Khalil Rayyan

Absorbed in the search for beauty… driven by emotions and impressions… revealing optimism and hope… this is Khalil Rayyan, a veteran artist who has been spared pretentious grandeur and narcissism. His work is always a reflection on simple themes, content, and lineament, and he shows passionate sensitivity and awareness of the reality faced by Palestinian artists living inside Israel. Read More

Mazin Qumsiyeh

[HumanRights] Zinn, WEF, abuse of the Jewish holocaust..

     We lost the good voice of historian, intellectual and activist, Prof. Howard Zinn.  I met Zinn twice while in the US.  I read two of his books and hope to have time some day to read the others.  Zinn was not happy with Zionism and frequently criticized the Zionist atrocities, from massacres in Lebanon in 1982 to those in Gaza last year.  But, like many leftists, prefererd to challenge US imperialism over challenging the destructive Israel-first lobby in the US.  In this, I disagreed with him because I believe Zionism sits at the table of power in Washington DC and is not merely a tool of "US Imperialism". His statements about the misuse of the Nazi atrocities (e.g. <http://www.tokyoprogressive.org/~tpgn/japan/10zinn.htm> http://www.tokyoprogressive.org/~tpgn/japan/10zinn.htm) were not as strong as those of other Jews who addressed the issue (e.g. Joel Kovel, Lenni Brenner, Norman Finkelstein, Gilad Azmon etc). But Zinn was so perceptive on so many areas, it is hard to quibble about these points.  Zinn's intellect, activism, honesty and positive spirit have  inspired three generations.  He cut short his last lecture when he retired and urged his students to join him in the demonstration and 100 of them did so.  I always thought thatthis is how I hope to end my last lecture too.  In my 2004 book "Sharing the Land of Canaan", I cited the following statement from Zinn which I also shared two times with listserves

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