12 | DECEMBER 3 • 2020
VIEWS
essay
Do We Dare to Hope?
W
hat did it for me
was the killing
of Muhammad
al-Durrah on the Gaza Strip
in September 2000. He was a
12-year-old Palestinian boy
who hid behind
his father as they
were caught
in the cross-
fire between
Palestinian secu-
rity forces and
the IDF.
The world
watched as the boy cried in ter-
ror, then was struck by a bullet.
I was managing editor for the
Jewish Telegraphic Agency at
the time. Shortly after this inci-
dent, which was the beginning
of the larger Palestinian upris-
ing that became known as the
Second Intifada, I resigned my
job at JTA, moved from New
York City back to my old home
in Metro Detroit, and quit
writing about Jewish issues for
the next 16 years.
This was not what I had
signed up for.
I was among the Oslo Peace
Process hopefuls. I was con-
vinced that at JTA, I was going
to help lead coverage of a
new era in Israeli-Palestinian
relations, a time when I could
write about, and think about,
what it means to be a Jew
without a constant reminder
of Mideast conflict. I never
wanted antisemitism, or the
Middle East, to define the way
I write about Judaism. Today,
this is unavoidable and now
that I am writing again about
Jewish issues, I am faced with
the same frustration.
We can argue forever over
what put that father and son
in that position, and how and
why the IDF was exchanging
gunfire with a Palestinian secu-
rity force that was supposed to
have been their peace partners.
I was angry at the circumstanc-
es that put that boy in harm’s
way. It was just after Israeli
Prime Minister Ehud Barak
and Palestinian President
Yasser Arafat had broken off
peace talks. Or, I should say,
Arafat refused a Palestinian
state and chose, instead, anoth-
er generation of bloodshed. It
was egged on by Ariel Sharon’s
visit to the Temple Mount,
which unnecessarily height-
ened tensions, but it was failure
of Palestinian leadership and
vision that created the Second
Intifada and placed that poor
boy in the line of fire.
I’m bringing this up today
because I don’t want to fall into
the same trap of unwarranted
optimism, then sudden dejec-
tion, in light of the so-called
“
Abraham Accords” between
Israel and some of her Arab
neighbors (see story, pg. 28).
What many forget is that
the 1993 Oslo Accords were
made possible, in part, by the
coalition the United States
put together against Saddam
Hussein in the First Gulf War
in 1991. Today, an Arab coa-
lition against Iran can create
another window of opportu-
nity to tackle peace between
Israel and the Palestinians.
I have confidence that the
opportunity will present itself,
but I am not confident the
Palestinians will avail them-
selves of it.
In July 2000, I was still hope-
ful, writing that Barak was
swinging for the bleachers. He
felt he had a mandate, and he
probably just barely did at the
time. I quoted Barak as saying,
“The fall of the Soviet Union
and the victory over Iraq in the
1991 Persian Gulf War … gave
Israel a window of opportunity
to make peace with its neigh-
bors.”
By November 2000, I was
back in Michigan, interviewing
Arabs in Dearborn during the
election. Surprisingly, they
mostly went for George W
.
Bush. The top concern for
Arab Americans in this pre-
911 time was the perception
that President Clinton has not
been a fair mediator in the
peace process.
Shortly thereafter, I quit
Jewish journalism and helped
launch a science and technol-
ogy magazine in Ann Arbor.
I did not return to writing
about Jewish issues until
Charlottesville, when I was
moved to speak at an anti-Nazi
vigil in Traverse City.
ANGER AT LEADERSHIP
Today, the Palestinians appear
to be going down the same
road as before. Yet, there is a
detectable difference between
the words of the P.A. and
Hamas leadership, and the
words of Palestinians them-
selves.
There is a revolt among
average Palestinians against
hardline Hamas rule. Average
Palestinians are actually
bypassing official channels
and talking to Israelis. So, this
time, I don’t think there will
be a “third intifada” to distract
from the failure of Palestinian
leadership. There is just as
much anger with Hamas as
there is with Israelis. I’m seeing
some cracks appear that the
U.S. and Israel could exploit
to relaunch talks with the
Palestinians.
To me, it doesn’t feel like the
hopeful ’90s all over again, and
I don’t think I’ll ever go back
to that level of optimism unless
an actual permanent-status
deal is signed. But I think the
momentum of normalization
with Arab states could be
used as an opportunity for
Palestinians to end their
permanent refugee status ... or
they can deepen their alliance
with Iran, through Hamas, and
lose another opportunity for
peace.
As for previously hostile
states making peace with Israel
in the Abraham Accords, well,
governments change. And
they can change in a heartbeat.
Look at Turkey.
So, long story short: History
says peace can bring with it
its own momentum. But so
can unrest, and the horrible
specter, for me, of the death of
Muhammad al-Durrah, can
easily emerge again. Yet, the
Palestinians can be masters of
their own fate if they choose.
Howard Lovy is an editor and writer
based in Traverse City. He is the
former managing editor of the Jewish
Telegraphic Agency.
Howard Lovy
Contributing
Writer
Standing guard during the
Second Infitada
The Abraham Accords could meet
the same dead end as Oslo.
IDF