8.4.07

Palestinians

One of the main arguments Zionists use against Palestinians is the fact, they still dwell in refugee camps and yearn to go back to their lands. "Why don't they get assimilated in their new societies?" "It is the fault of them and their Arab brethren," they would say!
But let us take a look at the issue from a different point of view: Didn't the Jews maintain their national aspiration for a return to the holy land? Did they not stay for 2000 years in the diaspora while maintaining themselves as a distinct group from those other groups they lived amongst?
So why is it normal, and even a source of pride, for Jews to have maintained their cultural and national identities for 3000 years, and, at the same time, it is a signal of dysfunctional Arab mentality that Palestinians, 59 years after the Nakbeh, still maintain their national and cultural identities which are very distinct from those identities of the communities in which they live.
I have to admit that managing to maintain such an identity for a very long time requires a great deal of determination, and identification with those groups to which people belong. So, after all, Jews and Arabs have more in common than just their fight over the land. They maybe in love with it just the same. That, however, does not justify the atrocities committed in the name of this love.

1 comment:

Fabulous in the Holy Land said...

good point! Sometimes there are so many recycled talking points floating around (on both sides), it is refreshing to hear a different perspective. Looking forward to reading more!