World-Renowned Muslim Arab-Israeli Journalist Comes to UCI
This was printed in UCI’s New University newspaper the week of 3/2/09.
Anteaters for Israel, UCI’s pro-Israel group, invited Khaled Abu Toameh to speak about the Israel-Palestinian conflict last Wednesday. Toameh is an internationally renowned Muslim Arab-Israeli journalist acclaimed for his moderate stance that stems from his intimate experience in the conflict. Exemplary of this is his 7 years of writing for a Palestinian Liberation Organization newspaper and his current employment by the Jerusalem Post. He currently lives in Ramallah.
Toameh touched on many sensitive subjects, addressing them with a refreshingly moderate perspective that wasn’t precisely anti-Palestinian or anti-Israel. He discussed Yasser Arafat, the now-dead chairman of the PLO, and criticized the PLO’s and Hama’s past actions. He also criticized Israel for expanding its settlements following the Oslo Accords, but admitted it happened because Arafat didn’t address it in Oslo.
“Israel expanded its existing settlements because Arafat and the PLO forgot in the Oslo Accords to demand [Israel] stopping the settlements,” he said. “They forgot because they were in a rush to get the $6.5 billion to the PLO.”
Toameh also criticized Israel and America for allowing the terrorist organization Hamas to rise to power in the Gaza Strip.
“The Americans who asked for a free democratic election went to the guys who lost, [the PLO],” Toameh explained, “and gave them guns and money and said, Folks, here are your weapons, please take down these other guys [Hamas]… But as soon as Hamas started shooting, the PLO people ran away.”
It was good to hear Toameh recognize that peace with Hamas was implicitly impossible, as the terrorist organization’s charter calls for the genocide of Jews and the destruction of Israel.
“If anyone thinks Hamas is going to wake up one morning and sing Hatikvah [Israeli national anthem] or recognize Israeli’s right to exist,” Toameh stated, “you’re sadly mistaken. Israel said to Hamas, ‘If you want our money, here are our 3 conditions: denounce violence, recognize our right to exist, recognize legitimacy of past agreements.’ Hamas told them to go away.”
When elaborating on the matter, Toameh clarified that while peace with Hamas is impossible, it is still plausible to reach an “arrangement with them” and that Israel should “reach an agreement with anyone [it] can; talk with anyone who wants to talk and shoot at anyone who wants to shoot.”
One audience member complained that Toameh placed a disproportionate amount of blame on the corrupt Palestinian governments such as the PLO, Hamas, and Fatah (the so-called “moderate” alternative government to Hamas). Toameh explained that if Hamas didn’t want Israeli interference in Gaza, it should not have kidnapped an Israeli soldier.
“We have been asking these Jews to leave Gaza for 38 years,” he said over the audience member’s protests. “They finally do exactly what we ask and dismantle settlements. Then when they leave, we knock on their door and say ‘Give me electricity and water and medicine’… Why don’t we ask our Arab brothers for help? Gaza has a joint border with Israel and Egypt. Between Gaza and Israel, there are 2 border crossing, with Egypt 1. The border crossings with Israel were open 90% of the time. The one with Egypt closed 98% of the time. Mubarak and the rest of the Arab world withheld aid.”
Toameh added that this behavior was “shameful and disgraceful for the Arabs”.
When the audience member began describing the atrocious living conditions in Gaza after the recent Israeli offensive there, Toameh called it “awful, what happened in Gaza was awful.” He proceeded to ask the audience member, “But why did the Jews go mad? Let’s be honest. For 8 years, rocket after rocket [from Hamas], and Israel was warning them. Even Mubarak [Egypt’s president] was saying ‘Every rocket brings us closer to an Israeli operation’. Why were they shooting? The Jews left. There was no reason to shoot.”
After the audience finished applauding, Toameh added heatedly that after the Israeli withdrawal from Gaza, the PLO and later Hamas should have turned it into “Hong Kong. We should have built a really modern place and showed Israel, see, we don’t need you. Instead we launched rockets.”
Toameh went on say to he believed Israel should “stay out of Palestinian affairs because it backfires” and that “the problem is that Jews go to the Palestinians, who say ‘Sorry, we’re too busy killing each other in this power struggle’. The only thing that’s working over there is [Israel] gives up land and gets terrorism.”
When asked how Toameh responds to the anti-Israel crowd and people who do not criticize Israel but outright demonize it, Toameh answered, “Most of these people spitting this hatred– apartheid, racism, imperialism, etcetera– have never been to that part of the world. If you are a foreigner and you want to help, go to a Palestinian refugee camp and teach them to speak English so they can learn about peace.
In response to whether or not Toameh believed Hamas is simply re-arming for another war, Toameh sighed, “Unfortunately, they are. Everyone is. This last war didn’t end in victory for anyone. Both sides are just waiting for the second round. It’s only a matter of time before it explodes again in our faces.”
Between the Muslim Student Union dragging in anti-Israel extremists and AFI’s pro-Israel speakers, it was a breath of fresh air to hear the conflict from the perspective of an experience moderate. Because of Toameh’s moderate platform, audience members did not have to deal with him demonizing or inflating any particular side.
“We should stop dreaming about coexistence and harmony and peace… Jews and Palestinians don’t want to see each other,” Toameh said. “The only solution is separation. Keep the conflict on very low flames until something good happens”.
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It’s refreshing to see someone speak out who knows the reality of the Israeli-Palestinian situation. Too bad there aren’t more people like him.