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June 22, 2007
Forum targets Israel
Profs battle veteran over historical accuracy.
RHONDA SPIVAK
A panellist at a Winnipeg forum last week on Israel's "occupation"
of the Palestinian territories declared that Israel has made a two-state
solution "almost impossible."
Bassam Hozaima, a Palestinian born in Gaza City who came to Canada
in 1973, told the audience of about 75 people that, "The solution
to [the conflict] involves a one-state reality.
"Jerusalem should become the capital of a united, democratic
state that welcomes all people. I believe in one democratic state
for Jews, Palestinians and Christians," said Hozaima, who is
a youth counsellor and a member of the Canada Palestine Support
Network.
Hozaima added that, "Occupation makes many Palestinian youth
prefer death over life," and accused Israel of "trying
to destabilize the elected Hamas leadership."
Panellist Dr. Howard Davidson, an assistant professor of continuing
education at the University of Manitoba, told the audience that,
"Contrary to accepted Zionist historical discourse," the
Six Day War was not the result of an act of aggression by Egypt
and Jordan. "I accept the interpretation that the 1967 war
was an attempt by Israel to crush Nasserism. Israel did so for its
own internal reasons and at the behest of the superpowers,"
said Davidson, who is also a founding member of the International
Committee on Education and Occupation.
In supporting this view, Davidson relied on a book by Baruch Kimmerling,
a professor at the Hebrew University, entitled Politicide: The
Real Legacy of Ariel Sharon. Davidson referred to a quote by
Menachem Begin who, in defending the 1982 invasion of Lebanon said,
"In June 1967, we again had a choice. The Egyptian army concentrations
in the Sinai did not prove that [then-president] Nasser was really
about to attack us. We must be honest with ourselves. We decided
to attack him."
Davidson said that, "Israel is an apartheid state," and
spoke favorably of measures against Israel such as the boycott of
Israeli academics, divestment and other economic sanctions. "These
measures are having a significant impact, especially in academic
circles and the Israelis see it as a real threat," said Davidson,
who travels to the West Bank regularly to stage educational symposiums.
A Palestinian-Canadian doctor in the crowd took issue with Davidson
for focusing only on 40 years of occupation. "It's 59 years
of occupation, not 40!" he yelled.
Yoram Hamizrachi East, a retired Israeli colonel born in Jerusalem,
took issue with the "venom" spoken by Davidson.
"Had I known that this was going to be an Israel-bashing evening,
I wouldn't have come," said East, who fought in East Jerusalem
in 1967.
East referred to Davidson's interpretation of the Six Day War as
"nonsense," pointing out that, "Nasser was the one
who closed the Straits of Tiran," and that the Jordanians made
the mistake of entering the war.
"I saw the occupation as it happened," said East. "I
know who I fought against in 1967. I didn't fight against the Palestinian
people. From 1948 to 1967, the owner of the West Bank and Jerusalem
was the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan. The enemy I fought against
was the Jordanian army.
"When I came to the West Bank in 1967, it wasn't a Garden of
Eden. There were only a couple of hospitals, no universities and
no educational system to speak of. There was no Palestinian state.
It was Jordanian territory. I believe it was a mistake for Israel
to say [to Jordan] at the time, 'You don't want it, so we'll keep
it.' I believe we should have given it to [the local Palestinian]
people at the time."
East, who supports a negotiated two-state solution, does not believe
that the prospects for peace are very high. When he was working
as an Israeli foreign correspondent stationed in Cairo, he met with
Palestinian Liberation Organization leader Yasser Arafat. He told
the crowd that it was more pleasant to talk to "Arafat than
Howard Davidson" and he refused to engage in a dialogue with
Davidson about whether Israel was an apartheid state.
East also noted that Davidson was applying to Israel a standard
that he didn't apply to other countries such as Canada.
"Will Howard take his property, the title to his home and all
of his land and give it back to the aboriginals? Why isn't he doing
that? Isn't that justice?" East asked.
A man of Pakistani origin, who East said followed him around to
various events, yelled out that East was a "war criminal"
and "a CIA agent." He did so until he was asked by moderator
Mark Etkin, a Jewish psychiatrist, to stop.
Etkin said he hadn't expected there to be such debate between the
panellists. The forum was organized by the United Jewish Peoples
Order, which has offices in Toronto, Winnipeg and Vancouver.
Rhonda Spivak is a Winnipeg freelance writer.
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