EDITOR'S NOTEBOOK
Palestinian Deceit
I
ncreasingly, the Palestinian people are speaking up and
their message is clear: The future of the Middle East lies
in liberty for all. In turn, creation of a Palestinian democ-
racy would help end the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and bring
lasting peace. So said Dr. Condoleezza Rice at her Jan. 26
confirmation hearing before the Senate Committee on
Foreign Relations as our new secretary of state.
What she said sounded nice. But it's a pipe dream.
Palestinians and other Arabs on the street may want liberty,
but their shifty leaders and the terrorists have other ideas.
The very same day that Dr. Rice shared her hopes, Israeli
Diaspora Affairs Minister Natan Sharansky
broke the glass ceiling above the Palestinian
Authority's new president, Mahmoud Abbas.
Abbas is considered a moderate by Arab stan-
dards, which isn't something to necessarily
cheer. He's also a Holocaust denier who has
branded Israel the Zionist enemy.
At a Jan. 26 press briefing, Sharansky
declared that the PA., even under Abbas,
ROBERT A. promotes genocide against Jews. The briefing
SKLAR
was driven by the stunning expose "Kill A
Editor
Jew-Go To Heaven." The Palestinian Media
Watch report probes how Palestinian leaders
continue to teach an ideology of hatred of Jews and Israel so
virulent that it mandates the murder of Jews as a religious
obligation, a sort of human sacrifice sanctioned by the Koran
in the name of Allah. Palestinian terror has left more than
1,000 people in Israel dead, and thousands
more maimed, over the past 52 months.
The briefing took place 13 days before
Abbas met Israeli Prime Minister Ariel
Sharon at a Palestinian-Israeli peace summit
hosted by Egyptian President Hosni
Mobarak this week. The PMW report rein-
forces that Jew hating and anti-Zionism is
embedded in Palestinian life: religion,
schools, politics, entertainment, the govern-
ment-controlled newspapers and TV sta-
tions. It documents how the PA has built a
layered case against Jewish existence by link-
ing Jews to Palestinian turmoil. The case is
likened to how "a prosecutor would bring a
legal case in a court of law to demand a
death sentence."
even as it prepares to retreat from Gaza and much of the west-
ern bank of the Jordan River. East Jerusalem is a powder keg.
Besides, genocidal feelings don't vanish that quickly.
I'm skeptical that the international community would, as
Dr. Rice believes, help the Palestinians build democracy, law-
fulness and a viable economy in a sovereign state. The U.S.
has pledged $350 million in aid, but few Arab neighbor
nations have anted up. They know the P.A. isn't destitute. It's
the recipient of more than $5 billion in international aid since
the 1993 Oslo Accords. The Palestine Liberation Organization
also has billions, thanks to legal and deceptive investments.
Why don't the Palestinians dip deeper into their stash?
Moreover, are we that naive to think the Palestinians don't
launder our money even if we route it through relief agencies?
Shades Of Nazism
A new generation of Jew haters and anti-Zionists is brewing
amid the 2.4 million Arabs who live in the Gaza Strip and
West Bank, which would make up Arab-controlled Palestine
should the Palestinian ever achieve statehood.
'As in Nazi Germany," says Director Itamar Marcus of the
Jerusalem-based PMW, "there is an entire `culture of hatred' in
Palestinian society today, from textbooks to crossword puzzles,
from day camps to TV music videos — and calling for the
murder of Jews, as Jews, is the end result."
Violence against Israel continues sporadically despite a
"cease fire" among terrorist groups, a pungent oxymoron.
Even as Abbas was winning a corrupt election and spouting
platitudes for change, Sheik Ibrahim Madiras
blamed the Asian tsunami on the Jews and
America. And he re-espoused the Palestinian
longing to destroy Israel and America. Hear
the hatred in a sermon: "Oh Muslims! The
Jews are Jews. Their character and custom
are the corruption and destruction of this
land. We keep warning you: The Jews are a
cancer that spread inside the body of the
Islamic and Arab nation..."
World Jewry has shied away from compar-
ing what's going on within Palestinian lands
with the sophistication of Hitler's Third
Reich, although the Palestinians certainly
have mastered the arts of Jew-baiting propa-
ganda and street murder. We've somehow let
pass the Palestinian Authority's Nazi-like fun-
damental dehumanizing of Jews.
Dr. Rice: Sends shaky vibes
A Troubling Veneer
The core issue is neither borders nor com-
promise. It's a battle of Allah and believers
I respect Dr. Rice and pray she can bring
against the Jews and their state. Palestinian leaders have fos-
American diplomacy to bear on the embattled fronts of the
tered this confrontation. Why should we trust Abbas, a disci-
Middle East. But I'm ptizzled by her confirmation day claim,
ple of terror monger Yasser Arafat?
"Now we have reached a moment of opportunity and we
Even if Abbas managed to stop terrorist attacks on Jews,
must seize it. We take great encouragement from the elections
and the icy relationship of Israelis and Palestinians began to
just held in the Palestinian territories."
thaw, Palestinian kids already are stained with the Nazi-like
The roots of Palestinian hatred run deep. Don't read too
belief that Jews are evil and must be exterminated. We can't let
much into Abbas' "crackdown" on terrorists through either
such indoctrination fester and infiltrate the next generation.
briefly detaining them or patrolling against Gaza-originating
Yes, flickers of encouragement are coming from Sharm el-
rocket attacks on Israeli targets. Little has been done inside
Sheikh. But they must stand the test of time. Israel has the
Gaya City or Ramallah to disable the infrastructure of terror-
ability to make concessions, but the security of the state is not
ist-bound weapons smuggling and weapons making.
negotiable.
To her credit, Dr. Rice acknowledges the fine line between
To succeed in the Holy Land, Condoleezza. Rice can't forget
fighting terror in word and in deed. She stands tall in con-
that the Palestinian Authority is like a chameleon, forever
demning Arab states, like Syria, that incite violence against
changing its color. Israel, our ancestral homeland, is at the
Israel, yet also call for peace and a two-state solution.
mercy of that haunting and daunting way of life.
But her optimism is baseless. Israel can't let down its guard
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2005
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