THE PROGRESSIVE CONSERVATIVE, USA

An Online Journal of Political Commentary & Analysis
Volume VII, Issue # 11, January 16, 2005
Dr. Almon Leroy Way, Jr., Editor
Government Committed to & Acting in Accord with Conservative Principles
Ensures a Nation's Strength, Progress, & Prosperity
Home Page   Main Menu   Recent Articles   Site Map   Website Index   Issues & Controversies
  Cyberland University   Political Science, Philosophy, & History: Lectures   U.S. Constitution
  American Constitutional Law   American Constitutional System   American Political System
  Conservatism, Liberalism, & Radicalism   How America Goes to War
  World War IV: Islamist Terror War Against the U.S.A. & the West

THE PALESTINIANS:  A FRACTIOUS SOCIETY
By Asaf Romirowsky

QUESTIONS RAISED BY THE RECENT ELECTION OF MAHMOUD ABBAS AS PRIME MINISTER OF THE PALESTINIAN AUTHORITY:  WILL THE NEW PRIME MINISTER BE ABLE TO BRIDGE THE MULTIFACETED & FUNDAMENTAL DIVIDE THAT EXISTS BETWEEN THE GAZA & WEST BANK SECTORS OF PALESTINIAN SOCIETY?  WILL MAHMOUD ABBAS BE ABLE & WILLING TO LEAD THE PALESTINIANS IN THE DIRECTION OF ACCEPTING ISRAEL AS A JEWISH STATE & ACKNOWLEDGING THAT PEACEFUL COEXISTENCE BETWEEN ISRAEL & THE PALESTINIANS IS NORMAL, NATURAL, & HIGHLY DESIRABLE?
FULL STORY:   With the January 9, 2005, election for a new prime minister of the Palestinian Authority, the question of a societal division in the Palestinian population has become more crucially relevant: The animosity between Gazans and West-Bankers has drastically increased since Yasser Arafat's death and the election of his successor.

The socalled "right of return" of Palestinian refugees of the 1948 war and their descendants has again become the sticking point, with various camps attempting to garner support among Palestinians in the Gaza and West Bank. The Palestinians know that this issue will not be resolved soon.

Socially, West Bankers see themselves as the upper echelon of Palestinian society; they are educated and come from money.

And, there are geopolitical and economic differences between the two societies. As journalist Nicholas Jubber writes, "the Gaza Strip and the West Bank are divided by their unequal economies, distinct dialects, and cultural animosities forged by their pre-1967 experiences under separate regimes -- Nasser's Egypt and King Hussein's Jordan."

In terms of an extended social network, West Bankers do not rely on their "Palestinian brothers" in Gaza, but rather on families and friends in Jordan. And Gazans do the same with Egypt.

Jonathan Schanzer points out that there is little intermarriage between the two sectors of Palestinian society, a factor that he calls "another dividing line."

Argues Schanzer:

    "While traditional marriages arranged between tribal chiefs are no longer popular among Palestinians, one study notes that 'kinship-based marriage arrangements now exist as a way to preserve the continued identity of dispersed communities.' These communities derive from specific, smaller areas of the former Palestine and, by nature, do not cross the West Bank-Gaza divide."

This multifaceted and fundamental divide was tested at the polls on Sunday, January 9. The victory of Abu Mazen (Mahmoud Abbas) will only be an actual triumph if he shows that he can truly bridge the two sectors of Palestinian society.

From a leadership standpoint, Abu Mazen's weakness is his lack of real control over Palestinian society. For all of Arafat's shortcomings (and he had many), he was the acknowledged authority for both Gazans and West Bankers. Arafat was the figure who put the Palestinians on the map, becoming a living symbol of their cause and making the Palestine Liberation Organization the representative body of the Palestinians recognized by the majority of the Arab world.

Abu Mazen has no such gravitas. Hence, we are hearing more and more statements about Abu Mazen continuing Arafat's ways. Tayeb Abdel Rahim, Abu Mazen's campaign manager and former Arafat aide, said of Abu Mazen that he "stood next to Abu Amar [Arafat] to achieve the peace of the brave."

Old habits are hard to break. Abu Mazen was an Arafat crony and comes from the Palestinian elite. He has consistently held the hard-line anti-Israel agenda since his years as a student. His doctoral dissertation was a full-blown foray into Holocaust denial and aimed to prove that Zionism and Nazism are branches of the same tree.

These are all question marks over his sincerity when he makes his claims to the Western press about wanting to bring about reform and create a civil Palestinian society.

Abu Mazen may wear a suit, while Arafat wore fatigues. However, much of their world view is still the same -- the destruction of Israel remains on the "to-do" list.

To be a true reformer, any Palestinian leader has to accept Israel as a Jewish state, and convince the Palestinian masses that this is clearly in their interests. Otherwise, all we will see, and all the Palestinians can expect, is a continuation of the colossally failed Arafat system and yet another leader too cowardly to take a different path.

True coexistence between Palestinians and Israelis won't happen until Palestinian society experiences a breakthrough in constitutional democratic thought and values, one that accepts Israel's permanence and also allows for a middle class to grow, acknowledging that honest relations between Israel and Palestinians is normal and natural.


LINKS TO RELATED TOPICS:

The Israeli-Arab Conflict

The Middle East & the Arabs

Radical Islam & Islamic Terrorism

War & Peace in the Real World

Islamist Terrorist Attacks on the U.S.A.

Osama bin Laden & the Islamist Declaration of War
Against the U.S.A. & Western Civilization

Islamist International Terrorism &
U.S. Intelligence Agencies

U.S. National Security Strategy



Asaf Romirowsky is a Campus Watch Associate Fellow for the Middle East Forum and the Israel Advocacy Associate for the Jewish Federation of Greater Philadelphia.


The foregoing article by Asaf Romirowsky was originally published in the Philadelphia Daily News, January 8, 2005, and can be found on the Internet website maintained by the Middle East Forum.


Republished with Permission of the Middle East Forum
Reprinted from the Middle East Forum News
mefnews@meforum.org (MEF NEWS)
January 9, 2005





Return to Top of Page

Go to the WEBSITE INDEX

Return to Beginning of
THE PROGRESSIVE CONSERVATIVE, USA,
Public Issues & Political Controversies


Return to Beginning of
THE PROGRESSIVE CONSERVATIVE, USA
Most Recent Articles


Return to Beginning of
THE PROGRESSIVE CONSERVATIVE, USA,
Volume VII, 2005


Return to Beginning of
THE PROGRESSIVE CONSERVATIVE, USA,
Subject Matter Highlights


Return to POLITICAL EDUCATION Homepage

CONTACT & ACCESS INFORMATION




LINKS TO PARTICULAR ISSUES & SUBJECT MATTER CATEGORIES
TREATED IN THE PROGRESSIVE CONSERVATIVE, U.S.A.:

Africa: Black Africa * Africa: North Africa * American Government 1
American Government 2 * American Government 3 * American Government 4
American Government 5 * American Politics * Anglosphere * Arabs
Arms Control & WMD * Aztlan Separatists * Big Government
Black Africa * Bureaucracy * Canada * China * Civil Liberties * Communism
Congress, U.S. * Conservative Groups * Conservative vs. Liberal
Constitutional Law * Counterterrorism * Criminal Justice * Disloyalty * Economy
Education * Elections, U.S. * Eminent Domain * Energy & Environment
English-Speaking World * Ethnicity & Race * Europe * Europe: Jews
Family Values * Far East * Fiscal Policy, U.S. * Foreign Aid, U.S. * France
Hispanic Separatism * Hispanic Treason * Human Health * Immigration
Infrastructure, U.S. * Intelligence, U.S. * Iran * Iraq * Islamic North Africa
Islamic Threat * Islamism * Israeli vs. Arabs * Jews & Anti-Semitism
Jihad & Jihadism * Jihad Manifesto I * Jihad Manifesto II * Judges, U.S. Federal
Judicial Appointments * Judiciary, American * Latin America * Latino Separatism
Latino Treason * Lebanon * Leftists/Liberals * Legal Issues
Local Government, U.S. * Marriage & Family * Media Political Bias
Middle East: Arabs * Middle East: Iran * Middle East: Iraq * Middle East: Israel
Middle East: Lebanon * Middle East: Syria * Middle East: Tunisia
Middle East: Turkey * Militant Islam * Military Defense * Military Justice
Military Weaponry * Modern Welfare State * Morality & Decency
National Identity * National Security * Natural Resources * News Media Bias
North Africa * Patriot Act, USA * Patriotism * Political Culture * Political Ideologies
Political Parties * Political Philosophy * Politics, American * Presidency, U.S.
Private Property * Property Rights * Public Assistance * Radical Islam
Religion & America * Rogue States & WMD * Russia * Science & Ethics
Sedition & Treason * Senate, U.S. * Social Welfare Policy * South Africa
State Government, U.S. * Subsaharan Africa * Subversion * Syria * Terrorism 1
Terrorism 2 * Treason & Sedition * Tunisia * Turkey * Ukraine
UnAmerican Activity * UN & Its Agencies * USA Patriot Act * U.S. Foreign Aid
U.S. Infrastructure * U.S. Intelligence * U.S. Senate * War & Peace
Welfare Policy * WMD & Arms Control


This is not a commercial website. The sole purpose of the website is to share with interested persons information regarding civics, civic and social education, political science, government, politics, law, constitutional law and history, public policy, and political philosophy and history, as well as current and recent political developments, public issues, and political controversies.



POLITICAL EDUCATION, CONSERVATIVE ANALYSIS

POLITICS, SOCIETY, & THE SOVEREIGN STATE

Website of Dr. Almon Leroy Way, Jr.

Government, Politics, Public Policy, Legal Issues, Constitutional Law, Government & the Economy, Cultural Values, Foreign Affairs, International Relations, Military Defense & National Security, Geopolitics, Terrorism & Homeland Security, American National Interests, Political Systems & Processes, Political Institutions, Political Ideologies, & Political Philosophy

INDEX FOR THE ENTIRE WEBSITE

A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z




THE PROGRESSIVE CONSERVATIVE, USA

An Online Journal of Political Commentary & Analysis

Dr. Almon Leroy Way, Jr., Editor

Conservative & Free-Market Analysis of Government, Politics & Public Policy, Covering Political, Legal, Constitutional, Economic, Cultural, Military, International, Strategic, & Geopolitical Issues