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Feb. 23, 2007
Commonalities in conflict
Hebrew U conducts research project with University of Manitoba.
RHONDA SPIVAK
According to Amos Nadan, senior research fellow at the Hebrew University
of Jerusalem, the international boycott of the Palestinian Hamas
government has only increased Palestinian dependency on Iranian
money and furthered unemployment and devastation of the West Bank
and Gaza Strip.
Nadan has partnered with Dr. Sean Byrne of the University of Manitoba
to conduct a unique research project dealing with the interplay
between economics and ethno-territorial conflicts. The project will
compare the Palestinian territories and Northern Ireland to examine
how economic interactions have affected political conflicts.
Nadan has been to Winnipeg twice to meet with Byrne, who is the
director of the Arthur V. Mauro Centre for Peace and Justice at
the University of Manitoba.
Nadan's research will consider the lessons to be learned from Israel's
economic interactions with the West Bank and Gaza, while Byrne will
be analyzing the conflict situation in Northern Ireland.
"As we have been working on this project, we have been finding
that the two areas of conflict have more and more in common,"
said Nadan, who has a doctorate from the London School of Economics.
"Although each conflict is unique," added Byrne, "there
are some issues that cross over – such as how to deal with
issues of economic deprivation and poverty levels."
Nadan believes that economics is "one of a number of factors
that contribute to the [Israeli-Palestinian] conflict, but by no
means explains the whole story."
As for the relationship between unemployment and terrorism, Nadan
pointed out that the people in the Palestinian sector who run the
terrorism business are wealthy – but combatants are low-income
earners. Therefore, he said, money invested in the Palestinian economy
must be directed specifically to the poor people.
"Unemployment encourages more participation in terrorism,"
he said, "as the unemployed have time on their hands. Employed
Palestinians have less time to be active in terrorism."
Nadan is critical of the economic investment made by donor countries
who gave money directly to the Palestinian Authority under Yasser
Arafat. Unfortunately, as he put it, "The money wasn't invested
in labor-intensive projects that would generate more employment
for the Palestinian people. It was given directly into the hands
of Yasser Arafat, who used the money to buy weapons, rather than
benefit his people. We've learned from this experience that donors
must direct investment specifically for projects in the Palestinian
economy that build infrastructure and also give Palestinians real
jobs. Palestinians need economic projects that provide fishing rods
– not just fish."
Nadan believes that there should be investment by neutral third
parties in the Palestinian territories, regardless of whether Hamas
or Fatah has the upper hand in governing the area. But, he emphasized
that "donor countries must set up external controls when they
give money to ensure that the money gets to the right places."
Nadan recommended that Israel ought not to invest in the Palestinian
economy, but should leave it to third parties to do so. Unfortunately,
as Nadan explained, American investment is seen as too pro-Israeli,
while investment by the European Union has often been diverted to
projects, such as weapon purchases, that were not intended by the
donors. "Maybe Canada would be a good choice to be a neutral
third party," he suggested.
According to Nadan, there have been many examples in the Israeli-Palestinian
conflict where economic assistance did not have the effect intended
by the investors. One such example is the case of Israeli investment
in the Erez industrial area in northern Gaza, where some 4,000 Palestinians
were employed.
"Because the Jews were the managers and the Palestinians were
the laborers, this economic development only increased ethnic and
political tensions, even though it created job opportunities for
the Palestinians," said Nadan.
From 1967-1987, Palestinian laborers worked for Jewish employers.
"This also created tensions because Palestinians earned roughly
40 per cent of what the average Jew earned," said Nadan. Even
though the average Palestinian was earning more than he or she would
have otherwise earned were it not for employment in Israel, the
daily interaction between Palestinians and Jews only served to increase
tensions.
"One of the main reasons Palestinians joined the first intifada
was because they felt they had suffered injustice at the hands of
their Jewish employers who they felt cheated them out of wages,"
said Nadan.
Nadan's view is that, in the long run, the separation of the Israeli
and Palestinian economies is desirable. But, he added, "in
the short run, until alternatives are available, both sides would
benefit from a certain level of Palestinian employment in Israel."
Byrne anticipates that his joint study with Nadan will be in progress
for the next couple of years and that he and Nadan may co-author
a book dealing with their findings. Byrne plans to travel to Israel
this summer to continue the research project.
Rhonda Spivak is a Winnipeg freelance writer.
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