THE PROGRESSIVE CONSERVATIVE, USA
An Online Journal of Political Commentary & Analysis
Volume VII, Issue # 11, January 16, 2005
Dr. Almon Leroy Way, Jr., Editor
Government Committed to & Acting in Accord with Conservative Principles
Ensures a Nation's Strength, Progress, & Prosperity
THE PALESTINIANS: A FRACTIOUS SOCIETY
By Asaf Romirowsky
QUESTIONS RAISED BY THE RECENT ELECTION OF MAHMOUD ABBAS AS PRIME MINISTER OF THE PALESTINIAN AUTHORITY:
WILL THE NEW PRIME MINISTER BE ABLE TO BRIDGE THE MULTIFACETED & FUNDAMENTAL DIVIDE THAT EXISTS
BETWEEN THE GAZA & WEST BANK SECTORS OF PALESTINIAN SOCIETY? WILL MAHMOUD ABBAS BE ABLE & WILLING
TO LEAD THE PALESTINIANS IN THE DIRECTION OF ACCEPTING ISRAEL AS A JEWISH STATE & ACKNOWLEDGING THAT
PEACEFUL COEXISTENCE BETWEEN ISRAEL & THE PALESTINIANS IS NORMAL, NATURAL, & HIGHLY DESIRABLE?
FULL STORY:
With the January 9, 2005, election for a new prime minister of the Palestinian Authority, the question of a societal division in the
Palestinian population has become more crucially relevant: The animosity between Gazans and West-Bankers has drastically
increased since Yasser Arafat's death and the election of his successor.
The socalled "right of return" of Palestinian refugees of the 1948 war and their descendants has again become the sticking point,
with various camps attempting to garner support among Palestinians in the Gaza and West Bank. The Palestinians know that this
issue will not be resolved soon.
Socially, West Bankers see themselves as the upper echelon of Palestinian society; they are educated and come from money.
And, there are geopolitical and economic differences between the two societies. As journalist Nicholas Jubber writes, "the Gaza
Strip and the West Bank are divided by their unequal economies, distinct dialects, and cultural animosities forged by their pre-1967
experiences under separate regimes -- Nasser's Egypt and King Hussein's Jordan."
In terms of an extended social network, West Bankers do not rely on their "Palestinian brothers" in Gaza, but rather on families and
friends in Jordan. And Gazans do the same with Egypt.
Jonathan Schanzer points out that there is little intermarriage between the two sectors of Palestinian society, a factor that he calls
"another dividing line."
Argues Schanzer:
"While traditional marriages arranged between tribal chiefs are no longer popular
among Palestinians, one study notes that 'kinship-based marriage arrangements now
exist as a way to preserve the continued identity of dispersed communities.' These
communities derive from specific, smaller areas of the former Palestine and, by nature,
do not cross the West Bank-Gaza divide."
This multifaceted and fundamental divide was tested at the polls on Sunday, January 9. The victory of Abu Mazen (Mahmoud
Abbas) will only be an actual triumph if he shows that he can truly bridge the two sectors of Palestinian society.
From a leadership standpoint, Abu Mazen's weakness is his lack of real control over Palestinian society. For all of Arafat's
shortcomings (and he had many), he was the acknowledged authority for both Gazans and West Bankers. Arafat was the figure
who put the Palestinians on the map, becoming a living symbol of their cause and making the Palestine Liberation Organization
the representative body of the Palestinians recognized by the majority of the Arab world.
Abu Mazen has no such gravitas. Hence, we are hearing more and more statements about Abu Mazen continuing Arafat's ways.
Tayeb Abdel Rahim, Abu Mazen's campaign manager and former Arafat aide, said of Abu Mazen that he "stood next to Abu
Amar [Arafat] to achieve the peace of the brave."
Old habits are hard to break. Abu Mazen was an Arafat crony and comes from the Palestinian elite. He has consistently held the
hard-line anti-Israel agenda since his years as a student. His doctoral dissertation was a full-blown foray into Holocaust denial
and aimed to prove that Zionism and Nazism are branches of the same tree.
These are all question marks over his sincerity when he makes his claims to the Western press about wanting to bring about
reform and create a civil Palestinian society.
Abu Mazen may wear a suit, while Arafat wore fatigues. However, much of their world view is still the same -- the destruction of
Israel remains on the "to-do" list.
To be a true reformer, any Palestinian leader has to accept Israel as a Jewish state, and convince the Palestinian masses that this is
clearly in their interests. Otherwise, all we will see, and all the Palestinians can expect, is a continuation of the colossally failed
Arafat system and yet another leader too cowardly to take a different path.
True coexistence between Palestinians and Israelis won't happen until Palestinian society experiences a breakthrough in
constitutional democratic thought and values, one that accepts Israel's permanence and also allows for a middle class to grow,
acknowledging that honest relations between Israel and Palestinians is normal and natural.
LINKS TO RELATED TOPICS:
The Israeli-Arab Conflict
The Middle East & the Arabs
Radical Islam & Islamic Terrorism
War & Peace in the Real World
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 Advocacy Associate for the
Jewish Federation of Greater Philadelphia.
The foregoing article by Asaf Romirowsky was originally published in the Philadelphia Daily News, January 8, 2005, 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)
January 9, 2005
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