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uploaded : Saturday 9th Dec 2006 at 21:56 |
| Contributed
by : Hashem Saleh |
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This article is a response to the speech by David Grossman, who lost his son on the last day of the Lebanon War of July 2006, and who spoke at the memorial in Tel Aviv of the ten-year anniversary of the assassination of Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin.
PARIS -
I read with great interest the translation of renowned Israeli author David Grossman's address at Yitzhak Rabin's memorial. He is my age, born in 1954. He was born after the tragedy of Palestine and after the establishment of the State of Israel. He is the author of many books and contemplative political articles, and he recently lost his son Uri in the war in Lebanon.
Grossman eulogized his son in the French newspaper Le Monde. It was a bitter eulogy. It appears that Grossman is settling scores with Israeli politics and the leadership that led it to this impasse.
To be honest, I admire writers who indulge in self-criticism and who criticize the history of their nation before lashing out at others. We are sick of those intellectuals who go out of their way to defend the leaders of dark regimes. We are in need of "thinkers," not people who blindly follow their leaders.
In the case of Arab intellectuals, I hate the demagoguery and the ears that have been deaf for the past 50 years. And I am writing this after hearing one of these "thinkers" here attack Mahmoud Abbas, Yasser Abed Rabbo, Nabil Amr and defend Hamas in a style reminiscent of the 50s and 60s of the last century.
Clearly, this educated intellectual is indifferent to the plight of ordinary Palestinians. As far as he is concerned the suffering can go on indefinitely.
Why adopt radical stances?
What is Grossman saying, exactly? Anyone with an iota of intelligence in Israel, and I am adding, in Palestine as well, is familiar with the outline for a two state solution. Anyone with any common sense here must be able to distinguish between dreams and reality. This is what makes me wonder about adopting radical stances. Why ignore the existence of another people?
In his rage, Grossman slammed the inclusion of the radical Avigdor Lieberman into the Israeli cabinet. He views this step as a blow to democracy, ethics and humanness. Moreover, he levelled criticism at anti-Arab racism and the segregation of minorities prevalent in Israel. And then he sounded his cry of desperation: 100 years have elapsed, and we, he said, are still embroiled in a continued armed struggle with the Palestinians. For how much longer?
Arab moderates exist, believe me...
Grossman is making a proposal that would not lead to destruction and ruin and he is calling upon Israel's leadership to enter dialogue with the Palestinian people, not with Hamas. He is calling for serious negotiations with the moderates in the Palestinian camp. And they exist, believe me, despite the effort by extremists on one side or another to push them into the sidelines.
These extremists are now posing a threat to peace in the region, perhaps to the world at large. And he (Grossman) is condemning Israelis who prefer seeing Palestinians only through the barrel of a gun. Besides, he says, everyone knows a Palestinian state will be established, so why waste time?
Arab intellectuals must relate to Grossman's call in all seriousness and enter into dialogue with thinkers like him. Author Mahmoud Darwish called for the "humanization of the enemy," sparking heated debate against him. And I argue: Our perception of Israelis as a whole will not work in favour of Palestinians or Arabs. However, I assume there will also be those who will level harsh criticism at me.
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Hashem Saleh is a Syian writer and researcher residing in Paris. The article was published in al-Sharq al-Awsat and presented in Ynetnews with minor exclusions. Translated from Arabic by Smadar Peri.
This article is distributed by the Common Ground News Service (CGNews) and can be accessed at
http://www.commongroundnews.org.
Source: Ynetnews, 30 November 2006, http://www.ynetnews.com
Copyright permission has been obtained for publication.
 
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