- by Mary Shaw
www.OpEdNews.com
World leaders and
political pundits
are speculating that
the upcoming
Palestinian
elections, scheduled
for January 9, might
pave the way for
renewed Middle East
peacemaking efforts.
This is encouraging.
However, I suspect
that Middle East
peace will depend on
much more than the
success of the
elections and
finding the right
successor to Yasser
Arafat.
It will require an
attitude adjustment
on both sides of the
Israeli-Palestinian
conflict.
Recently I stopped
by a demonstration
on Rittenhouse
Square in my
hometown of
Philadelphia. It had
been advertised as a
protest against
Israel's "separation
wall." The wall,
intended to stop
Palestinians from
entering Israel to
carry out attacks,
is actually cutting
off hundreds of
thousands of
innocent Palestinian
civilians from
essential services
in nearby towns and
villages and from
their farming land -
a main source of
subsistence for
Palestinians in the
region. As one might
have predicted, when
I arrived at the
demonstration, I
found a number of
Zionist
counterdemonstrators
concurrently vying
for their own
soapboxes on the
Square. As I
observed the highly
emotional exchanges
between the two
sides, it occurred
to me that this is
why the violence in
the Middle East
won't stop.
Each side was on the
defensive. Each side
went on pointing
fingers and spewing
blame, hate rhetoric
and racial slurs,
but never really
listening. The same
thing is happening
in the Middle East,
with both the
Palestinians and the
Israelis engaging in
senseless killing
while pointing
fingers and blaming
the whole problem on
the other side. It
reminded me of a
childish schoolyard
fight - the kind
that breaks out
between children who
have lived long
enough to have
assumed their
parents' prejudices
by osmosis. The
difference, though,
is that schoolyard
fights involve
sticks and stones,
not bombs and
bulldozers.
As I introduced
myself to various
demonstrators on
both sides, I
mentioned that I was
involved with
Amnesty
International, and I
remarked on how sad
it is to see all the
violence and death
and human rights
violations on both
sides of the
Israeli-Palestinian
conflict. The
responses were sadly
predictable, but
still shocking to
this idealistic
humanitarian.
Several of the
Zionist
counterdemonstrators
pointed at me and
shouted that Amnesty
International (a
Nobel prize-winning
human rights
organization) is
anti-Semitic. It
would appear that
they don't like the
fact that Amnesty
speaks out against
the human rights
violations on both
sides of the fence
(or wall, in this
case), including
those committed by
the Israelis.
Meanwhile, the
pro-Palestinian
factions expressed
their disappointment
with Amnesty's
political neutrality
and condemnation of
human rights
violations by
Palestinians against
the Israelis.
Yes, Amnesty
International has
consistently
condemned violations
by all parties in
this tragic cycle of
violence that has
killed and injured
many hundreds of
civilians on both
sides. We condemn
the killing of
Israeli civilians,
including children,
by Palestinian
suicide bombers. At
the same time, we
condemn the
destruction of
Palestinian homes,
agricultural land,
water and
electricity networks
and other crucial
infrastructure by
the Israeli army
(using U.S.-
supplied Caterpillar
bulldozers,
incidentally). Human
rights violations
are wrong no matter
who commits them.
Each side needs to
step back, set aside
their egos, look
inside themselves
and think of the
children. Until the
parties on each side
can stop and see the
humanity on the
other side, and take
responsibility for
their own part in
the ongoing cycle of
violence, I fear
that it will just
continue
indefinitely.
-----
Mary Shaw is a
Philadelphia-based
writer and activist.
She currently serves
as Philadelphia Area
Coordinator for
Amnesty
International, and
her views on
politics, human
rights, and social
justice issues have
appeared in numerous
online forums and in
newspapers and
magazines worldwide.
She can be reached
at mary@maryshawonline.com.
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