Gideon Levy:The Palestinians are the new Jews


·         Published 02:58 22.09.11
·         Latest update 02:58 22.09.11
The Palestinians are the new Jews
The Palestinians are the new Jews and their leaders are amazingly similar to the former Zionist leaders.
The Palestinians are the new Jews
The Palestinians are the new Jews and their leaders are amazingly similar to the former Zionist leaders.
By Gideon Levy
Look at the Palestinians and look at us. Look at their leaders and recall ours. Not, of course, those we have today, but those we once had, the ones who established the state for us. The Palestinians are the new Jews and their leaders are amazingly similar to the former Zionist leaders.Their David Ben-Gurion is no longer with them - Yasser Arafat died under mysterious circumstances - but look at Mahmoud Abbas: Isn't he Levi Eshkol? Saeb Erekat - isn't he Abba Eban? Salam Fayyad - isn't he Pinhas Sapir or Eliezer Kaplan? The same moderation, the same nondescript personality, the same pragmatism, the same political wisdom and even, to some degree, the same sense of humor. To take what is attainable, to give up the big dreams - in the partition plan as in the two-state solution.Then it was the pragmatic Zionist leaders who conceded and compromised, now it is the pragmatic leaders of the Palestinian Authority. At the time they insisted on getting it all, now it's our turn. Both were ambushed by an internal opposition that was extremist, ultranationalist and uncompromising.The Palestinian group that is now going to the United Nations should remind Israelis of the Zionist group that turned to the same organization 64 years earlier. Yes, there are differences. And yet the similarity is captivating: Now they are the weak versus the strong, David versus Goliath, their Qassam can't help but remind us of our Davidka.They are now the ones whose cause is just in the eyes of the world. The same world that understood in November 1947 that the Jews (and the Palestinians ) deserve a state, understands in September 2011 that the Palestinians finally deserve a state. Then it was after the trauma of the Holocaust, now it is after the trauma of the occupation, without making comparisons.In the coming days people will once against be glued to their radios counting votes: Russia - yes; the United States - no; Argentina - abstains. Doesn't it remind us of forgotten times? The United Nations has grown since then, but the proportion will be similar: an absolute majority in favor. The difference: The great powers supported partition at the time, the great power is now opposed to a state. But the moral validity remains the same, there is no longer anyone in the world who can seriously claim that they don't deserve what we deserved, without being a racist, a chauvinist or a cynical opportunist.It is amazing how Israelis are unwilling to see the similarities, it is amazing how they are falling plundered and blind in the face of the brainwashing campaign and the scare tactics through which recognition of Palestinian rights is being presented as a threat and an existential danger, and nothing more.Why is it that there aren't enough Israelis who see the opportunity and hope for Israel represented by this diplomatic step? Yes, for Israel too. And why is it that there aren't enough Israelis who properly see the clear fact that the heart of almost the entire world is with the Palestinians, and that it isn't ringing a belated and deafening wake-up call for them?Israel at its birth was considered a model society, far more than Palestine at its birth. It bequeathed the world socialist and feminist values, the kibbutz and the moshav, absorption of immigrants and equality of women - a lighthouse of equality and social justice. The Palestinians are now in an inferior position: Their society is more corrupt and less egalitarian than ours, nor did they establish a state-in-the-making for themselves, with impressive institutions such as the ones we had.But here the situation has become reversed beyond recognition. Israel of 2011 is no longer considered a model society in any area. With quite a number of corrupt Israeli politicians in prison or on the way there, with capitalism that is quite swinish and an occupation that is quite brutal, the story of the great national and social success of the 20th century is now considered a story of missed opportunity of the 21st century. The path to repairing this fateful missed opportunity must now be by way of a new partition plan.The Palestinians bled for 63 years and paid the price for the fateful mistake of their leaders' opposition to the 1947 partition plan; the Israelis must not now have regrets for another 63 years and pay a high price for their stubborn and surprising opposition to the 2011 partition plan. Look at them and look at us. They are what we once were.

        Breaking News
        Thursday, September 22, 2011
        21:56U.S.: Ahmadinejad used anti-Semitic slurs instead of addressing his people’s aspirations (Haaretz)
        21:08Egypt wins UN atomic agency board seat over Egypt (Reuters)
        20:45At least four killed and dozens arrested in fresh crackdown by Syria security forces (DPA)
        20:08U.S. delegation walks out of UN as Iran's Ahmedinejad delivers address (Reuters)
        19:26United States and Turkey launch joint conference on fighting terror in wake of Arab Spring (DPA)
        17:51Jon Voight at anti-Durban conference: I am glad people do not let it go by and confront it (Haaretz)
        17:27Eli Wiesel: When Ahmadinejad speaks today, the hall should be empty (Haaretz)
        17:00Two Americans released from Iranian prison reunited with families in Oman (AP)
        16:01Police on alert for missing 35-year-old man Borislov Portnov from Ashdod (Ch. 10)
        14:56Libyan forces say taken all parts of Gadhafi stronghold of Sabha (Reuters)
        14:43Gadhafi aide: NATO airstrikes, NTC shelling kill 151 civilians in Sirte (Reuters)
        14:20NTC investigating report that Gadhafi fled from southwestern city Sabha (AP)
        13:50NATO: Gadhafi loyalists still dangerous, continue using violence against population (AP)
        13:29Latvia PM: We will try to convince EU to support Israel at UN (Ch. 10)
        13:11About 50 Palestinians hurl stones near Beit Omer, south of Bethlehem (Ch. 10)
        12:55Police arrest man suspected of murdering 80-year-old woman in retirement home (Ch. 10)
        12:49NATO sees end to its Libya mission within 90 days (Reuters)
        12:28Iran displays missiles on anniversary of Iraq war (AP)
        11:58Turkey: Kurdish rebels kill 3 people (AP)
        11:26Syria state-run media says armed group ambushed police bus, killing 5 officers (AP)
        10:54Rabbi Meir Kahane's grandson banned from entering West Bank for three months (Haaretz)
        10:51IDF issues 3-month ban from West Bank to Meir Kahane's grandson (Haaretz)
        10:29Report: U.S. unmanned aircraft bombs al-Qaida base in southern Yemen, killing 10 (Haaretz)
        10:29Report: U.S. drone bombs al-Qaida base in southern Yemen killing 10 (Haaretz)
        09:58Report: Syria troops amass in key protest hubs across country (DPA)
        09:44Tzipi Livni to Shelly Yachimovich: Labor is Kadima's natural political partner (Ch. 10)
        09:00UN chief to Netanyahu: Avoid using harsh penalties against PA (Haaretz)
        08:35FM Lieberman: Quartet statement could restart Mideast peace (Israel Radio)
        06:35PM Netanyahu in NY: We have to negotiate in order to get peace (Haaretz)
        05:42Report: Libya NTC finds $23 million worth of assets not spent by Gadhafi in central bank (Reuters)
        04:32Islamic cultural center near site of 9/11 attacks, New York opens its doors (AP)
        03:26Obama to Abbas: U.S. will veto Palestinians at UN (Reuters)
        02:07At least 16 killed as clashes shatter Yemen truce (DPA)
        01:33Tunisia army kills armed infiltrators near Algeria (Reuters)
        00:25Shelly Yachimovich wins elections for Labor Party leader by 54% of the vote (Haaretz)

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