Issue 6/June-July 2004

Editor, Prof. Barry Rubin 

Assistant Editors, Cameron Brown, Joy Pincus, Ehud Waldoks

Please credit if quoting; ask permission to reprint

CONTENTS 

IMPORTANT NEWS

1. PUBLICATIONS OF INTEREST

2. WEBSITES/GROUPS ONLINE

3. FREE SUBSCRIPTIONS TO E-MAIL PUBLICATIONS

4. FUNDING/SCHOLARSHIPS/FELLOWSHIPS/WRITING OPPORTUNITIES

5. RESEARCH QUERIES-PLEASE HELP

6. SCHOLARS AND AUTHOR'S ALERTS (writers report on their books, articles, and activites)

7. ANNOUNCEMENTS OF MEETINGS, CONFERENCES, LECTURES

IMPORTANT ANNOUNCEMENTS:

Barry Rubin and Judith Colp Rubin, Yasir Arafat: A Political Biography (Continuum, 2004) is now available in the United Kingdom in Paperback.  ISBN / 0 8264 7428 4 / 8.99 pounds.  Available at all good bookshops or order direct from Continuum, Orca Book Services, Stanley House, 3 Fleets Lane, Poole, BH15 3AJ.  Tel: +44 (0) 1202 665432; Fax: +44 (0) 1202 666219 <sales@continuumbooks.com>.  Read more about the book: <http://gloria.idc.ac.il/publications/books/arafat.html>.

     The Hardcover version of this book is now available in Israel, in Steimatskys bookstores.  Coming next year: Yasir Arafat: A Political Biography, translated into Hebrew and published by Yediot Aharanot.

     Barry Rubin and Judith Colp Rubin, Anti-American Terrorism and the Middle East: Understanding the Violence (Oxford University Press, 2002) is now available in Paperback.  ISBN: 0195176596.  $16.95.  Telephone orders: 1-800-451-7556
Online Orders: <http://www.oup-usa.org>.  By mail:  Oxford University Press, Attn: Order Department, 2001 Evans Road, Cary, NC 27513.  Read more about the book: <http://gloria.idc.ac.il/publications/books/anti-american_terrorism.html>.  

Barry Rubin's weekly column on Middle East affairs is now available online at: <http://gloria.idc.ac.il/columns/column.html>.

1. PUBLICATIONS OF INTEREST

A. Books

     David Horovitz, Still Life With Bombers: Israel in the age of terrorism (NY: Knopf, 2004) David Horovitz is the editor of "The Jerusalem Report" and a regular commentator on CNN International and elsewhere. $17.00 Hardcover. 288 pages. ISBN: 1400040671. <http://www.amazon.com>. 

     Neill Lochery, Why Blame Israel? The Facts Behind the Headlines (London: Icon Books, 2004). Neill Lochery is director of the Center for Israeli Studies at University College, London.  9.09 pounds. Hardcover 272 pages. ISBN: 1840465301. <http://www.amazon.co.uk/>. 

     Michael M. Laskier, Israel and the Maghreb: From Statehood to Oslo (Florida: University Press of Florida, May, 2004).  ISBN: 0-8130-2725-X.  368 pages, Cloth: $65.00.  <http://www.upf.com>.

     Ron Rosenbaum, ed., Those Who Forget the Past: The Question of Anti-Semitism (Random House, 2004).  This book includes essays and reportage by Paul Berman, David Brooks, Bernard Lewis, David Mamet, Philip Roth, Amos Oz, Frank Rich, Simon Schama, Marie Brenner, Edward Said, Melanie Philips, Barbara Amiel, Tom Gross and some 35 others. $15.95 paper (416p) ISBN 0-8129-7203-1.   <http://www.amazon.com>. 

     Gabe Schoenfeld, The return of anti-Semitism (Encounter Books, 2003). Gabe Schoenfeld is the senior editor of Commentary magazine, one of the world's leading publications dealing with Middle East and other issues. $17.65 Hardcover: 193 pages. ISBN: 1893554899. <http://www.amazon.com>. 

     Shraga Simmons and Nechemia Coopersmith, eds., Israel: Life in the Shadow of Terror (Targum / Feldheim / Aish.com books, 2003). Shraga Simmons has written and edited extensively on Middle East affairs, particularly in regard to media coverage. This book includes a collection of about 75 pieces on the Israeli-Palestinian dispute by Elie Wiesel, Benjamin Netanyahu, Natan Sharansky, Yossi Klein Halevi, Tom Gross and others. $24.95.  Hardcover: 416 pages. ISBN: 1568712375. <http://www.amazon.com>. 

     The Journal of North African Studies is a forum for scholars of and from the region.  Its contents cover both country-based and regional themes which range from historical topics to sociological, anthropological, economic, diplomatic and other issues.  It is the first journal to analyse the history and current affairs of what has become an important and coherent region of the Mediterranean basin linked to the Middle East and to Africa. Visit <http://www.tandf.co.uk/journals/titles/13629387.asp> for more information and how to order.  To register for a free table of contents email alert for this and over 900 other Taylor & Francis Journals, visit SARA (Scholarly Articles Research Alerting) at <http://www.tandf.co.uk/sara>. For more information: <jennifer.hetherington@tandf.co.uk>.

     The Carnegie Endowment for International Peace has partnered with Dar Al-Watan, a Kuwaiti publishing house, to translate and distribute the Arabic edition of the e-monthly, the Bulletin.  Dar Al-Watan also publishes the Arabic edition of Foreign Policy, the Carnegie Endowment's award-winning magazine. To view the Arabic edition of the May 2004 issue of the Bulletin, go to <http://www.alwatan.com.kw/arb>. To subscribe and to view the Arabic edition as a PDF, go to <http://www.ceip.org/arabic>. Dar Al-Watan will also distribute an Arabic printed version of the Bulletin. To subscribe call + 965/484-0632 or + 965/ 481-8489.  To sign up for the English edition: <http://www.ceip.org/signup>. 

     The Annals of Japan Association for Middle East Studies (AJAMES) has published its new issue, no. 19-2 entitled "Facing the Other: Israel Identity and Palestinians in a Jewish
State."  Articles include Dan Rabinowitz: Building a Fence, Constructing an Identity: Unilateral Separation and the Israeli Mainstream; Ahmad H. Sa'di: The Rhetoric of Public Order and the Excessive Use of Force; Usuki Akira: Jerusalem in the Mind of the Japanese: Two Japanese Christian Intellectuals on Ottoman and British Palestine and more. <http://wwwsoc.nii.ac.jp/james/index-e.html>.

     The Center for Research Libraries at the University of Chicago has published the Spring 2004 issue of its newsletter, "FOCUS" about Middle East resources and activities. The full newsletters are in PDF and HTML format at CRL's website.  This issue is about scholarly resources on the Middle East and the Arab Diaspora. The issue features important CRL collections and new acquisitions, cooperative collection programs and initiatives, and noteworthy scholarship in the field. Focus Online pdf version:
<http://www.crl.edu/PDF/pdfFocus/Spg04b.qxd.pdf>  Html version:
<http://www.crl.edu/content.asp?l1=1&l2=4&l3=123>.

     Ann-Sofi Jakobsson Hatay, "Popular Referenda and Peace Processes: the Twin Referenda on the Annan Plan for a Reunited Cyprus Put In Perspective," Turkish Daily News, May 4-6, 2004. <http://www.turkishdailynews.com/old_editions/05_04_04/for.htm#f4>.

     The International Journal of Politics, Culture and Society (IJPCS) has just published Volume 17, Number 3, Spring 2004 Special Issue: Palestinian-Israeli Relations, guest editor Saliba Sarsar.  <http://www.kluweronline.com/issn/0891-4486/contents>.

     Khaled Salih, "What future for the Kurds?," Report from the conference: "The
Kurds: One People - Four States - What Kind of Future?," Copenhagen, May 26,
2004.
<http://www.bahnhofbredband.se/~wb439907/pdf/khaled_salih_what_future_kurds.pdf>.

     Hakan Yavuz and Michael Gunter, ed's, "The Kurds in Iraq," Middle East Policy, Volume IX, No. 1, Spring 2004.  Edited versions of papers presented at the annual meeting of the Middle East Studies Association in Anchorage, Alaska, November 8, 2003.

2. WEBSITES/GROUPS ONLINE

A.General:

     The National Institute for Technology and Liberal Education has developed a new web site as a resource for all who would develop a better understanding of the Arab world; ten modules contain a variety of original texts, video clips and audio files from online and print sources. Available at: <http://arabworld.nitle.org/index.php>.

     Thugburg is a list of countries and the terror groups contained in each. <http://www.qrmapps.com/thugburg/>.

     Son of Al Qaeda, a Frontline news program about Abdurahman Khadr who grew up with Osama bin Laden's children, was groomed to be a terrorist and became a CIA informant.  This website contains a transcript, or watch the entire program online.

<http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/khadr/>.

     The Comprehensive Risk Analysis and Management Network (CRN)  is a Swiss-Swedish initiative on transnational threats with a focus on risk analysis, critical infrastructure protection, and terrorism. Together with its partners from Austria and Norway, the CRN has established a European and transatlantic research community for open dialog on risks and vulnerabilities. <http://www.isn.ethz.ch/crn>.

     War in Context is a new website listing articles  in the media relating to war, and links to their full text.  <http://www.warincontext.org/>.

     The Council on Foreign Relations has released a new study that "Commends U.S. and Saudi Efforts to Disrupt Terrorist Financing, But Says  More Progress Needed." See text at: <http://www.cfr.org/pdf/Revised_Terrorist_Financing.pdf>.

     Carnegie Endowment has released a new study entitled: "Europe's Pursuit of Middle East Political Reform: Does the "Third Way" Work?" See text at: <http://www.ceip.org/democracy>.

B. Iraq

     Comprehensive link list for the history of modern Iraq.  <http://www.ukans.edu/history/VL/near_east/iraq.html>.

     A declassified US Army map of al-Najaf, site of recent fighting between US army and Shiite insurgents, is available at:
<http://www.humanitarianinfo.org/iraq/maps/265-A3_Najaf_us_military_15k.jpg>. 

     "The Invasion of Iraq," a 2 hour Frontline program marking the first anniversary of the Iraqi War with a documentary investigation that recounts the key strategies, battles and turning points of the war. Includes a video excerpt.

<http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/invasion/>. 
     "Beyond Baghdad," a Frontline program taking viewers on a journey across Iraq to take a hard look at the prospect of Democracy.

<http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/beyond/>.

     "Chasing Saddam's Weapons," a Frontline program about the search for Weapons of Mass Destruction in Iraq and the as yet unanswered questions.

<http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/wmd/>.

     "Truth, War, and Consequences," a Frontline program tracing the roots of  the Iraqi war back to the days immediately following September 11. <http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/truth/>.
 

C. Islamism

     Harvard College's Fine Arts Library's "Reference Tools in Islamic Art & Architecture." This guide presents a selection of the most useful reference tools for the study of the art and architecture of the Islamic world. All entries include Harvard library call numbers and/or links to on-line resources. 

<http://hcl.harvard.edu/finearts/islamicreference/reference.html>.

D. Western Sahara

     Western Sahara page, with good links and useful descriptions.  <http://www.wsahara.net/>.

E. Yemen

     Website for Yemeni President Saleh, containing informative linking "top-bars" to curriculum vitae, news and events, in the press, interactive media (including how to contact the President), and info on Yemen (including government reports, tourism and investment). <http://www.presidentsaleh.info/en/>.  

3. FREE SUBSCRIPTIONS TO E-MAIL PUBLICATIONS

4. FUNDING/SCHOLARSHIPS/FELLOWSHIPS/WRITING OPPORTUNITIES

     June 21, 2004 deadline: New York, USA.  The Department of History at Fordham University is seeking to appoint a post-doctoral teaching fellow in the history of the Islamic world, including the Middle East, North Africa, South Asia or Southeast Asia. Limited to candidates within five years of having received the PhD, the position will begin September 1, 2004. Send a letter of application, C.V., and three letters of recommendation to Nancy J. Curtin, Department of History, Fordham University, Bronx, NY 10458.  For further info: <nancy.curtin@verizon.net> and  <http://www.fordham.edu/history>.

     July 10, 2004 deadline: Turkish Foreign Policy Insight Turkey is calling for articles for its  July-September 2004 Issue, which will focus on Turkish foreign policy issues in general without a regional focus. They are particularly interested in articles on the following topics, to name only some: Turkey and NATO, The Istanbul NATO Summit and NATO's Future Role, Turkish-U.S. Relations, Turkey s Energy Politics, Turkey and Armenia, Turkey and the Black Sea, The U.S. and Israel: Ramifications for a 'Greater Middle East,' Cyprus after the Referendum, Islam and Democracy and more. Contact: <editor@insightturkey.com> or see the website at <www.insightturkey.com>.

     August 5, 2004 deadline: Iran.  The Ministry of Culture and Islamic Guidance is calling for dissertations and academic research works on Iran.  Outstanding works will be selected and introduced at a ceremony to be held sometime in the middle of December 2004 in Tehran, Iran.  This competition is being organized for the seventh year. Iranian and non-Iranian academics are encouraged to participate. Work should relate to socio-cultural issues, mass media history and geography of Iran, literature, religion, folklore, art, sociology, ethnology or anthropology. Only those works that have been produced during the year 2003 are qualified to be considered for this years' ceremony. For more information: <researchyear2004@yahoo.com> or <research-year@ric.ir>,  0098-21-8905374 and <http://www.ric.ir>. 

     Nov. 5-6, 2004.  Rome, Italy. The Central Asia Research Network (CARN), the UK Central Asia Graduate Students Network, the Italian Association for the Study of Central Asia and the Caucasus (ASIAC), and the University of Roma III (Rome, Italy) are calling for papers for an upcoming conference:  Dynamics of Transformation in Central Asia - Perspectives from the Field.  The conference is conceived to provide a forum for Ph.D. students and other young scholars in the early stages of their career to discuss their fieldwork.  Proposals are due by July 25, 2004.  For information:  <romeconference2004@yahoo.com>.

     November 15, 2004 deadline: Princeton, NJ, USA.  The Institute for Advanced Study School of Historical Studies announces fellowships open to all fields of historical research including eastern civilization, the Islamic world and modern international relations.  The Ph.D. (or equivalent) and substantial publications are required. Information and application forms for this and other programs may be found on the School's web site, or contact Marian Zelazny at <mzelazny@ias.edu>.  Visit the website at <http://www.hs.ias.edu/>.

     The History Dept. of Washington University in St Louis, Missouri, USA invites applications for a one-year visiting appointment in the history of the Middle East, any specialization, although ability to teach a modern Middle East survey course is required. Course-load is 3+2, and teaching experience is essential. Please send letter of application, dossier and three letters of reference to Prof. Derek Hirst, Chair, History Dept., Washington University, St Louis, Mo. 63130. For department, see <http://artsci.wustl.edu/~history>.  

5. RESEARCH QUERIES-PLEASE HELP 

     I would like to meet IDF combat reservists that have served over either in the first or current Intifadas who would be willing to get interviewed in English and share their personal stories whilst serving in the West Bank and Gaza Strip during the month of August 2004 in Israel.  Any help in networking (friends, colleagues, family members) within Israel would be much appreciated.  Thank you,  Sergio Catignani, MA, MLitt.  <sergio.catignani@kcl.ac.uk>. Tel. +44 (0) 7812354184

6. SCHOLAR'S AND AUTHOR'S ALERTS (writers report on their books, articles, and activities)

     Kindly be informed that a new section (in French language) has been recently added to my web-site <http://www.heggy.org>. The special address of this section is: <http://www.heggy.org/french>. This new section currently posts the following three items: L’inéluctable Transformation; La Nécessité d’une 'Culture de Compromis;' and Le conflit israélo-arabe Entre raison et hystérie. Shortly, many of my essays will be translated into French and added to this section.

7. ANNOUNCEMENTS OF MEETINGS, CONFERENCES, LECTURES [This only lists new entries. For additional items, see MERIA News past issues on our homepage. We welcome submissions of events.]

     June 14-16, 2004.  Jerusalem, Israel.  The Association for Israel Studies (AIS) - 20th Annual Meeting will take place at the Hebrew University, Mt. Scopus campus.  Program and attendance details are available on the AIS web site <http://www.aisisraelstudies.org>.

     June 25, 2004.  Texas, U.S.  The Center for Middle East Studies presents:  "Re-Visioning Arab Communities in US Popular Culture," A Roundtable Discussion.  7-8:30 pm in the Thompson Conference Center 3.102.  This discussion brings together academics, advocates and media professionals to discuss the process of producing visual images of Arab and Arab-American communities. The objective is to focus on creative and constructive ways to improve representations of Arab communities, given the well documented negative and limited characterizations dominant in US media. For more information, please contact Karin Wilkins at 512-471-2007 <kwilkins@mail.utexas.edu>. 

     August 31 - September 3, 2004.  Sussex, UK.  Wilton Park announces a conference: "Economic Reform in the Middle East."  The conference will hear from policy-makers from the Middle East region, and others. Conference fee is 900 pounds which includes 3 nights' accommodation and full board.  To receive a copy of the conference programme, contact Mrs. Jo Childs, Conference Administrator, telephone: +44 (0)1903 817755, fax: +44 (0) 1903 817162 and e-mail: <jo.childs@wiltonpark.org.uk>. 

     October 8-10, 2004. Copenhagen, Denmark.  The 6th Nordic Conference on Middle Eastern Studies is calling for papers on "Middle  East Studies Meet International Relations Theory."  For general information: <http://www.hf.uib.no/smi/nsm/cph04.html>.  For further information, contact the panel chairs: <morten@ps.au.dk> or <emma.jorum@statsvet.uu.se>.

     October 18-20, 2004.  Inter-Disciplinary Net announces the 3rd Global Conference War and Virtual War and calls for papers.  This inter-disciplinary and multi-disciplinary conference seeks toprovide a challenging forum for the examination and evaluation of thenature, purpose and experience of war.  Contact: <rf@inter-disciplinary.net>.  URL: <http://www.inter-disciplinary.net/ptb/wvw/wvw3/wvw04cfp.htm>

     November 10, 2004.  The Middle East Department (DEMO) of the International Relations Institute (IRI) of the National University of La Plata (UNLP), Argentina, announces the Fifth Conference on the Middle East.  To understand the new international situation and its influence in the Middle East, it is suggested that papers concentrate on the War in Iraq and its impact in the region, though they may address other topics related to the Middle East in the 21st Century.   Abstracts are due by July 1, 2004 and final papers by September 1, 2004.  For further information: DEMO <iri@isis.unlp.edu.ar>   <pbrieger@wamani.apc.org> and <http://www.iri.unlp.edu.ar>.

     November 25-26, 2004.  Istanbul, Turkey.  The Center for Turkic Studies of
Marmara University announces a symposium: "Death in Turkic Culture."
Deadline for proposal summaries:  September 1, 2004.  For more information:
Dr. Gulden Sagol, Secretary to the symposium, Tel: 90.216 347 96 41/1166 or
email: <guldensagol@marmara.edu.tr>.

     March-June, 2005. Israel.  The Department of Middle East Studies at Ben Gurion University is calling for papers for its 11th Annual International Workshop, entitled: "Courts of Law and Legal Cultures in Past and Present Muslim Societies: A Socio-legal Perspective."  This workshop will explore contemporary and historical courts of law in Muslim societies, bringing together scholars from different disciplines (e.g. history, law, sociology, anthropology).  It will convene once every three weeks, on Tuesday afternoon, between 4.00 and 7.00 PM (tentative schedule: March 1, March 22, April 12, May 3, May 24, 2005). Following this series of meetings, a two-day workshop will take place (Monday and Tuesday, June 6-7, 2005) with papers submitted by all participants. Selected papers from the workshop will be published in a collection of essays on courts of law in Muslim societies. Proposals due: October 31, 2004. For more information: Dr. Iris Agmon, <iragmon@bgu.ac.il>, or <iragmon@bgumail.bgu.ac.il>.

     April 1-2, 2005.  Orlando, Florida. USA.  The American Council for the Study of Islamic Societies (ACSIS) announces its 2005 Conference to be held at the University of Central Florida.  The topic of this 22nd annual meeting of ACSIS is "Nationalistic and Religious Responses to Western Influence in the Islamic World." For further details, including suggested topics for proposals, write to Professor Michael B. Bishku at <mbishku@aug.edu>. Deadline is December 1, 2004.

     July 6-9, 2006.  Oxford, UK.  The Iran Heritage Foundation and University of Oxford are calling for papers for the Iranian Constitutional Revolution 1906-1911 Centenary Conference. For more information, contact the Iran Heritage Foundation, 5 Stanhope Gate, London W1K 1AH. 44 20 75846949 (tel), 44 20 75846709 (fax), <farhad@iranheritage.org>. 

MERIA is indexed in the SOAS Library in London's Index Islamicus. Staff: Publisher and Editor: Barry Rubin; Assistant Editors: Cameron Brown, Elisheva Rosman-Stollman, Joy Pincus, Ehud Waldoks. London representative: Lawrence Joffe. Turkish representative: Ozgul Erdemli

MERIA offers you discounts on books and publications. We welcome special arrangements for our readers. To propose articles, items for publication, give others free subscriptions, or other correspondence, write: gloria@idc.ac.il 

 

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