I’ve got Middle East peace on the
brain today. Tonight, I’m headed to the
All Dulles Area Muslim Society, the largest mosque in the Washington, D.C.
area, for an interfaith Seder. It’s a
wonderful event, spearheaded by my friend Andrea Barron. Andrea and I don’t agree on much when it
comes to Middle East politics, but we agree on this: “normalization” is a good
thing.
Are you unfamiliar with the term “normalization”
in the context of the Palestinian-Israeli conflict? If so, I envy you, because whenever I
contemplate that term, I simply get furious.
In case you haven’t heard about it, check out this link http://www.pij.org/details.php?id=334 As you’ll read there, “normalization” has
become a derogatory word among many Palestinians, and refers to “the process of
building open and reciprocal relations with Israel in all fields, including the
political, economic, social, cultural, educational, legal, and security
fields.” In other words, when Jews and
Palestinians get together to sing, dance, talk about issues, celebrate the
Exodus, you name it … it’s a bad, bad thing.
And that is because, allegedly, it encourages everyone to believe that
the status quo, which is seen as the outgrowth of the seizure of Palestinian
land by a foreign invader, is an acceptable, “normal” situation.
Recently, when Palestinian
university students planned a trip to Auschwitz, they were criticized because –
you guessed it – this was an expression of “normalization” behavior. This travesty was recently chronicled in the
Washington Post: http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/middle_east/palestinian-university-students-trip-to-auschwitz-causes-uproar/2014/04/12/c162ba42-c27d-11e3-9ee7-02c1e10a03f0_story.html Not long ago, I attended a wonderful concert
sponsored by a group called Heartbeat Jerusalem, which brings together young
Israeli Jewish and Palestinian musicians who can really rock. Their music inspired me to imagine a Middle
East in which Jews and Arabs see themselves as cousins instead of enemies. And yet, what did I learn after the concert? That Heartbeat has now come under fire for
promoting “normalization.”
The anti-normalization
movement is just one form of the growing trend among the Hard Left to
de-legitimize Israel and turn it into a pariah state – kind of like North Korea
but without any ties to Dennis Rodman. My guess is that this movement is soon going
to split anti-Israel forces into a schism between the BDS gang who simply
support boycotting, divesting from, and sanctioning Israel, and the anti-normalization
gang who want to put Israel under a Spinoza-like ex-communication. (My hero was
such a persona non-grata that members of his community were forbidden from
standing within six feet from him or being under the same roof as the guy.) Pretty soon, the BDSers will be calling
themselves “moderates” because they are willing to get together with Zionists
like me and tell us why Zionism is misguided … but at least they are willing to
speak to us.
Fortunately,
the anti-normalization craze has yet to become the new normal in the Middle
East Peace movement. But believe me, this
attitude and its little brother, BDS, have left quite a mark. Taken together, they have convinced most of
my fellow peaceniks that if Israel wants peace with the Palestinians, they can
ask precious little from the Palestinians in return. Perhaps the best example of this trend is the
reaction of the peace movement toward Netanyahu’s demand that the Palestinians
accept Israel as a Jewish state. That
demand sounds like no big deal to me.
It’s vague enough that a Palestinian who truly wants peace should be
able to affirm it without letting go of the Palestinian narrative. Hell, even Yasser Arafat was willing to say
that he would accept Israel as a Jewish State.
See for yourself: http://www.tabletmag.com/scroll/165975/video-arafat-recognizes-israel-as-a-jewish-state.
But
Arafat is dead and buried. And now the “new
normal” is that the idea of accepting Israel as a Jewish State is a non-starter
for Palestinians. What’s more, peacenik
organizations like J-Street balk at asking the Palestinians to make a
concession on that point – at least not now.
Take a look at J-Street’s statement on the subject; you’ll find it to be
the epitome of milquetoast: http://jstreet.org/blog/post/word-on-the-street-our-current-crisis-and-israel-as-a-jewish-state_1
Folks,
I have heard a zillion and one justifications for why Israel shouldn’t be a
Jewish State. And while I buy none of
them, I can certainly appreciate why a portion of the Palestinian community
would continue to oppose that notion. What’s
more, I’ve heard a zillion and one justifications for why the Palestinian
negotiators cannot accept Israel as a Jewish State at this point in the
negotiations. And while I buy none of
them, I can certainly appreciate why the Palestinian negotiators might disagree
with me. But here’s what I cannot for
the life of me stomach: why I am unaware of one single prominent Palestinian
who is willing to support the idea of Israel as a Jewish State -- other than
the dead Mr. Arafat. Are the radical Israel-haters so dominant that
they are scaring the Palestinian moderates into silence? Or am I just that far out-of-touch with the
moderate-Palestinian position these days?
Either
way, for a guy who spends as much time in the interfaith movement and the peace
movement as I do, these are very troubling questions to ask. Perhaps someone can shed some light for me
tonight at the Seder. In any event,
whether I get some answers or don’t, this much I can continue to say: Long live Israel as a Jewish State. It has an honored place in my vision of a
peaceful and just world.
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