I am grateful to Arab News through which I got the privilege of establishing contacts with so many renowned local and international journalists, who regularly contribute to this great newspaper. One of them, with whom I have frequent communication through e-mail is the reputed Israeli journalist and founder of ‘Gush Shalom’— the Peace Movement, Uri Avnery.
Without any doubt he has contributed to the Palestinian cause equally or more than any Palestinian leader, risking his own life, on many occasions. I love to read his articles because of his unique way of presenting things and the facts that support his arguments. In an article, sometimes ago, he compared Marwan Barghouti, who is serving a long prison term in an Israeli jail, to Nelson Mandela.
In response to this I compared Avnery with Mahatma Gandhi "of Palestine" in a letter, published in “The Island,” a popular Sri Lankan newspaper. Avenry responded to me by sending an email to me with these words: ‘Shukran, Shukran, Shukran’.
His article, ‘Obama’s win puts Netanyahu in a bind,’ published in your newspaper (10 Nov.) is really brilliant and full of facts. Who else can write an authoritative account on a subject like this other than Uri Avnery. He has effectively replaced Robert Fisk, whose articles we fail to read these days. Fisk was another great writer well versed in all Arab issues having spent a good part of his life in the Middle East. — S.H. Moulana, Riyadh
