PALESTINIAN INTELLECTUALS AND INTELLECTUAL HONESTY: If we cannot rely on liberal intellectuals among the Palestinian Arabs for some level of objectivity, who is there to counteract the Palestinian textbooks and media?

I received the following from a reliable source that the following unpublished article was available for posting.

A Lesson Too Late for the Learning?
By Barry Rubin

If you want to understand Arab politics, don’t bother with what Western “experts” say, get a feel for what people like to refer to today as the local “narrative.” This doesn’t mean you accept what is said as true, but that you understand how what is said makes things work (or rather, fail to work).
This is an especially interesting exercise in light of the Hamas seizure of the Gaza Strip. What will Palestinians, Arabs in general, and the West learn—if anything—from this experience.

As our text let us take an op-ed by Eyad Sarraj in the Toronto Globe and Mail of June 19, 2007, entitled, “Palestinian Territories: What’s Left.” There’s an irony in the title since Sarraj himself is an activist in the relatively tiny political left of Gaza. He is a physician and has been a human rights’ activist. He is one of the most “Westernized” Palestinian intellectuals and political figures. Eyad Sarraj received the 1997 Physicians for Human Rights Award and the 1998 Martin Ennals Award for human-rights defenders. He is director of the Gaza Community Mental Health Program

In short, Sarraj should be giving us just about the most rational, pragmatic, honest, detached, and accurate analysis we are going to get from the Palestinians. So if he doesn’t get it, well, they are in very serious trouble.
I will present his words below in regular font and my responses or additions in capital letters.

In this Gaza, nobody wins

WELL, ACTUALLY, HAMAS WINS DOESN’T IT? AND IF YOU DON’T RECOGNIZE THAT YOU ARE HEADING IN THE WRONG DIRECTION. WHAT HE MEANS IS THAT NOBODY WILL BE BETTER OFF. BUT HAMAS WILL BE BETTER OFF, WITH POWER, LOOT, AND THE CHANCE TO IMPLEMENT ITS POLICIES. WHAT HE MEANS, OF COURSE, IS THAT THE PALESTINIAN PEOPLE WON’T BE BETTER OFF AS A WHOLE. ALL RIGHT. BUT THAT’S NOT THE ISSUE HERE. HE SHOULD RE-READ KARL MARX’S THE GERMAN IDEOLOGY, THE STORY MAKING FUN OF THE ANARCHIST WHO KEEPS TALKING ABOUT HOW HE REFUSES TO RECOGNIZE THE GOVERNMENT’S POWER EVEN THOUGH IT HAS THROWN HIM INTO PRISON.

Our leaders have only served to further Ariel Sharon's plan, and to de-legitimate our claim to self-government

AHA! AND IT ONLY TOOK UNTIL PARAGRAPH TWO TO GET TO THE FACT THAT THIS IS ALL TO SHARON’S BENEFIT. IF SARRAJ HAD BEEN AN EXTREMIST, HE WOULD HAVE CHARGED THAT SHARON (PERHAPS EVEN IN A COMA, THOUGH MORE PROBABLY ISRAEL) WAS BEHIND THE HAMAS TAKEOVER. SINCE HE IS A MODERATE HE ONLY CLAIMS THAT THE EVENT IS IN ISRAEL’S INTEREST.
BUT OF COURSE IT IS IN HAMAS’S INTEREST, ISN’T IT?

Two years ago, the Egyptian security envoy in Gaza told me that if there were a military confrontation, Hamas could easily defeat the predominantly Fatah security forces and take over all of Gaza in three days. "I've seen both sides," he said, "and it is clear that Hamas scores much higher in five areas: leadership, discipline, training, arms and, most important, the motivation." He said the security forces would be hobbled by being stationed in buildings, while Hamas fighters would be able to hit and run. To the shock of the terrified population of Gaza, that's exactly what happened last week. An Israeli military analyst said the Palestinian Authority forces were like a paper tiger.

OK, I AGREE. BUT THEN WHY DIDN’T FATAH UNDERSTAND THIS? WHY DIDN’T IT DO SOMETHING ABOUT IT? THAT IS THE QUESTION HE SHOULD ADDRESS—WHAT ARE FATAH’S WEAKNESSES AND HOW CAN IT DO BETTER TO DEFEND ITSELF.

I went on a tour Sunday morning. Gaza was wearily quiet and people were bewildered. An old man said to me, "Okay, they destroyed the corrupt. We welcome that. Can they feed us now?" I saw what was left of the looted home of Mohammed Dahlan, commander of Gaza's preventive security service, and of the beach chalets that were used for training his new recruits.
My family and I had spent several traumatic days and sleepless nights, trying to find a safe corner in the house as the shooting and shelling raged around us. My baby son was with his grandparents when the fighting erupted and we could not bring him home or even see him until it subsided. The most alarming thing was the inhuman treatment of those who were captured: One man was tied and thrown from the 10th floor of a building; some injured fighters were killed in their hospital beds; and stories of insane torture were numerous and horrific.

ONE CANNOT HELP BUT SYMPATHIZE WITH THEIR PLIGHT. BUT IF PALESTINIANS LIKE HIM HAD BEEN CAMPAIGNING FOR A COMPROMISE PEACE WITH ISRAEL AND REAL MODERATION FOR YEARS, THIS KIND OF THING MIGHT NOT BE HAPPENING.

It's not easy to explain what has happened here and why. On the surface, it looks like a power struggle that grew out of the U.S.-led blockade of the Hamas government and even to efforts at forging a Hamas-Palestine Liberation Organization unity government.

AHA! SO IT IS THE FAULT OF THE UNITED STATES. IF PALESTINIANS ARE ALWAYS VICTIMS, HOW CAN THEY DO SOMETHING? VICTIMHOOD MIGHT WIN SOME WESTERN HELP (AND MONEY) BUT YOU CANNOT GET SYMPATHY FOR BEING A LOSER ALL THE TIME WITHOUT BEING…A LOSER ALL THE TIME.
OF COURSE, HE DID NOT WRITE: ON THE SURFACE, IT LOOKS LIKE A POWER STRUGGLE BETWEEN HAMAS AND FATAH. BUT IF HE CANNOT EVEN UNDERSTAND AND ADMIT SUCH AN OBVIOUS POINT, HOW CAN HE EXPLAIN, UNDERSTAND OR ACHIEVE ANYTHING?
IN OTHER WORDS, IF THE UNITED STATES DID NOTHING TO TRY TO STOP HAMAS FROM TAKING POWER, THEN OF COURSE HAMAS WOULD NOT TAKE POWER. (NOTE BY THE WAY THAT AID TO THE PALESTINIANS DOUBLED DURING THE PERIOD OF SO-CALLED BLOCKADE.) AND EVEN FOR THIS TO BE LOGICAL, HE WOULD HAVE TO ARGUE: THE PALESTINIANS SUFFERED SO MUCH UNDER THE BLOCKADE THAT THEY TURNED TO HAMAS OUT OF PATRIOTIC FURY. BUT HE DOESN’T SAY THAT. HE JUST WANTS TO BLAME AMERICA.

Last year, I was among a small group of Palestinians that met Elliott Abrams, President George Bush's deputy national security adviser. He was blunt that the Hamas government, which was democratically elected, must be pushed out at any cost. We're not Hamas followers, but we tried to persuade him and other officials that engagement, rather than confrontation, is the better choice; but their determination was unshakable. We warned there would be suffering and starvation and even armed conflict, but to no avail.

BUT THERE WASN’T SUFFERING AND STARVATION—WHICH SARRAJ WOULD ADMIT IF HE WERE HONEST. WHY IS IT THAT THE PALESTINIANS DO SO BADLY EVEN THOUGH THEY GET MORE PER CAPITA AID THAN ANY GROUP IN HISTORY? WHY DID ARAFAT WALK AWAY FROM $23 BILLION IN AID OFFERED IF HE MADE PEACE IN 2000? WHY CANNOT HE SAY: HAMAS TOOK POWER BECAUSE IT WANTED TO TAKE POWER NOT BECAUSE “THE DEVIL MADE ME DO IT.”

It wouldn't be the fault of the U.S. if that happened, he said.

WELL, I SUPPOSE THAT IS SAID TO PROVE IT IS THE FAULT OF THE U.S.

The siege imposed on the Palestinians has been biting. Poverty has reached unprecedented levels, along with unemployment. According to the World Bank, 60 per cent of Palestinians live on less than $2 a day. Israel, which is in full control of all Gaza borders and its sea coast, intensified the blockade by curtailing Palestinians' movement. At times, even fishing has been prohibited.

WELL, ACTUALLY, IF YOU LOOK AT THE DATA THE PALESTINIANS SITUATION GOT WORSE AFTER 2000 AFTER THEY REJECTED PEACE, LAUNCHED A WAR OF TERRORISM, AND THUS FORFEITED AID. HE DOESN’T ADMIT THAT THE EU CUT OFF AID BECAUSE OF WASTE AND CORRUPTION BEFORE HAMAS WAS ELECTED! AND AS FOR FISHING, HE KNOWS WELL THAT RESTRICTIONS ARE RELATED TO ARMS SMUGGLING. AND HE KNOWS WELL THAT ISRAEL HAS CONTINUED TO PROVIDE ELECTRICITY WHEN THE PALESTINIAN AUTHORITY DIDN’T PAY ITS BILLS. BUT THE LESSON HERE, BY THE WAY, IS THAT NO MATTER HOW MUCH HUMANITARIAN AID OR OTHER ASSISTANCE ISRAEL PROVIDES IT WILL NEVER GET ANY CREDIT AMONG PALESTINIANS FOR DOING SO.

Already overcrowded, lawlessness became rampant in Gaza. Kidnapping, theft and armed robbery have frightened everyone.

THE DISHONEST IMPLICATION HERE IS THAT EVERYTHING WAS FINE UNTIL JANUARY 2005. THIS IS, OF COURSE, NOT TRUE, AS THIS SITUATION GOES BACK TO 1994 AND HE KNOWS IT.
HOW DO I KNOW HE KNOWS IT. BECAUSE:
Sarraj was arrested in 1995 and 1996 after accusing the PA of corruption.[i] When a visiting American asked about Sarraj’s arrest, Arafat replied in Arabic. His translator explained it was a regrettable matter and Arafat was looking into it. Arafat angrily interrupted him to complain the translation was inaccurate. What he really said was that Sarraj had insulted him and would pay for it.[ii] In June, 1996 Sarraj was briefly arrested a third time, beaten, and charged with selling drugs and assaulting his interrogator.[iii]
AND BY THE WAY, HERE’S WHAT HE TOLD THE NY TIMES ON OCTOBER 17, 2005, BEFORE HAMAS WON THE ELECTION:
Sarraj, a prominent psychiatrist here, is not surprised.
"Who rules Gaza?" he asked. "It's certainly not the central
Palestinian Authority." There is no law or security here, he said, adding, "The reality is that the Gaza Strip is controlled from outside by Israel and from inside by groups intertwined with security forces and tribes."

Last week, my brother's car was taken away at gunpoint. Many people have been forced to surrender their wallets or cellphones. Beggars roam the streets asking for money or bread. For more than 18 months, civil servants did not receive a salary, only parts of it every now and then. Municipal workers were given a bag of bread every day instead of their wages.

PERHAPS THIS SHOWS THAT FATAH AND HAMAS ARE NOT VERY GOOD AT GOVERNING. ANY HINT OF THIS IN HIS WRITING? NOPE. SO HOW CAN ONE PERSUADE PALESTINIANS THAT THEY SHOULD HAVE BETTER LEADERS WHEN THE CURRENT ONES HAVE NO FAULTS? THEY ARE JUST VICTIMS OF THE AMERICANS AND ISRAEL.

The explosion was bound to happen, and the last straw came when the interior minister declared that he could not fulfil his duties and resigned. He blamed the obstructive attitude of Fatah's director of preventive security.

WELL, NOT PRECISELY. HE RESIGNED BECAUSE HE COULD NOT MERGE THE HAMAS AND FATAH FORCES OR FIND JOBS FOR THE VASTLY OVER-MANNED SECURITY FORCES BECAUSE NO ONE WAS WILLING TO COMPROMISE. MOREOVER, THE TWO GROUPS ARE INDIFFERENT TO SUCH THINGS AS BUDGETARY LIMITS OR THE PUBLIC WELFARE. HOW ABOUT SAYING: WE ARE LEAD BY TWO DICTATORIAL, AUTHORITARIAN MOVEMENTS WHICH EMBRACE TERRORISM AND EXTREMISM. WE NEED A MODERATE THIRD FORCE WHICH REJECTS THEIR NONSENSE. IF SARRAJ DOESN’T SAY THIS, NOBODY WELL. WHAT GOOD ARE MODERATES WHO BASICALLY TALK JUST LIKE EXTREMISTS?

Of course, Palestinian affairs are not purely Palestinian. The big players are in Washington, Tehran and Tel Aviv. It seems to us that the U.S. and Iran are fighting their war in Gaza, and in Lebanon and Iraq.

AHA! PALESTINIANS ARE JUST INNOCENT BYSTANDERS, VICTIMS AGAIN. AT LEAST HE INCLUDES IRAN HERE, BUT NOTE THERE ARE NO ARAB BAD GUYS ONLY FOREIGNERS. ISN’T HAMAS A PALESTINIAN GROUP? ISN’T HAMAS IN GAZA THE PRODUCT OF THE EGYPTIAN MUSLIM BROTHERHOOD, NOT TEHRAN? I REPEAT: IF YOU HAVE NOTHING TO DO WITH THE PROBLEM THEN YOU HAVE NOTHING TO DO WITH THE SOLUTION. SO NO REFORM, NO REVOLUTION, NO RETHINKING IS NEEDED AMONG PALESTINIANS THEMSELVES. AND IT IS THIS KIND OF THINKING THAT HAS GIVEN US AN ENDLESS CONFLICT WITH ISRAEL, TERRORISM, THROWING AWAY A CHANCE TO GET A PALESTINIAN STATE, THE HAMAS VICTORY, AND MUCH ELSE. IT IS THE KIND OF THINKING SARRAJ REPRESENTS—AND NOT “WASHINGTON, TEHRAN AND TEL AVIV” THAT IS THE SOURCE OF THE PROBLEM.

But this situation is more than just a power struggle. It stems from the absence in Palestine of a culture of democracy and the rule of law.

OK. SO HERE IS A MODERATE STANDPOINT AT LAST.

Emerging in the mid-1990s from Israel's occupation, we Gazans dreamed of a new era. Instead, our Palestinian Authority continued the culture of the gun. This culture is based on loyalty, secrecy and decisively rooting out opponents. There is no regard for human rights or the rule of law or even human life itself.

HE MIGHT MENTION THAT THE ONLY REASON THERE WAS AN EMERGENCE WAS BECAUSE THE PLO MADE AN AGREEMENT WITH ISRAEL THAT PERSUADED ISRAEL TO MAKE CONCESSIONS, BUT THAT WOULD BE TOO MUCH TO HOPE FOR NO DOUBT.

What began in the name of resistance to the Israeli occupation became worse during Yasser Arafat's years in power. Many times, I was confronted and even jailed by officials of the security forces - people who had once been in the resistance but showed no understanding of the seriousness of torture and abuse of the law.
The culture of the gun is contagious.

AGREED. BUT WHEN HE SAYS IT IS CONTAGIOUS THIS IMPLIES THAT PERHAPS VIEWING ISRAELIS AS SUB-HUMAN DEMONS EVENTUALLY TRANSLATES INTO TREATING OTHER PALESTINIANS LIKE DIRT.

Armed people exhibit a euphoric and self-confident image as the gun in their hands compensates for inner impotence. In the face of defeat and humiliation against the powerful outside enemy, people look for smaller enemies they can win over. The armed militia leader becomes the new model, the symbol of power who can kill at will and torture others without a hint of remorse.

ABSOLUTELY.

As the dream of an independent Palestine fades - the result of Israel's continuing grab of West Bank land and the anarchy of Gaza - we now imagine the nightmares that may come next.

HUH? ISRAEL’S CONTINUING GRAB OF WEST BANK LAND? BUT ISRAEL WAS OFFERING FURTHER WITHDRAWALS WHICH WERE CANCELED BECAUSE OF TERRORIST ATTACKS ON ISRAEL. SO ISRAEL WANTS TO GET RID OF MOST, IN SOME CASES, ALL OF THE WEST BANK. NOTICE HOW THE CRITIQUE OF FATAH DISAPPEARS. BUT THIS IS MANDATORY: TO EARN THE RIGHT TO CRITIQUE PALESTINIAN GROUPS YOU HAVE TO HAVE THE PROPER QUOTA OF ANTI-ISRAEL RHETORIC. BUT OF COURSE AS LONG AS YOU BLAME ISRAEL YOU CANNOT MAKE PEACE WITH ISRAEL. IF YOUR DIAGNOSIS IS THAT THE PROBLEM IS ISRAEL DOESN’T WANT TO GIVE UP ANY TERRITORY, HOW CAN YOU ADVOCATE MAKING AN AGREEMENT WITH ISRAEL IN WHICH TERRITORY IS EXCHANGED FOR PEACE? BUT YOU JUST SAID WE CANNOT TRUST THEM? THUS, THE MODERATES UNDERMINE MODERATION AND CONFIRM RADICAL POLICIES. THIS IS A PRINCIPLE THAT APPLIES WIDELY IN THE ARAB WORLD.

Will there be three states instead of two: Israel, the West Bank and Gaza? Will there only be one? Will Gaza become an even more extreme place than it is now?
Palestinians are bitterly divided in politics and in geography, as the emergency cabinet sits and operates in the West Bank, while the Hamas-led government sits and operates in Gaza. Separating our two territories was one of the objectives of Ariel Sharon's plan of unilateral withdrawal. The tragic irony is that Palestinian leaders have only served to further the Sharon plan, and to de-legitimate our claim to self-government.

ACTUALLY THIS IS A LIE. SHARON’S PLAN AND THAT OF OLMERT WAS TO WITHDRAW FROM BOTH. I NEVER HEARD ANYONE IN ISRAEL TALK IN THESE TERMS. NOR WAS THE INTENT TO DELEGITIMATE ANY PALESTINIAN CLAIM TO SELF-GOVERNMENT. THE PALESTINIANS DID THAT, NOT ISRAEL.
BUT READING THE ABOVE MADE ME REMEMBER SOMETHING. LET’S SEE ABOUT MR. SARRAJ’S CONTRIBUTION TO THIS MESS. WHAT IS HIS RECORD?:
In 1999, Sarraj wrote that Palestinians were better off without the peace process. Previously, they had many “winning cards…despite our weaknesses.” Refusing to recognize Israel had been a “nuclear weapon” which they had “refused to surrender for 50 years.” Now, he claimed, the peace process had taken away armed struggle, national unity, and the sympathy of the world’s media. Palestinian refugees abroad were thinking of settling down in their places of exile, “as if everything were over!” Before serious negotiations could really begin, he concluded, the Palestinians “must regain our winning cards.”[iv]
And this was precisely what Arafat tried to do. For many, it was unimaginable that he would prefer extremism, violence and suffering to peace and statehood at the price of RELATIVELY SMALL compromises. Arafat, however, was counting on this belief since under THAT ASSUMPTION; Israel would have to be at fault FOR ANY continuing bloodshed and occupation.

SO IN 1999, SARRAJ HIMSELF WAS AGAINST ANY CONCLUSION OF THE PEACE PROCESS IN SUCCESS. SO HE TOO IS RESPONSIBLE FOR WHAT HAPPENED.

The only solution is a government that is made up of neutral people of integrity who advocate peace negotiations with Israel but insist on keeping Palestine intact.

OK BUT DO YOU KNOW ANYONE LIKE THAT? EVEN TEN SUCH PEOPLE? DO THEY HAVE POPULAR SUPPORT? AND IF THE CURRENT LEADERS ARE SO BAD WHY DON’T THEY HAVE ANY SUPPORT? WHAT KIND OF THINKING AND IDEOLOGY HAS PREVENTED THEM FROM HAVING ANY MASS SUPPORT?


[i] New York Times, May 6, 22, 27, and 28, 1996. He was released shortly after his family wrote a note saying he had been misquoted. Later, though, Sarraj confirmed that the quotes were correct.
[ii] Interview.
[iii]. New York Times, June 11, 1996; Palestine Report, June 14 and 28, 1996; LAW, press release, June 12, 14, 16, 17, and 27, 1996; Washington Post, June 27, 1996.
[iv] Iyad Sarraj, "Oslo, Democracy and the Return of al‑Hakeem," Palestine Report, August 18, 1999.


Barry Rubin is Director of the Global Research in International Affairs (GLORIA) Center , Interdisciplinary Center (IDC) and editor of the Middle East Review of International Affairs (MERIA) Journal http://meria.idc.ac.il. His latest book is The Truth about Syria (Palgrave-Macmillan).

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