6 — THE JEWISH CHRONICLE NOVEMBER 3, 2011
Opinion A little courage is too little
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alestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas’ admission last week that the Arab world in general, and the Palestinians in particular, made a mistake by rejecting the 1947 United Nations Partition Plan deserves some kudos from Israel and the Jewish world. As history records, the leadership of the soon-to-be independent Israel accepted the proposed partition of Palestine into Jewish and Arab states, but the Palestinians and their Arab backers rejected it, leading to the 1948 War for Independence. To this day, the vast majority of the Arab street and regimes characterize Israeli independence as a “catastrophe.” They even have a Nakba (catastrophe) Day to correspond with Israel’s independence day. This year, no doubt to turn up the heat on Israel while diverting world attention for internal strife among their own populations, neighboring Arab countries permitted — possibly even paid — mobs to storm Israel’s borders on this year’s Nakba Day. With that kind of blind hostility, Abbas’ statement required a little bit of courage. But only a little bit. After all, he made the remarks on Israel’s Channel 2 TV; it would have been a jaw-dropping development had he made the same statement in the
Palestinian media. He also made the statement on a Friday, the Muslim Sabbath — a time when the Arab world is less likely to be paying attention to what the Israeli media is reporting. In addition, while Abbas gets a couple brownie points for saying what he did, accolades should be tempered for the way he phrased his remarks: “It was our mistake. It was an Arab mistake as a whole,” the P.A. leader said of the rejection, “but do they punish us for this mistake for 64 years?” To answer his question, absolutely not. Israel shows due wariness — not punishment — for the mistakes the Palestinians are making right now. Those mistakes include: • Using the Palestinian media to demonize Jews; • Honoring terrorists by permitting public squares to be named after them; • Seeking reconciliation with Hamas even though its leaders have no interest in peace with Israel; and • Circumventing face-to-face negotiations by going to the United Nations and asking for recognition of Palestinian statehood — a process that advanced this week with the UNESCO vote to admit “Palestine” as its 195th member. And those are just the highlights. While we’re at it, we’d like to see
Abbas, or any Arab leader for that matter, own up to some other mistakes — or, dare we say, crimes — they’ve committed in the past 60 years: • The forced exodus of some 800,000 Jews from Arab lands since 1948; • The banishment of Jews from Jerusalem’s Old City in 1948, the sacking of the Jewish Quarter, and the refusal to let Jews pray at the Western Wall for nearly two decades; and • The Arab world’s rejection, through its Khartoum Resolutions of Israel’s offer to return conquered lands shortly after the 1967 Six-Day War. And perhaps the biggest bonehead move of all: Yasser Arafat’s walking away from a sweetheart peace proposal made by then-Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak in 2000 at Camp David that would have given Palestinians a state and most of what they demanded in negotiations. All-or-nothing negotiators frequently leave the table with nothing. None of this is to imply that Israel should give up on Abbas as a peace partner. His tacit admission shows that, at the very least, he is capable of yielding when necessary. But neither should Israeli leaders be too excited by what he said. Abbas continues to play the aggrieved party. When he finally gives up that long-running role, that’s when peace talks can resume in earnest.
In rebuttal
Schachter may not value library, but Pittsburgh does Guest Columnist SHEILA MAY-STEIN As I finished Abby Schachter’s article on the proposed library funding initiative, all I could thinks was, “Seriously? Is this a joke? The library should have a bake sale to fund itself?” As an alleged “person of the book,” Abby Schachter should hang her head in shame. The Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh is a cultural jewel. It provides unparalleled access to the richest, broadest, deepest collection of materials serving the blind, deaf, the young, old and inbetween. It offers MP-3 players for reluctant readers loaded with books for them to listen to as they read, computer access for those who stand on the other side of the digital divide, historical, legal and genealogical resources, homework help, help with resumes and job hunts, and a deeply underpaid and overworked staff who passionately advocate for literacy, first amendment rights and Pittsburgh citizens daily. Libraries serve schools with additional resources that
limited school libraries don’t have by offering teacher accounts. They also offer interlibrary loan service from all over the state to get you what you need. My list of what libraries do is far from complete, but it is the staff that deserves special mention. Before the Squirrel Hill branch of Carnegie Library was renovated, and when my children were small, I would make weekly trips to the children’s department with a hand-held shopping cart. I would describe the books my children loved, and Susan Hughes, then the manager of the children’s section, would simply go to the shelves, fill up my cart, and I’d be on my way. On the weekends we’d go through the stacks of Susan’s recommendations and without fail — my kids would spend their Shabbats devouring her choices. Her encyclopedic knowledge of children’s books and passion for finding the right one for the right child helped my children become lifelong readers. I’m indebted to her for life, as are my kids. My daughter Sarah was so inspired by Susan and the positive impact she made on her life that she devoted her bat mitzva project to the Squirrel Hill branch of the library. Sarah was outraged that the library was going to have to shut its doors on Sundays because of budget shortfalls — she knew that this would
disproportionately affect the Orthodox Jewish community, who find a beautiful, warm and welcoming place to gather and enjoy books after Shabbat. And we are far from Orthodox. As more and more school librarians are cut from public school budgets, children need public libraries all the more. Teachers will, too. Has Schachter considered the impact public library services have on underserved children who don’t have computers or books at home? Doesn’t the Torah demand that we do what we can to help the needy in our communities? Isn’t a few dollars more worth it to keep Pittsburgh children safe, warm, reading and engaged in learning? I am horrified at the shortsightedness and banal ignorance displayed in Schachter’s article. She and her family may not value the library, but our city does. And I look forward with joy to paying my extra tax to help support this service for myself, for my family and my community.
(Sheila May-Stein is a librarian at Community Day School. For further comments on Abby Wisse Schachter’s opinion piece, see Letters to the Editor, page 7.)