If Hamas did not exist

Mira
By Mira

Awesome article everyone! It will shed a lot of clarity of what is happening right now. The article is written by an American who is the Associate Director of Middle Eastern studies at Uni. of Wisconsin.

Please take the time to read it. In order to make sense of what's happening now...you must understand what happened then.

http://www.palestinechronicle.com/view_article_details.php?id=14575

By cynbob• 1 Feb 2009 10:32
cynbob

What if there was no Hezbollah in south Lebanon?

What if there was no Fatah in Ramallah?

If there was no Hamas, would that mean that the Palestinians, that are fractured politically and geographically, would have a united decision making body?

Would this united Palestinian decision making body be able to stop the U.S supported Israelis from gobbling up the West Bank?

Without Hamas, thus having a united Palestinian decision making body, would the Israelis become less paranoid of the Palestinians shooting more powerful rockets from the West Bank into Tel Aviv which would cripple Isreal?

BUT, there is a Hamas--they do exist and it is the responsibility of the US, Isreal and the Arab states to recognize Hamas and include them in the Palestinian government. Then perhaps, dialogues can begin to resolve this mess.

By Xray• 1 Feb 2009 09:19
Xray

yeah have seen this machine... disgusting

By abu.adil• 1 Feb 2009 08:42
abu.adil

The Israely propaganda machine is live and kicking in QL too.

http://www.helpuswin.org/en/respond-to-these/

Red-pope leads the team.

By anonymous• 1 Feb 2009 08:02
anonymous

January 16, 2009

Facts about Starbucks in the Middle East

It is disheartening that calls for boycotts of Starbucks stores and products, which are based on blatant untruths, have had direct impacts on local economies and residents, and have also led to violent situations involving our stores, partners (employees) and customers.

Our more than 160,000 partners and business associates around the globe have diverse views about a wide range of topics. Regardless of that spectrum of belief, Starbucks Coffee Company remains a non-political organization. We do not support any political or religious cause. Further, allegations that Starbucks provides financial support to the Israeli government and/or the Israeli Army in any way are unequivocally false. Unfortunately, these rumors persist despite our best efforts to refute them.

What we do believe in, and remain focused on, is staying true to our company’s long-standing heritage -- simply connecting with our partners and customers over a cup of high quality coffee and offering the best experience possible to them – regardless of geographical location. Though our roots are in the United States, we are a global company with stores in 49 countries, including more than 230 stores in nine Middle Eastern countries. In countries where we do business, we are proud to be a part of the fabric of the local community -- working directly with local partners who operate our stores, employing thousands of local citizens, serving millions of customers and positively impacting many others through our support of neighborhoods and cities.

Myths

Is it true that Starbucks provides financial support to Israel?

No. This is absolutely untrue. Rumors that Starbucks Coffee Company provides financial support to the Israeli government and/or the Israeli Army are unequivocally false. Starbucks is a publicly held company and as such, is required to disclose any corporate giving each year through a proxy statement. In addition, articles in the London Telegraph (U.K.), New Straits Times (Malaysia), and Spiked (online) provide an outside perspective on these false rumors.

Has Starbucks ever sent any of its profits to the Israeli government and/or Israeli army?

No. This is absolutely untrue.

Is it true that Starbucks is teaming with other American corporations to send their last several weeks of profits to the Israeli government and/or the Israeli Army?

No. This is absolutely untrue.

Is it true that Starbucks closed its stores in Israel for political reasons?

No. We do not make business decisions based on political issues. We decided to dissolve our partnership in Israel in 2003 due to the on-going operational challenges that we experienced in that market. After many months of discussion with our partner we came to this amicable decision. While this was a difficult decision for both companies, we believe it remains the right decision for our businesses.

Middle East Partnership and Operations

Do you work with a Middle East partner to operate Starbucks stores?

Through a licensing agreement with trading partner and licensee MH Alshaya WLL, a private Kuwait family business, Starbucks has operated in the Middle East since 1999. Today Alshaya Group, recognized as one of the leading and most influential retailing franchisees in the region, operates more than 274 Starbucks stores in the Middle East and Levant region. In addition to its Starbucks stores, the Alshaya Group operates more than 1,700 other retail stores in the region, providing jobs for more than 15,000 employees of more than 35 nationalities.

We are extremely fortunate and proud to have forged a successful partnership for the past ten years and look forward to building on this success.

In which Middle Eastern countries do you operate?

We partner with Alshaya Group to operate Starbucks stores in Egypt, Kuwait, KSA, Bahrain, Qatar, Oman, UAE, Jordan and Lebanon in the Middle East region. We are fortunate to have the opportunity to work with so many communities, and we are committed to providing the Starbucks Experience while respecting the local customs and cultures of each country we are a part of. We are also committed to hiring locally, providing jobs to thousands of local citizens in the countries where we operate.

Are you still operating Starbucks stores in Israel? If not, do you have plans to re-open should the opportunity arise?

We decided to dissolve our partnership in Israel in 2003 due to the on-going operational challenges that we experienced in that market.

When and where the business case makes sense and we see a fit for the Starbucks brand in a market we will work closely with a local partner to assess the feasibility of offering our brand to that community. We will therefore continue to assess all opportunities on this basis. At present, we will continue to grow our business in the Middle East as we have been very gratified by the strong reception of the brand in the region. We continue to work closely with our business partner, the Alshaya Group, in developing our plans for the region.

http://www.starbucks...

Contact Information:

Starbucks Coffee Company

Customer Relations

(800) 235-2883

info/-a-t-/starbucks.com

By Harry99• 5 Jan 2009 22:10
Harry99

If Hamas didn't exist, we'd find someone else to take the blame for the mess.

By nadt• 5 Jan 2009 22:04
nadt

yes mira, at least it wasnt written by a muslim, otherwise it would be considered a bias view..

By Mira• 5 Jan 2009 21:10
Mira

Eco-savvy please try and distribute this article. I had tried to find an objective piece of literature to enlighten all those who feel the present issue is due to Hamas and their home made rockets. Considering it's written by an American Jew who works in the field, people can't simply dismiss it as Arab propaganda.

By Eagley• 5 Jan 2009 19:53
Eagley

Top 5 Lies about Israel's Assault on Gaza

http://www.palestinechronicle.com/view_article_details.php?id=14595

Specifically, this portion - is there any truth in it?

"Lie #2) Hamas violated the cease-fire...

... Despite shooting incidents, including ones resulting in Palestinians getting injured, Hamas still held to the cease-fire from the time it went into effect on June 19 until Israel effectively ended the truce on November 4 by launching an airstrike into Gaza that killed five and injured several others."

*****************************************

Don't want no drama,

No, no drama, no, no, no, no drama

By anonymous• 5 Jan 2009 19:47
Rating: 3/5
anonymous

"The answer is because Israel has no intention of allowing a viable, sovereign Palestinian state on its borders. It had no intention of allowing it in 1948 when it grabbed 24% more land than what it was allotted legally, if unfairly, by UN Resolution 181. It had no intention of allowing it throughout the massacres and ploys of the 1950s"

By Arien• 5 Jan 2009 16:18
Arien

Mira ,Good one .. thanks for sharing.

______________________________________________

Every society is judged by how

it treats it's least fortunates.

By Mira• 5 Jan 2009 16:13
Mira

britexpat, why is this post not showing up under the new forums tab, I was really hoping to share this with everyone.

By Mira• 5 Jan 2009 16:10
Mira

Alright there it is...

By britexpat• 5 Jan 2009 15:39
britexpat

An excellent article. Surprising that its written by a jew and offering food for thought.

I would agree with her theory that Israel wants a Palestinian state where it can call the shots.. Common sense really..

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