Ben-Dror Yemini, Senior Writer, Maariv Daily Newspaper
Published in Maariv on Oct 7, 2009 Mon Oct 12 2009
There have been numerous reports in the past number of months about the flourishing economy under
the leadership of Palestinian Prime Minister Salam Fayyad. Various data
demonstrate a significant rise in the GDP and the quality of life. . Ramallah, the reports inform us, has Tel Aviv-style pubs. Cool. And
Jenin, the city that achieved infamy because of the massacre that never
occurred, has put on a new face with a new commercial center. Just like
the Azrieli mall. And Zakariya Zubeidi, the guy who once used to be a
wanted man, has changed his vocation.
But we’ve seen all this before.
In the 1990s a veritable fortune flowed into the Palestinians’ coffers. Every Palestinian received USD
1,330, as opposed to the Marshall Plan for the rehabilitation of Europe
after World War II, which granted every European USD 272. In other
words, four times as much. Yes, that much. That aid also contributed to
an average growth rate of six percent between the years 1994-1999. Even
Israel failed to achieve a growth rate of that sort in those years. What
followed afterwards is well known. A particularly violent Intifada,
which caused thousands of casualties and an economic breakdown. The
Palestinians are still 30% away from the GDP per capita that they had a
decade ago.
We all know the theory. “It’s the economy, stupid.” That might be a
theory that applies to the West. But here in the East the story is a
little different. Here the rules are different. In the competition
between economic rationalism and religious incitement-the incitement
wins. That didn’t begin this week. Nor did it begin nine years ago.
That’s our history.
The Economy is of No Interest to Them
Jewish settlement brought in its wake economic prosperity.
Cooperation would have led to shared prosperity. That isn’t what
happened. Prosperity was an option. Incitement prevailed. Hajj Amin
al-Husseini, Hitler’s friend and protégé, turned the Zionist plot to
seize control over the Temple Mount into the focal point of his
incitement. This very same Husseini also joined forces with the Muslim
Brotherhood while they were building their influence and strength in
Egypt.
The Muslim Brotherhood is the mother movement of both Hamas and the
northern chapter of the Islamic Movement in Israel, headed by Sheikh
Raed Salah. So that it is no coincidence that everyone, Husseini, Haniya
and Salah, are all focused on el-Aksa Mosque.
They take no interest in the economy. They’re interested in
incitement. They know that el-Aksa Mosque was once a focal point of
rioting, just as it is a focal point of friction at present. That is
where the masses throng to. Setting the fire is relatively easy. And
when you pump the masses time and time again, as Sheikh Salah does, that
the Zionists are seizing control of el-Aksa Mosque, the message gets
through.
Israel Will be the First to Fall, Then Paris, Rome and London
Salah, say security officials, treads the line. He does not engage in
hostile terrorist activity. He isn’t the one who established the terror
cells. But he is the one who lays the emotional groundwork. He incites.
He encourages. He inflames the passions. Ideologically, he is a Hamas
man in every sense and form. He too advocates the establishment of an
Islamic caliphate that will gradually seize control of the entire world.
He wrote a series of articles about the revolution he yearns for.
Israel, in its capacity as a Crusader castle, will be the first to fall.
Then Paris, Rome and London will follow in its wake.
The prevailing discourse of rights has turned Salah into a person who
enjoys immunity. In some Arab states he is a persona non grata. His
requests to enter have been denied. After all, they don’t need another
provocateur. But here he operates freely. Abets and incites. Lays the
groundwork for subversive activity. Salah is a living reminder of the
fact that democracy is not only the rule of rights, which are geared to
protect minorities. Democracy is supposed to defend sometimes, only
sometimes, the majority as well. Salah is protected. The majority has
been left vulnerable. Democracy, and not only Israeli democracy, needs
to do some soul-searching. Unless, that is, Salah and his ilk succeed in
doing away with it before it manages to defend itself.
So that anyone who thinks that economic prosperity will ensure calm
is deluding himself. All that is needed in order to bring about a
renewed outburst is bitterness, incitement-which there is no lack of-as
well as “continued construction” in the heart of Arab neighborhoods, or
the seizure of more land, which is never evacuated, deep in the Arab
population centers. That lethal combination of incitement, bitterness,
provocateurs-mainly from the Palestinian side-exist at present as well.
We oughtn’t to be surprised if it explodes in our face..
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