What does it mean to be a Palestinian in Israel?

Palestinians trapped in Israel have a different life compared to those in Gaza and West Bank. But very often, their stories goes unheard.

The Palestinians in Israel right from 1948 suffer from marginalization, segregation and democratic illusion. Haneen Zoabi, the first lady to represent Palestinians in Israeli Knesset (Parliament),  revealed the depth of atrocities being carried out by the Jewish State.

She stated ‘Even calling ourselves Palestinians is derogatory. Hence, we are called as ‘Israeli Arabs’. In 2007, Palestinians have been termed as ‘strategic threat’ for Israel. A couple of decades after 1967, Israel was not very frightened with peaceful Palestinian protests. But the power of first and second Intifadah changed everything.

Land Confiscation by Jewish National Fund has become prominent. In the coming months, 8000 dumas of Palestinian land in South of Israel is going to be confiscated. Also, Israel promotes foreign workers instead of Palestinians. Right after 1948, rich and educated Palestinians were expelled from Israel so that they do not get a chance to promote their culture. Hence today, there is no cinema, clubs or vibrant nightlife in Israel.

Palestinian peasants are not allowed to grow certain crops. Milk and butter is rare for them. They are made dependent on Israeli market products to exist. Also, the mantra of hating Palestinians have been cultivated in the minds of the Israelis so that they can manufacture a certain idea of unity amongst themselves. Normal citizens are taught, right from their birth to be Zionist.

Haneen questions that in the past few years, Israel has grown obsessive with being called a democracy. This lunatic obsession states that Israel is insecure and hence, would do everything possible to attain the respect at international platform.

Like every politician Haneen does not just blame the Israelis for the plight of Palestinians but also states that even her own Arabs and Palestinians have a role to play. For example, Hamas and Fatah, both do not pay heed to the problems suffered by Palestinians inside Israel. Very often, their issues are ignored as an ‘internal or domestic problem’.

Haneen stated that ‘Negotiation can not be a substitute for struggle.’ When asked, where she gets her strength from, she simply replied ‘There are two options. One is to struggle hard while the other is to give up. For me, giving up is the most difficult part. Hence, I choose to struggle.’

Due to her audacity and frankness, the Israeli parliament is currently looking for political issues through which they can strip her off from the Knesset. With 1000 voters for her Balaad party, Haneen Zaobi tries to avoid revealing the tensions behind her smile as a disguise.

Why Saudi Arabia has emerged as a haven for foreign diplomacy against Syria?

Before the second ‘Friends of Syria’s meeting was going to be held in Istanbul on 1st April, US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton was busy globetrotting in Saudi Arabia and Turkey. The aim was to enhance diplomatic efforts against Bashar al Assad, fact that has become the burning topic of G-8 Summit, BRICS meeting and Arab League’s propaganda.

Interestingly, apart from Turkey which hits the limelight for garnering support against Assad, Saudi Arabia has evolved into a new haven. Hillary Clinton met Saudi King Abdullah and the Foreign Minister Prince Saud al Faisal. Apparently, Saudi Arabia and Turkey have been arming the rebels of Syria against the Army- a fact that was confessed after these nations mustered the courage to accept it internationally. Another objective of Hillary Clinton was also to attend the Gulf Cooperation Council-US strategic cooperation forum. Turning away from Syria, this aimed to target Iran and its nuclear power ‘development’. Behind the disguise of bilateral and regional issues, exists the Joan Of Arc narrative to declare ‘Iran and Syria’ as the new axis of evil.  Somewhere perhaps, President Bush might be having the last laugh.

This Friday Turkish Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan is going to hold diplomatic talks with Saudi’s King Abdullah about ‘Iran’ and “Syria’. Both Turkey and Saudi Arabia are predominantly Sunni Muslim majority countries. While Turkey has revolutionised its identity for the sake of joining the EU, Saudi Arabia stands to be audaciously dominating the population of its kingdom, denying them liberties and democracy.

Theories of international relations state that democracy enlargement does not mean ‘regime change’- the aim of US and Western allies. Endorsing a proxy government, endowing ‘popular’ democracy rather than ‘Representative democracy’ is not the right deal. Perhaps, all these leaders should learn from Venezuela’s president Hugo Chavez who has implemented grassroots reform and never forgot the main cause that made him win- the fight for the better livelihood of the poor.

Eventually, the entire episode in Syria, even after the acceptance of the 6 point peace plan in Syria, is nothing but a manipulated game, or perhaps an already fixed cricket match. The peace plan puts no pressure on Assad to abdicate and hence, it does not change anything. The constitution was put to referendum and Syria is going to have its parliamentary elections soon. Kofi Annan, who never questioned the illegal NATO bombing in Bosnia is suddenly looked up as a ‘Messiah’ just because he admitted to BBC that Iraq invasion by US was illegal. Mind you, he was not looking for second term as UN Secretary General then as he was during the time of Kosovo.

In a nutshell, Saudi Arabia and Turkey are just flaunting their imperialist agendas under the mask of Islam which might not give them anything in the end. Certainly, not the lives of innocent civilians who are dead in Syria. A number that rose to 9000 according to UN, recently.

Book Review: Nationalist Voices in Jordan- The street and the State

Reading ‘Nationalist Voices in Jordan‘ is similar to watching the history rebuild itself in a dramatic yet educating manner.      Dr. Betty S. Anderson, an associate Professor of Middle East History at Boston University, has explained how Hashemite regime literally formulated Jordan’s history. Jordan is described as a weak country that struggles to find its own identity and is also dependent on developed countries for foreign aid.

Dr. Anderson acknowledges why Hashemites faced a powerful opposition movement in 1950s by Jordanian National Movement. And then she follows the trail of investigating why JNM failed, in fact, destroyed itself, altogether. As she presents her analysis, it is often defended by previous works of well known intellectuals such as Partha Chatterjee, Homi Bhabha, John Roberts, Gregory Starrett, etc.

Taking an academic stand, the book stresses how, decade after decade, students were taught how Jordan to stood at the epicenter of a potential reunion of divided Arab countries because of Hashemite leadership. Also, in Jordan and Palestine, the debates about ‘inner’ and ‘outer’ domains played out on the ground in the 20th century because political activity came hand in hand with Nationalist discourse.

Initially, an opposition movement ‘Transjordan for Transjordanians’ failed to construct itself. Support for the Hashemites and British gained due to the institutions they built- the bureaucracy, army, schools, clubs as well as services like transportation and electricity. A reciprocal relationship was established between land reform and peasants.

Interestingly, these platforms later led to vigorous debates and culmination of JNM. Also, the question of Jordanian national identity became more complex when Palestinians teams with Jordanian colleagues to form JNM.

For a very long time- boundaries, politics and strategies defined the citizenry of Jordan. Dr. Anderson describes how under Britain’s guidance, Abdullah relied on Palestinian officials to run his government. Over the years, the Muslim Brotherhood grew in Jordan, but just as a side-kick of Hashemite regime that applied opportunistic tactics to voice against the JNM.

JNM failed in 1957 due to inner differences and frequent conflicts between the political leaders. The internal politics was also weakened through involvement of countries like US, Britain, Egypt and Syria. Even the Ba’th Party finally split in 1960s.

The book does not discuss ‘Black September’ and the change in circumstances that finally led to King Hussain’s hatred for Palestinians. Also, Dr. Anderson does not use interview pieces from common Jordanians who could have provided a better insight into their daily lives and how it has changed over the years. The foreign relations of Jordan are not exposed, apart from the role played by the British right from its germination.

In the end, Dr. Anderson exposes how Jordan has turned into a perfect example of how a colonial state with foreign leadership can be transformed into a nation.

Russia’s new step in Syria’s conflict, a plan against Arab League’s sluggishness

Gennady Gatilov, the Deputy Foreign Minister of Russia, in his tirade against ‘Friends of Syria’ in Istanbul on 1st April, discredited the entire meeting. He stated that ‘many Syrians do not consider ‘Friends of Syria’ as their friend’. Indeed, few diplomats reckon that FOS members are bought by Israel.

Until last week, the 6 point peace plan of UN Envoy Kofi Annan and Assad’s acceptance proved to be another matter to ignore. Clashes grew further worse. On one hand, Assad who calls the rebellions as foreign agents or terrorists. demanded their surrender while the rebels wanted the government’s military to halt. For sometime, it seemed like the ‘Israel-Palestine’ conflict is wearing another disguise.  I wonder what Critical Theorists and Contructivists would define this respective scenario as.

In another major development, the Arab League perhaps has not learnt from its failure in Iraq’s meeting. Now, the Arab League wants to embark on the special mission of initiating an Arab League Tribunal in Syria to impart justice to the war crimes. New York Times gladly mentions the success of such tribunals in Serbia, Bosnia and Croatia. But the plan will not work. Firstly, Syria is smart enough to understand that this is another conspiracy of the Arab countries. Nothing but a vindictive measure to punish Syria for its political diplomacy with Iran. Secondly, has the international community obliterated to the results of Truth and Reconciliation Commission in South Africa which gave dismal results for the anti-apartheid struggle.

But what is much more interesting right now is the sudden invitation of Russia towards the Foreign Minister of Syria. Next Tuesday Syrian foreign minister, Walid al-Moallem will hold talks with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, a diplomat who has been getting a lot of media attention lately. What interests me is that Russia asked the NCC (the National Coordination Committee) to come over to Moscow but not the SNC and the other defected opposition parties. Undoubtedly, Russia is employing a form of political containment which would ensure different results.

Book Review: Palestinians in Israel: Segregation, Discrimination and Democracy

Ben White in his recent book ‘ Palestinians in Israel’ takes a stand to explain how the Israeli gaze has turned towards to the unfinished war of 1948.
Palestinians in Israel suffer from ‘segregation, discrimination and democracy‘. The Jewish National Fund, Jewish Agency and new umbrella council of NGOs have deliberately curtailed the ‘Bedouin Expansion‘. “Judaising Negev and Galilee‘ is one of the prime agendas of Israel’s ethnocracy. Upper Nazreth scares the government for being the largest Palestinian city inside the pre 1967 borders. That’s exactly why Menachem Begin’s government planned for a series of settlements called Mitzpim to be placed at the higher topographical points in Upper Nazreth.

Ben White has dedicated this book to Ameer Markhoul, his wife Janin and their 2 daughters. Markhoul, the director of Arab NGO Network Ittijah was arrested in May 2010. He was convicted of espionage for Hezbollah and has been detained for the past 2 years without any legal trial.

A brief glimpse is provided into Haneen Zoabi‘s life and how she has become object of hatred, along with being physically assaulted for her pro-Palestinian views in the Knesset. MK Yarin Levin, the Head of House Committe has even called her a disgrace in the Knesset. Haneen wrote the preface for this book and she describes how Palestinians being called as ‘Arabs in Israel’ or “Israel Arab’s is creating a new Israeli Arab identity, ie, one of the tacit goals of the state.’

The 15th Knesset (1999-2002) has played an active role in redrawing the boundaries of Arab citizenship, enacting a number of discriminatory laws affecting Palestinian citizens political expression, family life and economic status. Also, Netanyahu’s government replaced all Arab names on road sides with Jewish ones and the Palestinian citizens were forbidden to teach Nakba.

In just 100 pages, White has produced an interesting account of how Israel has been using the ‘exclusionary land regime‘ game to discriminate Palestinians. The three main tools include dispossession, the regime for ownership and privatisation of non-private land and system regulating land development and land use planning. The passing of ‘Absentee Property Law’ in 1950 made it even more difficult for Palestinians to claim ownership of their own land.

The ‘Green Patrol’, a paramilitary enforcement unity has removed 900 Bedouin villages in the past years. As a result, Palestinian minority that makes 20% of the population, holds only 3.5% of the states land.  The Palestinians face the deliberate discrimination in education and job markets also. Israel has been intelligently imparting low-class education and investment on Palestinian students so that there is a huge gap between them and Israeli students in the later job market stage.

In the last chapter, ‘Rethink and Re-imagine’, White explains how Palestinian people know from decades that even the smallest gains in their struggle for liberation are not achieved without a fight or a cost. He urges the readers to ‘think that how as a result of Israeli policies and legislation, one in seven Palestinians is a 2nd class citizen, a third are under military rule without citizenship and half of all Palestinians are outside the borders, disposed and forbidden from returning.’

He concludes with the words of Ameer Markhoul from the prison, ‘For in a dictatorship, everything goes well until the last 15 minutes’