A Fulcrum Moment
Nor has Abbas dealt with the roots of extremism. Palestinian religious, academic, and political elites continue their incendiary ideology of virulent hatred of Jews. In a country where two thirds believe in the implementation of Islamic law, or sharia, and only 16 percent believe in the law of the legislature, the killing of Jews is presented as a religious obligation--labeling them the enemies of Allah, all to be annihilated.
Here are some examples. A senior PA cleric, Ibrahim Mudayris, who preaches more than half the officially sponsored PA TV sermons on Friday nights, stated: "The cause of our nation's problems and the world's problems is the Jews. . . . You will find the Jews behind every conflict on Earth. . . . Don't ask Germany what it did to the Jews, since the Jews are the ones who provoked the Nazis so the world would go to war against it." Another imam, Muhammad Ibrahim Maadi, preached on television that the Jews "will not be deterred unless we blow ourselves up willingly and as our duty, in their midst."
Teaching martyrdom. This notion of the shahid martyr has become so ingrained in the Palestinian culture that it is a major theme of formal education, family values, religious practices, television broadcasting, posters, pre-suicide eulogies, trading cards, family celebrations, movies, music, games, and summer camp. A study by a Palestinian psychiatrist, Shafik Massalah, found that over half of the Palestinian population ages 5 to 11 dreams of becoming a suicide bomber. The same Maadi said on PA-controlled television, "Shame upon he who does not educate his children in the education of jihad. Blessings upon he who dons a vest of explosives on himself or on his children and goes upon the midst of the Jews." Yet the international media and many governments say almost nothing about these vicious trends.
Abbas was Arafat's deputy for 40 years. Think of how we Americans would feel if Saddam Hussein's deputy for 40 years took over Iraq. When Abbas took over, he said he was going to "follow in the footsteps of Arafat." So, under the cover of pacific words and professing a wish to dismantle the terrorist operations, he is all the time really whispering that he cannot do so--and getting away with this brazen hypocrisy. He is well received everywhere in the world and showered with financial aid while Hamas and the terrorists are allowed to accumulate more and more lethal weapons and continue their violence.
The Bush administration has reverted to the pattern of the Clinton administration, which also failed to hold the Palestinians accountable. It searches for diplomatic painkillers rather than real solutions. It gives the Palestinians the impression that Israeli security concerns can be dismissed in the interest of helping Abbas politically, or the Palestinians economically.
Washington must wake up to the grim realities on the ground. The outcome of the Israeli election will determine the range of flexibility that the likely winner, Sharon, can bring to the battered peace process. Force-feeding a clearly flawed agreement down his throat will accomplish nothing. If the wave of terrorism re-emerges and is connected to the dishonored agreement around Gaza, it will be blamed on Sharon and greatly damage the lingering hopes so lamentably betrayed by Abbas.
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