Egypt : women Protestors By SHOAHFebruary 9, 2011Egypt NOVANEWS Videos of women protestors and other recommended Egypt sources. Interview with Hamas spokesman about Egypt revolution More Recent Articles Search The Only Democracy? Videos of women protestors and other recommended Egypt sources. One of my sources sends the following recommendation for on-the-ground reports from Egypt. Here are three of the many women of the Egyptian Revolution – that will counter some of those images of passive Muslim women. Change in the Middle East is being pushed forward by women like Mona, Asma, Sarah, etc., too, and they are not few. There are many more women who are actively shaping the revolution, who are blogging, twittering, writing, vlogging etc. about it here, and who have been working for years for this change, but here are three for now: Asma is said to have triggered this revolution through her vlog – which is not that she is the source of it. Either way, it’s a strong video. Mona has been in Tahrir non-stop, even though they kidnapped/”detained” her father for days (he is out now). Only on February 5th did she leave the square for a bit. This message was recorded on January 31st, it seems. Both before and after, she kept posting really encouraging, inspiring and inspired messages. Sarah (half-British) is – and has been for years – one of the very few journalists and photographers that has covered activism and workers movements in Egypt from the ground. In the past, she has repeatedly been harrassed for her work. Check out her pictures and her Inanities blog and her twitter feed @sarahcarr. If you are looking for other good sources, please read: arabawy.org justimage.org tabulagaza.blogspot.com or check out the following on twitter: @3arabawy @justimage @ alaa @ajenglish (Al Jazeera English) @sandmonkey @monasosh @perbj Interview with Hamas spokesman about Egypt revolution By Jesse Bacon Ashley Bates continues her excellent reporting by interviewing Hamas spokesman Ahmed Youssef. The story is an interesting variant of the “Is it good for Israel?” that we have been subjected to such a barrage of. While obviously I don’t support Hamas’s views or their actions, I think that too often they are ignored and that leads to US policy based on ignorance. It is interesting to read them during revolution in Egypt, one where the American reaction has been so dominated by fears of the Muslim Brotherhood, which Hamas is in some ways a descendant. (Though unlike Hamas, the Muslim Brothe- rhood does not have an armed wing.) Youssef believes that the Egyptian revolution will help Hamas. Shut out of peace negotiations between Israel and the Palestinian Authority, Hamas has long been viewed as too extreme to bargain with. Yet as these negotiations crumble, Yousef may have the chance to capitalize on the uprisings to bring Hamas back to the table—that is, if the upheaval doesn’t spark a new Palestinian civil war. Yousef hopes the popular revolts in Egypt and Tunisia will inspire long-overdue Palestinian elections, and lead to the formation of a “unity government” that is recognized by the west—and which includes Hamas. Interestingly, he thinks this not because it will enable more violence but the opposite, that it will lead to inclusion of Hamas in power-sharing and negotiations. Sad that it took the utter failure of our policy in Egypt to even make this common sense approach a possibility. Sadly, this support does not extend to the solidarity protests of Palestinians, which Fatah has suppressed as well. In recent days, Palestinians have tried to organize protests in support of Egypt’s anti-government demonstrators, but these attempts have quickly been squelched by Hamas and Fatah. So as much as Yousef may want to see a Democratic revolution come to the Middle East, the government he represents is also threatened by it. It’s quite the turnabout, Egyptians have helped Israel to suppress Palestinians, now Palestinian leaders are stifling support for Egyptians. On the other hand, Yousef also sees the transformative energy created by the pro-democracy uprisings in Egypt and Tunisia as a chance to promote Palestinian democracy. “The Palestinian tragedy is that we are now two governments for a people without a state,” he says. “The only salvation is to hold an election.” I would say that slavation is unlikely to come from elections alone, but I appreciate the sentiment. More Recent Articles Meanwhile in Israel.. What will you do? No more cancer: Israeli Army admits Jawaher killed by tear gas When and where will Israel’s Tucson be? Exclusive Interview: Village demolished for the 9th Time for JNF forests