Wayne Besen - Author, Activist, Columnist, Public Speaker

Tuesday, January 06, 2009

(Sheik Yassin, Left)

(Weekly Column)

As long as we refer to the Middle East as the "Holy Land" there will be war. For peace to prosper, extremists, on both sides, will have to he marginalized. This will require courage from Israeli and Palestinian leaders, who have failed to take aim at the religious roots of this festering fiasco.

The first step to a brighter future is crushing Hamas. This cowardly terrorist organization indiscriminately fires rockets into cities and then hides behind human shields when Israel's military rightfully responds. Hamas' charter calls for the destruction of Israel and the forming of a radical Islamic Republic that would fly, "the banner of Allah over every inch of Palestine."

Unfortunately, many "liberals" are infuriated that Israel is targeting these illiberal and violent theocrats. They mysteriously don't seem to be concerned that the rights of women and other minorities, including gay people, would be greatly eroded if Hamas lorded over a Palestinian state.

By protesting Israel, these well-intentioned individuals in the West are actually prolonging the pain of the Palestinian people. Israel, obviously, cannot make peace with an entity determined to destroy it. The longer Hamas remains viable, the longer these problems will be protracted. As the weaker party, the Palestinians will almost always be on the losing end. A cease-fire with Hamas does little but provide a band-aid solution that ensures future bloodshed.

The fact is, eliminating Hamas would pave the way for reuniting Gaza and the West Bank under Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas. Having seen the radical alternative, the Israeli government would be favorably inclined to seek common ground with Abbas -- expediting the possibility of a Palestinian state.

If this scenario plays out, Israel should move swiftly to empower Abbas by tearing down all illegal Jewish settlements. Nothing has done more to harm Israel in terms of world opinion and done less to improve its security than these outrageous outposts on Palestinian property. Someone has to tell these deluded settlers that the Messianic dream of a greater Israel is over.

Speaking of fantasies, the Palestinian people are going to have to give up their Jihad -- which hasn't exactly been a success. In 2006, they voted for holy war by electing Hamas -- a group which pays the families of suicide bombers $5,000. If you are going to choose terrorism over tourism as your main industry, don't cry to the world when bombs are dropped on your doorstep.

If the Palestinians face occupation, as they claim, they don't need "martyrs" -- they need leaders who will tell them the truth. In 2004, more than 200,000 Palestinians marched at the funeral of Hamas founder Sheik Ahmed Yassin, after he was assassinated by Israel.

That's fine, but where are the massive non-violent demonstrations that don't call for the demise of Israel? Such protests would do wonders to further their cause and help undo the image of the suicide bomber. The Palestinian people have to understand that there will be no state -- nor should there be -- until the average Israeli citizen feels peace will not come at the expense of safety. If the Palestinians fail to offer such reassurances, they will remain stateless and mired in deprivation and poverty.

Checking the powerful and entrenched interests that undermine Middle East peace will not be easy. In America we certainly know how a well-organized minority of ideologues can infect the political process. GLBT equality, for example, has been stymied for eight years under the oppressive Bush Administration. We have seen a concerted effort by social conservatives to hurt our families and legislate our marriages -- particularly in election years. And, we saw John McCain place America's future in jeopardy by selecting the unqualified Sarah Palin as his running mate to appease his extreme base. It is still unthinkable that she was nearly a breath away from the Oval Office.

Still, the battle in Gaza is an opportunity to move forward. The Hamas gunmen that Israel is targeting are self-righteous thugs that intimidate moderates who favor peace. Those in Israel who think God commands Jews to have every inch of land -- even if it belongs to Palestinian families -- are the same types who believe God wants gay pride marchers in Jerusalem to be stoned.

If Israel's true goal is security and the Palestinians genuinely want to secure a state, then I believe peace can occur and both groups can prosper. But, if negotiating is a way for Israel to stall so they can change facts on the ground through new settlements, or for Palestinians to replenish stocks of lethal rockets, God's people will continue to turn this disputed land into a hellhole.

While you can never fully separate religion from the region, the "Holy" must be detached from the actual "Land" if peace is ever to be realized. It is time to return the fanatics to their rightful place on the fringe, so good people on both sides of this divide have a chance to live normal and peaceful lives.

37 Comments:

How sad that the most violent, dangerous area in the world right now is a place where more people per capita than any other place seem to think they're doing "God's Will."
posted by Chris L., at 1/06/2009 2:23 PM

do you mean Texas?
posted by gary, at 1/06/2009 3:18 PM

ROTFL!!!!!!!!! Thankfully I am not referring to Texas. But you sure have a helluva great sense of humor, Gary. ;-)
posted by Chris L., at 1/06/2009 3:52 PM

Thanks Chris, of course there is really nothing humorous about this entire tragedy. I guess the point I was trying to make, is that there are plenty of religious and political extremists and crazies in the world, and many are right here in our own backyard. And speaking of Texas, I just read online that Mississippi is now ahead of *Texas* and New Mexico in the teenage pregnancy rate. And the lowest rate was, of course, in big blue LIBERAL New England!!!
posted by gary, at 1/07/2009 10:42 AM

Wow, thanks for the statistics! Yes, those parents who occupy those states and believe in such superstitions need to take a lesson in basic human sexuality. Behaving like we're still in the Dark Ages and keeping your kids in the dark about sexual health will NOT keep them "innocent". (Needless to say, "not having sex" is not "innocent" and having sex doesn't make one any less moral than anyone else.)

Such thinking just keeps children "ignorant", and they suffer the sad consequences. I think it was just last week that yet another study came out which indicated that religious teens who take the "virginity pledges" don't delay sex whatsoever, but simply go unprotected when the time comes. How is this what they want for their children?

Texas was the same state that balked at giving their children the new breakthrough HPV vaccine because they claimed it would promote "promiscuity." What a bunch of inbreds!
posted by Chris L., at 1/07/2009 11:13 AM

The Palestinians have a LEGAL right to use deadly force to defend from an occupation, and Israel is under a LEGAL obligation to protect civilians from their own military.

Locking a million and a half people up in a prison, starving them, cutting off their electricity, water and medical supplies, and then shooting them when they dare to protest, does NOT put them in the right, it makes them equal to NAZI GermanyQ!
posted by Thomas Mc., at 1/08/2009 9:00 PM

We would never tolerate rocket attacks from either of our neighbors, but we wouldn't set a blockade that kept them isolated from the world and starved to death either. Nor would we deny them the right to have a country. You remember that frustration we feel when we don't understand how someone is opposed to our civil right to get married. Multiply that times a million and you won't be even close to what the Palestinians have gone through for decades. How about their right to have a nation?To have an army that protects them. To move freely in their land. Palestinians are automatically assumed to be the bad guys, and in America's eyes Israel can do no wrong; no matter how many of them die, Palestinians always be the bad guys.
posted by Pablo, at 1/08/2009 9:32 PM

"The Palestinians have a LEGAL right to use deadly force to defend from an occupation, and Israel is under a LEGAL obligation to protect civilians from their own military."

Hahahahahahahaahhahahaahaha

If you haven't noticed, they are not defending themselves. They are getting their asses kicked and always will, as Israel is a superior military force. Allah is not helping them today and will not tomorrow. Wake up and get real. The only way Israel goes down is an Iranian nuke and then the Palestinians and the rest of the Middle East go down too. Great option, I suppose, for the crowd who hates Israel more than they love life!

Look, if the Palestinians ever want a state, they will have to stop the silly religious chest thumping and start a genuine non-violent peace movement.

The current path they are on will lead to more poverty and ruin. The choice is theirs, as they hold no power. I hope they learn to be smart, rather than continue the absurd rock throwing and intermittent rocket attacks that usually miss by miles and get them nowhere.

When we see rallies where Palestinians are holding peace signs and not yelling "Death to Israel" they will get a state. Those of you who encourage and enable their current incoherent strategy of claiming to be victims while making childish and empty threats to a more powerful force, do them no favors and prolong their misery. You are part of the problem, as you encourage these dead end tactics.

The Palestinians have two options:

1) Defeat Israel militarily
2) Put down the arms and call for peace.

Isn't the better and more realistic option quite clear to thinking people?

Folks, stop the blame game in the Middle East. The question to ask is, how can these two groups live together and make life better for future generations?

If your answer for the Palestinians to fire rockets, you are a fool and collaborate in their pain
posted by Wayne Besen, at 1/09/2009 12:45 AM

A two-state solution is definitely viable. The Palestinians can begin by stopping the constant call for the destruction of Israel. Fatah has already abandoned such rhetoric, and now it is time for Hamas to do the same. Clinton and Arafat almost struck a deal on this. Israel was willing to give back all of the occupied territories that Israel occupied as a result of the six-day war.

Why didn't the deal work? Arafat simply would not stop calling for Israel's destruction. You can't whine that the "Palestinians simply want their own homeland" when they deny Israel the very same wish. How ridiculously myopic! The six-month cease-fire recently concluded with Hamas firing rockets into Gaza, during Hanukkah no less, and Israel is the bad guy? True, there is an argument that their response could have been "more measured," but it's difficult to lay claim to such moral superiority when you're the one firing rockets into Gaza, and not the other way around.
posted by Chris L., at 1/09/2009 10:10 AM

Israel is a theocracy. Israel is only a superior military force because it is an extension of the United States. Israel is the problem for continued efforts at expansion. It is absurd to defend Israel when they are ignoring the United Nations call for cease fire and killing small children leaving the rest in a state of shock. One cannot compare Israel and Gaza anymore than you can the IMF and a credit union.
posted by mail, at 1/09/2009 1:39 PM

I don't understand how you can reconcile calling Palestinians theocrats and defending Israel when Israel was created around one religion and their 'chosen people'. It doesn't get any more theocratic or discriminatory than that. And how can Israel not have military superiority when the US Army has their back and the Palestinians are not even allowed to have an army?. And even if they were legitimately superior, does that mean they are right? How can people be outraged when some Palestinians call for the destruction of Israel and be ok with Israel opposing a Palestinian state?
posted by Pablo, at 1/09/2009 2:00 PM

Israel is not a theocracy. In addition, Israel is willing to support a two-state solution. PM Barak was willing to accept such a deal when Clinton was brokering it between he and Arafat; it gave the Palestinians all of the occupied territories. Why didn't Arafat accept it? Because he could not call for an end to the Palestinian's policy of advocating for the destruction of Israel.

If Palestinians truly want peace, they must act like it. Calling for your enemies demise is hardly an act which leads to peace. That is the only thing which stands between the Palestinians and their deserved state: their own hatred for the Israelis. When they decide that they want their own home state more than they hate the Jews, they will get it.

Voting Hamas into power was hardly a call for peace on the Palestinians part, and breaking a 6-month cease fire by firing rockets into Israeli settlements in Gaza on Hanukkah week isn't going to lead to peace, either.
posted by Chris L., at 1/10/2009 9:58 AM

Chris L.: yes Israel is a theocracy. Tell me if you can be in Parliament without being Jewish? That fullfills the tenets of a damn theocracy if ever there was one. Don't blame Hamas being voted in because of years of frustration at occupation. Israel does not and never did want peace. If they did they would stop attemps at expansion. Stop the oppression by calling Israel the victim. They are the agressor and have been for decades. It is a disgrace that even gay bloggers will not go against the grain with the influential jewish lobbing groups. NO>< I WILL NOT STAND BY AND APPROVE OF MURDER WITH MY TAX MONEY. You cannot prove that Israel has not always been attempting to expand. They attempt to skirt this elephant in the room by turning this around with psychobabble about being the victim. You have heard the term Jewish state. It is used daily. What do you think? The rest of the god damned world does not listen to that. If you want to be pro Israel fine, then just admit it but don't you DARE justify what is going on at the level it is goin on.
posted by mail, at 1/10/2009 5:08 PM

sorry everyone. i flipped out.
posted by mail, at 1/10/2009 7:46 PM

Actually, there are many strict orthodox Jews in the Knesset, so in a way...Israel is more of a theocracy. I doubt if there are any Israeli born Arabs representing their own community in the Israeli government and if there are, I'd like to know about it.

I don't deny that Israel has a right to exist and rightly so but its expansion is solely based on biblical references and its reason for being, that alone smacks of theocracy.
posted by Robert, NYC., at 1/11/2009 9:19 AM

Yes there are Arabs in the Israeli parliament.

http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9A03E3DE1E3FF933A15754C0A96F958260

Again, Israel is not a theocracy. It is, in fact, the only thriving democracy within the middle east. It has a secular Supreme Court which, in fact, is unusually pro-gay for the region.

Also, I agree that Israel should return the occupied territories. This almost happened between PM Barak and Arafat. Barak was willing to hand it all over, the West Bank, Golan, Gaza and would have if the Palestinians would have changed their policy which calls for the "destruction of Israel," which is a current Hamas policy. At the time, that was something that Arafat was not willing to do (or even could do).

As for the election of Hamas, it was probably done more out of a response to local economic woes rather than a frustration at the occupation itself.

But again, I favor a two-state solution with Jerusalem as a dual capital. That is hardly the position of someone who is in the pocket of the "influential Jewish lobbying groups." When you say that, you sound awfully similar to the American religious right when they lambaste us gays and our "powerful gay lobbying groups on Capitol Hill."

Finally, to say that Hamas isn't the aggressor is absurd, even if only for this current event, which began when Hamas ended the 6-month cease fire by firing rockets into Southern Israel during Hanukkah week.
posted by Chris L., at 1/11/2009 2:57 PM

"Tell me if you can be in Parliament without being Jewish?"

Just to clarify the comment above about Arab representation in the Israeli Knesset... you really should do a bit of research.

Even (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Knesset) will show you the political make up of the current Knesset. And while there are indeed a majority of Jewish parties represented, there are at least THREE parties that are Arab run or Pro-Arab: United Arab List/Ta'al, Hadash and Balad.

The conflict seen in the Middle East is much more complex than simply sticking a label to each of the two sides. It also comes down to personal experience and personal prejudices borne out of years of exposure to a seemingly never-ending situation. I welcome outside influences though, in efforts to create peace. Look what it did for Northern Ireland after all. Those camps still exist but as years go by, the next generation doesn't feel as entrenched as their parents.
posted by Ed, at 1/12/2009 6:47 AM

In Ireland, the Catholic church has totally collapsed. It was quite a beautiful thing. But religion/Zionism will never collapse in Israel. I think that any peace agreement will have to incorporate these "holiness" issues, which is why Jerusalem as a dual capitol is the only way. I know that most Israelis are against this idea, but if they can embrace it, they must do whatever they have to do.
posted by Chris L., at 1/12/2009 8:02 AM

Off topic:
Does this mean that Obama has redeemed himself (somewhat)?!
From Bishop Robinson: [via Episcopal Cafe] http://www.episcopalcafe.com/lead/faith_and_politics/breaking_bishop_gene_robinson.html "I am writing to tell you that President-Elect Obama and the Inaugural Committee have invited me to give the invocation at the opening event of the Inaugural Week activities, "We are One," to be held at the Lincoln Memorial, Sunday, January 18, at 2:00 pm. It will be an enormous honor to offer prayers for the country and the new president, standing on the holy ground where the "I have a dream speech" was delivered by Dr. King, surrounded by the inspiring and reconciling words of Abraham Lincoln’s Gettysburg Address. It is also an indication of the new president's commitment to being the President of ALL the people. I am humbled and overjoyed at this invitation, and it will be my great honor to be there representing the Episcopal Church, the people of New Hampshire, and all of us in the gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender community."
posted by gary, at 1/12/2009 3:36 PM

I was never that upset over Obama's invitation to Rick Warren to begin with. Obama is a consensus builder, and the only people with whom one builds consensus are those with whom you don't agree. This is politics. So far, I am very happy with Obama's start!
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I'm amazed to read this piece by Besen. Virtually ever other gay activist and gay blog is 90 percent for the Palestinians and anti-Israel (in many cases anti-Semitic as well; not that EVERY critic of Israel is an anti-Semite). How can Besen be so sensible in this case and yet be so mentally incompetent with his blind devotion to Democrats?!
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