For Immediate Release Manny Benhamou [email protected] COM ’04
TITLE: The occupation didn’t start the problem. The problem started the occupation.
Someone once asked me if I thought Israel’s occupation was a good idea. I asked him if he thought the three No’s of Khartoum were a good idea. He had no idea what I was talking about. For those of you who aren’t familiar, Israel offered to return every inch of land (including Jerusalem initially) taken through defensive action in 1967. But the Arab League met in Khartoum, Sudan and decided on behalf of the Palestinians that there would be 1) No peace treaty 2) No negotiation 3) No recognition.
The selective memory expressed by the Palestinian narrative often leaves me baffled at how supposedly humanitarian leftists can subscribe to such hypocrisy. Today’s liberals naively cheer on the Palestinian charge against occupation, but have no idea what they’re representing.
The conflict is not about occupation. If it were, there would have been public outcry between 1948-1967 when Egypt and Jordan occupied “the territories.” If it were, Palestinians would not have failed to pursue the numerous opportunities for statehood (1948, 1967, 1973, 1977, 1993, 2000). If it were, Palestinian schoolbooks would not depict Israel proper as “occupied land.”
I attended a panel discussion Sunday night at Northeastern University where the Palestinian panelist explicitly referred to “the occupation” as all land from the river to the sea. Firmly focused on past and current injustices, the Palestinian advocates balked at the idea of a two-state solution. Instead, he claimed that Zionism is racism and he called for the destruction of Israel and the creation of a “bi-national” state where Jews, Muslims, and Christians could all enjoy the benevolent tolerance exemplified by Saudi Arabia or Iraq. Ironically, Arabs in Israel enjoy greater rights than they do anywhere else in the Middle East.
Perhaps the most shocking element of the night’s events was the warm reception these negative views were given by the far-left leaning audience. When asked about Palestinian leadership, they blamed Sharon. When asked about their feelings toward Jews they replied “we don’t hate them because they’re Jewish, we hate them because they’re occupiers.” And this was applauded by the crowd!
Israel’s actions are not the provocation for such hatred, Israel’s existence is.
As recently as July 2000, Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak issued an unprecedented offer to end the occupation and relinquish 97% of the territories in exchange for a peace treaty. Tragically, the Palestinian leadership rejected this offer and launched a war of terror, targeting innocent noncombatants, women and children, in public venues such as pizza parlors, shopping malls, universities and playgrounds. The hand that signed the Oslo Accords ten years ago is the same hand that signed the checks funding Palestinian terrorists today. Since September 2000, the killings of Jews have been glorified throughout the entire Arab world as “acts of martyrdom,” and have been causes for celebration. Imagine you live in Manhattan and everyone in the surrounding boroughs wants you dead. The world has once made the mistake of turning a blind eye while Jews were senselessly murdered in the streets. I will not remain silent as this carnage is accepted and applauded by international media.
We’re all aware of the conflicting narratives of history, but until Israel has a responsible partner to negotiate with, one committed to two states living side by side in peace, this conflict can have no resolution.
