For Israels, seeing peace is seeing the end of the occupation

(This article first appeared in the Times of Israel on November 7, 2015)

In my last blog on this site, I made a profound statement. While I said that Israelis and Palestinians need to see the conflict from each other’s eyes, that is not the statement I am referring to. I said, believing that I would evoke some stark heartfelt emotions:

“Israel needs to have its first day  of peace.”

I was expecting a reality check from Israelis.  Seeing none amazes me.

No one said anything  to me or replied in a comment about this profound statement which I say again in a more humanistic way:

No Israeli citizen has ever seen a day peace.

No one has questioned me about this statement because in reality and fact, it is a true statement.

Since May 15, 1948, Israel has been in a perpetual state of war. It has not had one day of peace. In fact, in Israel, no day is free from the fear of war as even on the Jewish holiday of Yom Kippur in 1973 Israel had to go to war, once again. For over 67 years, no Israeli citizen can say that he or she has lived through one day of peace.

This should be shocking to the conscious, at least I thought it should be to Israelis.  I do not know if most Israelis realize the stark reality of this statement.

The question that should be on every Israeli mind is, when will an Israeli child be born on a day of peace in the Holy Land?

By the same token, over 90% of Palestinians living in Palestine (the West Bank and Gaza), having been infants or born after the 1967 Six Day War, know nothing but the Israeli occupation of their land.   And if we can look at those who are older than 67 years old, having been born prior to 1948, I would venture to say that 99% or greater of the people that make up the Palestinian/Israeli conflict have no recollection of what peace resembles in the Holy Land.   Those who have migrated to Israel, having come from peaceful countries may believe that they are living in peace, but in all reality, the atmosphere is one of war–a war that can escalate at any moment and for any provocative reason.

This leaves only a very minute percentage of individuals in all of the Holy Land that have ever seen a day of peace or have not been ruled by occupation and those minute people are Palestinians who are 55 years old or older.

This also is a profound statement for Palestinians. I do know that Palestinians whether they live in Palestine or beyond realize the reality of this statement.

The constant question on Palestinian minds is when will the Israeli occupation end.

Having the first day of peace in Israel while Israel occupies Palestine is not a mutually exclusive reality.   Israel cannot have peace while it occupies Palestine. Peace comes with the end of occupation. It does not come while the occupation endures decade after decade.

Thus the only opportunity for an Israeli child to be born in a peaceful environment is for Israel to end the occupation of Palestine.  This is the reality that Israelis must face.

If Israel wants peace, it must end its occupation of Palestine.

As a Palestinian, I cannot express this reality in more clearer terms to Israelis.  In case I have not gotten my message across, allow me to try a different means of expressing the reality.

The status quo of no peace and continued occupation cannot endure endlessly.  Like water that reaches its boiling point, the occupation of Palestine has reached that point.

The reality is that the population growth of Palestinians is such that Israelis will be the minorities in the Holy Land by 2016. Currently, the population of Israelis and Palestinians in Israel and in Palestine is said to be about equal.  With the birth rates of Palestinians greater than Israelis, it takes no great mathematical genius to calculate that the population of Palestinians will, in the very near future, be greater than the Jewish population.

Thus, how can Israelis, a coming minority, rule over the Palestinians, an emerging majority.  While Israelis do not like to be compared to the White rule era of the country of South Africa, the stark reality is that the same concept of a minority suppressing the fundamental human rights of the majority is again being played out before our eyes.

Israelis can put on blinders and not accept the coming reality. Israelis may want the status quo to endure perpetually. However, the reality is that Israelis cannot have a day of peace without coming to terms with their occupation of Palestine.

If Israelis want to live in peace, they must end the occupation of Palestine.

Israeli Elections: Hegemony Over Homogeny

I have been trying to find something positive to write about the recent Israeli elections. I just cannot. There is simply nothing good about it. It simply is just the continuation of the status quo and that is not good for Palestinians and really not good for Israelis as well.  For the Palestinians, the status quo means the continuation of the occupation and the deprivation of the human spirit to be free. For the Israelis, it means that the lack of a clear expressive desire for peace in the election outcome ignores the ever increasing demographic boiling point which is turning Israel into the old Apartheid regime of South Africa.

The basic result of the Israeli election is that the right wing and center-right parties are likely to end up with 61 of the legislative seats in the Israeli Knesset, thus continuing the status quo of the Benjamin Netanyahu Government.

The status quo of domination over the Palestinians is what Israel wants for the region but this only exasperates and heightens the inevitable inner Palestinian human spirit to evolve towards the will to be free. Israel prefers hegemony over--instead of homogeny with--the Palestinians; it would rather dominate the Palestinians rather than treat them with equality. This is the crust of the Israeli/Palestinian conflict. The result of the Israeli elections elevated this inherent perplexity to the forefront; yet, Israelis seem oblivious to the fact that this clash between Israeli dominance and the Palestinian spirit to be free will come crashing down when the current trends in the demographics will result in an anticipated Palestinian majority in 2016. 

I have written about the human spirit to be free and my article can be read at http://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=6942645014941809001#editor/target=post;postID=7408208507238483659. In essence, I argue that inevitably Israel cannot suppress the will of 4.29 million Palestinians in the West Bank and Gaza who desire to be free of occupation and a relentless siege.  By 2016, it is projected that the Palestinian population in Israel, West Bank and Gaza will outnumber the Israeli non-Arab population.

Suppressing the Palestinian desire to be free perpetuates the status quo. Keeping the status quo is rooted in the aspiration of maintaining a Jewish homeland as Jews around the world feel secure in having Israel be a safe haven given world history of atrocities toward Jews. Thus, The Israeli election also tells me that Israelis are horrified of losing the concept of a Jewish homeland and therefore are clinging onto the status quo. Given the history of the Jewish people, that fear is warranted; but this aspiration driven by historical fear comes at the expense of the Palestinian people.  Finding a solution that would alleviate that fear while acknowledging the inevitability of the Palestinian human spirit to be free is what is needed to resolve the conflict.

The Israeli election did not shift Israeli politics to the left or right but rather left it smack where it has been—standing still.  Peace talks are standing still because Palestinians feel that there is no use in endless talks that lead to nowhere.  The Occupation of Palestinian land is standing still—continuing in its fifth decade.  Yet the fermenting Israeli suppression of Palestinian aspirations is about to boil over.  The Israeli elections did not alleviate this tension.

Israelis have consistently expressed security concerns in the 20 plus years of attempts at trying to negotiate a final solution with the Palestinians.  I interpret this security concern to mean a safe haven for Jews all over the world.  This security may ultimately be elusive however, if it comes at the expense of the Palestinians, for the natural course of human development is to be free from the oppressor’s chains that bind the collective individual conscience. 

This has been demonstrated time and time again with the thirteen American colonies breaking away from the British King; with the French masses overthrowing the absolute monarchy; with Black South Africans breaking the White Minority Rule apartheid chains; with Gandhi leading his people to overthrow the mighty British Empire; with the eventual American realization that slavery cannot long endure; and with many countless other examples where peoples all over the globe repelled imperialist colonial hegemony.

The Palestinian human spirit is no different than the American colonists, the French masses, India’s masses and the Black South Africans.  The Israeli election did not negate the Palestinian spirit; in fact that spirit has regenerated and grows with each Palestinian generation. 

The social revolution which opens the world to all also opens the spirits of the Palestinian people. Palestinians are not oblivious to the freedoms enjoyed around the world and they desire that same freedom in their daily lives.  As Palestinians interact with the globe community on social network sites, their human spirit to be free grows. Social networks exponentially inspire the Palestinian youth to lift off the chain that suppresses their collective bondage that the Israeli occupation imposes upon them.

The Israeli election takes little note of this growing social internet revolution and shows that Israelis would rather continue to believe that the colonial aspirations of the past several centuries is still prevalent in today’s age. That belief is antiquated and it leaves Israel further isolated around the family of nations.

Recently, the Palestinian human spirit has gained from international recognition and international intervention.  The upgrade in Palestine’s status at the United Nations has inspired Palestinians in that it gave them faith in the world community, while the truce between Israel and Hamas,  brokered by the US and Egypt and international pressure against a ground assault, excited the Palestinian will to fight off Israeli aggression.

Again, the Israeli election results seemed oblivious to growing worldly sentiment that the Palestinian human spirit is on the road towards freedom. The question is will Israelis ride along with the Palestinians or will Israelis fate be that of the White Minority rulers of South Africa.

            Israeli’s fate is really in their hands—or more accurately in their right to vote.  Palestinian’s fate is in the natural evolution of their human spirit.

Leaders Need to Sow Love Not Hatred

Nine Palestinian children and a teacher were killed on Thursday morning, February 17, 2012 when an Israeli truck carrying a fuel tank crashed into the school bus transporting the kindergarten children near the Qalandia checkpoint in Ramallah.  May they rest in peace. May God give solace to their families and to all Palestinians as this is a national tragedy.

Such a tragedy should have international coverage. Yet, a search of the internet revealed very little was posted except for the Arab press. It's hard for me to accept this discrepancy in news coverage, especially when this tragedy involves 4-6 year old children and their teacher. Additionally, what I cannot understand is some Apartheid Israelis rejoicing over such a tragedy and thanking God that it was not Jewish children who had perished in this horrific accident. Are we not all of God’s children and every human life is sacred.

I posted this incident in my Facebook status.  I expressed my sympathy and revealed the reaction of some Israelis. One person made a comment condemning the Israelis’ open praise of such a tragedy and then praised how discreet Hitler was in his actions. I did not see the connection with Hitler so I immediately deleted the comment. 

I then commented: “You cannot condemn hatred if you have hatred in your heart”

Yes the reaction of some Israelis was abysmal and I cannot understand it. What eats at my soul is not only that it was a reaction in of itself but that it was a reaction from some Jews when their ancestral history teaches the entire world that racial hatred stands contrary to human values. Because of the hatred inflicted upon Palestinians, mainly because Israelis have painted all Palestinians as terrorists, I will not tolerate Palestinians who advocate hatred of Jews or any other race, ethnicity, religion or any other group. My use of the term apartheid in reference to Israelis in my articles is not hatred, it is telling the truth—Israel is the Apartheid State of Israel.

Eventually the apartheid system that Israel continues to try to perpetuate will come to an end and Palestinians and Israelis will then live together between the Jordan River and the Mediterranean just like the different races in South Africa now live. Nelson Mandela, having been imprisoned for over 27 years by the White South Africans because of the color of his skin has taught us the following in his Autobiography:

No one is born hating another person because of the color of his skin, or his background, or his religion.  People must learn to hate, and if they can learn to hate, they can be taught to love, for love comes more naturally to the human heart than its’ opposite.

            

             Palestinians should not return hatred for hatred. Palestinians should forgive those who cheer at the death of  innocent kindergarteners.  In a previous article entitled “Palestinians Can Teach Jews Forgiveness”, I wrote:

A human element needs to be a part of the Palestinian struggle to be free of the Israeli apartheid practices.  If there is no human element than the Palestinian struggle will not have been worth the effort……Palestinians cannot be like the Apartheid settlers who are using their cars to run over Palestinian children.  http://fadizanayed.blogspot.com/2012/01/palestinians-can-teach-jews-forgiveness.html

            I am sure that this message resonates in a significant number of Palestinians and Israelis. Leaders on both sides need to listen to this message and start seeking the votes from people who have this human element rather than pursuing the votes of people who hate. Leaders need to teach love rather than hatred. 

            Nelson Mandela had every reason to hate his White captors and no one would have been against him had he hated them.  However, he would have never been any better than the apartheid regime that he sought to replace had he sowed hatred in his heart.  Rather, we sowed love and lead his people to love and prosperity.

            Both Palestinians and Israelis need a Nelson Mandela. Both need to sow love.



(© Copyright, Fadi Zanayed.  Publication or distribution of this material is allowed provided its content is not altered and the source and its author are cited.)

Will Areas A & B become Palestine?

                There is a deliberate diabolical policy in Apartheid Israel to make Areas A & B in Palestine the permanent borders of the future State of Palestine.  This policy will allow Apartheid Israel to keep the illegal settlements without a peace agreement and will continue the status quo of the occupation.  Palestinians must resist this conniving and unacceptable manipulation of Palestine’s future.

                The Oslo Agreement, which was signed on September 13, 1993 at the White House, and subsequent agreements between Apartheid Israel and Palestine divided the West Bank into Areas A, B and C.   Area A is controlled by the Palestinian Authority and includes security-related and civilian issues in Palestinian urban areas.  Area B only allows Palestinian control over civilian matters but leaves security to the apartheid soldiers.  Area C is exclusively controlled by Apartheid Israeli authorities and includes the illegal settlements, the Jordan valley region, borders and by-pass roads between Palestinian towns.  This in effect created a Swiss cheese omelet except the egg whites and yoke have been separated.  Does this remind anyone of Apartheid South Africa?

                Final status negotiations on the issues of East Jerusalem, borders and the right of return were to be address by May, 1996 and concluded by May, 1999 according to the Oslo Agreement.  Here we are in 2012 and these issues have never been formally addressed.   Apartheid Israel has made excuses throughout the 19 years since the Oslo Agreement to delay final status talks.

                It is apparent that all along that the carving of the West Bank into Areas was a diabolical attempt by Apartheid Israel to only give limited authority to the Palestinians in Areas A & B.   Apartheid-in-Chief Benjamin Natanyahu is now considering giving the Palestinian Authority more control over Area B to carry out this plan.  But this is strategically done at this time to accomplish two other goals.

                The first is to keep the Palestinians talking about how to start the peace talks.  In January, 2012 the Palestinians and Israelis have been discussing how to start up the stalled peace talks in Amman, Jordan at the invitation of King Abdullah.   By keeping the Palestinians talking, the Apartheid-in-Chief can appease the Quartet of the European Union, Russia, United Nations and the United States—especially President Barack Obama.   By giving the Palestinians more control over Area B, the Apartheid-in-Chief is not giving anything more than what has been in the diabolical plans of Apartheid Israel.

                The second goal of the Apartheid-in-Chief Netanyahu is to keep Fatah and Hamas from reconciling.  By giving President Abbas and Fatah more control in the West Bank as a way to lure him into continuing to talk, Apartheid-in-Chief Netanyahu drives a wedge between Fatah and Hamas.   Hamas has called upon the Palestinian Authority to withdraw from any talks with the Israelis because talks are useless.  I agree.  See my article: “No Negotiations with Apartheid Israel - Let it Self-Destruct!”  http://fadizanayed.blogspot.com/2012/01/no-negotiations-with-apartheid-israel.html.

                The ultimate goal of Apartheid Israel is to call Areas A & B a Palestinian State and call the conflict over.  Already, the military checkpoints are being called “terminals” or “crossings” which is an obvious reference to a border.   The goal is reinforced when Apartheid Israel refuses to even freeze settlement building in occupied Palestine.   The illegal settlements are in Area C and under the control of Apartheid Israel.   Israel does not have and never had the intention of relinquishing control over Area C.

                President Abbas must remain steadfast and not succumb to Israeli bribes.  He must not accept any further control over Area B so as enticement to remain in endless talks that lead to an endless occupation of Palestinian land.  Apartheid-in-Chief Netanyahu cannot give the Palestinians what they are by right entitled to.  If Palestinians hold out long enough, the demographics will be such that Palestinians will be in the majority in Israel, West Bank and Gaza by 2016.  Apartheid Israel cannot sustain a political system as a minority governing another people who hold a majority.   Just as the South Afrikaans could not maintain the apartheid system in South Africa, Israel will not be able to maintain its apartheid system in Israel and in Palestine.  

((c) Fadi Zanayed.  This article may be republished or sited as long as the author and site are included as the reference.) 

مناطق أ و ب لتصبح فلسطين؟

(قمت بترجمة هذه المقالة على Google. محدودة كما هو قدرتي على قراءة اللغة العربية،أنا لا يمكن أن تضمن دقة الترجمة)


               هناك سياسة متعمدة الشيطانية الفصل العنصري في إسرائيل لجعل المناطق A و B في فلسطين الحدود الدائمة للدولة الفلسطينية المستقبلية. وهذه السياسة تسمح اسرائيل للحفاظ على الفصل العنصري والمستوطنات غير الشرعية من دون اتفاق سلام ، وسوف يستمر الوضع الراهن للاحتلال. ويجب على الفلسطينيين مقاومة هذا التلاعب تواطؤها وغير مقبول لمستقبل فلسطين.


                اتفاق أوسلو ، الذي تم التوقيع عليه في 13 سبتمبر 1993 في البيت الأبيض ، والاتفاقات اللاحقة بين اسرائيل وفلسطين الفصل العنصري يقسم الضفة الغربية إلى مناطق ألف وباء وجيم منطقة يسيطر على السلطة الفلسطينية ويشمل الأمن ذات الصلة والقضايا المدنية في المناطق الحضرية الفلسطينية. منطقة B يسمح فقط للسيطرة الفلسطينية في المسائل المدنية ، وإنما يترك للجنود الأمن الفصل العنصري. وتسيطر منطقة C حصرا من قبل السلطات الإسرائيلية ، ويتضمن الفصل العنصري والمستوطنات غير الشرعية ، ومنطقة وادي الأردن والحدود والطرق الالتفافية بين المدن الفلسطينية. هذا في الواقع خلق أومليت الجبن السويسري باستثناء بياض البيض ونير انفصلوا. لا أذكر أي شخص من هذا الفصل العنصري في جنوب أفريقيا؟


                مفاوضات الوضع النهائي حول قضايا القدس الشرقية ، والحدود وحق العودة ليكون عنوان بحلول شهر مايو ، 1996 والتي أبرمتها مايو ، 1999 وفقا لاتفاق أوسلو. نحن هنا في عام 2012 ولم يتم معالجة هذه القضايا بشكل رسمي. جعلت الفصل العنصري في جميع أنحاء إسرائيل الذرائع 19 عاما منذ التوقيع على اتفاق أوسلو على تأجيل محادثات الوضع النهائي.


                فمن الواضح أن كل جانب أن ينحت من الضفة الغربية الى مناطق كان محاولة من جانب اسرائيل الشيطانية الفصل العنصري لإعطاء سلطة محدودة فقط للفلسطينيين في المناطق أ و ب. الفصل العنصري في ورئيس بنيامين نتنياهو تدرس حاليا منح السلطة الفلسطينية مزيد من السيطرة على المنطقة باء لتنفيذ هذه الخطة. الاان هذه الاستراتيجية في هذا الوقت لتحقيق هدفين آخرين.


                الأول ، هو ابقاء الفلسطينيين يتحدث عن كيفية بدء محادثات السلام. في كانون الثاني ، 2012 وقد تم الفلسطينيين والإسرائيليين مناقشة كيفية بدء محادثات السلام المتوقفة في العاصمة الأردنية عمان بدعوة من الملك عبد الله. عن طريق الحفاظ على الفلسطينيين الحديث ، لا يمكن للنظام الفصل العنصري في واسترضاء رئيس اللجنة الرباعية المكونة من الاتحاد الاوروبي وروسيا والامم المتحدة والولايات المتحدة ، خصوصا الرئيس باراك أوباما. من خلال منح الفلسطينيين المزيد من السيطرة على المنطقة باء ، والفصل العنصري في والرئيس هو عدم اعطاء أي شيء أكثر من ما تم في الخطط الشيطانية لإسرائيل الفصل العنصري.


                الهدف الثاني من الفصل العنصري نتنياهو في والرئيس هو الحفاظ على حركة فتح وحماس من المصالحة. من خلال إعطاء الرئيس عباس وفتح المزيد من السيطرة في الضفة الغربية كوسيلة لاستدراجه الى مواصلة الحديث ، والفصل العنصري في ونتنياهو رئيس محركات اسفين بين فتح وحماس. ودعت حماس السلطة الفلسطينية على الانسحاب من أي محادثات مع الاسرائيليين لان المحادثات عديمة الفائدة. وأنا أتفق. انظر مقالتي : "لا مفاوضات مع إسرائيل الفصل العنصري -- ليكن التدمير الذاتي!" http://fadizanayed.blogspot.com/2012/01/no-negotiations-with-apartheid-israel.html.


                الهدف النهائي لإسرائيل الفصل العنصري هو الدعوة الى مناطق A و B و الدولة الفلسطينية ، وندعو للصراع انتهى. بالفعل ، يجري استدعاء الحواجز العسكرية "محطات" أو "المعابر" وهو إشارة واضحة إلى الحدود.ويتعزز هذا الهدف عندما الفصل العنصري وترفض اسرائيل حتى تجميد بناء المستوطنات في فلسطين المحتلة. المستوطنات غير القانونية في المنطقة (ج) والخاضعة لسيطرة إسرائيل الفصل العنصري. اسرائيل ليس لديها أبدا وكانت لديه النية للتنازل عن السيطرة على المنطقة (ج)


                ويتعين على الرئيس عباس الثبات وعدم الاستسلام للرشاوى الإسرائيلية. يجب عليه أن لا يقبل أي سيطرة على مزيد من المنطقة باء وذلك الاغراء بالبقاء في محادثات لا نهاية لها التي تؤدي إلى احتلال لا نهاية لها من الأراضي الفلسطينية. يمكن الفصل العنصري في ورئيس نتنياهو لن يعطي الفلسطينيين ما هي عليه من قبل بعنوان حق. إذا كان الفلسطينيون الصمود طويلا ، وسوف تكون هذه التركيبة السكانية بأن الفلسطينيين سوف تشكل أغلبية في اسرائيل الضفة الغربية وقطاع غزة بحلول عام 2016. يمكن الفصل العنصري اسرائيل لن تتمكن من تعزيز نظام سياسي كأقلية تحكم شعبا آخر الحاصلين على الأغلبية. تماما كما لا يمكن الأفريكانية جنوب الحفاظ على نظام الفصل العنصري في جنوب افريقيا ، ان اسرائيل لن تكون قادرة على الحفاظ على نظامها العنصري في إسرائيل وفلسطين.
(Zanayed © ، فادي يسمح نشر أو توزيع هذه المواد شريطة أن لا تغيير محتواها وأشار المصدر وصاحبه).