There is only one word to describe the former Jordanian minister of culture Salah Jarrar: delusional. In his peace proposal, to compete with President Trump's, he suggests that all Jews who came to Israel after 1917 'will return to the countries from whence they came, taking nothing with them'. The 850, 000 Jewish refugees who fled Arab countries will certainly be keen to return (sarcasm off). And what about the five million Arab refugees who have fled Syria and the four million Iraqis displaced from the country? Should they all go back? See this MEMRI report. (With thanks: Lily)
Salah Jarrar: delusional
"Amid this dangerous reality... we must
end our silence and idleness and declare, first of all, that we
categorically oppose all the Zionist and American plans and that we will
be the ones to choose the deal we want as a solution [to the conflict].
It will be the Deal of [our] Lifetimes, not the Deal of the Century,
and will include the following clauses:
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The Israeli occupation of the Palestinian lands between the Mediterranean and the Jordan River will end.
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All the Jews who came to Israel after the Balfour Declaration of
1917, as well as their children and descendants, will return to the
countries from which they came, without taking anything with them.
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The U.S. and Britain will compensate the Palestinians for all the
damage caused by the Zionist occupation to the land and its people.
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The U.S. and Britain will compensate the Arab states for the damage
caused to them by the Zionist aggression against their lands, and for
hosting the [Palestinian] refugees throughout the years of occupation.
-
All Israelis who took part in killing Palestinians will be turned
over to the Palestinians to be prosecuted and to receive the punishment
they deserve.
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The Palestinian refugees will return to their homes and their property.
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The leadership of the Zionist occupation will sign a document stating
that they have no rights, historical or otherwise, in Palestine.
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Should the Israeli side, or its American ally, wish to negotiate
about any of these clauses, this will be put to referendum among the
Palestinian people, and [negotiations will occur] only if all the
children of Palestine and the families of all the martyrs agree to this.
Some may claim that the above clauses
[describe] a dream that cannot be realized given the current state of
the Arab nation. [But] I say that the current state, grave as it is,
does not deprive anyone of his rights, and that these clauses [describe]
our rights and we must continue to demand them, whether we achieve them
today or at a future time..."
I'm a great admirer of your work. But I wonder if you and MEMRI may have missed the mark here. This piece has all the attributes, in my opinion, of scorn and sarcasm directed at the Trump peace proposals for being touted as a "great and generous offer." Isn't it likely that Jarrar meant his response to be a Swiftian, over-the -top response to what Jordanians and Palestinians see as a completely one-sided proposal on the part of the American administration?
ReplyDeleteThat is not to suggest that many pro-Palestinian supporters may not actually believe that this is what real "justice" looks like. But only that Jarrar was giving back in kind a proposal that he found completely dishonest and disingenuous, with his own Arab version of one-sidedness.
I fail to see how sarcasm can help here!
ReplyDeleteLets assume for the moment that he wasnt being sarcastic but deadly serious. Then his statement just shows typical arab superiority, similar to white superiority. If jews should go back to their countries of origin, then so should the arabs. They should go back to saudi arabia, yemen, egypt, syria, sudan, etc.
ReplyDeleteBarry, I think you are naive in seeing this piece as sarcasm just because it sounds absurd to most of us. You don't realize how deep the prejudices against Jews are in Islam and among Arabs. And government officials don't usually engage in sarcasm when making official statements and proposals. There is no Swiftian sarcasm intended here.
ReplyDeleteBarry, if you do a little research you may find that sending back to "their countries" Jews whose families came to Israel after 1917 was being seriously discussed and proposed by arafat and other PLO leaders way back in the 1960s. You ought to also read the PLO charter in full and see similar principles and proposals.
ReplyDeleteBy the way, Helen Thomas, the late unlamented American journalist, much favored by White Houses over the years, also said something like this. She advocated Jews going back to their homes in "Germany and Poland." She was not being sarcastic.
Eliyahu, I’m certainly not challenging the anti-Jewish prejudices you describe as prevalent in the Arab majority states and political movements. But when a deal is “offered” that consists of: first you give me everything you have, then I gladly accept it — you have the premise of a bad joke, not the opening gambit in a serious negotiation.
ReplyDeleteI think the real problem is that much of the Palestinian solidarity movement might actually view this joke as what real “real justice” looks like.
I doubt however that Jarrar, unless he —as a known entity—is a complete idiot, meant this other than as a rebuke to Trump.
I live in Israel in an neighborhood surrounded by Arabs. If you think they are kidding you better wake up and smell the coffee! Before the Jews arrived this country was a barren shit-hole. The Arabs built nothing and only started streaming in when the Jews created jobs. The growth, the buildings the technology is all Israeli Jews. The arabs have only benefited. Their children get high education, they are paid far more than they would be in any arab (PA/Gaza) area and have more rights and freedoms. They are doctors, nurses, pharmacists and hold office in the courts and knesset yet do not have to do national service like the rest of our kids. But~this is not enough! They have always wanted it all and have always said so. Israelis know this, but the rest of the world has blinders on.
ReplyDeleteBarry, I said that arafat and others in and around the PLO were talking about this kind of solution back in the 1960s. Helen Thomas said it just a few years ago at a function at the White House of obama. This is a serious belief and/or principle or desire among them.
ReplyDelete