New Year Celebrations In Much Of Arab World Cancelled

Dubai: New Year celebrations in most parts of the Arab world have been cancelled in a show of solidarity with Palestinians in the Gaza Strip following five days of a massive Israeli air offensive.

New Year events scheduled to take place in Egypt, Bahrain, Jordan and many other parts of the Arab world have been either postponed or cancelled.

Read the whole story here.

Comments

[BigHeadTodd]

12:51 PM on 01/01/2009

Fireworks cancelled! WTF? Just look outside your penthouse for the mortars to explode just about anywhere. New Year's Eve or not!

[Gould123]

01:10 PM on 01/01/2009

The simple solution is if the arab world would stop funding Hamas and start condemning their constant bombing of isreal! Hamas is a terrorist funded group! Period!

[2Witnesses]

11:47 AM on 01/01/2009

The relationship between A.r@bs and Americans makes me think of the relationship between American settlers and Indians way back.

Except today liquor = money. Feed their weakness while you gradually k.1.l.l. them. You see money is what keeps the Middle East weak. It's what divides those M.u.slims. Divide and conquer strategy.

It's working.

[KMan1]

01:34 PM on 01/01/2009

Yep

[PepsiHooligan]

12:48 PM on 01/02/2009

Wow. I'd like to type 'LOL' but I can't say anything except... Wow.

Sending hundreds of billions of dollars out of western economies and to the middle east is... making it weak? The middle east would be stronger if was... poor? And the West would be weaker if it didn't spend so much on foreign oil? Have you been playing attention for the last election, with all the talk of energy independence from foreign oil and why it needs to be done? you're not sayig this is intentional and somehow beneficial to the US... Wow, just wow. Unbelievable.

the 'Yep' response even seals it, it's like I'm in an alternate universe where logic simply doesn't exist.

What exactly can the Arabs do, after they get poorer - or in your view stronger, exactly? Israel repeatedly won conflicts with them and now has nukes - they can't do anything.

What a crazy world.

You could look at the news and see it's crazy, but these comments/opinions show you why and how it is the way it is on a fundamental level.

[rr52]

11:17 AM on 01/01/2009

Who cares. The newspapers over there are just fanning this fire. Most of the protestors are getting an absolutely skewed view of everything and there is not one single tear for Israel's dead children. In their view, muslim blood is important, everyone else can be damned.

[BrettnCalgary]

01:30 PM on 01/01/2009

If you are an american it is ludicrous for you to complain about anyone elses access to impartial media. The arabs don't seem to think the 100 to 1 exchange rate of palestinian to arab deaths is fair. Imagine that.

[HumeSkeptic]

09:43 PM on 12/31/2008

Symbolism can be good, but only if backed up by action. How about suspension of all oil sales to the West for a month?
.

[Supercruize]

06:24 AM on 01/01/2009

Oil is thicker than blood. I dont think the west loves Israel as much as they do Oil. That could settle this issue once and for all, and in the shortest time possible with th least casualties.

[motoGpifupleez]

12:47 PM on 01/01/2009

An absolutely spot on assessment. If it ever comes down to a choice between the two, Israel knows they are screwed. They don't have nuclear weapons and submarines to deliver them to scare the Arabs, it's to let America know that we better never abandon them like we've done everyone else when their usefulness to us runs out.

[wdw505]

07:14 AM on 01/01/2009

then we should just take the oil and oil fields

[BrettnCalgary]

01:28 PM on 01/01/2009

Good luck with that. Your strategic insight enlightens us all.

[rudiy]

03:59 PM on 12/31/2008

Bo hoo. Instead of trying to resolve the situation, these countries flame the fires with hate, but have failed to actually help the Palestinians except to send weapons. They celebrate when Israeli's are killed but never seem to actually do anything to help the Palestinians? The tell the Palestinians they should get the land back they lost in 2 wars but not sign any peace agreement, accept on their terms.

[Prattvictory2]

11:11 AM on 01/01/2009

What would you suggest, they rebuild the building Israel is destroying after this attack or the last one?

[Syncoptic1]

03:53 PM on 12/31/2008

Whatever's clever! There's been enough pyrotechnics in that region of the world for this year, if you ask me...

[jayjaga]

03:07 PM on 12/31/2008

Majority of the Arab world are moslems and do not adhere to the Christian/Gregorian calendar which ushers in this new year.

[MsAttitude]

02:26 PM on 12/31/2008

It doesn't seem like that many have cancelled in protest they have cancelled due to the Islamic holiday of Muharram.

[mrskorn]

02:25 PM on 12/31/2008

Maybe they could actually help them....for a change.

[Tatiana]

01:27 PM on 12/31/2008

Tsk, Task.

[motoGpifupleez]

12:36 PM on 12/31/2008

Love that sign: "Fireworks Cancelled". Somehow I feel there will be plenty of fireworks in the region tonight, tomorrow night, and every night for the rest of my life.

[Ramirez]

12:22 PM on 12/31/2008

No fireworks in Dubai. Sad story.

[MsAttitude]

02:27 PM on 12/31/2008

They'll have celebrations...it's an RnR spot for Americans!