• printer friendly
• mail this article
• iPod format
• digg

Photo

  Justin Levi Warning: the following article contains hard facts. Levi, who can be reached at swingkid181@hotmail.com, encourages all unwilling participants to bypass this column to prevent discomforting enlightenment. Click Here for more articles by Justin Levi

All right, enough is enough. I wasn’t planning on writing a column about the conflict in the Middle East, but the recent rash of media bias has given me no choice. Unfortunately, I am forced to present something that many UCLA students find objectionable: cold, hard facts. And to all you Israeli zealots, don’t think you’re off the hook either.

I recently had the good fortune of participating in a video teleconference with students from Tel Aviv University. This extraordinary event featured nine of the most dedicated Israelis, pursuing the great cause of peace. It was interesting, however, that all of these ultra-peaceniks are the first to admit that the recent violence in Israel has been instigated by Palestinians, and the Israelis are, in fact, not responding with “excessive force,” as has been claimed. Having all served in the army, these students informed our group in Los Angeles of the danger posed to Israeli soldiers in the midst of this crisis.

With regard to the Israeli Defense Force not having an adequate riot control policy, they are, indeed, guilty as charged. This does not, however, change the fact that Palestinian rioters did initiate the recent violence, and the Israelis have yet to fire real ammunition into a crowd composed solely of rock-throwers.

Try to remember that the 40,000 strong Palestinian “Police Force,” armed with automatic weapons, has almost unilaterally turned on the Israelis. This defection has also included the release of virtually every prisoner identified with the terrorist organization Hamas, a group associated with numerous and horrific acts of terror within the last 20 years. Given this, it is easy to understand the frustration felt by many Israelis at the ever present media bias that has so distorted this situation.

And now a message for the ultra-Zionist out there who believes the Israelis are blameless. Not quite. I take umbrage with the view that all Palestinians are terrorists bent on destroying Israel. The fact is, the average Palestinian is a decent, hard-working individual who is more concerned with his own family than fighting a holy war against a phantom oppressor. As with any issue, it is the extreme reactionaries, much like our own Muslim Students Association, that manage to destroy any hope for a peaceful solution. Sadly, it looks as though this will be the case for years to come.

So that all being said, who is really at fault? The obvious demon is Yasser Arafat (here begins the hate mail). Those that listen to American media for Middle Eastern information have unfortunately been deprived of the truth about the suffering brought on the Palestinians, which is due not to Israel, but to Arafat’s Palestinian Authority, the political successor to the PLO. In fact, according to major news publications such as Newsweek, the Los Angeles Times and the New Republic, a large majority of Palestinians agree that life under an Israeli flag is fairer and more democratic than under Palestinian rule.

Although you may think it is impossible that Arafat, who is seeking a national home for the Palestinians, would never cause such suffering, think again. This is the same man that saps massive American funding in order to enhance his own fortune, as well as the strength of the Palestinian Authority, as the Los Angeles Times reported several months ago. If truth be told, the PA currently has enough autonomy in the West Bank to affect the state of the economy more than the State of Israel.

Arafat is a typical dictator bent on surviving through the manipulation of his own people. Thankfully, that manipulation hasn’t worked that well. He has deliberately sabotaged the peace process in order to maintain his image as a freedom fighter. Freedom from what, I’m not sure.

Real peace is not made with the stroke of a pen, but between people and leaders truly dedicated to that ideal. Arafat, unfortunately, does not qualify. As such, hoping for peace while he is still alive is a futile attempt at the unattainable.

Among the strongest critics to this statement would be the U.S. government, particularly the Clinton foreign policy team. Since the Madrid Conference in 1991, both the Bush and Clinton administrations have been working tirelessly to attain peace in the Middle East.

Or have they? Indeed, a closer analysis would show that the true pursuit was a comprehensive peace agreement, rather than a true compromise and understanding between both parties. This can be seen in the failed Oslo Accords, the “breakthrough” agreement of 1993 which was praised for its vagueness and incompleteness.

Such an agreement, however, proves the true goal of the negotiators: leave the important issues for a later date, just so we can say we reached an official settlement. What nonsense! In fact, the negotiations were kept so secret that not even Yitzhak Rabin himself knew of them until the major details had already been hashed out. How can peace ever be achieved without the full knowledge and negotiation of a given nation’s leader?

Simply put, the “peace process” began in the wake of the Intifada, the period in the late 1980s in which the Palestinians attempted to “free” themselves from Israel’s control. What was needed in order to achieve real peace was a cooling-off period, a time for the people of each side to recover and re-evaluate the necessity of peace. Only then could the truly fundamental psychological issues of this conflict be addressed.

My message to America is this: stick around, but retreat to the background and let the two sides work this out on their own. Only then can real peace be achieved.

So what’s the answer? As a Jew and proud Zionist, I am able to recognize the hypocrisy in not understanding the benefit of the establishment of an independent Palestine in the West Bank and Gaza Strip. To take this step now, however, we, as Americans would be supporting the creation of what would be one of the harshest dictatorships in the entire world, in a region full of autocracies.

But shouldn’t the people of that region decide for themselves? Answer: absolutely. But, the very nature of dictatorship is to deny that ability. Indeed, most Palestinians do not favor the creation of a state under Arafat’s control, as implied earlier. Indeed, the people have spoken.

The prevailing question, however, remains, “Is peace possible?” Of course, if you let it happen naturally. Rather than forcibly dictating a settlement to the Israelis and Palestinians, it is quite crucial to allow the people of these two sides to come together and address the fundamental issues surrounding peace, and to let them do it alone, without the magic wand of the United States. This process will, inevitably, end with the creation of a Palestinian state, and perhaps rightly so.

The peace process now depends on the ability of the Palestinian people to bid a fond farewell to Mr. Arafat and his goons, and replace them with a fully functioning democratic system. Then, we’ll talk peace.