“Did you hear that?” I asked referring to the sudden spontaneous round of applause that punctuated the comments of the last speaker.
“Yes,” replied my friend looking as surprised as I felt.
“But you have to admit, it was well-deserved.”
We were watching “In God’s Name,” a live forum that was held under the auspices of the Clinton Global Initiative and Shimon Peres had just spoken. Admittedly I was shocked.
There he had sat throughout the debate with the studied composure of a hawk stoically deflecting the accusations leveled against his government.
He dispassionately contemplated accounts of reports that detailed Israel’s human right’s abuses. He listened unflinchingly to tales of atrocities committed against the Palestinians and the arguments presented by some of his counterparts that this was the true cause of global terrorism. He watched stone-faced and serene as the various personalities exchanged their views on the illegal war that his country had just conceded defeat in as if they had emerged victorious. He patiently bided his time until it was his turn.
“Why,” he began, “did Hezbollah attack Israel? We don’t know.” “Why,” he continued, “do they hate us? We don’t know.” He then engaged in some incredulous yet convincing rhetoric that reinforced Israel’s position as the victim rather than the perpetrator and relied not on the mercy or compassion of the assembled gathering, but on their own self-interest. Who wanted to deal with terrorists or Islamic fanatics? Who didn’t want peace?
What astounded me was not the fallacious content of his platitudes but rather the amazing appeal that his artful Oscar-winning performance had on the audience. They burst into enthusiastic ovation that had been inspired not only by the script, but equally by his flawless and reasonable delivery of it. He didn’t rant and rave. On the contrary, he appeared calm and collected. In spite of all the facts statistics and odds so neatly and logically stacked up against him by the other more glamorous participants, Peres, quite effortlessly it seemed, stole the show.
The speakers representing this part of the world were very good. Probably some of the best we have. They complained about how it was that global terrorism had proliferated due to the failure to bring a resolution to the Palestinian crisis. They complained coherently about Iraq and Lebanon.
They complained bitterly about how the West had turned a blind eye to the suffering that had become a part of the daily routine in many parts of the Middle East. They complained about how many Arabs were dying and suffering and yet nothing was being done to alleviate this. They complained about America’s role in perpetuating and compounding these dilemmas. They had every right to complain and they complained a lot. This incident just crystallized the rather tragic realization in my own mind that, as Arabs and Muslims, we sadly have no concept of how to win people over. In fact, more often than not, we actually end up doing diametrically the opposite. One thing that I know for sure is that, regardless of the provocation, no one likes people who whine and complain.
I will never forget one of the first instructions I was given when I first started working. “Don’t bring me problems,” said my boss. “Bring me solutions.” I think that that’s where our deepest inadequacy lies. The outside world perceives us to be a bunch of whiners who have nothing better to do in life than melodramatically lament our common plight without offering any constructive remedies for it. We discuss our miserable situation over copious amounts of Arabic coffee, hold lots of conferences where we expound our thoughts about the various issues we are facing and cunningly devise the most intricate of global conspiracy theories to ascribe our misfortunes to. It’s always everyone else who is to blame for our lack of education, disunity and poor economic progress. Never ourselves.
But do we come up with solutions? No. Do we learn from our mistakes? No. Do we learn from the successes of others who have been in a similar situation to ours? No.
What we do however, most breathtakingly brilliantly, is talk talk talk and yet unabashedly refuse to substantiate all this idle chitchat with any action. We criticize and pour scorn upon Israel, which, in spite of everything else, could have actually taught us very important lessons in how to overcome our current situation.
Jews have been targeted and persecuted since time immemorial but did they sit around coffee shops complaining? No. They didn’t have the time. They were too busy educating themselves, working hard and buying up those very media institutions that are now allowing them to influence the world. They counteracted systematic campaigns of disinformation by spreading their own information. They spent their holidays strategizing and planning for the future, not traipsing around the couture houses of Paris and Milan. They funded think tanks and lobbied important politicians, not hobnobbed with the jet set in the south of France. In spite of being surrounded by a sea of Arab neighbors, they didn’t complain about how they were unfavorably disposed but instead turned the situation around making sure that everyone in the region danced to their tune.
One of my friends told me recently that the true definition of insanity is repeating the same pattern of action again and again in the anticipation of expecting a different result. I don’t think I have to spell it out, do I?
