THE PROGRESSIVE CONSERVATIVE, USA
An Online Journal of Political Commentary & Analysis
Volume IX, Issue # 99, May 29, 2007
Dr. Almon Leroy Way, Jr., Editor
Government Committed to & Acting in Accord with Conservative Principles
Ensures a Nation's Strength, Progress, & Prosperity
THE REAL PALESTINIAN "CATASTROPHE"
By Cameron S. Brown & Asaf Romirowsky
THE PRIMARY CAUSE OF THE PALESTINIANS' CURRENT CONDITION OF POVERTY, MISERY, & STATELESSNESS:
PALESTINIAN BEHAVIOR BEFORE & AFTER 1948 -- WHAT IS ESSENTIAL TO THE PALESTINIAN PEOPLE'S ACQUIRING THE
ABILITY TO HELP THEMSELVES IMPROVE THEIR PRESENT CONDITION: THEIR TAKING RESPONSIBILITY FOR THEIR
COLLECTIVE DESTINY
FULL STORY:
On May 15, 3007, the Palestinians commemorated the 59th anniversary of al-Naqba ("the Catastrophe"), a day of "mourning"
the establishment of the modern State of Israel on May 15, 1948.
In a sense, al-Naqba is the quintessential event that separates the Palestinians' historical experience from that of other Arab
Muslim groups and forges their unique national identity.
It is worth noting that the Palestinians use the same day Israel declared its independence to mark their national day. As is the
case with so much of Palestinian society and culture, it is the actions of their Jewish neighbors -- not anything of their own
doing -- that are the constant focus of the Palestinian Arabs' attention.
Which brings us to the question: What exactly is the real "catastrophe"? Given that this year's al-Naqba commemoration has
been overshadowed by the anarchy and infighting in Gaza, many Palestinians say that the real Naqba is the lack of unity in
their society. Indeed, this internal factionalism is often cited by Palestinians as one of the key reasons they lost in the first
place during the 1948 war opposing the formation of Israel.
Perhaps. But it is worth looking at a different aspect of this year's Naqba events, an aspect which might give us a better hint
of what the real Palestinian problem is.
In the early morning of May 15, Hamas used mortars, missiles and machine guns to attack a Presidential Guard contingent
belonging to Fatah that was stationed near the Karni border crossing with Israel. Hamas then hit a jeep carrying Fatah
reinforcements, and ensured their targets were dead by shooting them in the head at close range.
When the shooting was over, 10 Fatah members were dead, with a similar number wounded.
Suddenly aware that their unprovoked massacre may have gone too far, Hamas claimed it was Israel who had actually killed
the Fatah people and threatened any journalist who dared report otherwise.
Then, in a truly perverse twist, Hamas launched more than 20 rockets at the Israeli town of Sderot "to take revenge" for the
massacre they themselves had committed.
Given the overwhelming evidence and eyewitness accounts of those who were there, it was clear to most Palestinians that
Hamas had committed the massacre. Still, when trying to explain the cause of the current infighting, several Palestinians,
including Musa Abu Marzouk, Deputy Head of Hamas' Political Bureau, insisted that Israel was somehow to blame.
This is the real Palestinian Naqba, the disaster at the root of Palestinian suffering since even before 1948.
Instead of taking responsibility for their role in shaping their destiny, on virtually every occasion, the Palestinians have
twisted their worldview to put the blame solely on Israel.
There is no self-awareness, not to mention self-criticism. No sense of accountability.
Since the Six-Day War of 1967, this tendency has only become worse. All too often, Palestinians claim that living under Israeli
occupation has "driven" them to terrorism, as if they had no choice but to walk into a café and blow up people sitting there.
Such an approach not only ignores the pre-1967 (and indeed pre-1948) Palestinian terrorism. (It also fails to recognize that
history has numerous examples of non-violent movements that were much more effective at achieving their aims.)
But the most unfortunate part of the Palestinians' fate is that they have had so many supporters around the world (including
significant segments of the Israeli public) that they were by no means destined for the poverty and misery they find
themselves in today. They certainly weren't destined to remain stateless almost 60 years after the United Nations passed the
partition plan.
The lesson is that, only when Palestinians -- leadership and public alike -- start to consider how their own actions have been
the primary cause for the sorry state they're in, will there be a chance for their condition to improve.
And, once that true soul-searching finally takes place, and they begin to take responsibility for their collective destiny, the
Palestinian people will be able to help themselves far more than all the other nations of the world have ever been able to.
LINKS TO RELATED TOPICS:
Israel -- The Israeli-Arab Conflict
Middle East -- Arabs, Arab States,
& Their Middle Eastern Neighbors
American Foreign Policy -- The Middle East
Islamism & Jihadism -- Radical Islam & Islamic Terrorism
Page Three
Page Two
Page One
International Politics & World Disorder:
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
Cameron S. Brown is Deputy Director of the Global Research in International Affairs Center in Herzliya, Israel. Asaf
Romirowsky is a Campus Watch Associate Fellow for the Middle East Forum and the Manager of Israel & Middle East
Affairs for the Jewish Federation of Greater Philadelphia.
The foregoing article by Cameron S. Brown and Asaf Romirowsky was originally published in the Philadelphia News,
May 29, 2007, and can be found on the Internet website maintained by the
Middle East Forum, a think tank which seeks to define and promote American
interests in the Middle East, defining U.S. interests to include fighting radical Islam, working for Palestinian Arab acceptance
of the State of Israel, improving the management of U.S. efforts to promote constitutional democracy in the Middle East,
reducing America's energy dependence on the Middle East, more robustly asserting U.S. interests vis-à-vis Saudi Arabia,
and countering the Iranian threat.
Republished with Permission of the Middle East Forum
Reprinted from the Middle East Forum News
mefnews@meforum.org (MEF NEWS)
May 29, 2007
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THE PROGRESSIVE CONSERVATIVE, USA
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Dr. Almon Leroy Way, Jr., Editor
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