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| PROFFESSOR KAMEL S. ABU JABER |
[AS
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JORDAN TIMES Editorial
Israel should stop distractions, focus on peace
May 03, 2014
On
Thursday, Israel summoned the Jordanian envoy in Tel Aviv to protest
against an opinion article by former foreign minister Kamel S. Abu Jaber
published in The Jordan Times on April 28.
One
day earlier, a representative of the Israeli embassy in Amman called
the paper not only to protest, but also to demand an apology for
publishing the article, titled “The big Zionist lie and the task ahead”.
Such behaviour does not conform with the culture of democracy and shows disrespect for the freedom of expression.
Describing
the article as “anti-Semitic” and racist, Israel ignores all racist
acts, attacks and practices it carries out on daily basis, not only
against Palestinians, Jordanians, Arabs and Muslims, but also against
its own non-Jewish citizens.
Although
the article by the former foreign minister, who had a key role in the
Arab-Israeli peace talks in Madrid in 1991, only expresses the writer’s
own views, it also reflects those of a wide segment of the Jordanian and
Arab public concerning the need to counter Israeli lies attempting to
invalidate Palestinian identity and legitimate rights in the face of
colonial expansionist policies.
In
a statement, the Israeli embassy on Wednesday expressed outrage at the
fact that the writer chose to quote from Adolf Hitler, whose racist
thought and policies caused immense destruction to Europe and led to the
death of millions of innocent people, including many Jews.
The
embassy chose to ignore the fact that Palestinians, in particular, and
Arabs, in general, were also victims of Hitler’s ideology and the
Holocaust, and that ever since, that is for almost seven decades, they
have been paying a heavy price for the genocide committed on another
continent.
Hitler’s
victims and their descendants should be the first to understand the
meaning of being victimised and discriminated against, and realise the
magnitude of the decades-old injustices brought upon the Palestinians
for no reason but for being born different, for belonging to a different
people and adhering to different faiths. These people should be the
ones to spearhead putting an end to the suffering of the Palestinians
and help establish a just and permanent peace in our region.
They should object to all racist policies and acts committed in their name, and they are many.
Israeli politicians, meanwhile, should stop accusing all who oppose their policies of being “anti-Semitic.”
What does it call its Minister Naftali Bennett’s statements as fresh as of August last year?
The right-wing politician said in a Cabinet meeting he did not like the releases of Palestinian prisoners.
“If you catch terrorists, you simply have to kill them,” he was quoted in Yedioth Ahronoth as saying.
Head of the National Security Council Yaakov Amidror told Bennett: “Listen, that’s not legal.”
Bennett replied: “I have killed lots of Arabs in my life — and there is no problem with that.”
It
is easy to find more incredibly racist statements against Palestinians
and Arabs by “important” Israeli and Zionst figures. They are
nauseatingly shocking. “Disturbing”, some would elegantly put it, but
they are blatantly anti-human being, yet no uproar is ever raised.
Criticising
murder, xenophobia, land theft, religious intolerance and oppression is
not “anti-Semitic”. Incidentally, Arabs are Semites, too, and nobody
invokes “anti-Semitism” when they are attacked.
Instead
of using the tired “anti-Semitism” mantra, Israelis would better serve
their people and the region by bringing an end to the Arab-Israeli
conflict and by establishing a just and permanent peace on the basis of
the two-state solution.
They
should start viewing the Palestinians as equal human beings, partners
and neighbours who deserve to live in dignity on their national soil.
Attempts to distract attention and procrastinating will not solve the problem.
Israel should stop blaming the mirror and instead fix the distorted reality that it has created on the ground.
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