A deeper problem, if I may

Reader comment on: Why Arabs Hate And Kill Palestinians

Submitted by Zvi, Dec 27, 2012 03:00

While I very much respect Khaled Abu Toameh and always read his reports and analyses, I think that in this case, there is a deeper problem. The "contract" between Palestinians and other Arabs is that other Arabs will support Palestinians' war against Israel; not that other Arabs will care for needy Palestinians; not that other Arabs will welcome Palestinians as equals. The contract is about one thing only: working together to annihilate Israel.

For this reason, Arab societies generally treat Palestine as The Cause rather than treating Palestinians as real human beings (similarly, they treat Israel as The Enemy rather than treating Israelis as real human beings). In Arab societies, the basic expectation for Palestinians is that they should be sacrificing everything to destroy The Enemy and redeem Arab pride; that is simply their "role" in Arab society. There is little room in this bloody vision for living normal lives in other Arab countries, for wanting to get normal jobs there, for wanting to raise normal families there - or, indeed, for supporting peace with Israel.

Palestinians are respected in the Arab world when they "do their job" and attack Israel - even when this "job" is self-destructive and wasteful. The adulation lavished on Palestinian terrorists by much of the Arab media epitomizes this trend. When Palestinians diverge from this self-destructive path and try to have normal lives instead, Arab society spits on them, because they are not doing their "job." In the Arab world, Palestine is The Cause, and Palestinians are not allowed to be normal people. They are required to sacrifice everything for the sake of Arab pride. Of course, some Palestinians in Syria, Lebanon, etc. do overcome these expectations and live normal lives - though they are expected to hate Israel with a passion, and many do. Expectations only affect averages, after all.

Palestinian leaders are directly complicit in creating the horrible expectations that plague Palestinians today. For decades, Palestinian leaders extorted money and influence from Arab societies, reinforcing at every opportunity the "historic" role of their people. And then they used the money and weapons to destabilize Jordan and Lebanon. But most importantly, they failed to destroy Israel. They failed to even slow Israel down. They didn't do their "job." And Arab societies despise them for it.

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Other reader comments on this item

Title By Date
Palestinian refugee camp status has made them a caste [238 words]Jeb StuartJan 3, 2013 09:13
A clear-eyed report [18 words]YaeliDec 27, 2012 06:22
⇒ A deeper problem, if I may [381 words]ZviDec 27, 2012 03:00
The irony of anti-Zionism [48 words]CsoperDec 26, 2012 15:58
Jew bashing [28 words]LeroyDec 26, 2012 12:02

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