Sun-Times on Middle East Peace

Rays of light? Perhaps. But this little bit just staggers me.

For his part, Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon took a notably softer stance immediately after Arafat's death, asking not for the impossible -- that nominal Arafat successor Mahmoud Abbas control the various terror factions vying for power in the post-Arafat world -- but merely that Abbas have the Palestinian Authority tone down the murderous rhetoric pouring from Palestinian mosques and schools. Abbas has, at least to a degree, complied.

This is just surreal - Israelis live in a world where their chief enemy can use "toning down" the hate speech and calls to murder Jews as a political bargaining chip? This is progress?

What was that conversation?

Sharon: "Okay, we need you to crack down on terrorism."
Abbas: "I can't do that - terrorism is popular with my constituents. We like to kill Jews."
Sharon: "Avanti. Okay. Well, why do you think that is?"
Abbas: "Oh, that is because for the past thirty years hating Jews has become a big part of the Palestinian national identity. We have bonded over this issue."
Sharon: "Avanti, and why do you think that is?"
Abbas: "Well, it's in all of our newspapers. That Jews are the reason for all bad things. Well, Jews and America. But we all know that America only supports Israel because of the Jews. So, you see there we are again."
Sharon: "Avanti. So why is this in all the papers?"
Abbas: "Well, papers want to make money and it is really the only topic of interest that papers are allowed to print."
Sharon: "Allowed to print?"
Abbas: "Of course! You think a Palestinian or Arab newspaper would be allowed to print something against its own government!? Ah ha hah! We are not one of those crazy western democracies, habibi, heh heh."
Sharon: "Well, why is hating Jews so central to everything? There are other things going on in the city - cultural events?"
Abbas: "Yes, well most of our cultural events deal with poetry and drama that calls us to resist the occupation and celebrate the heroicism of our martyrs who blow up Jewish children in school busses or an illegal settlement's classroom."
Sharon: "Well, um...okay what about educational events, secular educational events?"
Abbas: "Heh heh, we don't have a lot of secular education, habibi. And all of our childrens books teach our children that the Jews are to blame for everything. Our history is taught in this light."
Sharon: "But surely not every class! What about math, and science?"
Abbas: "If you see two Israeli tanks in Bethlehem at nine in the morning, and four more arrive at noon, and three more arrive in the afternoon, how many Israeli tanks will there be at 6pm?"
Sharon: "Oy, well, what about religious events and services?"
Abbas: "These are where the martyrs are recuited! These are festivals of anti-Semitism, where we can all come together and read the Quranic verses that tell us to kill Jews."
Sharon: "Okay, so is that the starting point? Is that where it starts - in rhetoric in the mosques and then to the cultural events and education and then to the news?"
Abbas: "Well many of the mosque sermons are televised."
Sharon: "Okay, so it often goes -"
Abbas: "Immediately from sermon to the people. It's quite effective really."
Sharon: "Right, so can't you just tell them to knock it off?"
Abbas: "Tell who? The clerics? No, I couldn't do that - they might preach a sermon against me."
Sharon: "But, okay, look, is it helpful?"
Abbas: "Helpful? Is what helpful?"
Sharon: "This rhetoric - the hating Jews stuff that you teach cradle to grave - you've been doing it for thirty years - is it in your interests?"
Abbas: "In whose interests?"
Sharon: "Your people's interests!!! Has this tactic of national bonding over hating Jews improved the conditions or freedoms of your people?"
Abbas: "Oh! Well, ..... no... I suppose... not really."
Sharon: "So perhaps in the interests of your people you could get the clerics and the papers to cut out the hate rhetoric and begin discussing ways to make peace?"
Abbas: "Cut out? How about we just cut back a little? We have very little else to talk about, you see?"
Sharon: "Okay, so I will announce that I am requesting that you tone down the hate rhetoric from the mosques and schools, and we can worry about the press, and the actual hating of Jews, and the actual murdering of Jews later, beseder?"
Abbas: "Fine, habibi, I will mention it to the clerics - but these people have a mind of their own, you know. It's all the've been taught from childhood, after all."
Sharon: "Avanti."



I'm thinking Monty Python certainly did something on this.