There is a great opportunity in the next few months to reach a just peace between Israelis and Palestinians. This may seem a surprising view just now, but there is a competent and responsible Palestinian government in place which is serious about establishing a sovereign Palestinian state alongside Israel. And there is strong public support for this objective. The evidence is all around you if you come to see the reality.
It would be tragic if Israel were to miss this opportunity -- tragic for Israel as well as for Palestinians. It is profoundly mysterious to us as to why the current Israeli government seems unable to envision how the Palestinian state which we are building is the best way of ensuring a lasting peace. Not to mention righting the many injustices of its long and costly occupation.
Yet instead, the Israeli government seems determined to ignore the positive reality and hark back to previous times. Take for example Israeli accusations of Palestinian 'incitement.' Incitement is a very elastic concept and hard to define. If it means putting incitement propaganda into schools, the Palestinian National Authority has already made successful efforts to deal with this.
The Ministry of Education began tackling this issue in the 1990s when it began a phased introduction of new textbooks in all subjects and all grades, a process which was completed in 2006. Several independent reviews of the textbooks have reported positive conclusions on the removal of incitement. European donors have consistently monitored our textbooks to ensure that they are satisfied; in a statement to that effect, the EU states that the "new textbooks, though not perfect, are free of inciteful content and improve the previous textbooks, constituting a valuable contribution to the education of young Palestinians." (See full statement) Indeed, few countries' textbooks have been subjected to as much scrutiny. It is hard to define where free speech shades into incitement. Two sides may see the same incident very differently. This is certainly the case with Israelis and Palestinians, whose historical narratives are usually oppositional.
For Palestinians, the very fact of Israel's occupation is incitement. Recently our media prominently reported pictures of Palestinian farmers being ordered to strip by Israeli soldiers. Most reasonable people would regard such behavior by an occupying army as incitement.
Meanwhile, Israel has done nothing to tackle its own government-sponsored incitement. Rabbi Ovadia Yosef, the spiritual leader of Shas, who called for the cleansing of Arabs, is revered by followers of a movement whose political party is a member of the Israeli coalition government -- not to mention his responsibility for educating thousands of students, with substantial government funding. Rabbi Yitzhak Shapira, who supports the killing of non-Jewish children, remains head of a religious school in an Israeli settlement, and has not been removed, as would be expected by a community regarding itself as, democratic, liberal and civilized. These pronouncements are not exclusive to right-wing parties or religious figures, but transcend them to be part of the dominant discourse in Israel. Menachem Begin, Israel's Prime Minister proclaimed that Palestinians are 'a beast walking on two legs', and it was Prime Minister Itzhak Shamir who said that "[The Palestinians] would be crushed like grasshoppers ... heads smashed against the boulders and walls." This is discourse that demonizes, demoralizes and dehumanizes an entire people, and should certainly be considered incitement.
Israel has been complaining in recent weeks about a Palestinian decision to name a square in Ramallah after a Palestinian woman, Dalal al-Mughrabi, regarded by Israelis as a terrorist. While some view this as incitement, others view it as honoring heroism in the pursuit of freedom.
Indeed, Israel could be held culpable for the same thing. Shlomo Ben-Yosef Street, in Akko, is a reminder to Palestinian residents of the man who, in 1938, attacked a bus full of Palestinian civilians, seeking to kill them all. Ben-Yosef is one of 12 members of the Jewish Underground honored by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in a speech last month, when he said that their 'message of sacrifice and heroism remains alive'. These 12 were sentenced to hang by the British for the murdering and bombing of Palestinian civilians in the 1930s and 1940s.
Visitors to Israel fly in and out of Ben Gurion Airport. For Palestinians, this is the ultimate affront. David Ben Gurion, the founder of Israel, is also the man who dealt with 'the Arab Problem' by expelling thousands of Palestinians. Under his leadership 69 Palestinians were killed in the Qibya Massacre of 1953.
We must agree to disagree that our historical narratives will never be reconciled and move on, to a two-state solution with Palestine and Israel living side by side in peace. The Palestinian leadership is ready to work even harder to combat incitement, but this must happen in tandem with efforts by Israel -- a sovereign state for 62 years -- to tackle its own incitement issues, seeking a common definition through a third party, as provided by the Oslo Accords. But in the end, the best way to purge incitement is to end the occupation once and for all.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2008/dec/29/gaza-hamas-israel
I respectfully offer a small corrective to Ghassan Khatibs point "For Palestinians, the very fact of Israel's occupation is incitement. "
I would say, no, the military occupation is not merely an incitement. It steps well beyond that and is achieved and maintained only through direct physical violence, perpetrated daily by the IDF and segments of the settler populations.
Incitement in the I/P context is incitement to violence: encouraging armed resistance to the occupation, whether the target is legitimate under International law (military) or not (civilian). So Palestinians aren't permitted to incite.
And Israel? Well, the real history of the 43 year occupation of the West Bank / East Jerusalem and Gaza is becoming increasingly well known, as is the US complicity in that occupation.
The double standard is breathtaking: while Palestinians must end incitement Israel is actually and extremely committing violence and this is tolerated.
No matter what the Palestinians do Israel will find some excuse to continue the occupation, build more settlements, demolish more houses, steal more water, and so on.
They love to publicise that old. flawed study (though they never talk about the one that used the same methods and standards on the Israeli textbooks, and found them worse). I wonder, if you reran both studies on today's textbooks, which ones would show improvement, and which ones have gotten worse? (the poll of the opinions of the graduates of Israeli schools might contain a clue http://haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1155627.html )
What, exactly, Ghatib would you consider *occupied territory* to be given up? According to the recently held convention in Libya, by the Arab League, of which Palestine is a member, even though there is no Palestine as yet, and I have heard Abbas was present, it was, again, loudly proclaimed that they would NOT recognize Israel's right to exist. You are dancing arond the bush, Ghatib, tacqiyya, Ghatib. That you wish to apply that is one thing, go for it, by Israelis know what you are up to, and they can not work with persons who say one thing, have their fingers crossed behind their backs, and do another thing. So, since that is the case, it would be better for both parties to lay all their cards, face up, on the table, and no cheating.
These actions will lead Israel to one of three solutions, apartheid, a truly democratic one state solution with no Jewish majority, or a world imposed two state solution with many more concessions that Israel will like. And it will be the Israelis fault because of who they elected.
Logical blackout.
Yet you say they incite their people against "Israel and the Jews"?
If true, it would be a dangerous practice, to encourage one's people to look askance at one's allies is liable to lead to disaffection against oneself.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/02/03/jon-stewart-takes-aim-at_n_447296.html
This is what israel might mean by inciting violence. Hamas is the most obstructive entity to peace in the middle east that exists.
Israeli Settlers Pouring Cement Into Spring - Bet BBC Wont Show This Crime
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=31h45KZ8C2Q
Im sorry but perhaps you looked at the wrong video. Those blatantly anti-semitic cartoons were not in fact advocating for defense of their home.
Haven;t you ever heard the phrase dont believe everything you read? This video doesn't actually prove anything. Why would anyone tape this unless they are trying to fabricate evidence of it?? Are settlers trying to get arrested or incite more hatred against israel? Please - find someone more gullible to buy your crap.
OK, I'm done with people misquoting Begin like that. His quote refers to terrorists who murder children, not Palestinians in general. Please get it right in the future, it makes a considerable difference.
http://www.camera.org/index.asp?x_context=7&x_issue=21&x_article=775
On June 8, 1982, Begin addressed the Knesset in response to a no-confidence motion over Israel's invasion of Lebanon. ...Begin stated:
"The children of Israel will happily go to school and joyfully return home, just like the children in Washington, in Moscow, and in Peking, in Paris and in Rome, in Oslo, in Stockholm and in Copenhagen. The fate of... Jewish children has been different from all the children of the world throughout the generations. No more. We will defend our children. If the hand of any two-footed animal is raised against them, that hand will be cut off, and our children will grow up in joy in the homes of their parents."
So much for the faux outrage at Saudi Arabia's harsh penalties, which include the cutting off of hands for thieves.
And Begin - leader of the terrorist group Irgun - doesn't have a moral leg to stand on:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/King_David_Hotel_bombing
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Deir_Yassin_massacre
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Sergeants_affair
http://www.palestineremembered.com/images/IsraeliJewishTerroristsWanted.html
And while Begin may be guilty of terror attacks in the past, his attacks are quite different from intentionally murdering as many civilians as possible. I in no way defend his actions, but to pretend the KDH bombing is at all similar to the crimes of Samir Kuntar is a false equivalence.
"Hamas drops call for destruction of Israel from manifesto"
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2006/jan/12/israel
And if you can't do that and need to go on with the "but their charter says" argument why don't you also explain the Likud Charter from 1999? It expressly denies Palestinians right to statehood and calls for permanent jewish settlement in the Occupied Palestinian Territories.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Likud#Likud_charter
I'm with lbsaltzman - Israel has demonstrated a long-term lack of interest in peace and a massive interest in prolonging the occupation of Palestinian land and expropriation of Palestinian resources. You don't install 500,000 illegal settlers in hundreds of illegal settlements on other peoples land because you want peace.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jewish_exodus_from_Arab_lands#Compensation
"Iraqi-born Ran Cohen, a former member of the Knesset, said: "I have this to say: I am not a refugee. I came at the behest of Zionism, due to the pull that this land exerts, and due to the idea of redemption. Nobody is going to define me as a refugee".
Yemeni-born Yisrael Yeshayahu, former Knesset speaker, Labor Party, stated: "We are not refugees. [Some of us] came to this country before the state was born. We had messianic aspirations".
And Iraqi-born Shlomo Hillel, also a former speaker of the Knesset, Labor Party, claimed: "I do not regard the departure of Jews from Arab lands as that of refugees. They came here because they wanted to, as Zionists."
Meanwhile a disgusting parallel campaign is running that would forbid Palestinians from commemorating Nakba - the ethnic cleansing of 711,000 Palestinians in 1948. Try as I may I can't envision what would happen if Germany decided to ban holocaust commemoration.
"Lieberman's party proposes ban on Arab Nakba"
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1085588.html
"Haaretz Condemns Nakba Ban as “Mocking Democracy”
http://theonlydemocracy.org/2010/03/haaretz-condemns-nakba-ban-as-mocking-democracy/
Every Obama official who extols our friendship with the Israeli govt., & every member of Congress who has professed "unwavering support" for same needs to explain how, why & for what conceivable purpose they can be best friends with any nation whose soldiers would act, officially, in such a manner. Of course, we'll get the same old refrain: anything the IDF does is in the interests of the settlers' security; anything that the Palestinians do is violent incitement or worse. Thank you, Ghassan Khatib for your honest appraisal of how double standards & hypocrisy abound, as much with the Obama adm as with any other & certainly with our foolish members of Congress.