Egyptian Newspapers: On Jews and Israel

Egyptian Newspapers: On Jews and Israel

Mohamed Abdelaziz
Also available in العربية
Fikra Forum
April 22, 2016


Following a number of nationalist, independent and partisan Egyptian newspapers, including: Al-Ahram, Al Gomhuria, Al Akhbar, Al Youm Al Sabeh, Al-Masry Al-Youm, Al Wafd, Sawt al-Ummah and Al Shorouk in the past weeks reveals a surprising lack of discrepancy in their rhetoric towards events related to the State and people of Israel. These newspapers consistently publish news, reports, and articles that fail to distinguish between, on one hand, the politics and interests of governments and, on the other hand, the relation between peoples who have peacefully coexisted through many generations.

Egyptian newspapers present the topic of Israel and Jews in several distinct ways. Most notably, these newspapers use terms and statements that portray Jews as ambitious expansionists in the Arab world in the pursuit of the ultimate dream that is the “Promised Land.” These newspapers believe that Jews seek to control the world by steering the policies of major countries to align with Israel’s interests. Their articles expand the true lobbying activities of Israel in the United States, hardly unique among Middle Eastern countries, into de facto control of the United States government.

The independent newspaper Al Youm Al Sabeh published a report titled “The Zionist Lobby Selects U.S. Presidents,” which purports to shed light on the mechanisms Jews use to influence nations’ decisions and policies to ultimately bring the world under Jewish control. According to the newspaper, U.S. presidential candidates are exploring all means available to satisfy the Zionist lobby because they select who will run the United States (Al Youm Al Sabeh, March 20, 2016). Similarly, Al Gomhuria claims that a colonial U.S.-Zionist alliance is actively exploiting the Arab Spring to destabilize the Arab world. The same newspaper also accused Jews of insulting Prophets by claiming that Jews have disobeyed Moses, mocked King Solomon, and accused Jacob of adultery (Al Gomhuria, March 15, 2016).

Despite the peace treaty between Egypt and Israel and its requirement of normalization between the two countries, many Egyptian newspapers have recently launched a fierce campaign against those who advocate or promote the normalization policy. Following Israeli ambassador to Egypt Haim Koren’s visit with MP Tawfik Okasha, official, independent, and partisan newspapers launched a campaign calling for Okasha to be punished. And in an unprecedented move, MPs have voted to remove Okasha from parliament. Paradoxically, Egypt’s Speaker of Parliament Dr. Ali Abdel Aal issued a statement after Okasha’s ousting, declaring Egypt’s commitment to all international treaties signed with all countries, including the peace treaty with Israel (Al-Ahram, March 3, 2016). Through this message, the Speaker apparently attempted to inform Israel that the status quo will remain: normalization will continue to be restricted to the confines of official circles (Al Youm Al Sabeh, March 5, 2016).

Some journalists are exploiting this issue of normalization to attack political rivals. For example, Egyptian pro-regime media figure Ahmed Moussa called on the Egyptian government in an Al-Ahram article reopen the cases of all those who have normalized relations with Israel to hold them accountable. Such figures include intellectuals, writers, and politicians who identify as part of the Egyptian revolution. Moussa has also stated that the peace treaty between Egypt and Israel will not make Egyptians “forget the crimes perpetrated by the Zionist entity against the Palestinian people” (Al-Ahram, March 6, 2016).

Articles promoting anti-normalization also encompass the fields of art, culture and sports. The Egyptian media often accuses Israel of stealing and laying claim to the Egyptian heritage. In this regard, Al Bawaba has published a summary of Coptic Music and Jewish Music in the arms of the Nile, a book by researcher Ahmed Al Tawil maintaining that Jews have stolen authentic Coptic melodies and claimed them as their own. The author asserted that Jews, lacking a musical scale as is the case with other people, borrowed theirs from the Egyptians, Assyrians, and Greeks (Al Bawaba, March 13, 2016).

Accusations of cultural appropriation also included popular dishes; the Egyptian media has accused Israel of appropriating the recipes of popular Egyptian dishes, such as Falafel, Koshari and the Egyptian salad as Israeli (Al Youm Al Sabeh, February 19, 2016).

Refusal to normalize also extends to sports. When the Israeli embassy in Cairo proposed holding a soccer match between the Egyptian and Israeli teams, the Egyptian Football Association's spokesman Azmi Mogahed rejected the offer on the grounds that “any faithful Egyptian will not accept such a proposal.” Ironically, Mogahed had also announced in a prior TV appearance that it was necessary to distinguish between politics and sports, and had called for a match between the Egyptian and Israeli teams (Al-Masry Al-Youm, February 28, 2016).

These reports reveal the failure of the Egyptian media to distinguish between Judaism as a religion and Israel as a State. The Egyptian media has long mixed the political—the State of Israel and the Arab-Israeli conflict—with religious Judaism and the Jewish ethnicity. Accordingly, in the eyes of the media Arab-Jewish citizens must pay the price for any behavior adopted by the State of Israel. The Egyptian media has often questioned the loyalty of Jewish Arab minorities in all Arab countries and incited others against them. For example, the independent Sawt al-Ummah published an article “Surprise… Houthis Resort to Jewish Soldiers to Fight the Arab Coalition.” It claimed that Jewish Yemeni troops are fighting alongside Houthis against the Arab coalition in Yemen, and that some have recently arrived in Israel and were warmly welcome by Tel Aviv. The newspaper also indicated that some Yemeni Jews have launched The Faithful Jews Against Al Saud and Their Crimes in Yemen, a blog which aims to document and expose the crimes and violations of Al Saud against the Yemeni people (Sawt al-Ummah, March 28, 2016). This claim seems particularly counterintuitive, since Yemeni Jews have themselves reported that the Houthi-backed government has demanded that the few remaining Jews of Yemen convert or leave the country.

This is the latest in a decades-long trend of Egyptian media’s inflammatory rhetoric against the Jewish minorities of Arab countries for have lived in the region for millennia. Similar incitement may cause strife and violence against Jewish communities in the Arab world and lead to their displacement to Israel or beyond, as has been the case in the past. The wave of media incitement in the aftermath of the Six-Day War led to violence and anger against Arab Jews, including their persecution and the torching of synagogues in Egypt, Yemen, Lebanon, Tunisia, and Morocco.

The Egyptian media must cease its policy of incitement and defamation. In the three decades following the peace treaty between Egypt and Israel, the inflammatory tone adopted by many Egyptian newspapers, whether public, independent or partisan, has widened the gap and fed distrust between the Egyptian and Israeli peoples, which does not help Egypt’s often important role as a third party in Israeli-Palestinian negotiations or the already precarious situation of the Arab world’s remaining Jews.

Communication and tolerance is the only path towards peace. If it so desires, he Egyptian media has an opportunity to promote mutual understanding and change prevailing stereotypes to reinforce peaceful coexistence among people.

Mohamed Ahmed Abdelaziz is the Arabic editor for Fikra Forum and former project officer for Freedom House. This article was originally published on the Fikra website.

This is what can happen to any nation whose nationalism runs out of control. I am thinking about ourselves, nobody else, although many smelly feet will fit these boots.

Solomon2 said:

Egyptian Newspapers: On Jews and Israel

Mohamed Abdelaziz
Also available in العربية
Fikra Forum
April 22, 2016


Following a number of nationalist, independent and partisan Egyptian newspapers, including: Al-Ahram, Al Gomhuria, Al Akhbar, Al Youm Al Sabeh, Al-Masry Al-Youm, Al Wafd, Sawt al-Ummah and Al Shorouk in the past weeks reveals a surprising lack of discrepancy in their rhetoric towards events related to the State and people of Israel. These newspapers consistently publish news, reports, and articles that fail to distinguish between, on one hand, the politics and interests of governments and, on the other hand, the relation between peoples who have peacefully coexisted through many generations.

Egyptian newspapers present the topic of Israel and Jews in several distinct ways. Most notably, these newspapers use terms and statements that portray Jews as ambitious expansionists in the Arab world in the pursuit of the ultimate dream that is the “Promised Land.” These newspapers believe that Jews seek to control the world by steering the policies of major countries to align with Israel’s interests. Their articles expand the true lobbying activities of Israel in the United States, hardly unique among Middle Eastern countries, into de facto control of the United States government.

The independent newspaper Al Youm Al Sabeh published a report titled “The Zionist Lobby Selects U.S. Presidents,” which purports to shed light on the mechanisms Jews use to influence nations’ decisions and policies to ultimately bring the world under Jewish control. According to the newspaper, U.S. presidential candidates are exploring all means available to satisfy the Zionist lobby because they select who will run the United States (Al Youm Al Sabeh, March 20, 2016). Similarly, Al Gomhuria claims that a colonial U.S.-Zionist alliance is actively exploiting the Arab Spring to destabilize the Arab world. The same newspaper also accused Jews of insulting Prophets by claiming that Jews have disobeyed Moses, mocked King Solomon, and accused Jacob of adultery (Al Gomhuria, March 15, 2016).

Despite the peace treaty between Egypt and Israel and its requirement of normalization between the two countries, many Egyptian newspapers have recently launched a fierce campaign against those who advocate or promote the normalization policy. Following Israeli ambassador to Egypt Haim Koren’s visit with MP Tawfik Okasha, official, independent, and partisan newspapers launched a campaign calling for Okasha to be punished. And in an unprecedented move, MPs have voted to remove Okasha from parliament. Paradoxically, Egypt’s Speaker of Parliament Dr. Ali Abdel Aal issued a statement after Okasha’s ousting, declaring Egypt’s commitment to all international treaties signed with all countries, including the peace treaty with Israel (Al-Ahram, March 3, 2016). Through this message, the Speaker apparently attempted to inform Israel that the status quo will remain: normalization will continue to be restricted to the confines of official circles (Al Youm Al Sabeh, March 5, 2016).

Some journalists are exploiting this issue of normalization to attack political rivals. For example, Egyptian pro-regime media figure Ahmed Moussa called on the Egyptian government in an Al-Ahram article reopen the cases of all those who have normalized relations with Israel to hold them accountable. Such figures include intellectuals, writers, and politicians who identify as part of the Egyptian revolution. Moussa has also stated that the peace treaty between Egypt and Israel will not make Egyptians “forget the crimes perpetrated by the Zionist entity against the Palestinian people” (Al-Ahram, March 6, 2016).

Articles promoting anti-normalization also encompass the fields of art, culture and sports. The Egyptian media often accuses Israel of stealing and laying claim to the Egyptian heritage. In this regard, Al Bawaba has published a summary of Coptic Music and Jewish Music in the arms of the Nile, a book by researcher Ahmed Al Tawil maintaining that Jews have stolen authentic Coptic melodies and claimed them as their own. The author asserted that Jews, lacking a musical scale as is the case with other people, borrowed theirs from the Egyptians, Assyrians, and Greeks (Al Bawaba, March 13, 2016).

Accusations of cultural appropriation also included popular dishes; the Egyptian media has accused Israel of appropriating the recipes of popular Egyptian dishes, such as Falafel, Koshari and the Egyptian salad as Israeli (Al Youm Al Sabeh, February 19, 2016).

Refusal to normalize also extends to sports. When the Israeli embassy in Cairo proposed holding a soccer match between the Egyptian and Israeli teams, the Egyptian Football Association's spokesman Azmi Mogahed rejected the offer on the grounds that “any faithful Egyptian will not accept such a proposal.” Ironically, Mogahed had also announced in a prior TV appearance that it was necessary to distinguish between politics and sports, and had called for a match between the Egyptian and Israeli teams (Al-Masry Al-Youm, February 28, 2016).

These reports reveal the failure of the Egyptian media to distinguish between Judaism as a religion and Israel as a State. The Egyptian media has long mixed the political—the State of Israel and the Arab-Israeli conflict—with religious Judaism and the Jewish ethnicity. Accordingly, in the eyes of the media Arab-Jewish citizens must pay the price for any behavior adopted by the State of Israel. The Egyptian media has often questioned the loyalty of Jewish Arab minorities in all Arab countries and incited others against them. For example, the independent Sawt al-Ummah published an article “Surprise… Houthis Resort to Jewish Soldiers to Fight the Arab Coalition.” It claimed that Jewish Yemeni troops are fighting alongside Houthis against the Arab coalition in Yemen, and that some have recently arrived in Israel and were warmly welcome by Tel Aviv. The newspaper also indicated that some Yemeni Jews have launched The Faithful Jews Against Al Saud and Their Crimes in Yemen, a blog which aims to document and expose the crimes and violations of Al Saud against the Yemeni people (Sawt al-Ummah, March 28, 2016). This claim seems particularly counterintuitive, since Yemeni Jews have themselves reported that the Houthi-backed government has demanded that the few remaining Jews of Yemen convert or leave the country.

This is the latest in a decades-long trend of Egyptian media’s inflammatory rhetoric against the Jewish minorities of Arab countries for have lived in the region for millennia. Similar incitement may cause strife and violence against Jewish communities in the Arab world and lead to their displacement to Israel or beyond, as has been the case in the past. The wave of media incitement in the aftermath of the Six-Day War led to violence and anger against Arab Jews, including their persecution and the torching of synagogues in Egypt, Yemen, Lebanon, Tunisia, and Morocco.

The Egyptian media must cease its policy of incitement and defamation. In the three decades following the peace treaty between Egypt and Israel, the inflammatory tone adopted by many Egyptian newspapers, whether public, independent or partisan, has widened the gap and fed distrust between the Egyptian and Israeli peoples, which does not help Egypt’s often important role as a third party in Israeli-Palestinian negotiations or the already precarious situation of the Arab world’s remaining Jews.

Communication and tolerance is the only path towards peace. If it so desires, he Egyptian media has an opportunity to promote mutual understanding and change prevailing stereotypes to reinforce peaceful coexistence among people.

Mohamed Ahmed Abdelaziz is the Arabic editor for Fikra Forum and former project officer for Freedom House. This article was originally published on the Fikra website.

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What they are writing is the truth and actions of Israel are only increasing the divide.

Zarvan said:

What they are writing is the truth and actions of Israel are only increasing the divide.

Click to expand...

Too many pronouns and not enough references to make sense of your response.

@Solomon2

Judaism is not the same as Israel, just as Islam is not the same as Taliban or any single entity.
There are many respectable practicing Jews and Muslims in this world who love their fellow man regardless of their faith, creed and ethnicity.

Unfortunately we live in a world where it is easier to mistrust/malign/fear an entire religion instead of focusing on the major flash-points confined in certain parts of the world and their political ramifications which need to be understood and worked upon by concerned parties to help remove this biased view and its ability to cloud judgement.

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It is always an unfortunate reading for me when i hear both sides resort to dismissing an entire religion and all its followers. Islamic guidelines have explicitly asked Muslims to not make fun of other religions and treat all fairly and respectably as equals in worldly matters.
The only instance I have seen where Muslims were asked to not rely on Jewish or Christian tribes for assistance was a very contextual case in Medina and had its background in the political conflict which existed prior to advent of Islam.

Based on my study of original Muslim Historical sources of early Islam, I personally feel that in history of Islam, Jews were not treated as natural enemies at all. Actually the Muslim rulers enjoyed a health relationship with Jewish citizens who played a healthy role in strengthening the Islamic state's consolidation of former Roman empire .
How we have developed a mutual dislike is sadly mired in the suffering of both peoples in the last century or so, whereby we have eventually found each other as the most convenient recipient of blame.
There are extremists on both sides who have fanned the hatred and tried to justify their point of views through history and religion. However in both these references, I see more of a distortion of facts, hiding of true context and extreme generalization of few political conflicts/classes to justify the logic of it all.

The conquest of Jerusalem by Muslims was not an anti Jew/Christian action but as a military/political consequence of their war with the Roman empire. The objective was not to eliminate Judaism/Christianity nor was it to treat the Jews/Christians as second grade citizens.

The early (and only real one till date) Islamic state did not allow the Caliph Ali to reclaim a lost armor from a Jewish owner because the only witnesses who Ali had available were his sons and the Judge refused to accept their admittance as witnesses due to their relationship...Mind you these sons were the grandsons of Prophet Muhammad!
This is significant enough instance to mention because it shows that Islam did not project any inferiority of Jews when it came to the affairs of the state and the rights granted to citizens.

Muslim men were even allowed to marry Jewish and Christian women since the early days of Islam, showing the
extent to which Islam allowed the integration of these communities based on many commonalities.

Faith is to be Judged by Allah and it is certainly not our personal domain to denounce people as evil based on their faith.
It is only the actions of every valid entity in its public dealing which merits criticism or appreciation.

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The Israeli/Palestinian conflict has really embedded a wide and mutual mistrust.
How can this be resolved and what needs to be done by the various concerned parties?

For my understanding and further discussion, can you shed some light on the following?

What are the prevalent views of Israeli media regarding the current and desired nature of its relationship with Palestinians and Arab countries?
How does Israeli media view the recent/current actions and policies of its state in their failure/success to deliver on the desired relationship with Palestinians and Arab world?
What is Israeli media view of Islam and Judaism when it comes to historical co existence and the role of Israel in future evolution of this relationship?

All-Green said:

The Israeli/Palestinian conflict has really embedded a wide and mutual mistrust.
How can this be resolved and what needs to be done by the various concerned parties?

Click to expand...

It's not a question of trust between Zionists and Palestinian Arabs. Each side knows what they want: the Jews security, property, and civil rights and the Arabs killing and conquest. Rather, it's the rest of the world that clings to the illusion that the Israelis are at fault, or at least equally responsible, and no other party bears blame.

What are the prevalent views of Israeli media regarding the current and desired nature of its relationship with Palestinians and Arab countries?
How does Israeli media view the recent/current actions and policies of its state in their failure/success to deliver on the desired relationship with Palestinians and Arab world?
What is Israeli media view of Islam and Judaism when it comes to historical co existence and the role of Israel in future evolution of this relationship?

Click to expand...

You have as much access to the Internet as I do. For further insight on the debate in Israel I think you'd do better to ask some Israelis rather than myself. (I write "some" because in a discussion involving two Jews, you're going to find at least three opinions!)

Solomon2 said:

It's not a question of trust between Zionists and Palestinian Arabs. Each side knows what they want: the Jews security, property, and civil rights and the Arabs killing and conquest.

Click to expand...

Drawing a picture which is upside down and then claiming it is upright. Those who robbed are not robbers but the victims are, it is called Machiavellian technique.

T-Rex said:

Drawing a picture which is upside down and then claiming it is upright. Those who robbed are not robbers but the victims are -

Click to expand...

Anti-Zionists do indeed turn the truth upside down. But one doesn't need to open one's eyes very far to realize that Israel provides its citizens - both Jews and the 20%+ who are Arabs - more secure property and individual rights than any of its neighbors, all of whom - in violation of the trust bestowed upon them by the League of Nations and Ottoman Caliph - dispossessed or drove out 800,000 Jews from their own territories.

Here I would like to share what I've recently been contemplating.

Nothing has hurt the Muslims world more than this make belief perpetual state of war with Jews & Christians.

Pallies ( Palestinians ) have sold this drama in bulk since decades to milk money and good will from across the globe
while taking that money and buying passports to settle in the very same western countries which they portray as part of the problem.

Egyptians have always been a mess; their half cooked dream of Arab nationalism sent everyone chasing a target that was never there. The oil embargo did not last long, but it's effects are being felt till date.

Solomon2 said:

It's not a question of trust between Zionists and Palestinian Arabs. Each side knows what they want: the Jews security, property, and civil rights and the Arabs killing and conquest. Rather, it's the rest of the world that clings to the illusion that the Israelis are at fault, or at least equally responsible, and no other party bears blame.

You have as much access to the Internet as I do. For further insight on the debate in Israel I think you'd do better to ask some Israelis rather than myself. (I write "some" because in a discussion involving two Jews, you're going to find at least three opinions!)

Click to expand...

I was hoping for a more involved and solution oriented discussion on your part, instead of the “Arab evil, Israeli good” argument.
Being Jewish, It would have been interesting to get input on the prevalent and diverse Jewish/Israeli views on the Arab community within Israel and Palestine.
I agree that it is a divisive matter as many Jews would also disagree with your comments pertaining to Palestinians and Israelis.

The common man on both sides wants the security, property and civil rights, just like anyone else in the world.
Only when such things are significantly deficient or perceived to be at a major risk, killings and conquests become more popular slogans for the reactionary forces which are not just present in the shape of Arab militants who want to seek bloody vengeance…
There are fanatical and heavily armed Israeli settlers as well who have displayed extreme contempt for Arabs and have been wreaking havoc in West bank. Even when Israeli Army dismantles their outposts, these settlers resort to destruction of the Palestinian farms, trees and property as a price.

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Whereas media reports give one indicator of the popular moods at play; historical facts and official treaties/pacts are also critical to analyse the situation and how it has evolved into its current state.
The very basis of the two state solution backed by international community was the mutual recognition of the legality of Israel and Palestine by the respective leadership.

What I find highly disturbing is your utter disregard for the fact that it has been at least 2 decades since the Palestinian leadership recognized Israel and gave it legitimacy beyond any doubt.
A major goodwill gesture and concession for meaningful peace on part of the alleged “blood thirsty” Arabs …

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Two decades past, Palestine is still not recognized as a state and the fate of many Arab refugees who belonged to Israeli territory also hangs in the balance.
Even if we ignore Gaza strip turmoil; the west bank wall, security restrictions and ultra nationalist Israeli settlers in West bank are taking an extremely heavy toll on the ordinary Palestinian's lives in many ways.

In a 2011-12 UNDP Report, 9400 Israeli settlers living in the illegal settlements in Jordan valley consumed almost a third of the quantity of water allocated to 2.5 Million Palestinians in West bank!
The Palestinians have mostly been denied access to the Jordan River since 1967 and are seeing their wells dry up, while water resources are being diverted to Israeli settlers for water intensive farming.
Many Palestinians are getting 20 litres of water per person per day which is much less than 100 Litres WHO recommended minimum value and drastically less than 280 Litres per person per day domestic Israeli consumption.

The building of the wall has been primarily on Palestinian farmland and many farmers are unable to access their fields.
The problems are further exacerbated by violence prone Israeli settlers who have also destroyed many Palestinian farms, trees, infrastructure; yet these people are mostly left alone and hardly anyone is tried in Israeli courts.

Many Palestinians have left agriculture altogether whereas those that remain despite facing such odds have to cope with the hardships due to restrictions on their movement and export of their product. The cost and quality of Palestinian agricultural products is becoming nonviable and they are slowly being strangulated.

It is overall a very grim situation and as a result the Palestinian Leadership has been weakened, more radical elements have been given more oxygen and the general population feels that maybe Israel has no interest in the two state formula and will rather let the Palestinian territories collapse instead of giving them any legitimacy.

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Whereas the situation has become increasingly complicated with passage of time due to military actions and global politics, the agitated state of the Arabs is a direct outcome of disenfranchising the Palestinian people through delays in recognizing their statehood and strict enforcement of security measures which have become a noose around the Palestinian economy and by extension the life of an average Palestinian.
This situation and the naturally ensuing hatred is indeed being exploited by the Arab extremists as well as the extremist in Israel and certain Jewish lobbies.

Despite the controversial statements of Israeli premier Netanyahu regarding his contempt for the two state solution, we are instead being made to believe that it is the Palestinian Arab Barbarians who are at complete fault for the impasse due to their violent agenda. This distorted view is being propagated to silence local and international critics and garner support for any/all Israeli actions to address the threats being generated by this rampant anti-Israeli sentiment.
All the while the core issue of Palestine’s lack of recognition by Israel is being swept under the carpet.

This attitude does not bode well for Israelis, leave alone the Palestinians who are slowly being pounded to the ground

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Peaceful and successful reconciliation in matters of territorial conflicts are troubled waters which even the most mature leaderships find very difficult to navigate.
The risk of losing face and the confidence of the people is very real when you move on from a previously held idealistic position and agree on a compromise whereby both parties gain/lose something.
The Palestinian authority recognized Israel in 1993 Oslo peace accord, thus forever legitimizing Israel from Palestinian point of view.
When such a major step has not yet been reciprocated, certainly it shall create mistrust and hatred of Israel which shall only increase with time.

An Israeli hardliner even assassinated Israeli Prime minister Yitzhak Rabin for his role in Oslo peace accord, despite the fact that Israel gained more legitimacy.
No such backlash was seen on the Palestinian side despite the fact that PLO leadership legitimized Israel…
Perhaps the Palestinian masses did want peaceful reconciliation after all?

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Instead of moving forward, now Israel wants to be recognized as a Jewish state. This posture has raised serious concerns as to what such a recognition entails. It is not even clear to the people of Israel as to what sort of changes would this Jewish state be bringing about in terms of settling all the issues at hand, leave alone the Palestinians who will have much more doubts.

Israel’s lack of recognition of Palestine is effectively blocking the settlement of a two state solution, whereas the demand of being recognized a second time (as a Jewish state) can also be seen as an attempt to absolve itself of any responsibility for the non-Jewish population and refugees in case of both the one state and two state solutions.

Such tactics indicates that perhaps the Israeli leadership is more willing to keep the status quo and let the economic and political pressure destroy the Palestinian leadership…all this shall create more chaos and hatred within the Arab populace, hence easier to portray them as savages and terrorists in front of the local and global community.

In this context I am quite certain that Israel’s long overdue recognition of a Palestinian state can help mend the fractures within Palestinian leadership and can go a long way in addressing the general frustration prevailing in the Palestinian Arabs.
This is the only prudent course of action for peace as it would ensure that extremist lobbies are weakened due to a stabilizing effect. Both Israel and Palestine can get more meaningful cooperation from each other and the international community once this step is taken to legitimize the two state solution.

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You claim that the issue is even divisive between Israelis themselves and it is hard to find consensus, thus you have refrained from commenting on the various Israeli views on resolution.

However, when it comes to the Arabs you have omitted the single biggest step taken by them 2 decades ago in legitimizing Israel and are suggesting that all the Palestinian Arabs are in consensus to eradicate the land of all Jews and destroy Israel which they have never accepted as an entity.

I am afraid that such an inaccurate generalization is contrary to historical evidence and is perhaps a xenophobic response developed over decades of disliking/hating the Palestinians, due to this long drawn and bitter conflict.

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Even a senior members of IDF has recently warned Israel of developing a Nazi Germany like mentality…
A real tragedy as the horrible events of the holocaust should have had the exact opposite effect on the Jewish people in dealing with Palestinians despite their troubled relationship.


http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/2016/05/08/world/middleeast/ap-ml-israel-holocaust.html

Israeli Leader Rebukes Top General Over Holocaust Comments
ByTHE ASSOCIATED PRESSMAY 8, 2016, 5:51 A.M. E.D.T.


JERUSALEM — Israel's prime minister has publicly rebuked a top general for comments appearing to liken the atmosphere in Israel to that of Nazi-era Germany.

Benjamin Netanyahu says Sunday that Maj. Gen. Yair Golan, the military's deputy chief of staff, erred when speaking on the country's annual Holocaust memorial day.

Golan sparked outrage, particularly among nationalists, for saying that he sees evidence in present-day Israel reminiscent of the "nauseating processes" that took place in Nazi Germany.The defense minister, military chief and other officials came to his defense, saying that he was warning of troubling trends in society.

But Netanyahu called the comments outrageous, saying at his weekly Cabinet meeting that "they cause harm to Israel and cheapen the Holocaust."

Cabinet Minister Miri Regev has called for Golan's dismissal.