Ive talked endlessly about the need for a moderate Palestinian politics to step forward in order to have any chance of meaningful peace, and my belief that there was a substantial number of people living on the West Bank and in Gaza that werent sold on the “Palestine from the river to the sea or Death” meme.
There have been some encouraging signs here and here. These are not conclusive, nor answers, but they are steps in what smells like a right direction.
Commenter Mostapha Sabet pointed this out:
Something that bothered me is how a lot of people sort of blew off the Fatah announcement. Saying things like, “Oh, well the Pals don’t consider settlers civilians” or “They only said they would stop attacks on civilians not all targets” without recognizing that this may be one small step in the right direction, but it’s a huge step in the quest for peace. Now there is a somewhat major group (and growing in relative strength as IDF wipes up Hamas) that might actually prove to be a voice of reason. Let’s hope it sticks.
I think this is critically important, and goes to my apology to Ziska, because it is incredibly hard to fight against and opponent and still maintain their humanity, but it is necessary because someday the fight will be over.
Aram Rubyan pointed out in a comment that I was wrong to apologize, inferring that humanizing the Palestinians was the wrong way to go.
I disagree. I think that Israel is right to use force to defend itself, and as long as the Palestinian leadership persists in propagating their evil River To The Sea fantasy, that defense will be fierce. And the people on the sharp end of the spear will doubtless have feelings and attitudes about their opponents which are not humane and charitable and warm.
Which is why it is important for the rest of us to do so. Because of our distance we can both fiercely defend Israel, as I have done as far as words can go and humanize and sympathize with the individual Palestinians who are trapped by bad leaders, evil allies, and damaged culture.
Someday, this fight will be over. All fights are.
Date: 09/18/2002 00:00:00 AM
[comments continue from above…]I welcome a Palestinian government that recognizes the need for Israel to exist. But simple recognition doesn’t matter. Deeds matter. A declaration of non-violence is nice, but until we hear from Gandhi in Gaza City, it won’t matter. Words don’t matter. Deeds matter. So……what if elections are held and Arafat wins or another faction wins and the Palestinian objectives stay the same?What should Israel do then? It will have no choice but to continue its policies until such time as a Palestinian government is elected that will seek peaceful co-existence with its next door neighbor. So this brings me to reason why I’m writing this.Zizka felt that you, A.L., should have or could have “commemorated” a Palestinian “victim” of violence. Excuse me in advance for saying this, but why? Why is it incumbent on you, or anyone else, to create an infrastructure of moral equivalency every time an act of violence occurs?That kind of thinking only perpetuates the idea that BOTH sides are right and BOTH sides are wrong. And THAT kind of moral decontructivism only perpetuates more violence. Not less. It will not save lives, it will only cost more lives. To use a phrase now in vogue, it only perpetuates the “cycle of violence.” We all know what the Palestinian Authority wants. And what the Israelis need. There is no moral equivalency between the two sides.In closing let me say that, yes, I feel bad for Palestinian collaborators who are murdered by the Authority for talking to Jews. But I have a question for Zizka: Where are the demonstrators in the West Bank who march through the streets with the collaborators’ dead bodies held aloft and wrapped in the Palestinian flag? Please excuse the phrase, but Zizka is asking me to be more Catholic than the Pope here. Why should I do that? Ara RubyanMore where this came from at E Pluribus Unumhttp://www.rubyan.com/politics