New Palestinian opinion

Editorial

Khalil Shikaki, a Palestinian academic and public opinion pollster, interviewed 4,500 refugee families in Gaza, the West Bank, Jordan, Syria and Lebanon, and determined that a vast majority of Palestinian refugees are prepared to accept alternatives to a literal "right of return" to the homes from which successive regional wars have forced them over the years. Just 10 per cent of those interviewed stood by what Palestinian leaders have tried to tell the world is a minimum demand for an end to violence: that refugees be allowed to return literally to the homes and land of their ancestors in Israel. More than half of the interviewees said they would accept compensation and homes in a new Palestinian state. Others would prefer to stay where they are or migrate to other countries. Only 13 per cent, according to Shikaki, rejected any plan that pitted their historic claims against peace with Israel.

Admittedly, public opinion polling is not an exact science. As well, under the Palestinian Authority, people may be afraid to express their true views for fear that the pollster is an agent of one faction or another whose objective may be less than strictly academic. But the results of a poll suggesting that a large number of Palestinians are willing to forego their so-called right of return is monumental. So was the reaction to it.

When Shikaki held a news conference to announce the findings of the poll, an angry mob prevented the news conference from taking place by throwing eggs at Shikaki and ransacking his offices in Ramallah.

As people destroyed the office of the pollster, one angry demonstrator, according to the National Post, offered the warning: "This is a message for everyone not to tamper with our rights."

Where does one begin to analyze the many ironies of this comment? It is refreshing to see a warning against tampering with Palestinian rights aimed not at Israel, but at an institution within the Palestinian body politic. It is ironic that the "rights" the mad crowd were defending are, according to the best information available (the pollster's numbers) rights that most Palestinians would give up in an instant if it meant living in peace. The "right of return" is an insurmountable roadblock only to those whose goal is not a Palestinian state but the destruction of the Jewish state.

The real lesson from this ugly experience is, ultimately, a supremely encouraging one. If the poll results truly reflect the attitudes of average Palestinians, it speaks volumes for the ability of an oppressed people to filter the propaganda fed to them by their leaders and recognize that the only way to peace is through coexistence, not mutual destruction. And that is truly revolutionary.

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