WHILE many Arab youths were loafing idly in the streets, Ezzuddin Al-Masri chose to become a martyr. He voluntarily blew himself up in an Israeli restaurant in order to protest against the wrongs Israel regularly commits against Palestinians. The young martyr entered the restaurant wearing a white T-shirt without pictures or portraits of dissolute actors or actresses. The young martyr did not enter the restaurant to flirt with the young women who were there. Nor did he ostentatiously open his wallet to show that it was full of money. Instead, he set off an explosion to protest what the Israelis have done — and are doing — to his people. And in so doing, he died.
His action has caused the Arabs to take notice of him. Even the most useless of Arabs was impressed by his martyrdom. Some of these same Arabs, however, were quick to denounce the operation in order to satisfy the Jews and the Americans. On the contrary, neither the Jews nor the Americans will be satisfied by any Arab denunciations — any more than they would be moved by Arab denunciations of biased peace plans designed solely to see that the occupiers of Palestinian land sleep soundly and safely on the land they have stolen.
In fact, the intifada has become a path to victory for the Palestinians and a tool for showing the duplicity of the Israelis and the Israeli government. The success of the intifada is shown by the number of Jewish families who have left the country, convinced that Palestine is not the promised land contrary to what they were led to believe.
More than 50 years have passed during which the Arabs have presented their case time and time again to the United Nations. They have adhered to UN resolutions while the Israelis have not. The Arabs must understand that whatever is taken by force will have to be reclaimed by force.
Because of valorous resistance, Israel had no choice but to abandon its occupation of southern Lebanon and leave in shame and disgrace. If the Arabs believe that their armies are not strong enough to confront the Jews because of America’s unswerving support for them, then the Arabs should leave the Palestinians to defend themselves and bear the consequences.
I recall the Arab media’s role in support of the intifada in its early days. I can also see how that same media drifted slowly and easily back to reporting football games and the latest fashions and scandals. Many Arabs know the names of football players and goalies without any prompting. Do they also know the names of the martyrs who have sacrificed themselves for their people and their religion?
Why does Zen TV not wake up and remember that it was founded by Arab money? Why does it not emphasize the deeds of the Palestinian martyrs instead of airing the empty tales of Madonna’s life and other frivolous singers, both Eastern and Western? Sadly, the road leading to the state of Palestine and the liberation of the Al-Aqsa Mosque remains a long one. I wonder why we do not add to our school curriculum subjects related to the Palestinian issue, the sacrifices of their heroes and the intifada. Our young people should be enlightened about the struggle against the Jews and their supporters.
The latest outrage has been the occupation of Orient House by the Israelis. Ariel Sharon has stated that there is no question of ending the occupation; in other words, it is forever. How have the Arabs responded. Verbal denunciations of course from some quarters while many others have kept silent. I fear that the occupation of Orient House is part of a Jewish plan to occupy all of Palestine and demolish the Al-Aqsa Mosque in order to erect a new temple.
When the intifada began, I thanked Sharon for his visit to the Al-Aqsa Mosque. Without that visit, the present intifada would not have happened. Now again I have to thank the citizens of Israel for electing Sharon their prime minister. The more savage he becomes and the more he obstructs peace, the more the intifada will burn and the more martyrs such as Ezzuddin Al-Masri we will see. The result will be that the Israelis will never sleep and will never be able to rest until Palestine is returned to its true owners.
