Is There a Real Partner for Peace ?

A recent article published  in the Jerusalem Post (Abbas: 'Not a single Israeli' in future Palestinian state), quoting the remarks of Mahmoud Abbas:  “In a final resolution, we would not see the presence of a single Israeli – civilian or soldier – on our lands,” must compel us to honestly ask the question: is this really the partner for peace that we have been waiting for?

Since the inception of the modern day State of Israel, efforts at forging a lasting peace with its Arab neighbors has always been among the top priorities. Though true peace is a great and noble ideal, we must not become blinded by its “siren song” and refuse to see the reality as it exists in front of our eyes. Peace is not a one sided decision or state of mind. Rather, peace is the state of affairs that exists between two individuals or societies when they live harmoniously with mutual understanding and respect between one another.

                We must remember that peace needs to start from the ground up and cannot and will not be successful with grand slogans from pontificating politicians. I believe that if we take an objective look at the state of affairs in the Palestinian Authority and in the character of its leader Mahmoud Abbas, we will see that the basic foundation for peace, i.e. mutual understanding and respect, is far from in place. In addition to glorifying terrorists by according them official military funerals and proudly listing their murderous activity, the Palestinian Authority continues to educate its youth to hate and demonize both Jews and the State of Israel. The next generation of children are educated in PA schools regarding the right of Arab return to all of Palestine, completely negating any Jewish right to the Land of Israel. The tragedies of the Holocaust are continuously distorted and a glowing admiration is expressed for the exploits of Hitler in PA literature and school books.  All of the above, coupled with the Palestinian Authorities Charter which calls for the “armed liberation of all of Palestine” and “elimination of Zionism in Palestine,” leads me to believe that mutual respect and understanding is considerably lacking. To say the least.

                Furthermore, the character of Mahmoud Abbas, the man who is supposed to be our partner in peace, should be seriously questioned. This is the man who wrote his doctoral thesis on “The Connection Between the Nazis and the Leaders of the Zionist Movement 1933 – 1945”, in which he claimed that the Zionists “created the myth of six million murdered Jews,” dubbing it “a fantastic lie.” (Morris, Benny, Exposing Abbas. The National Interest, May 19, 2011) In addition, Abbas repeatedly refuses to recognize Israel as the Jewish State, going as far as to say on a live television broadcast "You can call yourselves whatever you want, but I will not accept it."  (palwatch.org)  Is such a person really capable of creating peace, mutual understanding and respect with a nation and a people which he constantly vilifies? 

It seems that beginning with the signing of the Oslo Accords until today, the political establishment in the State of Israel is suffering from the “battered spouse syndrome” in regards to the issue of peace in the region. Just like in an abusive relationship where a victim who is abused over a long period of time eventually comes to believe that they are responsible for their own abuse, so too the political establishment believes that the conflict in the region is intrinsically its fault. However, we need to remember that the Arab riots of 1920, 1921, 1929, and 1936-1939 all occurred before the establishment of the State of Israel. Furthermore, it was not the Jews but the Arabs who rejected the United Nations Partition Plan and went to war in 1948, and the liberation of Judea and Samaria only occurred because in 1967 Jordan proceeded to attack Israel.

The political establishment in Israel needs to realize that it never a good decision to stay in an abusive relationship. Giving the abuser 20% of your home as appeasement will not engender mutual understanding and respect, but will in fact only encourage the abuser to continue their actions. Negotiating for peace is a noble endeavor, but unfortunately, without a real partner in the end nothing lasting will be accomplished.