THE PROGRESSIVE CONSERVATIVE, USA
An Online Journal of Political Commentary & Analysis
Volume VIII, Issue # 75, May 10, 2006
Dr. Almon Leroy Way, Jr., Editor
Government Committed to & Acting in Accord with Conservative Principles
Ensures a Nation's Strength, Progress, & Prosperity
PALESTINIAN ARABS VERSUS ISRAELI JEWS:
FIGHT BETWEEN DAVID & GOLIAH
By Asaf Romirowsky
THE ISRAELI-ARAB CONFLICT & THE WAR OF IDEAS IN THE MEDIA: THE TWISTED PSYCHOLOGY THAT
PALESTINIAN ARABS USE TO FURTHER THEIR SENSE OF VICTIMIZATION, GAIN THE SYMPATHY OF THE INTERNATIONAL
COMMUNITY, & CONTINUE INCITEMENT OF TERRORISM -- CONDEMNING ISRAEL FOR THE CRIMES OF PALESTINIAN
TERRORISTS -- WHY THERE WILL NEVER BE PEACE IN THE MIDDLE EAST -- THE ARABS' HATRED OF JEWS IS GREATER THAN
THE ARABS' LOVE OF THEIR OWN SONS & DAUGHTERS
FULL STORY:
The perception of Palestinians as victims has become the most powerful marketing tool Palestinians have, and no one uses it
more effectively than do the Palestinians. Time after time, we have seen Palestinian figureheads like Michael Terazi and Hanan
Ashwari plead the Palestinian cause and point to the Israeli "occupation" as the root cause of all Palestinian problems.
Conversely, for years, Israel preferred to deal with the war on the ground and put the war of ideas in the media on hold. This
has come back to haunt Israelis in almost every news outlet. It has also sowed disaffection among the Israeli electorate. Israeli
Prime Minister Ehud Olmert's recent electoral victory highlights the apathy that exists within the Israeli population towards the
new guard of political leaders. Another factor that was quite evident is the fact that the security threats that Israel faces were
put on "hold" in these past elections.
This has not diminished the threat of Palestinian terrorism. As the recent bombing in Tel Aviv proves, the Intifada is still alive
and well. Another unchanging reality is the Palestinians' insistence that Israel is always to blame. In the Palestinian psyche,
Israel is Goliath and the Palestinians are David. Following the Tel Aviv attack, for instance, we saw the classic Palestinian
media maneuver, perfected by the late Yasir Arafat, of condemning Israel for the crimes of Palestinian terrorists. (Mahmoud
Abbas was the notable exception: He condemned the attacks, characterized them as "terrorist" actions and observed, correctly,
that no good would come of them.)
Simultaneously, the Palestinian psychology of "occupation" continues, as we witnessed after Israel implemented its plan for
disengagement from Gaza. It was remarkable to see official Palestinian spokesmen make the argument that Gaza disengagement
changed very little and that, as far as they are concerned, Gaza remains "occupied" territory. Mahmoud Abbas stated clearly
on July 7, 2005, that "the legal status of the areas slated for evacuation has not changed." And now, following the Tel-Aviv
bombing, Sheikh Mohammad Abu Tir, a Hamas member of Parliament, was quoted as saying:
"Israel and the occupation are responsible. Before the attack,
less than two days before, Israel killed 18 Palestinians."
Furthermore, organizations like the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) advocate the perception that,
regardless of the reality, the Palestinians are occupied for life. The UNRWA has a financial interest in perpetuating this fiction.
As long as the Palestinians are refugees, the UNRWA is in business. The reason is that the UNRWA's success is measured,
not by results, but by the contributions it receives, and here the agency is doing well for itself. The Bush administration has
agreed to contribute $51 million to the agency's emergency appeal this year, more than double the $20 million it contributed
last year. Overall, the U.S. donation to UNRWA amounts to over $100 million annually.
The monies themselves illustrate how the United States is perpetuating a state of utter dependency in which the Palestinian
upper class fobs off all economic responsibilities onto the international community. If one looks at Palestinian society as a
whole, more than anything, it is lacking social mobility. There are two social classes in Palestinian society: a small affluent
class and the poor, who comprise the majority of the population. However, poverty in Gaza is ghastly not because of the
socalled occupation. Rather, it is a self-inflicted state of affairs created by Palestinian leaders who are supposed to govern
and better the lives of Palestinians, but, instead, prosper at their expense. The fact is that Arafat's corruption and the al-Aqsa
Intifada have only succeeded in damaging Palestinian society, rather than furthering its desires.
As long as Palestinians cling to the false notion of being "occupied," with Israel in the role of the "oppressor," they will not
assume responsibility for themselves. In Palestinian society, socio-economic conditions are not the root cause of homicide
bombing, since it is the more educated who are sacrificing their lives in Allah's name. And Arab terrorism did not begin with
the socalled occupation after the Six Day War; it started as early as 1929, when Jews were massacred in Hebron. Despite this
history, in Palestinian nomenclature, the "occupation" remains the root cause of all problems, from social and economic woes
to terrorism.
The twisted psychology that Palestinians use to further their sense of victimization has successfully co-opted the feelings of
the international community, to the detriment of both. It was former Israeli Prime Minister Golda Meir who said:
". . . as long as the Arabs hate the Jews more than they love
their own children, there will never be peace in the Middle
East. The continued incitement of terrorism suggests that
that time has not yet arrived. For this, and for much of their
suffering, the Palestinians have only themselves to blame."
LINKS TO RELATED TOPICS:
The Israeli-Arab Conflict
Middle East -- Arabs, Arab States,
& Their Middle Eastern Neighbors
Islamism & Jihadism -- Radical Islam & Islamic Terrorism
Page Three
Page Two
Page One
War & Peace in the Real World
Page Two
Page One
Islamist Terrorist Attacks on the U.S.A.
Osama bin Laden & the Islamist Declaration of War
Against the U.S.A. & Western Civilization
Islamist International Terrorism &
U.S. Intelligence Agencies
U.S. National Security Strategy
Asaf Romirowsky is a Campus Watch associate fellow for the Middle East Forum and the Israel Affairs Fellow for the Jewish
Federation of Greater Philadelphia.
The foregoing article by Asaf Romirowsky was originally published in FrontPageMagazine.Com, May 10, 2006, and can
be found on the Internet website maintained by the Middle East Forum.
Republished with Permission of the Middle East Forum
Reprinted from the Middle East Forum News
mefnews@meforum.org (MEF NEWS)
May 10, 2006
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