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Thu. Jan 10, 2002

Those Evil Israeli's

Those Evil Israeli’s – In the Egyptian publication Al-Ahram, a column by Ibrahim Nafie perpetuates the idea that every foreign policy move made by any non-Arab nation on this planet is done at the instigation of Israel. The world is neatly divided into two groups; Israel’s stooges, and Israel’s victims.

I wonder how Mr. Nafie explains the fact that in 1983, when Israel was on the verge of killing Yasser Afafat and the trapped remains of the PLO in Beirut, the US stepped in and sent Marines to evacuate Arafat and the PLO by sea, saving their lives. Was the US at that time being a stooge or a victim?

In this case, Mr. Nafie says it is Israel’s plan that the US should be a good little proxy and attack Iraq. ”Israeli attempts to foment such a campaign are a symptom of the hysterical approach Israel’s politicians have routinely adopted towards security. It encourages the mistaken belief that its security is subject to constant threats to justify its continuing occupation of Arab land in Palestine and Syria, yet it is the occupation that places Israel in a state of conflict with its Arab neighbours. Yet instead of resolving the conflict, and returning occupied land, Israel has chosen violence, placing itself in an unhappy confrontation with most of the international community.”

Wow, it’s Upside Down World, in which all history is inverted! In My World, it appears that since 1947 when the UN offered the Palestinians about 40% of what is now Israel proper, through not long ago when Barak offered them everything they’d asked for, except the ”Right of Return” (which any reasonable person ought to see ain’t gonna happen … ever), the Palestinians have, without exception, chosen violence over a peace agreement. And it is the Palestinians who have thusly placed themselves in an unhappy confrontation with most of the international community. In the past few months in particular, nevermind the past week. Boatloads of weapons seized during alleged negotiations for a cease fire tend to cause such impressions.

A simple, peaceful ”yes” after WWII would have resulted in a country called Palestine nearly as large as Israel that would today be approaching its 55th birthday. The offers have gotten smaller ever since, until that last one, the best it’s ever going to get. It was only good enough to start the Intifada.

”Another Israeli objective is to disrupt Arab- American relations.” Hey, no help needed there, the Israeli’s can devote that time to other mischief. From the mostly Saudi hijackers, financed by Saudi payoffs, and led by an ex-Saudi multi-millionaire, to the Palestinians who danced in the streets on 9-11, to the seemingly endless stream of vitriol that issues from government controlled Arab media and even Muslim clerics, it’s clear why there is a fracture in Arab – American relations. Only those who have poked out their own eyes cannot see it.

”Another thing Israel should realise is that it is in its own interest to stop its current war-mongering, for any military action against Iraq will inevitably lead to a unified Arab position against it…” What? Horrors! You mean the Arab nations will revoke their current friendly dispositions towards the Israeli’s?!? Sheesh, to paraphrase James Lileks, what will they do, chant ”Additional Death to Israel?” Have their suicide bombers’ exploded corpses stolen from the morgue so they can be blown up again?

If there is military action against Iraq (which, at this point, appears a big if), you can be assured Israel won’t be forcing us to start it. Nevermind the fact it will surely bring a rain of Saddam’s Special Sunshine, some new variant of the Scud attacks on Israel in the Gulf War. No, if it starts, it will be The Great Satan deciding to do so (how can we be both Satan and a stooge?), acting unilaterally, if that’s what we feel we need to do. Israel couldn’t stop us, or start us.

The most ironic part of it is that prior to 9-11, US policy was moving deliberately towards the Palestinian position, with Colin Powell planning a speech publicly affirming this. Since then, the US has had little choice but to swing back from that position. Hard. And it’s all due to the actions of Palestinian officials, and Palestinian terrorists. Not Israelis.

But the majority of voices from the Arab world seem to believe Israel is responsible for every bad thing from the 9-11 attacks themselves (the fabricated myth of 4,000 Jews told not to go to work that day), to the fact Baywatch is still seen in syndication world wide (somebody evil has got to be behind that … Osama?). Simultaneously, we are told that Arabs/Muslims are not capable of an elaborate plan such as 9-11, they don’t have the organization or the skills. The Jews do, though.

These concurrent perceptions of an omnipresent omnipotent enemy, with their middle finger in every pie, oppressing a people who consider themselves too slack to do many of the things of which they’re accused, well, it’s almost pathological. Reduced to an individual level, it’s some perverse projected bad self esteem.

”I’m pretty much a loser incapable of complex tasks, but this neighbor of mine, he can do anything, a freakin’ magician who can bend all others to his will, and pulls the strings all over town.”

”Me, I can hardly tie on my complex $2000 shoe bombs so I can go martyr myself trying to kill him.”

As Mr. Nafie suggests, there is indeed a need for one of the parties involved to re-evaluate their position and actions. Their world view and perceptions appear to be delusional, the international equivalent of the urban American bag lady wandering the street muttering about some ”Evil Bert” who is always chasing her, trying to microwave her brains through her tin foil hat.