11i
Editor
s Letter
•
TROY
RESTAURAM
wEEu
presented by the Troy Chamber of Commerce
& local fine dining restaurants
SUMAY
Tribute To Terror
S
o much for Palestinian restraint the moment that
indirect peace talks seem imminent between the
Palestinian Authority and Israel.
No sooner had U.S. special Middle East envoy George
Mitchell gone to the embattled region on March 6 than the
P.A. announced it still intended to name a traffic square in the
West Bank city of Ramallah in mem-
ory of terrorist Dalai al-Mughrabi,
who led the worst terror attack in
Israel's history. In 1978, she and 10
other Palestinian terrorists hijacked
an Israeli bus along a main coastal
highway between Haifa and Tel Aviv
and murdered 37 civilians, including
an American.
Only at the 11th hour did the
Robert Sklar
P.A. cancel plans to hold a March
Editor
11 naming ceremony on the 32nd
anniversary of the 1978 carnage. The
official ceremony was scrapped apparently in deference to U.S.
Vice President Joe Biden's visit to the region. But the naming
— Shahida (Martyr) Dalai Mughrabi Square, replete with
flowers, trees and her picture — still happened at a "popular
inauguration" led by the governing Fatah party's youth move-
ment and attended by senior P.A. officials.
Israel had asked U.S. President Barak Obama to pressure
the P.A. to stop the dedication. Biden had come to support
"proximity talks," which would involve Mitchell shuttling
between Ramallah and Jerusalem as mediator. The P.A. gov-
erns only the West Bank through its duly elected Fatah party
and President Mahmoud Abbas. llamas, a U.S.-declared ter-
rorist organization, rules the Gaza Strip.
In a statement exacerbating what Israel faces in seeking
peace, Faez abu Ita, Fatah's official spokesman, described
al-Mughrabi as a symbol of "our national struggle' He said
the Palestinian people and Fatah are proud of her sacrifice in
fighting the Israeli "occupation:' Make no mistake: He meant
all of Israel is part of Palestine.
He also said Palestinians have the right to celebrate al-
Mughrabi however they see fit. That's true, but not if they are
serious about negotiating with the country she targeted for
terror. Abbas referred to the bus hijacking as "military activi-
ties," proclaiming he had no reason to renounce it.
Zionist Organization of America President Mort Klein is
right: "A Palestinian leader who neither arrests nor ceases to
honor them is not one who will lead Palestinians on a new
path of peace and reconciliation."
Homegrown Extremist
Al-Mughrabi wasn't a renegade terrorist. She was a Fatah
member when she led a cell of terrorists that infiltrated Israel
from Lebanon and hijacked a bus of tourists and sightseers.
The dead included 12 children. The American victim, Gail
Rubin, was a 39-year-old nature photographer and niece of
former U.S. Sen. Abraham Ribicoff of Connecticut.
In the past two years, al-Mughrabi has been hailed repeat-
edly, according to Israel Project, a Jerusalem-based watchdog
organization. Two girls' high schools bear her name as do two
summer camps. One of the schools was renovated with money
allocated to the P.A. by the U.S. Agency for International
Development! How outrageous is that?
There's a Palestinian youth soccer tournament named the
Dalai al-Mughrabi Football Championship. And last year, a
computer center in Hebron was named after al-Mughrabi.
Inbred Hatred
What's perplexing about the P.A.'s fixation with al-Mughrabi is
not only the hubris involved, but also that a key aspect of the
Israeli-Palestinian peace process is a supposed commitment
by both sides to desist from inciting.
What's obvious is that a shahid, an Arab martyr who dies
terrorizing and murdering the "enemy" in Allah's name, is
put on a Palestinian pedestal, not denounced. P.A. Minister
of Culture Siham Barghouti declared that memorializing sha-
hids "is the least we can give them." The reason: Shahids are
revered as heroes, role models and bridges to freedom.
This backdrop is why the Fatah youth movement in the
Nablus district helped prepare Shahida Dalal Mughrabi
Square. Nablus spokesman Hasan Fakih told the official P.A.
newspaper Al-Hayat Al-Jadida the intent of that work was to
spotlight the values of volunteerism as well as loyalty to the
blood shed by shahids "for the sake of the Palestinian cause."
In hopes of reversing the Palestinian culture of hate, the
Israeli government announced last week it would use a new
incitement index to monitor the Palestinian news media.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told the Knesset
Foreign Affairs Committee: "People must know exactly what is
happening on this issue because for a peace agreement, edu-
cation toward peace and acceptance of Israel are needed."
Stay Vigilant
The West, naively or longingly, believes lasting peace is
currently possible with Fatah, if not Hamas. But Fatah's
Constitution still calls for Israel's destruction — with terror
the method of choice. Further, official P.A. TV, despite all the
scrutiny, still teaches kids that all of Israel, euphemistically
"the 1948 territories:' is part of "occupied Palestine." P.A.
policy depicts a world void of Israel, which became a state in
1948.
Remember: Palestinians are Arabs who view Israeli Arabs
as soul mates. And the position among many Arab leaders
seems to be a zero-sum, politically and theologically. From the
perspective of theology, that position is reflected in the belief
that Islam supersedes Judaism, rendering us a delegitimized
non-people. In the realm of Arab politics, the position is rein-
forced by an unwillingness to recognize the legitimacy of a
Jewish state; Arab news and educational systems freely vilify
Jews and Judaism.
The Western mind believes there are no absolutes; that all
positions are negotiable. Not so in the Islamist — or Islamic
extremist — mind where, ultimately, there is no place for
Jews in an Arab world. Obviously, not all Arabs embrace this
chillingly rejectionist approach. Some have even condemned
it. The problem is that too many Arab leaders still believe
— hence, the continued glorification of terrorists. ❑
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WHERE WILL YOU
PILL YOUR PLATE?
Benihana
Brio Tuscan Grille
Charley's Crab
Crumpets Restaurant
Somerset Inn
Kona Grill
Kruse & Muer on Wilshire
La Marsa
Loccino Italian Grill & Bar
McCormick & Schmick's
Fresh Seafood
Mon Jin Lau
Morton's The Steakhouse
Ocean Prime
Ruth's Chris Steak House
The Capital Grille
The Melting Pot of Troy
Tre Monti Ristorante
Visit
www.troyrestaurantweek.com
to view special menus or
to find out how this event is
helping a local charity.
(prices not valid with any
other discounts or offers)
Is there hope for Mitchell-monitored
peace talks?
Can Israel overcome Palestinian
indoctrination?
March 18 = 2010
5