As we just remembered Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., the champion of human rights and equality, this statement of his should ring true for us all. "Peace for Israel means security, and we must stand with all our might to protect its right to exist, its territorial integrity."
The line between reality and fantasy in the Middle East conflict is getting more and more blurred with every article I read. Jeremy Burton's column in the Jan. 14 issue, "Agree to Disagree" was a beautiful piece on the positive aspects of Israel and the hope for peace. Sadly, it was met by Hanan Harb's reply in the Jan. 16 Letters to the Editor, which was riddled with anti-Israel lies and propaganda.
As usual, Harb describes the Palestinians as an innocent people striving to acquire a homeland and fight the "occupation," but this is merely a na??ve and idealistic concept. I also visited Israel over winter break and I, like Harb, did not participate on "Birthright." She mentioned that she stayed in Ramallah, the headquarters of the Palestinian Authority and Yasser Arafat. I spent some of my time in the "settlements," land acquired by Israel during the Six Day War in 1967 that still belongs to Israel but has many Palestinian residents. I saw how Jewish residents need constant army protection to defend against terrorist attacks. Yet even with this defense, I saw countless places where innocent Jewish civilians had been murdered by terrorists, both on the road and in their own homes. There are many claims in Harb's letter that I can prove are false, but since I have a short amount of space, I'll pick two in particular.
First, she mentioned "the atrocities that happen in Gaza and the refugee camps" (does the Jenin massacre ring a bell?)." I can't believe that a "Jenin massacre" claim is still being used. The actual story is that after a suicide bombing in March 2002 that killed 29 innocent Israelis, the Israeli Defense Forces responded with a massive counter terror operation. The place with the most gruesome fighting was the refugee camp of Jenin. Yet there was no "massacre," as Harb claims. In fact, even the United Nations investigated and found there to be no massacre. Truthfully, Israel used an incredible amount of restraint and compassion in the operation. Instead of merely bombing the entire area, as many other countries would do, it put its soldiers in harm's way to perform house-to-house searches and spare civilians lives. In the end, 52 Palestinians (almost all of whom were armed combatants) and 23 Israeli soldiers were killed. This libel of a massacre was and still is widely used as anti-Israel propaganda.
Other claims I must refute are that Palestinians "only hate oppression" and "don't care what your religion is." These are preposterous views to have based on just looking at sheer facts. Palestinian terrorism against Jews started long before 1967 with the start of the "occupation," a term I use very loosely. For example, in Hebron in 1929, 67 Jews were massacred and the rest had to flee to Jerusalem. There wasn't even a State of Israel at that time so what other reason was there other than because they were Jews? If the Palestinians wanted a state so badly in the West Bank, why did they say nothing between 1948 and 1967, when it was controlled by Jordan? In October 2003, in a poll by Public Opinion Research of Israel and The Palestinian Center for Public Opinion, 59 percent of Palestinians said they want Hamas and Islamic Jihad to continue terror attacks against Israelis even if Israel left the West Bank and Gaza. This is not about an "occupation," but the fact that many people won't stop until Israel is destroyed.
Lastly, Harb also said the Palestinians "must be given some form of government and basic human rights." The Palestinians do in fact have a government - it's called the Palestinian Authority. Until recently, the official leader was Yasser Arafat, a known and documented terrorist. Now, he remains only the unofficial head yet he still controls all the power.
On this one point, I will agree with Harb. The Palestinians living under the PA are lacking many things. This is due however to their own corrupt rulers, not Israel. As documented on "60 Minutes," Yasser Arafat has stolen millions upon millions of dollars designated for the Palestinian people. Where is the Palestinian outrage over that fact? Palestinians living under Israeli control have a much better life than those under the Palestinian Authority. Arafat and the PA have repeatedly turned down peace proposals and have not stopped terrorism. In 1998, the former Prime Minister of Israel Ehud Barak offered Arafat 98 percent of his demands, including a Palestinian state, but was turned down. If he really wants a state for the Palestinian people, why would he turn down this gracious offer?
In the end, everyone wants peace and security. There are Palestinians out there who can co-exist and live peacefully with Israel. I know, because some of them are my friends. Yet there will never be an end to the violence in Israel until the majority of Palestinians fight terror and their corrupt government and try for a true peace with Israel. For more information on the Middle East conflict, e-mail SUNYBuffalo@zoa.org.
Photo: Courtesy of Laron Fomby
