What are you celebrating, Washington?
American presidents have celebrated throughout history: President Carter led the celebrations for the famous Camp David agreement between Prime Minister Begin and President Sadat; President Clinton embraced the late PLO leader Yasser Arafat and Prime Minister Rabin and then there was President George W. Bush in Annapolis. Now President Barack Obama wants to celebrate the opening of negotiations between the Palestinians and Israelis. The question remains: What are you celebrating, Washington?
With every celebration the Israeli foot advances a step and pulls the rug from under the Arabs’ feet. Arabs go barefoot to Washington; they do not have the skills for negotiations and celebrations. Arabs are only able to dance on the sidelines, each with his feet shackled, unable to do anything except state what he wants.
Israel, who came to the celebration and paid for the band, is allowed to call the tune.
Israel’s security comes at the expense of the security of every other country in the region. Israeli settlements have no limits. What does it mean for those already barefoot to have the rug pulled from under them? And from what country did the Palestinian negotiator come? Who do the negotiators represent? Why? Upon what false promises will barefoot Arab feet stamp? This is a historic celebration of the Palestinian tragedy. What are they doing here? Why did they go? Why is the secret only to be had in Washington? Israel has not given up one spot of land for the secret! What do the Arabs want, with their eagerness and their willingness to dance barefoot without a carpet in Washington? They want peace!
This is not a celebration for peace. It is a celebration so that Israel can promote the racist rhetoric of a Jewish state. Israel promotes its security at the expense of others and constructs settlements on the land of others — the land of Arabs.
It is a celebration for Washington. It is a celebration for President Obama personally, who, with his requests and his celebrations, is not pushing to expedite his “wish” for peace in the Middle East, but rather his wish for results in the upcoming elections. In his calculations, Israel advancing a step at the expense of Arab rights means additional votes for him and for his party. President Obama does not want to salvage the collapsing peace process in the Middle East — he wants to save his eroded status.
In this celebration, Israel has an opportunity to cover up all its defeats: from the July aggression through to today, passing over the gunfire of Gaza and swimming past the boats of freedom headed for Gaza. For all actions, the repercussions are unknown. Perhaps the one positive result of Washington’s current celebration is that Arabs and Palestinians are at a point where they will not enter into negotiations without resistance.
Leave a Reply
You must be logged in to post a comment.