An e-newsletter delivering updates and analysis on current issues about Israel and the Middle East conflict
Another Liberal Realizes that His Guilt about Israel's "Treatment" of the Palestinians Was Misplaced
Dear Friend of FLAME:
While pressure continues unabated from the U.S. and the European Union on Israel to make concessions to advance the "peace process," few pundits or politicians question the readiness of the Palestinians to take even the simplest, most fundamental steps toward peace.
No wonder we were heartened to see the news report below from The Suburban, Quebec's largest English-language weekly newspaper, which interviewed Irwin Cotler, a member of the Canadian parliament (MP) and the country's former minister of justice and attorney general, upon his recent return from Israel and the West Bank. What Cotler saw and reveals here is nothing secret---any journalist or politician could observe and report the same thing---but few have the guts.
Cotler, who is also a professor of law (on leave) at McGill University, here updates us on attitudes of supposedly "responsible" Palestinian factions toward Jews in general and Israel in particular. Of course, we know that the Islamist Hamas advocates Israel's destruction and the murder and/or banishment of all Jews in the Middle East---because they openly admit it. But what of Israel's "partners in peace"---Abbas and his Fatah party in the West Bank---who receive hundreds of millions of dollars in support from the U.S., the European Union and Israel itself? They make nice with Condoleeza Rice when she visits, but how eager are they really to embrace peace and their Jewish neighbors?
Cotler's report is damning to say the least. He notes that the Palestinians refuse to give up their "culture of incitement," and that that is the greatest obstacle to peace. The shame of Cotler's observations is that he's one of the few credible sources to tell the truth about the virulent, ingrained anti-Semitism that pervades Palestinian society both in Gaza and the West Bank. As Cotler's remarks confirm, to call Abbas a moderate---the man whose doctoral dissertation was an attempt to refute the Holocaust---is to call Hitler a moderate.
Please take a few minutes to review this media briefing with Irwin Cotler. The next time you hear someone say that Israel should try harder to make peace, remind them of the truth: There can be no peace until the Palestinians create an atmosphere conducive to peace among their own people---a willingness to give up racism and hate toward the Jews of Israel.
Jim Sinkinson,
Director, FLAME
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Palestinian 'peace partners' promote hate, reports Canadian MP Irwin Cotler
By Joel Goldenberg, The Suburban, August 20, 2008
The Palestinian Authority, usually referred to as Israel's "peace partner," is engaged in the promotion of hate and incitement against Israel and Jews in general, says Mount Royal MP Irwin Cotler.
Cotler, who recently visited Israel and the West Bank, told a recent media briefing that a "just and lasting peace" between the Israelis and Palestinians needs to be accompanied by a "culture of peace, where each country educates its people as to the legitimacy of the other and the desirability of peace.
"What we're witnessing, and I'm not talking about Hamas—their charter with its genocidal objective, anti-Semitic ideology and terrorist instrumentality—is known. I'm talking about the Palestinian Authority. I regret to say, as a result of my own work this summer, there are many items that constitute a culture of incitement, not a culture of peace. This is being ignored to the detriment, not only of the peace process and the legitimacy of Israel, but also of the Palestinians themselves.
"As I told them in my discussions with them, hate breeds hate. If you have a culture of incitement and hate, you're going to create a culture of hate that is pervasive in a Palestinian society itself."
He said those guilty of this include academics and the government-controlled broadcasting system.
"When I was there, I was shocked to see on their own television references to Israel's conducting of Nazi-like experiments on Palestinian prisoners. Prisoners are very important for Palestinian society, for families, and the notion that their family members are being subjected to Nazi-like experiments just breeds hatred and contempt for Jews."
Cotler said the most disturbing and ignored incitement comes from the Palestinian leadership itself, including the PA's president Mahmoud Abbas.
"People don't realize that Abbas signed a law, on the very day there was a suicide terrorist attack in December 2005 against Israel, providing monthly stipends for the families of suicide bombers. In January 2007, Abbas addressed a large crowd that was estimated as being over 100,000, in which he said 'the sons of Israel are mentioned in the Koran as those who are corrupting humanity on Earth.'
"Abbas has never recognized Israel's legitimacy as a Jewish state. What was also passed over was a meeting of Arab countries in Senegal last March. During that meeting, Abbas spoke of the Palestinians as being the object of an ethnic cleansing and, worse, that Palestinians are facing a campaign of annihilation by Israel and that Israel perpetrates barbaric attacks against defenceless Palestinians."
Cotler said Abbas also celebrated Israel's release of a Lebanese terrorist who killed members of an Israeli family in exchange for the return of the bodies of two Israeli soldiers killed in 2006.
"Abbas personally sent his own expressions of celebrations. Knowing that Israel was in mourning was, tragically, a national day of celebration in Lebanon.
"This is part of another disturbing manifestation of that culture of incitement. That's the greatest threat to a just and lasting peace."
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