The Menton Times - Volume II, No. 5

VOLUME II, NO. 5

JANUARY 2023

FEATURE

Interviewing Iranian Actress and Activist Golshifteh Farahani

By Sarina Soleymani, Staff Writer As the new year approached, each of us partook in our own plans, spent time with friends or family, ate 12 grapes or sat under the table and celebrated what is supposed to be a new beginning.

We shared the same yearly thirst for change which is indeed never quenched, at least not for most. Yet, a group of people who did immediately experience this shift was the Iranian population. On Jan. 1, OPINION

2023, six of the most influential Iranian figures created a coalition group against the Islamic Republic, an important display of solidarity with the revolution. Among them includes one exiled and noteworthy actress who refuses to stay silent and continues to shed light on the events happening in our homeland. I was given the chance to speak to Golshifteh Farahani, an individual I grew up watching, hearing about and admiring for her courage, intellect and heart.

From “About Elly” to “Paterson,” Golshifteh Farahani has earned her place as a leading Iranian actress.

In 2008, she was exiled from the country due to her refusal to wear the hijab during the premiere of her film “Body of Lies,” directed by Ridley Scott. Preceding the current movement in Iran, Farahani expressed that she did not publicly articulate her political opinions, which oppose the Islamic Republic.

SEE PAGE 7

NEWS

Harvey Weinstein and French MeToo First Death of the Year: Migrant Found Movement Charred Atop Train in Menton

By Peyton Staff Writer

Dashiell,

Following weeks of heavy and emotional testimony from over 40 defendants, American film mogul Harvey Weinstein was convicted of one count of rape and two counts of sexual assault in the case that spearheaded the 2017 MeToo movement.

Weinstein’s accusers, including actresses Gwyneth Paltrow, Selma Hayek and Rose McGowan, have alleged that Weinstein used his power and connections in the entertainment industry over several decades to rape and coerce women into sex. If his victims chose to pursue justice, they were met with threats

of an industry blacklist and a ruined career.

While the phrase “MeToo” was coined in 2007 by activist Tarana Burke, the current MeToo movement began in 2017, when actress Alyssa Milano asked women who had been sexually assaulted to spread the phrase on social media to illustrate the gravity and frequency of the issue.

The movement led to millions of social media users sharing their stories of rape and sexual assault, several high profile terminations of alleged abusers in business, entertainment and politics, and a reignited cultural and legal conversation surrounding SEE PAGE 6

By Lara-Nour Walton, Editor-In-Chief What was his name — the suspected migrant found charred atop a train at Menton’s Garavan station? Where was he from?

These questions remain unanswered by French and Italian authorities. Yet, the man’s intended destination was clear. Like so many other asylum seekers, he sought a better life somewhere beyond the French side of the Franco-Italian border.

The John Doe’s body emerged from the glow of an electrical fire at approximate-

ly 18:00 on Jan. 9, 2023.

Train services were suspended for three hours as French first responders attempted to identify the victim. Agence France Presse reports that considering the chosen transit method, the man was likely an African asylum-seeker from Ventimiglia.

SEE PAGE 4

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The Menton Times

JANUARY 2023

Central Mediterranean Sea Rescue Sparks Heated Debate in European Union

By Sophia Rottman, route. While the Western Section Editor Balkans route records the highest number of entries Although various member to the European Union, countries tried to strength- the Central Mediterranean en their borders, the num- passage continues to take ber of migrants to the Eu- the most lives. The journey ropean Union increased was fatal for 2,000 people by 68 percent in 2022 — in 2022, not including any the largest yearly increase unrecorded deaths. since 2016. The major migration paths to Europe At the beginning of Noare through the Eastern vember 2022, France and Land Border, the West- Italy were at odds over an ern Balkans, the Eastern NGO-operated rescue ship, Mediterranean, the Cen- the Ocean Viking. Closest tral Mediterranean, the to the Italian shoreline, the Western Mediterranean Ocean Viking originally and the Western African asked for a safe port in Ita-

ly. The Italian government would not relent, and the vessel, NGO staff and 234

ly to help, France allowed the boat to dock in Toulon.

French Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin called “November 2022, Italy’s behavFrance and Italy were ior “incompreat odds over an NGOhensible” and operated rescue ship, that it “lacked the Ocean Viking.” humanity.”

migrants spent weeks at sea in the Mediterranean.

The French government argued that Italy was responsible for offering a safe port according to international maritime law.

Realizing Italy was unlike-

For Italy, the Ocean Viking was just one part of what the government sees as a much larger problem: increasing migration at a rate disproportionate to other Central Mediterranean countries. From January

News

JANUARY 2023

to mid-December 2022, Italy received 102,000 migrants through the Central Mediterranean, a drastic increase from 67,000 in 2021. Italy’s Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani said the country wants “an agreement to establish on the basis of population, how migrants with a right to asylum are relocated to various countries.” However, Italy is not the only European Mediterranean country turning away migrants rescued at sea.

darity Mechanism, a provisional response to migration in the Mediterranean member states. Based on GDP and population, the mechanism would reallocate asylum seekers to a new member state after registration in the country of initial arrival. Countries that would not accept reallocation would provide financial or border control support. France and Italy signed while non-signatories include Poland, Denmark and Sweden. Within five months, the new agreement would be threatened.

In September 2022, Malta’s Rescue Coordination Centre (RCC) sent a mer- Following the diplomatic chant vessel that had res- stand-off over the Ocean cued 23 migrants in the Viking, in mid-Novemcountry’s search and res- ber, France increased its cue zone to Egypt. The border control with Italy.

Shimanami Queen was 159 The country announced it nautical miles from Mal- would send 500 more ofta and 146 from Italy. “Based on GDP Egypt was and population, the 760 nau- mechanism would tical miles reallocate asylum seekers away. The to a new member state RCC of Mal- after registration in the ta ordered country of initial arrival.” merchant vessels near the endangered migrants ficers to ten Franco-Italian at sea to stick to their border crossing points and planned route or await fur- was withdrawing from the ther instruction — a prac- solidarity mechanism, retice that Sea-Watch, Alarm neging on its offer to take Phone, Mediterranea Sav- in 3,000 migrants from Iting Humans and Doctors aly. Around the same time, Without Borders argue the a joint statement from country frequently uses to Greece, Malta, Cyprus and prevent migrant arrivals.

Italy called for the solidarity mechanism to transition On June 22, 2022, eighteen from voluntary to mandaEuropean Union coun- tory status. tries and three others announced their agreement On Nov. 21, 2022, the Euupon the Voluntary Soli- ropean Commission pub-

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lished an Action Plan on lating their duty to rescue the Central Mediterranean, in international law. proposing 20 reforms to mediate the troublesome The Union border agency Central Mediterranean Frontex informs Libya’s migration route. Various coast guard of migrant NGOs have criticized the boats using GPS data, enp l a n abling f o r “The Union border their remerely agency Frontex informs turn of repeat- Libya’s coast guard of 23,000 i n g migrant boats using m i p a s t GPS data, enabling grants m i s - their return of 23,000 to Libya t a k e s . migrants to Libya in in 2022.

C a t h - 2022.”

Human erine Rights WoolWatch lard, the director of the warns that Europe is “comEuropean Council on plicit in the abuse” of peoRefugees and Exiles, said ple in Libyan camps and that the plan “focus[es] Doctors Without Borders on the responsibilities of asserts that Libya does not the non-European states meet the United Nations on the other side of the High Commissioner for Med[iterranean]” and that Refugees’ guidelines of a the “first priority for Eu- safe port. Doctors Without rope should be agreements Borders has publicly rewithin Europe.” quested a European state Mediterranean search and At the end of 2022, the rescue system and a betItalian government issued ter migrant distribution a new decree addressing mechanism in the Europecivil sea rescue. Under the an Union. decree, if rescue ships do not immediately leave the Largescale migration to search and rescue zone Europe through the Cenafter their first rescue and tral Mediterranean is unmove to their assigned safe likely to stop anytime soon. port without delay, they Without reform to Mediwill suffer harsh conse- terranean rescue systems quences, including fines and a united stance in the of up to 50,000 Euros and European Union on how vessel confiscation. Addi- to alleviate member states tionally, the Italian govern- unequally pressured by inment had already begun creasing migrant arrivals, assigning farther locations prolonged and unnecesas safe ports to decrease sary suffering at sea is likerescue ships’ time in the ly to continue. rescue zone. Sea-Watch argues that if a captain does not try to rescue other people in danger, they are vio-

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The Menton Times

JANUARY 2023

First Death of the Year: Migrant Found Charred Atop Train in Menton

By Lara-Nour Walton, Editor-In-Chief What was his name — the suspected migrant found charred atop a train at Menton’s Garavan station? Where was he from?

These questions remain unanswered by French and Italian authorities. Yet, the man’s intended destination was clear. Like so many other asylum seekers, he sought a better life somewhere beyond the French side of the Franco-Italian border.

The John Doe’s body emerged from the glow of an electrical fire at approximately 18:00 on Jan. 9, 2023. Train services were suspended for three hours as French first responders attempted to identify the victim. Agence France Presse reports that considering the chosen transit method, the man was likely an African asylum-seeker from Ventimiglia. An InfoMigrants article about the incident corroborates this presumption: “Francophone African migrants who arrive in Italy via the Mediterranean… often have connections and family and sometimes better job prospects over the border because of their knowledge of French.”

Desperate times, desperate measures The suspected migrant’s death comes on the heels of tightening Franco-Italian

border controls following a diplomatic row between the two countries. Tension skyrocketed in early November when a migrant rescue ship, the Ocean Viking, was refused safe port on the Italian coast and deferred to Toulon, France.

The boat, run by humanitarian organization SOS

law, were Italy’s responsibility. But, Giorgia Meloni does not care for decorum.

The right-wing Italian Prime Minister, who ascended to power at the end of October, pledged to close off Italy to the vast majority of migrants and requested that other coastal countries accept rescue boats.

Ahmed Safi was hit by two cars on the A10 motorway as he attempted to traverse into France. He was only laid to rest after his body was dragged by a lorry to a tollbooth 500 meters away.

Now that border controls have intensified, Italian newspaper, Il Messaggero, predicts that Ventimiglia’s migrants will be forced to resort to even more dangerous means of entering France.

Transportation atop trains is only one of the many high-risk methods they may turn to.

Safi and the John Doe are far from the only victims of what The Roya-Citizen Association calls the “murderous border.” Director of the Ventimiglia branch of Caritas, Christian Papini, estimates that at least 33 people have died in Franco-Italian crossings since 2015, while Nice-based lawyer Mireille Damiano puts the number at 50.

Mediterranee, had been carrying 234 migrants since late October and filed 43 unsuccessful docking pleas with the Italian government before rerouting to France.

After authorizing the Ocean Viking’s port in Toulon, the French government denounced Italy for its refusal to accept the ship. Paris asserted that because the vessel had been in Italian water for an extended period, the migrants, under maritime

In a move described by Italy as “disproportionate” and “aggressive,” French authorities responded by effectively sealing the Franco-Italian frontier and withdrawing from the European Union’s Voluntary Solidarity Mechanism, introduced in June 2022.

Murderous Border Clandestine Franco-Italian crossings have always been perilous and potentially deadly. On Nov. 7, 2022, 19-year-old Afghan refugee

First death of the year The John Doe’s death grimly kicks off yet another year on the Franco-Italian frontier — his scorched body marks the first migrant fatality of 2023. It appears that Italy’s new unforgiving asylum seeker policy and France’s progressively stringent border controls are not inhibitors enough. Migrants, chasing ever-elusive livelihoods, will pursue cross-border journeys at any cost.

JANUARY 2023

It Is Good To Go Home

By Saoirse Aherne, Staff Writer Sometime in mid October, I started to experience a feeling I cannot quite explain. It struck me first while I was walking home from a night out along a narrow and quiet cobblestone street in Menton. It was a full-body feeling, a longing to experience the same quiet and softness of night, but on a street right by the house in which I grew up. I pictured myself there, trudging through slush, watching snowflakes catch in the staggered beams of street lamps. I was not remembering any night in particular – I had walked this path more times than I could count– I was simply remembering being in that place.

Throughout my first year, I had barely missed home, and now I was aching to walk along streets so familiar to my feet that I could not get lost if I tried, streets so full of memories that they blurred into one comforting blanket of belonging; I wanted to be wrapped up in that certainty again.

By December I was desperately excited to return home. I am from a place that feels even smaller than it is. Gray and run down, it wilts in the glow of Menton’s beauty. But I love it for that. Peterborough,

Opinion

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When I walk around Peterborough, every setting sparks a flood of memories. It is so much deeper than concrete and bricks, a place more complex than anywhere in the world to me. I peel away layers and layers of life as I walk to and from my house; shockingly, so little has changed since I was a child. People and places — seeing how impermanent these things can be has made home so special.

Ontario is unassuming and humble in such a way that I want to wrap my arms around it, either to protect it, or maybe in sympathy.

Once I arrived home, I spent an embarrassing amount of time at the one local bar frequented by young people. On my first night there I met: six girls from my high school, two girls from my soccer team, a girl I know from community theater, two girls I went to daycare with, a girl who lives on my street and my ex-boyfriend’s ex-girlfriend. Perhaps this is the case with every small town, but it is truly impossible to go anywhere in Peterborough without seeing someone you know. Some people hate it; when I lived there I certainly did. But now, I find it thrilling. I feel like my whole life is bottled up in “The Social” bar on a Friday night. I adore overly intense drunken reunions with people from the past,

shouting over terrible music about school, jobs, growing up.

Every time I go out, I meet a new set of friends that I forgot I missed. It reminds me of how many wonderful people I have had the pleasure to know, and it warms my heart to see them remember me as well. I feel like I fit right into a hole that was made for me, in this tapestry of hometown individuals. Peterborough used to trap me in a suffocating network of relationships, but now that I have left, settling back into this cradle is relieving and safe.

I do not have to question whether these people like me or whether I will know them in 10 or 20 years. We don’t have to be close, but we will always be bound by the place in which we grew up. They are as inherent to me as Monaghan Road, Jackson’s Park, the London Street Bridge or Little Lake.

I do not regret leaving Peterborough for a second. I remember how desperately I wanted to get out, and in fact, almost all of my friends have left to study across the province. But I am glad I now see so much beauty in a town I used to resent. My friends and I have talked a lot about this in the past few weeks; leaving has made us all certain of our attachment to home.

In Menton, life is in flux; we sentence ourselves to make wonderful friends only to disperse across the globe after two short years.

I have spent my 2A feeling random. I loved that novel feeling in the first year, but it gets tiring. Now, rejuvenated by my time at home, feeling so perfectly known and so unwaveringly attached to my town and its people, I am ready to be untethered again.

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The Menton Times

JANUARY 2023

Harvey Weinstein and the French MeToo Movement

By Peyton Staff Writer

Dashiell,

Following weeks of heavy and emotional testimony from over 40 defendants, American film mogul Harvey Weinstein was convicted of one count of rape and two counts of sexual assault in the case that spearheaded the 2017 MeToo movement.

Weinstein’s accusers, including actresses Gwyneth Paltrow, Selma Hayek and Rose McGowan, have alleged that Weinstein used his power and connections in the entertainment industry over several decades to rape and coerce women into sex. If his victims chose to pursue justice, they were met with threats of an industry blacklist and a ruined career.

While the phrase “MeToo” was coined in 2007 by activist Tarana Burke, the current MeToo movement began in 2017, when actress Alyssa Milano asked women who had been sexually assaulted to spread the phrase on social media to illustrate the gravity and frequency of the issue.

The movement led to millions of social media users sharing their stories of rape and sexual assault, several high profile terminations of alleged abusers in business, entertainment and politics, and a reignited cultural and legal conversation surrounding

sexual assault, consent French tradition. While and coercion. Legally, the French social media users movement led to a ban continued to share their on non-disclosure agree- stories, the movement ments in several states — failed to gain significant Weinstein’s assistant could momentum for several not speak out for decades years. due to a hush contract. In Congress, Representative However, MeToo was proJackie Speier introduced pelled in France in 2019 the Member and Employ- after public accusations ee Training and Oversight were made by actors Adele on Congress Act (METOO Hanael and Valentine Act) to change the way the fed- “In the newspaper Le eral government Monde, 100 women led handles sexual by actress Catherine harassment and Deneuve signed an assault reports. open letter denouncing

MeToo, characterizing

MeToo quickly it as a puritan spread globally American export with through social no relevance to the media, and in French tradition.”

France, Twitter users began to use the hashtags Moi- Monnier against director Aussi, NousToutes, and Roman Polanski and sevBalancetonporc. The for- eral others. For the first mer two are an equivalent time since the advent of to the English MeToo, and the French movement, sigthe latter a controversial nificant professional concall for women to publicly sequences were brought name their abusers. against an industry professional accused of rape.

As more French social Polanski’s new film, “An media users engaged in Officer and A Spy,” halted the movement and shared promotion, and the ARP their stories, controversy director’s guild began the followed — with even some process of suspending Powomen in the French en- lanski. This year, the Cesar tertainment industry con- Awards, scheduled for Febdemning the movement. In ruary 24 in Paris, will ban the newspaper Le Monde, any actors or film industry 100 women led by actress workers who have commitCatherine Deneuve signed ted sexual violence out of an open letter denouncing respect for the victims.

MeToo, characterizing it as a puritan American export But what explains the relwith no relevance to the atively delayed spread of

MeToo in France compared to the United States?

And has the movement been effective in either country? Many attribute the cold reception of MeToo in France to a culture that often separates personal transgressions from professional life. An anonymous 2A theorized that this variance comes from differing attitudes in France towards gender roles – “in France, it’s often expected for a man to pursue a woman until the woman directly objects, and it is considered less inappropriate to make advances even in contexts like the workplace.”

While the relative outrage in the United States over MeToo may lead one to think that the movement experienced wide success, many abusers still hold high status. Men like Harvey Weinstein, Bill Cosby and R Kelly have been almost universally denounced for their crimes.

Yet, confessed rapists like, most-followed Instagram user globally Cristiano Ronaldo have enjoyed new heights of fame and shirked responsibility for sexual assault offenses that they explicitly admit to.

Weinstein’s conviction and sentencing may be a watershed moment in a new era of accountability, but there is still much work to be done to remove abusers from positions of power and success.

Feature

JANUARY 2023

Interviewing Iranian Actress and Activist Golshifteh Farahani

By Sarina Soleymani, Staff Writer As the new year approached, each of us partook in our own plans, spent time with friends or family, ate 12 grapes or sat under the table and celebrated what is supposed to be a new beginning. We shared the same yearly thirst for change which is indeed never quenched, at least not for most. Yet, a group of people who did immediately experience this shift was the Iranian population. On Jan. 1, 2023, six of the most influential Iranian figures created a coalition group against the Islamic Republic, an important display of solidarity with the revolution. Among them includes one exiled and

noteworthy actress who refuses to stay silent and continues to shed light on the events happening in our homeland. I was given the chance to speak to Golshifteh Farahani, an individual I grew up watching, hearing about and admiring for her courage, intellect and heart.

From “About Elly” to “Paterson,” Golshifteh Farahani has earned her place as a leading Iranian actress.

In 2008, she was exiled from the country due to her refusal to wear the hijab during the premiere of her film “Body of Lies,” directed by Ridley Scott.

Preceding the current movement in Iran, Farahani expressed that she did not publicly articulate her political opinions, which

oppose the Islamic Republic. Yet, after witnessing the fearlessness of the Iranians who protested the regime following the 2022 morality police killing of Mahsa Amini, the Iranian actress was inspired to use her freedom to amplify their words, predominantly through social media. As an exiled Iranian actress living in the West, Farahani has a unique voice, encompassing not only those who have lived in Iran but also those in the diaspora contending with survivor’s guilt. Additionally, being able to share her personal experiences of being harassed by the Iranian secret service, grappling with mixed public reactions to controversies and navigating industry secrets provides her with a unique perspective.

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Therefore, allow me to share accounts of perhaps the most mesmerizing conversation I have ever had the pleasure of engaging in.

Soleymani: Considering your work in the film industry and your political activism, do you believe that film and politics are intertwined? If so, how do you believe that your role in film contributes to this, and when did you first become aware of this intersection?

Following a short pause, she replied.

Farahani: “Well, I think you must know. You are Iranian. Your life is very intertwined with politics without even wanting it to be. When you are born, you are born into a politics which you don’t even know about, but, you are part of.

Same, as another Iranian, I was born and raised in Iran (...). The theocracy became part of our existence: wearing the hijab since you are six to go to school, not being able to sing, watching your parents have to fight for their existence, and so becoming part of that fight.”

This is a common phenomenon felt across the Iranian population, as my friends and family in Iran, myself included, have felt the burden of having an inherently political identity, both on the global and domestic

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stage. Yet, somehow her explicit acknowledgment and voicing of said burden was particularly striking.

Indeed, within this fight — as she explained to me — art becomes crucial, acting as political statements instead of merely creative outlets. Actions that may not be considered political elsewhere become political in the Iranian context. Farahani elaborated, “If you are a woman singing in Europe, you are just a woman singing, but in Iran, that act becomes a political act.

I also realized that whatever we are and whatever we do as artists, whether we like it or not, becomes political, especially as women, because our existence is a position; we are opposing something when we are born.”

S: I have noticed that Iranian women are often presented in one of two ways: as pitiful/repressed beings in need of being saved by the West or as side characters whose sole purposes in life are to submit to religion or the male protagonist. Do you feel similarly, and do you believe that there is a discrepancy between how Iranian women are portrayed abroad and in Iranian media?

F: “The media, both ways, are always trying to make things black and white.

They don’t like the middle way — the grayness of life. Especially the media in Iran, which is like propaganda, a staged media which is trying to show things that are absolutely

JANUARY 2023

Iran, I was a normal teenager just breaking limits because only certain laws, I believe, have to be respected — only the laws that make sense and are logical.” She related this survival instinct to the bravery of young people today However, she pointed out in Iran — those who take to that they have lost this the streets, who are ready battle with the presence to sacrifice their lives for of social media as it althe freedom of others, who lowed a window into the dare to post on their social real Iran, the living habits media, aware that doof the younger genering so could be fatal. ation and their true “she used to shave her While admiring the interests. In the same head and pretend to courage of the modern way, Iranian cinema, be a boy, a seemingly youth, she notes, “as a with the emergence of drastic act of rebellion teenager, life is somedirectors such as Kia that would allow her thing you can play with Rostami, who have put the simple pleasure of much more easily. a spotlight on the Ira- playing basketball” nian countryside to the I’m not sure how to exOscar-winning metroborn in a very harsh cliplain it because I was politan wave, notably the works of Asghar Far- mate, the only way to sur- at that age where I would play with my life, but now hadi. “I think a reason that vive is to be brave.

Iranian cinema became so Because, in a harsh cli- I would not do what I used popular is that it was one of mate, say the North Pole or to do.” the only representations of the Desert, where the enviIran with image and sound ronment is neither conve- S: As somebody who works that actually wasn’t part of nient nor normal, you need within the film industry, the media (...).” Her words to have certain abilities to what insight could you ofindicated the irony that survive as a human or as fer regarding censorship in Iranian cinema contradict- an animal. Literally as an Iran? ed messages that the media animal. You need to take tried to push within their risks because you cannot F: “Censorship comes unportrayals of mundane in- have food if you don’t take der the great umbrella of theocracy (...) it becomes teractions of Iranian daily risks. a part of that law where life, that “in Iran, we are not going around in cam- In the same way, in Iran, you constantly have to beels; we listen to the same when you are born under come more creative to find music.” The significance of a dictatorship, your exis- ways to break it. The thing Iranian cinema boils down tence depends on certain is that nothing in Iran will to allowing Iran to be dis- bravery. Otherwise, you stop people from doing cussed outside of political somehow give in, and you what they want to do — imtensions with other coun- rot in (fear). If you want to possible is the only impostries, sparking curiosity in live the life you want, you sible that we can imagine,” our culture and almost hu- must take risks, and those manizing the perception of risks could be perceived as Farahani expanded that the Iranian people, which bravery, but for us, it is just making something off-limin turn allows greater em- how we survive. For me, I its would only make us pathy to be given to our only realized they call me want to show it more. a rebel when I left Iran. In That rebellion is in Iranian cause. theater scenes. Not even so, because most theater scenes are honest when this one is not. The goal of the Islamic Republic is to portray Iran as very Islamic.”

Farahani has several recollections of her time in Iran. One striking memory occurred when she was young — she used to shave her head and pretend to be a boy, a seemingly drastic act of rebellion that would allow her the simple pleasure of playing basketball.

Once I broached this with her, she replied: “I think it is funny that you mention that because when you are

Feature

JANUARY 2023

blood, giving examples of how Iranian cinema always found methods to break censorship. For instance, physical intimacy between couples is highly censored, and Farahani highlighted how instead of showing couples kissing on film, “in some movies you can see the man biting an apple and moving the apple to the woman and the woman biting the apple.” This was a reference to her own film, Boutique — a fact she left out during the interview.

Nonetheless, Farahani also warned about the danger of breaking censorship rules, namely in reference to the deadly nature of recent protests.

S: Considering the high toll of censorship in Iran, how should the international community support them?

Are they doing enough, and what more could they be doing?

F: “The international community came in very late, almost two months after hundreds of people were killed, arrested, tortured, raped…The great feminists of the world came very late, but of course, it is never too late, and they are always welcome. We have a very ingrained fear of foreign influence inside Iran because whenever they did something inside Iran, it was always a mess, and it was never for the benefit of the people, like the 1953 coup d’état against Mossadegh or even the Iranian Revolution. So the only thing the foreign community can do is outside of

Iran; they cannot interfere inside Iran, but they can ban Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, and they can ban all the people who crackdown on the people of Iran. Those people should be banned from the world and shouldn’t live so easily outside of Iran. We need to put as much pressure on the Islamic Republic — because now we find that Iran is being held hostage by the Islamic Republic. We need to squeeze them outside of Iran so they cannot do business and easily live in foreign countries. They have a lot of investments elsewhere; they took the country’s money outside of Iran. We need to find and ban (Islamic Republic officials’ funds), literally exile the people who have created hell in Iran to where they came from.”

ahani took off her hijab in 2008, she was confronted by reactions of disappointment, yet in 2022, Alidoosti was applauded. I told her I had only encountered Iran in a more contemporary context and, coming from bustling Tehran, I had more exposure to this open-minded side of Iran.

I asked her if she believed whether my Iran is different from the one she left 15 years ago. “The main difference is that when I left, Generation Z was four, five, six and now they are 17, 18, 19 — teenagers and young adults.” She explained that this generation and the possibility that they can live in a free Iran is the motivating factor that inspires her to spread awareness and join the fight. Farahani also highlighted social media’s positive role, which mounts Iran on the global stage.

“whenever they did something inside Iran, it was always a mess, and it was never for the benefit of the people”

S: When it comes to such a turbulent political movement, what do you consider deserves the On Dec. 17, 2022, another most attention and is there Iranian actress, Taraneh anything you would like to Alidoosti, was arrested shed light on? for courageously publishing herself on Instagram F: After a pause of reflecwithout wearing a hijab tion, she articulated, “Evand publicly supporting ery part of it: the people in the movement. Before her prisons, the people killed, arrest and immediately fol- raped, tortured, those who lowing her post, Golshifteh lost their eye [referencing Farahani also posted on Ghazal Ranjkesh—a girl Instagram supporting Ali- from Bandar Abas of Iran doosti and expressing that was shot in the eye by seshe feels hopeful for Iran. curity forces after comHer hope is founded in ing home from four hours the notion that when Far- of class and nine hours

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of work], artists such as Toomaj Salehi, who is close to facing execution.

The tragedy is a humanitarian crisis but, because it is happening in the geopolitically complex region of the Middle East, it is not getting enough attention which makes us powerless when we do everything in our power.”

S: To perhaps end on a lighter note, do you have any film recommendations for the readers?

F: “Patience Stone.” Brilliantly following the story of a woman in Afghanistan who sets herself free, Farahani finds the story told in this film deserving to be heard and explains that she often follows the theme of women’s emancipation in her movies.

Golshifteh Farahani provided brilliant insight into not just our country’s history and the evolution of social mindsets but also the distinction between media, cinema and tools used by directors to escape censorship. She even taught me about some shared experiences within the Iranian identity. This exchange fuelled hope that humble, intelligent and empathetic figures like herself can guide and shape the narratives needed to ensure that our upcoming revolution will be successful.

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The Menton Times

JANUARY 2023

Eats With Angela: The Struggle to Celebrate Food had to lose weight to look beautiful nor follow advice from a patriarchal capitalist market that makes millions of dollars at the

weight or have our bodies look a particular way is not inherently negative, the means by which we choose to do so and the

expense of my ability to walk out of my home feeling comfortable in my own skin. Although this is only my personal experi“an advertisement ence, this on social media that championed a weight loss scenario is not novel diet for the purpose of to the gen“looking beautiful” and eral public, “being happy.” especially not to the young female to click on the ad and read demographic. through its content. Little did I know that I neither While wanting to lose

intentions of our doing are worth noting. Recent studies have shown that the eating disorder epidemic has been the second leading cause of deaths in the U.S. after opioid overdoses — one death every fifty-two minutes. Furthermore, according to Johns Hopkins research, 95 percent of people with eating disorders are between the ages of twelve and twenty-five. Unfortunately, the Covid-19 pandemic has ex-

By Angela Saab Saade, Staff Writer “Eats with Angela” has always revolved around the joys of food. However, I would be a hypocrite if I did not address what is often masked regarding this subject. Kindly note that this article may be triggering for some readers; it unpacks heavy — albeit necessary — topics, namely unhealthy relationships with food and body image, diet culture, social media and mental health.

Long ago, I came across an advertisement on social media that championed a weight loss diet for the purpose of “looking beautiful” and “being happy.” It was unsurprising, as similar publicities constantly surround me, whether on social media or billboards, in Lebanon or in Europe. Body shaming and the pressure to look a certain way is certainly in the air, and it is suffocating. My first instinct was

acerbated these figures and data is significantly lacking in most parts of the rest of the world.

Furthermore, social media and its toxic editing tools to manipulate one’s physical appearance have helped foster unrealistic beauty standards, which much of the world has fallen victim to internalizing. This outcome is facilitated by the dominance of capitalism and widespread technology. Yet, some have attempted to re-instrumentalize social media in order to counter negative trends and re-conceptualize previous norms; for instance, the body positivity movement. Nonetheless, the overwhelming number and variety of advertisements revolving around body image, amongst other standards of beauty, reaffirm the wealth-oriented use of technology and vanquish our optimistic outlook.

Though, beauty standards and the normalization of body shaming differ across cultures. Specialists agree that “culture plays a significant role” in developing eating disorders, despite the precise reasons remaining unknown. For instance, in the Middle East

JANUARY 2023

and North Africa, little is identify whether or not you Moreover, it is inevitable known of eating disorders may have an eating disor- that when we go back home and myths are generally the der. In addition, a number for the holidays, family dominant knowledge base; of reports and articles have members, friends and even even worse, the region been published pertaining strangers may comment on lacks resources for treat- to the topic. More broadly, the way we look, especially ment. It has been stated on social media, Instagram when our physical appearthat in the Arab World, ance has changed. the “thin ideal and the “Though, beauty Our opportunity to prevalence of obesi- standards and the catch a break may be ty” have encouraged normalization of body transformed into a more eating disorder shaming differ across period of overwhelmsymptoms among the cultures. Specialists ing stress, fear and general public. Not- agree that “culture anxiety. Such feedwithstanding, the re- plays a significant role” back is often offered gion has made recog- in developing eating by loved ones who do nizable progress in the disorders, despite not intend to harm provision of resources the precise reasons us. Nonetheless, the to help understand remaining unknown.” comment itself may and deal with eating trigger unfavorable disorders. For instance, accounts such as those of emotions, thoughts and the Middle East Eating Dana Mercer Ricci and Nu- behaviors. In such moDisorder Association was ras Recovery discuss their ments, it is important to established in 2009 to de- own journeys towards de- take a step back and pull bunk societal myths and feating their eating disor- yourself out of the situaprovide support for those ders, while Djemila Rou- tion in order to recall that struggling. Recoverly Ever kos and Colleen Intuitive those who judge you often After is another organiza- Eating Dietitian provide feel insecure themselves tion that is based in Bei- psychological and sci- and have been victims of rut, Lebanon and provides ence-based knowledge to judgment and invalidation clinical-based therapy and educate their audiences. in some way or another. a free questionnaire to help

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Therefore, as we share the glee of eating, cooking and celebrating love through food, it is essential to remember that some may be struggling to celebrate with us. It is with this token that I hope we may be kind to one another and avoid unnecessary comments and judgments that hurt more than heal. And, if you are indeed struggling to celebrate, I hope you find the courage to reach out to someone, whether a friend, a colleague, someone you trust or a specialist, because you deserve to be nourished, to savor the art of food.

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The Menton Times

JANUARY 2023

Supermaketmania: Shiny Plastic and Constructed Personalities

By Margherita Cordellini, Staff Writer

that inexplicably signify something more. Filling up your shopping cart with bright yellow, noisy crisps packages and promising images printed on orange juice cartons is not only a temporary solution to a harsh monotonous day but a repetitive choice through which you, and many others, find meaning and reinvent yourself.

The day is about to end and you do not feel like going home yet. You just got off from work or from a study session in the library and you need a mediator to soften the shift from an uncomfortable wooden chair to bed. It ought to be something that rewards you for having pulled through The contemporary modalia seemingly endless day ties of purchasing fully embut also something that brace capitalistic values. does not spoil you because The most evident among you did nothing special, them is, perhaps, individuonly your job. As you me- alism. The heterogeneity of chanically pass masses of products and brands comother tired workers and bined with targeted adverstudents, your peripheral tising suggests that there vision catches sight of a is space for everyone’s flower-shaped neon sign identity and invites each that rises above a prom- person to select products ising banner: “20% sale according to a certain conon selected products.” gruence. You can choose to You know what you will be a sporty person — and encounter if you walk even become one — if you through the door: a maze of buy protein bars instead shining, perfectly ordered of biscuits. You can appear and rigorously partitioned emancipated from your background aisles, which, albeit rare- European ly changing, always dis- and emanate international vibes close new if, acmysteries. “ your peripheral cording You im- vision catches sight to your mediately of a flower-shaped shopping find your- neon sign that rises basket self in the above a promising your food debanner: “20% sale on and kitchen partment, shelves, c o n t e m - selected products.” you are plating a myriad of colors, shapes passionate about oatmeal and textures which are and peanut butter. What supposed to be only acces- this means is that supersories, only the casings of markets are purchasing what you really want, but spaces in which people

An English-speaking extra-terrestrial deprived of any cultural or social background to whom someIn his book “Simulations body just explained what and Simulacra,” the post- supermarkets are and what modernist philosopher purpose they serve, would Jean Baudrillard under- probably infer from this stands commodities sold excerpt that Alice is so fond in supermarkets as hy- of apples that she wants to percommodities; to our make sure to savor them eyes they do not exist as fully or that she seeks the objects but as an intricate best bang for her buck. net of symbols delivered This is the most logical by advertisements, media conclusion to draw knowand consumerist culture. ing that supermarkets are places where Baudrillard buy would thus “Baudrillard un- people products acaffirm that derstands comcording to their we are so modities sold in bombarded supermarkets as desires, needs and budgetary by images hypercommodiconstraints. of what, for ties” Yet, I highly example, an apple signifies (syn- doubt that this would be onym of a healthy lifestyle, the first intuition of a perdietary restrictions and son whose socialization self-discipline) that ap- took place in a 21st-cenples cannot be said to ex- tury capitalist country and ist anymore, having been who has been sufficiently replaced by an ensemble exposed to consumerist of culturally and socially culture and digital spaces. manufactured images tied These last two elements to them. It might appear promote a fixation with as an abstruse theory, but certain gendered images it shapes the way we pro- of the body that privilege cess information more of- slim silhouettes for girls ten than we think. Consid- and toned ones for boys. er this passage from Sally Therefore, it would be imRooney’s novel “Beautiful possible not to contemplate the possibility that World Where Are You”: “On his way out of the Alice might be affected by shop, in front of the fresh this schizophrenia around fruit display, he paused. somatic features, “healthy” Alice was standing there lifestyles and normative looking at apples, lifting Instagram posts studthe apples one after anoth- ding selfcare pages. In our er and examining them for eyes, Alice, culturally and socially influenced, is exdefects.” amining apples to become seek not only to nourish but also to define themselves.

Culture

JANUARY 2023

a certain kind of person.

Hence, in Baudrillard’s words, hypercommodities are made to test ourselves.

The self-service dimension characterizing supermarkets gives us the illusory impression of agency and control, whereas, in reality, a supermarket is a space of manipulation of man by products.

This conversion from real to hyperreal does not only apply to alimentary products but to the totality of advertised items. However, the food compartment of supermarkets is a particularly interesting case study. Unlike other essential products, e.g. clothes, food is, when sold, often invisible to our eyes, being wrapped by layers of packaging. The blue plastic of Oreos and the thick milk cartons sprinkled with representations of smiling cows are supposed to be mere containers whose relevance is insignificant

compared to the contents.

Yet, research has shown the incredible influence that these have on consumers purchasing choices. As Schifferstein and others pointed out in their work “Influence of package design on the dynamics of multisensory and emotional food experience,” today the products’ encasement is intended to be a decisive factor. Nowadays, they explain, countless brands offer strikingly similar products: targeting the tastes of the consumers is not enough for companies. It is necessary to make the item stand out from the analogous others; the features of the wrapping material are, together with other elements such as competitive price setting, essential to this. Their research was built on the premise that, while choosing which packed food to purchase, consumers’ sensory experience is vital. Through empirical experiments, they

unsurprisingly found that, if people are put in front of a supermarket shelf full of identical products of different brands the most important sense is sight.

Betina Piqueras-Fiszman and Charles Spence specify that among all the visible elements characterizing a packed product (size and shape of the container, the magnitude of opening, etc...), color is one of the most decisive factors. This was proved while conducting an experiment on potato chips. Participants were asked to taste and identify the flavor of crisps served from a package whose color corresponds to another variety of potato chips — salt and vinegar chips were served from a blue package (commonly corresponding to cheese and onion crisps) and not a green one. According to the results, the majority of participants were fooled by the wrong color association and failed to recognize the right fla-

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vor profile, despite having uncompromised taste buds and being familiar with the crisp brand’s various flavors. The power of colors is so strong that it made it impossible for a significant part of the test group to identify the taste that they knew well. Therefore, what is it that we are really buying? The food product or the shiny plastic packages that unconsciously attract us? The answer probably lies somewhere at the intersection between these two elements.

Due to psychological biases, cultural and social influences, we are never buying only food when we go grocery shopping. Attracted by the aesthetics of a supposedly irrelevant casing and eager to build a desired version of ourselves, our experiences in supermarkets are far more complex than we deem and deserve to be further inquired into.

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JANUARY 2023

Le Football, Source de Miracles Pour l’Argentine?

By Amalia Heide, Staff Writer Argentine: un pays brisé, divisé entre anti-Kirchneristes, anti-Macristes, anti-libéraux, anti-caste politique, anti-IMF... en général toujours anti. Un pays plongé dans une forte crise économique, politique et sociale.

dirigée par Messi a réussi : imprégner l’âme de près de 46 millions d’Argentins de la fierté d’appartenir à la nation argentine. Pauvres,

atteindre nos objectifs, pouvons-nous apporter ce nouveau sentiment d’unité dans l’arène politique ? J’ai des doutes à ce sujet. C’est

Argentins : toujours insatisfaits du présent, toujours pessimistes quant à l’avenir.

Aucun homme politique, aucun événement historique, aucun ennemi commun, aucune lutte sociale, aucune célébration collective n’a réussi au cours des dernières décennies à unir ce peuple, plein de ressentiment et vide d’espoir. Même le conflit sur la souveraineté des Malouines entre l’Argentine et l’Angleterre ne fait pas l’unanimité ou ne suscite pas de passion profonde parmi les citoyens.

Mais en sept matches et en l’espace d’un mois, l’équipe nationale de football argentine semble avoir réalisé l’impossible. Je ne parle pas de la victoire de la Coupe du monde, mais de ses conséquences : plus de 5 millions de personnes sont sorties dans la rue pour fêter la victoire. Même les leaders politiques les plus charismatiques de l’histoire de l’Argentine n’ont pas réussi ce que l’équipe

riches, hommes, femmes, citoyens de gauche, citoyens de droite célébrant et scandant en chœur le même slogan. Il a déjà été décrété que c’est la plus grande fête de l’histoire de l’Argentine. Et pour une fois, il n’y a pas un parti politique impliqué, il n’y a pas de principes idéologiques en jeu.

Désormais, puisque nous avons été témoins qu’en équipe, nous pouvons

précisément cette absence d’arrière-plan idéologique qui a permis cette union fraternelle. Le fossé politique est si profond dans notre pays que je doute fort que cela nous permette de réduire de manière durable nos conflits politiques internes, nos différences idéologiques, notre aversion mutuelle. Il est évident que le fait d’être champions du monde restera un point de

référence commun, une source de joie et de réconfort, et pourra donc contribuer à désamorcer les tensions, mais de là à les éliminer, c’est une autre affaire.

D’autre part, on peut se demander si ces célébrations ne montrent que le meilleur côté du peuple argentin. Ces célébrations, qui en théorie semblent très poétiques, romantiques, libératrices, ont fini par révéler en pratique notre penchant presque morbide pour le débordement, la sauvagerie et la destruction. Personnes blessées et tuées en tombant de ponts, de monuments ou de biens publics. Au lendemain de la caravane de l’équipe nationale argentine, les alentours de l’obélisque, l’emblème de Buenos Aires, étaient pitoyables.

Les feux de signalisation, les panneaux indiquant le nom des rues, les stations de bus... tous détruits.

Avec quel budget tout serat-il réparé ? Sans parler des ordures dans les rues que d’autres devront ramasser.

Après tout, comme l’a dit un joueur de l’équipe nationale, ce n’est que du football. Mais espérons que le football permettra de réaliser le miracle d’une véritable unité. C’est mon seul souhait.

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Morocco’s World Cup Success Sends the Globe a Powerful Statement

By Colin Lim, Staff Writer “Avec nos lions!” triumphantly proclaimed the destination displays of the Casablanca buses.

Although the Atlas Lions had lost the World Cup semifinals to France a week earlier, the feeling of triumph was palpable under the balmy December sun.

As traffic flowed along the wide boulevards of Morocco’s financial hub, adorned with red and green flags, the national team was eagerly welcomed home 80 kilometers away in Rabat.

Riding in an open-top bus, conspicuously emblazoned with the national rallying cry, “Dima Maghrib,” the players were greeted by thousands of jubilant fans who recognized and ap-

preciated the magnitude of their accomplishment.

The fact that Morocco’s national football team had even made it to this point was an impressive feat.

Their unprecedented success rallied Morocco, the Moroccan diaspora, and Muslim communities of disparate origins worldwide behind a single team.

As the first Arab or African country to advance to the semifinals, Morocco managed, at long last, to break the glass ceiling that had been so inviolably reserved for European and South American teams, the traditional strongholds of professional football.

The players, whose feline moniker dates back to an extinct species that used to roam the mountains of North Africa, carry an

array of passports, as the 26-person lineup includes only 12 players born on Moroccan soil and others born in France, Spain, the Netherlands, Belgium and Canada.

As the Moroccan team advanced through the World Cup, defeating Belgium, Canada, Spain, and Portugal, they captivated their audience and the world with several iconic images.

Photographs that went viral displayed players’ jubilee — even embracing and kissing their mothers, à la Achraf Hakimi. Several photos of Moroccan players and staff united in prayer on the field, all facing the qibla and publicly affirming their faith, gained momentum among Muslim communities globally. The

visibility of their devotion in the face of anti-Muslim sentiment in their European birth countries offered a source of inspiration and empowerment.

The success of the Moroccan team at the 2022 FIFA World Cup has disrupted the traditional balance of football. It has shown how the unassuming underdogs can, with the right combination of teamwork, persistence and a steadfast, strong-willed, bald-headed coach — Walid Regragui, nicknamed “avocado head”— attain new heights.

The Atlas Lions will showcase their improvements at the next World Cup in North America, potentially contributing even more to the diversification of successful football teams.

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January Sports Recap him with his old rival. The Telegraph described the match as “the sordid final « Les COP sont un peu chapter of our era’s greatest football rivalry.”

Sports Recap

Bukayo Saka. Fans are increasingly confident that this season will end their 19-year wait for a Premier League title.

operations, which have been at the heart of recent controversies, including during Max Verstappen’s first title-winning season.

Questions have been asked of Chelsea FC and their possible violation of Fédération Internationale de Football Association’s (FIFA) Financial Fair Play regulation. Since U.S. billionaire Todd Boehly acquired the team last May, Chelsea have spent nearly half a million GBP on transfers. FIFA caps club spending at 105m GBP per season, and Chelsea have spent over four times that amount in the last six months. However, transfer fees are spread across the length of their contract. Chelsea recently signed Ukraine’s Mykhailo Mudryk for an eight-anda-half-year contract and a hefty price of 88.5 million GBP, with other contracts ranging from five to six years.

RC Lens closed the gap to current league leaders PSG by three points as PSG lost 1-0 to Rennes. OGC Nice are looking for a replacement for veteran Dante, who is likely to retire at the end of the season. Nice, who have had a poor start to the season, are looking to bolster their team in hopes of stronger performance.

Boxing

By Hugo Lagergren, Staff Writer

Football The January player transfer window has now closed. Some teams splashed the cash, while some were more restrained in their approach and waiting for the summer window to do most of their serious business.

Perhaps the most significant news to come out of the January window was Cristiano Ronaldo’s move to Saudi Arabia’s Al Nassr FC following his departure from Manchester United, where he had a falling out with several management figures, including manager Erik Ten Haag.

Ronaldo has signed for two and a half years, extending his playing career until June 2025. The contract is reportedly worth a whopping 150 million USD per season. Ronaldo returned to the field as Al Nassr lost 4-5 to Lionel Messi’s Paris Saint-Germain (PSG), reuniting

Arsenal have continued their impressive run at the top of the Premier League table by beating Manchester United 3-2 after a scintillating performance by

Formula 1 Teams have started to announce the launch dates to showcase their cars for the 2023 season, with Red Bull being the first to launch their car on the third of February. The rest of the launches will follow in the next fortnight.

Steve Nielsen has been appointed as Sporting Director of the Fédération Internationale de l’Automobile.

This job switch from a high-ranking Formula 1 job requires him to oversee race-control

Youtuber/boxer/rapper KSI announced his ambition for Misfits Boxing, his promotional company, and their partnership with DAZN boxing to become a serious fighting arena.

KSI defeated Faze Temperrr only a minute into the first round, after which he spoke passionately about his event’s potential to compete with major fighting institutions such as the Ultimate Fighting Championship. His fight reportedly accumulated an impressive 300,000 pay-per-view buys.

Rugby With the Six Nations tournament approaching, England Rugby fans will have been relieved to hear that Captain Owen Farrell has been cleared to play. He was handed a four-match ban after a high tackle during a league match against Gloucester.

MENA

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Will Iraq’s New Government Bring About Change?

By Noor Ahmad, Staff Writer The new Iraqi government, headed by Mohammed Shia’ al-Sudani, was formed in October 2022 and put an end to over a year of political deadlock. The impasse arose as the major bloc of parliamentary seats was won by supporters of Shiite Muslim cleric Muqtada al-Sadr (the Sadrists).

They sought to challenge the status quo of the Shia Coordination Framework, a coalition of Shiite organizations representing vested interests, including those led by former Prime Minister Nouri Al Maliki. In fact, al-Sudani is a close associate of Nouri Al-Maliki, who many associate with corruption and mismanagement, and served in his cabinet when he joined national politics in 2010.

The Sadrists, on the other hand, draw their strength from the youth and professional classes – many of them are either unemployed or in insecure forms of employment. Former administrations failed the Sadrist base by not meeting their fundamental needs. In fact, recent data shows that 41 million Iraqis lack access to potable water or electricity, and many feel disillusioned with a corrupt and ineffective political system.

The popular demand for an end to corruption manifested itself in an October 2019 protest, known as the Thawrat Tishreen (the October Revolution). Yet, these tensions have persisted, with the Sadrists using opportunities at times to side with the govern-

ment and stabilize the system and at others to destabilize it. When al-Sudani was first nominated as prime minister, the militant wing of the Sadrists, Saray al-Salam, occupied the Green Zone in Baghdad and stormed parliament.

Al-Sudani ascended to the premiership against this contentious background, and vowed to root out corruption following longstanding abuse of power. He appears to have had some success – he established The Supreme Anti-Corruption Commission to support the Ministry of Interior in pursuing large scale and high-profile corruption cases; retrieved around $125 million of the stolen tax funds in late November; and rid the government of around 900 compromised officials after six weeks in office. Al-Sudani also outlined ambitious goals of significantly increasing the number of public sector jobs, in an attempt to mirror al-Maliki, who created over 600,000 jobs during his time in office.

While Sudani seems to have admirable objectives for the country, these ideas are not novel, nor are they realistic.

His desire to expand public sector jobs is idealistic given that over 60 percent of Iraq’s population is under 25-yearsold, and that around 700,000 people already enter the job market annually, a two thirds increase compared to the Al-Maliki era. The state is already burdened with over-employment and unscrupulous officials create fictitious employees to extract their wag-

es from the government.

a state-financed company to manage government proMoreover, the commission to jects, and this is run by an fight corruption established affiliate of the pro-Iran miliby al-Sudani is only one in a tant group Hashd al-Shaabi. lineage of those established Many believe that the Hashd by his predecessors, for ex- al-Shaabi want to win conample, Mustafa al-Kadhimi, tracts in the oil and gas secthe former Prime Minister tor, as well as in housing conaccused of embezzling 2.5 struction. To add credence to billion tax dollars from Iraqi this, al-Sudani’s first major state coffers, in what is re- overseas visit after securing garded as Iraq’s “heist of the the premiership was to Iran, century”, established the Su- where he sought to assuage preme Anti-Corruption Com- concerns of the Iranian govmittee. The anti-corruption ernment on bilateral issues, bodies preceding al-Sudani including security and ecohave been merely symbolic, nomic cooperation. The Shia providing the administra- Coordination Framework, tions with much-needed le- which helped elect al-Sudani, is also backed by Iran.

gitimacy and sometimes used to attack political opponents of the government. Given al-Sudani’s reliance on the political elite to prop up his government, there is nothing stopping him from following in their footsteps.

Al-Sudani and his government are not only supported by the political elite in Iraq but also by foreign actors. His government set up

Al-Sudani must work quickly to win over the millions of Sadr supporters. This is not just a race to stabilize the economic system, but also a political contest as the Sadrists vie to displace the pro-Iran influence with a Shiite domestic equivalent. The Sadrists have become a major political force over the last decade, doubling their share of parliamentary elections from 2014 to 2018. However, their 2021 choice to break the status quo and ally with Sunni and Kurdish groups to form a government spelled their political downfall. It was their unwillingness to compromise with the Shia Coordinate Framework that ultimately upset their plans. Undoubtedly, they will try again if al-Sudani fails to implement his plans for reforming the state.

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JANUARY 2023

Is Netanyahu’s Supreme Court Proposal Reform or Regime Change?

By Magdalena Offenbeck, Managing Editor Only weeks after its inauguration, Israel’s rightwing government under returning Prime Minister

Benjamin Netanyahu has set out to severely curtail the powers of the Israeli Supreme Court. The current legislative proposal

by Justice Minister Yariv Lavin will revoke the influential Israeli Supreme Court’s veto rights on government legislation and regulation, and place the judicial appointment panel under government control.

This has sent shockwaves through Israeli society which, as the countless failed coalitions in the last years have shown, is already deeply divided. On Jan. 14, 80,000 protest-

ers took to the streets of Tel Aviv to demonstrate against what many consider a step to dismantle Israeli democracy. However, the controversy reflects a tale as old as democracy

than the number required to form a coalition government. After that four-year period, any newly elected coalition could re-legislate the statute, making it immune to further judicial

wing party dominance in the country. However, its mandate and legitimacy are far from unequivocal.

Israel’s 1948 Declaration of Independence mandated the drafting of a national

itself: the intrinsic tension between the counter-majoritarian mechanism of judicial review and the will of popularly elected representatives.

review. Additionally, the government could appoint seven of the 11 members to the judicial appointment panel. This would de facto end any possibility of independent judicial review.

constitution; but this was never fulfilled. Instead, the Basic Law, 14 laws adopted since 1958, has served as a growing body of constitutionalism in Israel.

Judicial review was only progressively constitutionalized. In 1995, famous ex-Chief Justice Aharon Barak fundamentally altered the balance of power by asserting in the landmark case “United Mizrahi Bank v. Migdal” that the lack of a constitution did not prevent constitutional supremacy. Instead, laws considered fundamental Basic Law enjoy the status

Under the reform proposal, government bills could be struck down by the Supreme Court with only a majority of 80 percent of judges in a panel of 15.

Even if the Court reaches this supermajority, the Knesset could re-legislate the bill for a period of four years with a simple majority of just 61 Knesset members — a figure lower

Israel’s Supreme Court is known for its wide powers and active role in reviewing government legislation. It has historically taken a liberal stance on controversial issues such as Israeli citizenship and settlements in the West Bank and offered an effective counter mechanism to the ongoing shift to right-

JANUARY 2023

of legal supremacy, and the and the right have deep- cratic legitimacy that has Israeli Supreme Court has ened on all social issues. preoccupied constitutionthe power to adjudicate on This is accompanied by an alists since the idea of juthe conformity of legisla- increasing personalization dicial review was first contion within this hierarchy of political power whereby ceived. Proponents of the of norms. The Court has anti- and pro-Netanyahu Supreme Court, such as since used this power to have become synonyms Aharon Barak, highlight apply conthe essentiality of Constitroversial “the controversy reflects tutional Courts in providprinciples a tale as old as democracy ing a counter-majoritarian such as itself: the intrinsic tension mechanism in societies, es“reasona- between the counter-mapecially those as deeply dibleness,” joritarian mechanism of vided as Israel’s. The counwhereby it judicial review and the will try’s multiparty system of can inval- of popularly elected repreproportional representaidate gov- sentatives.” tion with low thresholds ernment to enter the Knesset has legislation if it finds it un- for left and right-wing po- always allowed for diverse reasonable. litical orientations. To the representation. Neverthecurrent government coali- less, it has also made it Barak has called the pro- tion, the Supreme Court is possible for right-wing coposal “the beginning of a tool the left uses to exert alitions to overpower mithe end of the modern the influence it has lost in norities in the government. state of Israel,” outlining democratic elections.

It has been the role of the that it would leave citizens Supreme Court to assess defenseless against the The politicization of the the conformity of these coabuse of their rights. In a Court by the Israeli right alitions’ actions with basic lengthy televised interview is reflected in the stark di- rights and freedoms. shortly after the propos- vide in public opinion. In a al’s announcement, Barak recent survey by The Israel Yet, the proposal is hailed warned of a possible tyr- Democracy Institute, 54% by many as a return to true anny of the majority and of participants “agreed democracy. Reform proemphasized the impor- that the Supreme Court ponents believe the Court tance of a thick conception should have the power to has an overly powerful role of democratic principles, strike down laws passed in politics as it inherentincluding minority rights in the Knesset which con- ly lacks democratic legitprotection. His comments flict with the Basic Laws of imacy, allowing judges to were met with severe crit- the State icism by Justice Minister of Israel.” “... the beginning of the end Lavin, who, like Netanya- This view of the modern state of Israhu himself, portrays the was held el,” outlining that it would measure as essential to by 76% leave citizens defenseless restore democracy. The of secu- against the abuse of their coalition government has lar Israe- rights.” continuously portrayed lis, while the Supreme Court as only 15% of Haredi Israelis push an agenda that is not an instrument of the left agreed with the statement. necessarily representative and illegitimate due to its Party alignment shows of the right-wing political power to trump the will similar divides. Among the majority in the country. of democratically elected most prominent left-wing Those considering democlawmakers. In a Jan. 16 parties, 85% of survey par- racy as the mere fulfillment Tweet, Netanyahu stressed ticipants expressed their of the will of the voting mathat his government will support for the Court. Ne- jority have long seen the not be “deterred by the tanyahu’s more religious Court’s powers as undemoattacks of the left and the political base opposed the cratic by nature. Due to its media.” In recent years, Court’s prerogative by no lack of clearly enumerated the rise of left-wing gov- less than 95%. constitutional powers, the ernments has seemed like judiciary has been able to a sheer impossibility and At the core of the issue take on an increasingly accleavages between the left lies a question of demo- tive and powerful role, es-

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tablishing principles such as “reasonableness” that can be subject to broad application and interpretation. An opinion column by David M. Weinberg, vice president of the Jerusalem Institute for Strategy and Security, reflects these beliefs. He sarcastically outlines that “‘Reasonableness’ is authoritarian jargon that allows High Court justices to elastically apply their own sensibilities to socially re-engineer Israeli society in their enlightened image.” These contradictory perspectives leave little room for compromise and conciliation.

The dismantling of the Supreme Court is by far not the only issue in Israeli politics that has seen extreme division and polarization, but to many, it is the most fundamental one yet. Should Netanyahu’s coalition succeed and pass the bill by March as announced, the political power balance is set to change drastically. Many fear that the Supreme Court’s dismantling will unravel the already limited liberal influence in Israeli politics and install a tyranny of the majority. To others, it is the return of true democracy. Whatever perspective one takes, Israel is a special case. Few democracies are forced to accommodate social diversity to this degree.

Should the Knesset move forward with its proposal, it remains to be seen how the state’s diverse actors will reconcile their differences within a system that uniquely caters to a political majority that does not mirror the heterogeneity of Israeli society.

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The Menton Times

JANUARY 2023

What Ekrem Imamoğlu’s unjust imprisonment reveals about Erdoğan’s plans for Turkey

By Ecesu Basara, Section Editor

Despite his active partici- show Imamoğlu’s potential tween the two figures furpation in the construction as a future Turkish lead- ther demonstrate Imamoğsector, which he inherited er and justify Erdoğan’s lu’s capability to be a leader “Şeytan tüyü,” a Turkish from his family, Imamoğlu desire to hinder Imamoğ- as powerful as Erdoğan in proverb that translates first appeared the coming years and the literally to “feather of the to be relatively voice of the long-silenced. devil,” is used to refer to obscure to the “Growing censorship persons who are thought to general pub- and the outlawing Undoubtedly, Erdoğan is have an easy time winning lic. However, of oppositional aware of this reality, and the acceptance and love of his reputation parties have been in an effort to maintain his others. and career took hallmarks of the AKP’s position as ruler for a few off in 2019. In administration. ” more years, takes care to If you are familiar with the one of its most minimize Imamoğlu’s exname Ekrem Imamoğlu, h u m i l i a t i n g posure to the Turkish peoyou are aware of his unde- defeats, he beat Adalet ve lu’s candidacy in the up- ple. niable possession of this Kalkinma Partisi (AKP), coming 2023 presidential special “feather.” Business- the conservative party elections. First, it is note- Even after winning Istanman and skilled communi- in power since 2002, to worthy to mention that bul’s mayoral elections in cator, he made his fortune win the Istanbul munic- Imamoğlu and Erdoğan March, Imamoğlu’s victoin construction before en- ipal elections with the both originate from the ry was short-lived — the tering politics. Member of help of CHP leader Kemal Black Sea region of Turkey, vote was quickly annulled the Cumhuriyet Halk Par- Kılıçdaroğlu. Growing cen- an area that has historical- on the grounds that it was tisi (CHP), a secular and sorship and the outlaw- ly played a crucial role in fraudulent and pushed to leftist party founded by ing of oppositional parties Turkish politics. Also, both a date three months later.

Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, have been hallmarks of Erdoğan and Imamoğlu When he won for the secthe AKP’s have served as mayor of ond time, he used the term “he appeals to administra- Istanbul — Erdoğan from “fools” to describe election the Kemalist and tion. In light 1994 to 1998, nationalist electorate of this, the and Imamoglu “When he won for the but also the Kurds” election of since 2019. In second time, he used the I m a m o ğ l u addition, both term “fools” to describe p r e s e n t e d Imamoğlu and election officials who Ekrem Imamoğlu knows itself as a beacon of hope Erdoğan cher- had canceled the vote how to seduce beyond his for many Turks who do ish religion on unjust grounds.” political affiliation; he ap- not identify with the ide- and publicly peals to the Kemalist and ology of Erdoğan, and for express their nationalist electorate but the first time in almost 20 devotion, despite the fact officials who had canceled also the Kurds, which is years, it made them feel that Imamoğlu’s discourse the vote on unjust grounds. surprising given the cur- like their voices had been on religion is substantially AKP officials viewed this rent dynamics of Turk- heard. more inclusive of Islamic as an insult to the Turkish ish politics, which tend to minorities and non-Mus- administration and a defaisolate and divide differ- These two political figures lim groups in Turkey while mation court case against ent ethnic and religious may seem irreconcilable to Erdoğan opts for an ideal- Imamoğlu was opened imgroups. one another, but they share ized global Sunni vision of mediately in June 2019. many uncanny traits that Islam. The similarities be- The court announced its

MENA

JANUARY 2023

decision in mid-December 2022 and Imamoğlu was sentenced to two years, seven months and 15 days in prison in addition to a political ban. He has decided to appeal this decision, so the sentence is currently suspended.

What is most shocking about this brutal verdict is that the Minister of Internal Affairs, Süleyman Soylu, called Imamoğlu a “fool” before Imamoğlu had said it. Soylu escaped legal action or even mild consequences. Imamoğlu used this in his defense, but the court ruled that he had not meant the term “fool” in the same way that Soylu had.

In his defense he also included that, in Turkey, the word “fool” is usually not

regarded as an insult, but the Court had an answer for this as well. It determined, based on the manner the word “fool” was

see that this case, particularly given its timing (five months before the presidential elections), is politically motivated.

“It determined, based on the manner the word “fool” was used in the sentence and the emphasis given to it, that Imamoğlu had meant for it to mean “dumb and idiotic.” used in the sentence and the emphasis given to it, that Imamoğlu had meant for it to mean “dumb and idiotic.”

In short, the Court found that, when two people say the same word, the one who says it first should not get called out, whereas the other is condemned to prison and a political ban.

It does not take long to

Decided by a judge who has photos with AKP leaders and who demonstrated clear bias, this courtroom drama features ludicrous defenses and aggressive demands from the prosecution. Erdoğan’s fear of losing his position as president has once again undermined the integrity of Turkey’s justice system and further eroded the democratic norms that the

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nation previously upheld strongly and proudly. Erdoğan has demonstrated yet again that he is willing to do whatever it takes to get reelected in May 2023.