elaborately referred to the Vietnam War 11/9. Yet soon after the United States and its allies as a previous extensive and expensive, multi-years removed the Taliban from power, the mission veered off course and US officials lost sight of their original military operation that ended in failure.

Whitlock, who has covered the US-led Global War objectives.” on Terrorism (GWOT) for the Post since 2001, The interviews ranged from top White House won the Robert F. Kennedy Journalism Award for officials to generals and soldiers at the Pentagon, aid International Reporting two years ago, among other awards.

Book: “The Afghanistan Papers: A Secret The award was when he published in the Post excerpts History of the War” from documents collected by the Special Inspector Author: Craig Whitlock General for Afghanistan Reconstruction that the Post Publisher: Simon & Schuster, New York had obtained after a legal request under the Freedom Printed pages: 346 of Information Act. Price: Paper: $30; Electronic: $14.99 The documents revealed that almost ten years

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The documents revealed that almost ten years earlier top American civilian and military officials in Afghanistan believed that the Afghanistan War was unwinnable. In his book, Whitlock detailed the documents, interviewed more top officials, and made comparisons with Vietnam’s “Pentagon Papers.”

.Book Cover

workers, as well as civilian and military Afghani officials. The book’s conclusions were that the US government’s strategies were a mess, the nationbuilding project was a colossal failure, and that drugs and corruption gained a stranglehold over their allies in the Afghan government.

These are some of the book’s revelations: 1. On certain occasions, President Bush didn’t want to meet the Pentagon general who was leading the war in Afghanistan because he knew the Pentagon was going to ask for more money and more troops.

2. Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld, admitted he had “no visibility into who the bad guys (in Afghanistan) are.”

3. Robert Gates, another Secretary of Defense, said: “We didn’t know jack shit about al-Qaeda.”

4. In 2007 a suicide bomber almost killed Vice President Dick Cheney at Bagram Air Base but the White House lied about how close the attacker was.

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5. In 2014, when President Obama declared the war was over and that U.S. troops would no longer be in direct conflict with their enemies, he was just lying.

6. So as to shift blame, the Pentagon, the State Department and the Agency for International Development (USAID) often changed the responsibilities for aid, fighting drugs and fighting corruption.

Probably the most controversial character in the book was Rumsfeld who was shown as sharing Bush›s opinion that Taliban and Al Qaeda were inseparable, as extreme and violent Muslim groups. But Rumsfeld, on the other hand, was the one who worried most about the cost and length, not only of the Afghanistan War but that of Iraq, as the latter mostly reflected him as a strongly opinionated man but also not sure of what he was saying.

For example, his famous reply to a reporter’s question about evidence of an alliance between Al-Qaeda and Iraq (the main reason of the invasion of Iraq): «Reports that say that something hasn›t happened are always interesting to me, because as we know, there are known knowns; there are things we know we know. We also know there are known unknowns; that is to say we know there are some things we do not know. But there are also unknown unknowns— the ones we don›t know we don›t know. And if one looks throughout the history of our country and other free countries, it is the latter category that tends to be the difficult one.”