At some level you have to feel sorry for the Palestinians -- as much as any other human collective they deserve to be free of foreign military occupation and to have a state of their own where they can govern or misgovern themselves in their own fashion. But has any other group ever shown such a limitless talent for putting themselves in the wrong, offending potential friends and delaying their own independence? As former Israeli foreign minister Abba Eban said, "The Palestinians never miss an opportunity to miss an opportunity." (He also said: "If Algeria introduced a resolution declaring that the earth was flat and that Israel had flattened it, it would pass by a vote of 164 to 13 with 26 abstentions.")
The latest missed opportunity came when Palestinians at the Al-Aqsa mosque took time out from worshipping their god to attack the visiting Egyptian foreign minister. Shouting "Traitor!", "Sell-out!" and other endearments they beat on the poor fellow with the soles of their shoes (the ultimate sign of disrespect in Arab culture, akin to a Canadian pounding on someone with a pair of hockey skates). To add insult to injury, Israeli soldiers had to rescue the bruised dignitary and transport him to a Zionist hospital.
To those Egyptians who watched the assault on television and who chose not to believe the wide-spread story that the attack was orchestrated by those cunning Jews, this was the last straw. An outpouring of rage and disgust aimed at the Palestinians dominated the Egyptian media for weeks. Lamented the newspaper Al-Masaa: "You beat the man who came on your behalf, and it is Israel that takes him to the hospital for treatment. What shame and disgrace you have cast upon yourselves and on your cause?" According to the influential daily Al-Ahram Palestinians were an ungrateful and hostile people, "enemies of their own cause, the enemies of their own rights, the enemies of their own struggle" and they belong in the garbage bin of history.
If angering the most powerful nation in the Arab world was not enough, the Palestinians now seem set to outrage the gay-friendly European Union by their policy of violence against male homosexuals. Jail, beatings by police or death by angry relatives are the fates of outed Palestinian gays. Some have been offered a chance to become suicide bombers in order to wipe out their shame. Where do such luckless individuals flee? To the oppressive Zionist Entity, of course -- Israel is signatory to any number of United Nations resolutions on human rights. What does Svend Robinson, arch-supporter of Yasser Arafat, make of this conundrum?
Posted by Dexter at January 5, 2004 09:04 PM