On August 2nd, 1990, Saddam Hussein unleashed his disastrous invasion of Kuwait. Bush XLI immediately drew a “Line in the Sand,” and Operation Desert Shield followed suit. The reaction on the Arab street in the Middle East is not the subject of this essay. I will restrict myself to very briefly describing the dilemma that all of a sudden faced Arab Americans.
To be sure, Saddam enjoyed some support in certain Arab American circles, disillusioned with American policy in the Near East and readily willing to applaud any challenger of the status quo. Prominent Arab American leaders, however, quickly and wisely denounced the Iraqi leader’s reckless adventure, hoping against hope to contain the crisis through diplomacy before it was too late. Their efforts, along with those of liberal Americans, however, were promptly frustrated by POTUS, hell-bent on war as a convenient way out of his domestic difficulties. Desert Shield duly mutated into Desert Storm as Arab Americans, overwhelmingly against striking Iraq no matter how they felt about Saddam, watched from the sidelines with shock and disbelief.
American Middle Eastern policy often clashed with Arab aspirations. One American administration after another reflexively supported Israel against its Arab neighbors. What happened during the fateful 1990-1991 Kuwait crisis, however, was QUALITATIVELY and QUANTITATIVELY different and unprecedented. For the first time the USA directly attacked a major Arab country and on such a massive scale as to render Israel’s raids puny by comparison. It has kept going from bad to worse since. Desert Storm begat the sanctions, the sanctions begat the Iraq Liberation Act, and the latter in time culminated in “Operation Iraqi Freedom” in 2003, direct US occupation at a time when men believed that old-fashioned colonialism belonged in the dustbin of history. Where have Arab Americans been hiding? How could they allow Arab fortunes to sink that low? Were they really that helpless? I shall try to answer some of these questions.
According to the Arab American Institute, Arab Americans number about 3.5 million. They are mostly of Levantine ancestry and Christian faith. The oldest and most assimilated communities originated in Syria—for the most part from modern Lebanon—and settled in North America about a century ago. The great Ǧibrān was one of them. The legendary surgeon Michael DeBakey was another. Some of them chose a political career: James Abourezk, Ralph Nader, John Sununu, Spence Abraham, Darrell Issa, and quite a few more. More recently, the percentage of Muslims from Arab ancestry has been rising through immigration and a higher birth rate. To summarize, Arab Americans constitute a little more than 1% of the US population. This may not sound like much until you remember that the far more vibrant and influential American Jewish community is not much larger, about 5.3 million (the actual population of Arabs & Jews in the USA varies depending on the source). What is the secret behind the ascendancy of American Jews, and can Arab Americans ever hope to catch up with those formidable rivals? Should they even try? And more pertinently, should they even consider American Jews as rivals?
The achievements of American Jews are impressive. At a governmental level, they are all over the executive, legislative, and judiciary. The sheer number of US Jewish congressmen, senators, and Supreme Court justices is mind-boggling given the size of their community. Jewish scientists, doctors, lawyers, financiers, writers, and philanthropists have written brilliant chapters in the history of mankind. American Jews make their country proud. Their status was well earned, and it has not been obtained overnight.
Like Arab Americans, American Jews mostly started as immigrants with limited resources. Their parents went out of their way to provide for the education of their kids, and in time it paid dividends. Like Arab Americans, they were, and still are, a small minority in this great country. What they lacked number-wise, however, was amply compensated by dedication and hard work. They supported each other while loyally serving their adopted country. Theirs was a success story, an epic.
American Jews span the political spectrum. They certainly are not a monolith, and they disagree on numerous issues. They are, of course, unanimous on fighting anti-Semitism and helping their less fortunate brethren overseas, as is the case of the Russian Jews. Most of them, though by no means all, support Israel. Often with passion.
Arab Americans’ assets, in theory at least, are far from negligible. Many, if not most, are fully assimilated and have been present in this country for generations. All are enfranchised. And, as stated above, several are active in politics and should, in theory at least, be able to influence American political discourse. Certainly some tried, but with such modest results as to border on irrelevance. What went wrong?
A major stumbling block, in my opinion, has to do with the identity of Arab Americans. Do they really have more in common than is the case of the Arab countries from which they originated? If not, then calling them a community would be a stretch, possibly a huge exaggeration. Aside from religious and cultural differences—themselves quite significant—they have different and sometimes contradictory agendas. It is true that the rank and file of Arab Americans more or less agree about Israel-Palestine, but this, alas, is no longer the only issue and, judging by modern trends, may soon be delegated to the background as other tragedies unfold. Besides, it is not enough to agree to oppose something, say Israeli aggression; what is sorely missing is a positive common agenda.
Back to the basics. Should an Arab lobby be created? Should an Arab-centered political pressure group copy and paste the Israeli lobby’s tactics, reflect them in a mirror, and project that reflection on Capitol Hill and elsewhere? Perhaps, but...
Arab Americans are, and should emphasize at every turn that they are first and foremost loyal Americans. Responsible citizens who abide by the law, cherish the Constitution, pay their taxes, vote regularly, and see that their kids get the best possible education. First things first. Political influence can wait. Meanwhile, here are a few measures that could be feasible:
1. This can’t be overemphasized: vote! Voting is a privilege we were denied in our birthplace and, used judiciously, could potentially be a powerful tool. Voting “tribal” is wrong and counterproductive. Vote not for a congressman just because he or she happens to be an Arab American. Before you deploy your vote or donate to an electoral campaign, look at the candidate's voting record. We live in the age of information technology, and your representative’s votes are relatively easy to track. You would be surprised to find self-proclaimed Arab American lawmakers voting for the Iraq Liberation Act, the Patriot Act, and the Syria Accountability Act, not to mention money for Israel’s military machine.
2. There is nothing wrong if you happen to be a Conservative Arab American. Indeed, it helps if Arab Americans spread across the political spectrum, but a word of caution: we are a minority, and historically speaking, minorities belong on the left side of the aisle. What applies to Jews, African Americans, and Muslim Americans, would also apply to Arab Americans. That leads me to the next point.
3. Jews are also divided between the Right and the Left, but the majority of them are quite leftist and liberal. Just like Arab Americans, they are only too conscious of their minority status and are therefore mostly sympathetic to other minorities. Let me carry this argument to its logical conclusion: there are far more in common between Arabs and Jews in the USA than there are differences. No, we don’t have to agree on Israeli-Palestinian politics, though quite a few liberal Jews are indifferent, critical, and sometimes even hostile to Israeli policies, but we can agree on much else. Jewish leaders have often championed the cause of Arab and Muslim Americans before and after the tragic events of September 11. How about trying to enlist Jewish support to deal with the Iraq tragedy? It might be well worth the effort.
4. By enlisting Jewish support I of course mean joining the cause with the liberal Jewish establishment. Jewish hawks and warmongers certainly exist, and it goes without saying that they are natural enemies to all liberals and not just Arab Americans. By the same token, you don’t have to join Ms. Darwīš’s "Arabs for Israel, ”and you definitely don’t have to seek membership in the Reform Party of Syria—it hardly has any members besides Mr. Ġādrī himself, a Quisling by any objective measure. One more thing, never conflate Israeli and Jewish. This has been a deliberate policy of the Israeli government, and there have been too many gullibles among the Arabs to oblige.
5. One day there would hopefully be peace in the Near East. One blessed day mankind would hopefully abandon religious fanaticism and national jingoism. One day Arab and Jew would hopefully live in peace everywhere. We can only hope… until then, let's join hands with our fellow Americans, all Americans, but mostly the liberals and progressives, to build a better world for our children and grandchildren.
An Arab lobby, if and when it sees the light, should concern itself as a matter of priority with the welfare of Arab Americans. A dignified and prosperous Arab American community could then serve as a bridge between the Old World and the New to the mutual benefit of both.
ReplyDeleteكتبت المقال أعلاه عن العرب الأمريكييّن قبل خمسة عشر عاماً بلغةٍ أميل إلى التفاؤل وأجدني اليوم مضطرّاً إلى إعادة النظر فيه.
الخطأ الأوّل كان اعتقادي بأهميّة الانتخابات الأمريكيّة. برهنت السنوات القليلة الفائتة أنّ الأحزاب المرشّحة في الغرب لا تخرج عن كونها فرقاً رياضيّة إذا جاز التشبيه. ما الذي سيتغيّر على المواطن السوري إذا فاز فريق الجيش على الشرطة في كرة القدم أو العكس؟ وبغضّ النظر عن حماس أنصار الفريقيّن. المقارنة بين صلاحيات رؤساء الدول السلطويّة ورؤساء الدول المحكومة بالمال غير واردة. لا يستطيع رؤساء الغرب القيام بتغيير جدّي في طريقة تسيير الأمور حتّى لو أرادوا والسباحة مع التيّار أسهل بكثير منها ضدّهُ.
خطأي الثاني كان في طرح فكرة لوبي عربي في أمريكا ولو على المدى الطويل. يؤسفني أن أقول أنّ عرب أمريكا أكثر فعاليّةً في نزاع بعضهم مع البعض الآخر ممّا هم عليه في مواجهة أي خصم مشترك، هذا إذا كان لهم خصم مشترك. كان مشهد مطالبة عرب المهجر بالعقوبات ضدّ النظام القديم مؤلماً. هل اعتقدوا جادّين أنّ رئيس الدولة سيُحرَم من تناول الإفطار إذا جاع شعبُهُ وافتقر تحت وطأة المقاطعة الاقتصاديّة والسياسيّة؟ هل يستحقّ إسقاط النظام - أي نظام - تهجير وإذلال الملايين من الناس؟ فرض العقوبات من قِبَل الحكومة الأمريكيّة أسهل بكثير من رفعها وعلى سبيل المثال كوبا لا تزال ترزح تحتها منذ أكثر من ستّين عاماً. أي سوري نادى بالعقوبات على بلده الأمّ قبل كانون ثاني ٢٠٢٤ مُضلّل في أحسن الأحوال تماماً كما هو الحال اليوم بعد الإطاحة بالسلطة التي ربينا تحتها.
الخطأ الثالث كان في تضخيم مفهوم العرب الأمريكييّن منهم وغير الأمريكييّن. تكفي نظرة عابرة إلى "العالم العربي" اليوم لندرك عجزه المحزن والمشين. ليس من المبالغة القول أنّ ما تتعرّض إليه رقعةُ صغيرةٌ من الأرض "العربيّة" منذ تشرين الأوّل ٢٠٢٣ غير مسبوق في التاريخ الذي نعيه ومع ذلك لم يتجرّأ نظامٌ واحدٌ من "المطبِّعين" على سحب سفيره وهو أضعف الإيمان، أمّا "غير المطبّعين" فلا يحول بينهم وبين التطبيع إلّا استنباط وسيلة يحفظون بها ماء وجههم أوّلاً، وموافقة "المطبَّع مَعَه" علّ وعسى أن يلين قلبُهُ لاستعطافِهم واستجدائِهم ثانياً. بعبارة ثانية رضينا بالتطبيع والتطبيع ما رضي فينا.
ختاماً أنا لا ولم ولن أدعو أحداً لحمل السلاح للدفاع عن أي قضيّة وأنا آخر من يؤمن بالشعارات الطنّانة والخطابات الجوفاء والكلام المعسول الذي ثقبوا آذاننا به طوال القرن العشرين. أنا إنسانٌ عشت حياتي وليس من حقّي أن أطلب من الشباب المغامرة بحياتهم. غاية أملي أن يمعن أهلنا وإخواننا وأحبّتنا التفكير قبل مناشدة الأجانب بالتدخّل وكما يقول المثل العامّي "حدا بيجيب الدبّ لكَرمو"؟ مع شديد الأسف الدبّ اليوم من أهل البيت إن لم يكن مالك الدار وسيّدها