I have always been fascinated by the Israeli brand of democracy. No one can deny that it is a democracy on technical points. But I have said it before and say it again: Israel practices Semitic democracy. This is a democracy that is tribal in essence and hue. Among the Jewish people of Israel, the democratic process is healthy and vibrant.
To be fair, it also extends (though in limited measure) to the Arab-Israeli population. The Israeli Supreme Court, or its equivalent, just issued a ruling declaring that “political” assassinations are legal. Clearly, that is not a democratic ruling based on law. It is a ruling based on tribal (in other parts of the world known as ethnic) affiliation.
That same court has time and again ruled in favor of taking Palestinian prisoners haphazardly and keeping them indefinitely without charge or trial. Since Israel is used to having its cake and eating it as well, we in this part of the world are not surprised to see the Americans singing the praises of Israeli democracy and overlooking such glaring inconsistencies. Actually, the Americans have learned a lesson from this: The American Taleban gets tried in a Virginia court and the others on Cuban shores are to face a military one. America’s Founding Fathers are turning in their graves as I write and you read.
Today we are looking at some serious peace negotiations, and the Americans have to deal with this selective tribal democratic process. One of the demands of the Palestinian negotiators is the release of thousands of prisoners taken without charge and kept without legal due process. It is a legitimate demand, and even the Americans concede it. Yet the Israelis and the Americans, and along with them a chorus of Western media outlets, are branding this process as an “Israeli concession.”
We might be thick around here, but pray tell: “Concession” to what? Is it a concession for a thief to return what he willfully stole from you? This thief has been robbing the neighborhood for decades in broad daylight. For him to be accepted back into the mainstream, he will “concede” to return what he stole. Never mind that he stole living human beings with families and futures to care for; never mind that he demolished houses in collective punishment; never mind that he breaks the sound barrier over sleeping villages in Lebanon on a daily basis and cries foul when a rocket hits a rock promontory in northern Israel. It is all acceptable since Israel is a democracy and America is its papal authority “conceding” benedictions and blessings.
Barbara Streisand, in the prime of her vocal abilities two decades ago, shouted it out: “Enough is Enough.” Perhaps the Israelis should listen to this kosher voice if they are really serious about peace. Herding humanity into prison without rights simply because they are not Israelis is wrong.
That is done in some parts of the Arab world and we “concede” that we are not democratic in anything. For Israel to claim democracy and to act as it does is an insult to human intelligence. For the Americans to accept the Israeli claim is another nail in the coffin of American honesty.
Mahmoud Abbas, the Palestinian prime minister, is a man serious about his mission and serious about peace. He managed the impossible: A cease-fire from the extremists that still holds. If he is to be faced with silly Israeli holier-than-thou attitudes, you might as well kiss your peace goodbye. Israel is a spoiled child, but it knows its parent’s power and authority. Therefore it is incumbent on the Americans not to fall for such claims and to push for the meaningful and the substantial if it is really serious about this peace.
The sane and honest thing to do is to free all those illegally held by the Israelis as a counter measure to Abbas’ success in bringing about the cease-fire. It could be done superficially.
The Israelis know and the Palestinians acknowledge that Israel can round them up at a moment’s notice. So what is the big deal? Why such posturing on the Israeli part? Why can’t Israel understand that Arabs are waiting for a genuine act of peace to make them drop what miserable arms they have?
The Middle East is the land of contradictions and the unexpected. Much as Begin killed and terrorized Arab and British alike in the forties, he managed to sign with Sadat and get the Nobel Peace Prize. Oddly enough, Sharon, the murderer of Sabra and Shatilla, has the same chance. Will the man rise above his layered blubber of hatred to do something for the good of humanity? But the godfather of it all bears the ultimate responsibility. America, much as it hates to hear this, is the entity responsible for the behavior of them all.
Let the prisoners out. Leave no doubt about your intentions. Give your adversary the benefit of the doubt. Step down from your Semitic exclusivity. Hail the day for what it is worth. Then wait for the outcome. This is to all and sundry in this area, since they share the more hideous aspects of their ethnic origins and can never share the brightest spots in their history.
