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April 5, 2002
The Palestinian tragedy
Editorial
The situation of the Palestinian people is one of history's great
tragedies. Betrayed and brainwashed by their leaders, the mass of
Palestinian people are held in Arab-run refugee camps, "educated"
in Arab-run schools and have spent nearly three generations deprived
of the right to engage in the acts of citizenship that Canadians
and others take for granted. Most have been unable to advance beyond
economic dependence, unable to control the destiny of their lives
and, worst of all, have had their minds manipulated and filled with
hatred in an effort to build public support for the politically
motivated agenda of genocide practised by their leaders, Yasser
Arafat chief among them.
This tragedy is undeniable. The issue of blame, however, is apparently
transferable. The entire basis of Palestinian claims of injustice
are aimed at the state of Israel. Zionism is the sole root cause
of their troubles, they claim.
In one perverse way, though, the Palestinians have been ahead of
their time. They have been blaming external sources for their problems
for at least 54 years. In Western society, claiming victimization
and blaming others for one's own failures instead of exercising
personal responsibility didn't come into vogue until the Phil Donohue/Oprah
Winfrey era.
The barest acquaintance with historical fact shows two very clear
national trends among the Jews and the Arabs of what was, until
1948, known as Palestine. Given the opportunity of a lifetime, the
hope - ha tikvah - of 2,000 years of dreaming, the Jews of Palestine
and the world mobilized to create the infrastructure of a modern,
democratic, economically viable state. The Palestinian Arabs did
nothing.
Given the opportunity of a parallel Arab state for Palestinian peoples,
the all-or-nothing mentality already prevalent in the mindset of
the Palestinian leadership refused to co-operate. No matter what
propaganda variations have evolved over various times of détente,
the issue in 1948, as now, is that the creation of a viable Arab-Palestinian
state is secondary, by far, to the primary goal that is the elimination
of Israel.
Theodor Herzl imagined the Arabs of the region coalescing around
the new Jewish state, assuming they would recognize the value of
co-operating with what was certain to become one of the world's
foremost centres of advanced learning and an oasis of economic success
in what was, until the exploitation of oil, a desert of developmental
retardation. He was right on one front: Israel has provided the
region with its greatest opportunity ever to become a technologically
advanced, economically viable force in a larger world. Herzl overestimated
the Arabs, though. Blind hatred and bigotry trumped even self-interest
- so much so that the Palestinians have managed to convince a sizable
cadre of what should be their best and brightest young people that
death in suicide bombings is more valid than making something of
the life one was given on earth.
Equally tragic has been the role of neighboring Arab states. With
no affection for their Palestinian cousins, they have simultaneously
managed to imprison them, using them as pawns in an anti-Israel
and anti-Western jihad, while succeeding in convincing their captives
that the Arab states are their natural allies and protectors.
Another simple fact always ignored by the Arab side is that, in
fighting a defensive war for survival launched by every one of its
neighbors in 1948, Israel succeeded in occupying almost half of
the territory the United Nations had designated for an Arab-Palestinian
state. But remember who occupied more than half? Those Arab states
who claim to be the allies of the Palestinians. Did they set up
a state for their Arab brothers and sisters? No, they imprisoned
the Palestinian Arabs as they now imprison their children and grandchildren.
Ironically, the possibility for a Palestinian state has never really
been off the table, thanks to Israel. As Israel proved when the
Palestinians put down their grenades long enough to talk, practically
all the Arabs had to do to get a state was to ask for one. Unfortunately,
just as in 1948, the state the Palestinian Arabs want is Israel
- in a Mideast free of Jews.
What was true 54 years ago remains true today. The Palestinians'
story is one of the world's epic tragedies. But the blame that has
historically been heaped on Israel really deserves to be turned
inward, to the Palestinian leaders and their "friends"
in the Arab states.
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