Jacksonville Jewish News • August 2011
page 7
www.jewishjacksonville.org
PERSPECTIVES
No yellow brick road for Palestinian U.N. bid By ANAV SILVERMAN Hebrew University
W
ill the recognition and creation of a Palestinian state by the United Nations Security Council magically end Mideast unrest? Can the U.N. fulfill the role of the Wizard of Oz and help ensure that such a state truly serves its people? Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas has predicted that a Palestinian state will allow his people to live as a “peace-loving nation, committed to human rights, democracy, and the rule of law,” echoing the sentiments of many in the international community. (New York Times, May 16, 2011) However, there are those in the Palestinian community who foresee a far different kind of future. According to several prominent Palestinian and Arab commentators and bloggers, this proposed prophecy will never see reality as long as a corrupt Palestinian leadership remains in place, continuing the dishonest financial dealings that defined past P.A. President Yasser Arafat and now Mr. Abbas. Sami Jamil Jadallah, a Palestinian American who is an international legal and business consultant, recently wrote an article comparing Israeli and Palestinian leaders in light of Israel’s 63rd anniversary for Palestine Note, a news and opinion site based in Washington, D.C. He first addresses past history and describes David Ben-Gurion as having “dedicated his life to creating a nation out of the remnant of people from over 120 countries and succeeded in having a state with governing institutions on Day One.” As for Arafat, Jadallah harshly criticizes, writing “the other succeeded dedicating his life to political manipulation, lies fraud, corrupting everything around him and failing ‘his’ people at every turn, never having achieved liberation or the return of refugees.” He adds that “Ben-Gurion did not invite his family and friends and associates to loot the country as Yasser Arafat did” and that he is “not aware of any Israeli leader who became a multi-millionaire while serving the nation and the people while in public office.” Arafat’s wife Suha was reportedly promised $22 million a year from P.A. funds by Abbas, following her husband’s death. Mr. Abbas himself lives in a luxury villa
U.N.
Continued from p. 1 nization that calls Bin Laden a ‘holy warrior,’ remains determined to destroy Israel, and is responsible for the deaths of Israelis and Americans,” said Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (R-FL), who chairs the U.S. House Foreign Affairs Committee, in a recent media statement. Israel views the Hamas-Fatah warming an obstacle to peace insomuch as Hamas continues to state that its main goal is the eradication of Israel. “Now, Hamas will be a part of the Palestinian Authority, without having to recognize Israel’s right to exist, renounce violence, or
worth $1.5 million (New York Times 2/2/97). Indeed it is the lack of accountability of funds among the Palestinian leadership that truly raises the Jadallah’s ire. “What we know is that the Palestinian leadership never bothered to operate a transparent accountable system and the PLO was and continues to operate as ‘private’ closed corporation for the benefit of very few selected and self appointed members of the Executive Committee. We never knew the hows and the whys of the operation of the PLO and the Palestine National Congress,” he writes. In 2006, the Palestinian Attorney General Ahmed Al-Moghani revealed that at least $700 million of P.A. funds – others estimate up to $1 billion – had been stolen or squandered by corrupt Palestinian officials during the last few years. Some of the millions were transferred into personal accounts abroad. Jadallah ends his piece by describing the current P.A. government as lacking the “integrity, professionalism and the competency to achieve the end of occupation. He says that the P.A. “promises the people a ‘virtual’ state with none of the prerequisites of a modern nation state.” Ali Younis, a Washingtonbased journalist, also wrote in an article for Al Arabiya Feb. 28 noting that “the late Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat used corruption as a tool to manage and control his chaotic Palestinian Authority.” He points out that “President Mahmoud Abbas is no different according to many complaints against him by Palestinian intellectuals.” In addition to the questionable financial system that the P.A. has in place, free speech and free press under the current regime of Mahmoud Abbas is also extremely problematic. Human Rights Watch’s April 6 report, “No News Is Good News: Abuses Against Journalists by Palestinian Security Forces, highlights the way in which Abbas’s PA security “tortured, beat and arbitrarily detained journalists.” The report also cites the Palestinian journalism watchdog, MADA which documented that “the number of physical attacks, arrests, detentions, arbitrary confiscations of equipment and other violations of journalists’ rights by Palestinian security forces this year increased in both Gaza and
the West Bank in 2010 by 45 percent from the previous year.” MADA also called for an immediate investigation into a severe attack on Palestinian journalists who were covering a youth sit-in in Hamas-controlled Gaza on March 15. The youth were demanding an end to internal political strife between Fatah and Hamas. Internal security personnel at the event attacked and beat the journalists who were attempting to cover the event. It is therefore not surprising that the majority of Palestinians living in Jerusalem would rather remain citizens of Israel then become Palestinian citizens, if given the choice ahead of the P.A.’s bid for statehood. A poll conducted by the Pechter Middle East Polls in partnership with the Council of Foreign Relations, and supervised by Dr. David Pollock found that 35 percent of Palestinians living in east Jerusalem would opt to remain citizens of Israel, while 30 percent would choose Palestinian citizenship. The remaining 35 percent declined to answer or did not know. The study also found that 40 percent of Palestinians would likely move to Israel, if their neighborhood became part of Palestine. The creation of a Palestinian state via the U.N. will in no way end the Mideast conflict, but will only add another dimension of instability to the region. Nor will it serve the interests of the Palestinian people. As of today, there is no serious foundation for a stable democratic Palestinian state, devoid of the corruption that brought about the Arab Spring in the rest of the Middle East. How can the international community even consider that such a state be created at this time? In order for the Palestinians to live in freedom and democracy, they must have honest leaders, a sound electoral process, democratic institutions, transparent accounting and a fair judicial system. Under Hamas and Fatah, the Palestinians have none of these critical elements. Only lies. Abbas’s yellow brick road to the U.N. will lead to nowhere.
accept previous agreements,” the Ros-Lehtinen added. At a recent Congressional hearing in Washington, Deputy Assistant Secretary of State Jacob Walles said: “The direct path to a two-state solution for a Palestinian state is the path of direct negotiations.” Meanwhile, U.S. lawmakers are considering measures to cut aid to any Palestinian government tied to the Iran-backed Hamas terrorist group, even as Palestinian leaders try to line up votes for a unilateral declaration of statehood at the United Nations. The U.S. and EU-designated ‘Foreign Terrorist Organization,’ Hamas, is funded and armed by Iran and dedicated to destroying Israel. Hamas’ Charter states:
“Israel, by virtue of its being Jewish and of having a Jewish population, defies Islam and the Muslims.” Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas entered into a power-sharing alliance with Hamas in May, causing world leaders to worry that the Islamic resistance movement would be able to dictate Palestinian actions towards Israel in the coming months. A U.S. House of Representatives panel introduced a bill last month that would block American aid to the PA, Egypt, Lebanon and Pakistan “unless the Obama administration reassures Congress that they are cooperating in the worldwide fight against terrorism.”
Anav Silverman is an educator at Hebrew University’s Secondary School of Education in Jerusalem and a freelance writer. She has previously worked as an international correspondent at Sderot Media Center.
Deligitimize Israel? What a remarkable place and people Here is a glimpse as to what a diverse, creative and free democracy can obtain in 63 years: *Israel has the highest ratio of university degrees to the population of any country in the world. *Israel has the largest number of startup companies than any other country in the world except the United States. *Israel also ranks right behind the United States and China for venture capital funds. *There are over 100 foreign research and development facilities in Israel. *Israel ranks behind only the USA and Canada for the number of companies listed on NASDAQ. *The cell phone was developed in Israel by Motorola. *Most of the Windows NT operating system was developed by Microsoft-Israel. *The Pentium MMX Chip technology was designed in Israel at Intel. *Voice mail technology was developed in Israel. *The technology for AOL instant messenger was developed by four young Israelis. *Drip irrigation that has revolutionized farming in desert regions throughout the world was invented in Israel. *Israel is a world leader in nanotechnology. Israel developed the first ingestible video camera so small it fits inside a pill! This is helping doctors to diagnose cancer and digestive disorders. *Israel developed the world’s first fully computerized radiationfree diagnostic instrumentation for breast cancer. *Israel has more museums than any country per capita. *Israel has airlifted over 100,000 Ethiopian Jews to live in freedom in Israel.
Defending the right to exist
I
t is highly likely that this com- international matches canceled; ing September the Palestinian Trade unions (mainly in Europe) Authority will bring to the have sought to nullify all relations United Nations with Israeli Security CounThe effort to delegitimize counterparts. cil a resoluThese are but Israel and therefore to tion seeking the tip of a negate Israel’s right to recognition of larger iceberg statehood. The of activities, exist as a free, indepenUnited States email, poster, dent, Jewish state should has clearly film and other not be open for debate. indicated that campaigns it will veto taking place (therefore nulacross the lifying) this request. What action globe in an effort to isolate Israel the General Assembly takes at from the rest of the international that time is not certain. If a resocommunity, and make it a pariah lution is brought to the General state. Assembly, it is expected to pass Fortunately, while this is an overwhelmingly. active campaign, many of these It is important to place these efforts have thus far failed. Supevents at the United Nations with- port of Israel in the United States in a much broader understandis at an all time high. ing and context of the effort to The organized Jewish commuBoycott, Delegitimize and Sancnity is engaged in a coordinated tion (BDS) Israel at the political, effort to push back against the efeconomic, academic, cultural and forts to delegitimize Israel. There athletic levels of interaction. And is a joint project of the Jewish while these two issues are linked, Federations of North America and it is also crucial to understand Jewish Council for Public Affairs, them as separate issues. The the creation of the Israel Action question of a separate PalestinNetwork. The network is an office ian state is one that members of designed to support local comthe Jewish community may have munities to counter BDS claims, various opinions. Many believe and to promote positive images this will be negotiated by Israel of Israel to the general public. As and the Palestinian Authority. The a member of Jewish Federations effort to delegitimize Israel and of North America and supporter therefore to negate Israel’s right of the Jewish Council for Public to exist as a free, independent, Affairs, this federation is proud to Jewish state should not be open support this national effort. for debate. On a local level, the Jewish At the heart of this BDS camFederation continues to work with paign is the desire by its activists many partners in bringing into the to call into question the legiticommunity Israeli guests who are macy of the existence of the state able to present a positive image of Israel, and link every Israeli, of Israel to our Jewish and nonevery supporter of Israel and Jewish audiences, including the every company that does business deputy consul of Israel to Florida with or in Israel to the notion that and a series of young adult postIsrael practices apartheid. Therearmy Israelis. We actively particifore, Israel should be subject to pated at the city of Jacksonville’s the same international ostracizing World of Nations Celebration by that South Africa received only a sponsoring an Israel Pavilion. decade ago. The intent is to place Over three days, thousands of a stigma on all things Israeli. people from across the region ate A few examples of what has Israeli food, played Israeli games been attempted thus far: There are and learned about Israel. some who wish to boycott Israeli For more information about academics, not allowing their par- how to get involved and promote ticipation at academic conferencIsrael, please contact the Federaes; Israeli national teams have had tion office at 448-5000.
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