Reflections of a S. African Muslim in Israel/Palestine

Here’s a must-read op-ed in the Jerusalem Post by South African Muslim Hussein Solomon: Reflections of a S. African Muslim in Israel/Palestine.

Prof Hussein Solomon is an Associate Professor in the Department of Political Sciences, the Director of the Centre for International Political Studies, and Head of the Unit for African Studies, Centre for International Political Studies at the University of Pretoria. Prof Solomon is an expert in religious fundamentalism and conflict resolution in Africa.

Solomon first impressed me when I heard him speak in a South African debate on the Middle East.

Solomon recently visited Israel and the Palestinian territories on a fact-finding mission to explore the conflict. His conclusion? Most South African Muslims do not understand the conflict and at best have a simplistic understanding of it.

Solomon’s conclusion is hard hitting and he will no doubt face a backlash from the South African Muslim community – watch this space for the MRN reply.

It is undeniable that if we do not understand the conflict then we cannot constructively engage in its successful resolution. In the first instance, we [South African Muslims] have a very simplistic view of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and do not seem to understand the complexity of tensions emanating from various factions inside Israeli and Palestinian society.

Solomon’s voice is one of reason and pragmatism. It’s also a brave voice. As Solomon notes, the SA Muslim community openly supports the most radical Palestinian terror gangs. Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and the Palestinian Authority are “seen as either ineffective in securing concessions from Israel, or worse, seen as collaborators”. Given this hot climate I can assure you it’s not easy to stand up and say what really needs to be said. But Solomon’s suggestion is one that SA Muslims would do well to consider

Using these questions, I am trying to point to the complexity of Israeli politics and the fact that we, as South African Muslims, do not understand this. If we could understand this, then, perhaps we could make use of those divisions in Israeli politics to advance the Palestinian cause. Instead, our simplistic understandings lead us to applaud when Iranian President Ahmadinejad says that Israel should be wiped off the map. The fact that this was tried in 1948, 1967 and 1973 and failed seems to have been ignored. Moreover, not only did these three attempts fail, but the state of Israel also grew stronger as it expanded its territory. There is no evidence to conclude that the Israeli security apparatus is weaker in 2005 than it was in 1973. If people speak of the Intifada and its supposed success, I could find not a single Palestinian in support of it. The mortality and casualty figures bear out the sentiment - far more Palestinians than Israelis have been killed. In my view there are better ways to support the legitimate political demands of Palestinians than violence. During my stay, there was a pro-peace rally in Tel Aviv with 200,000 Israelis honoring the 10th anniversary of the death of former Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin. As South African Muslims, should we not reach out to this strong pro-peace lobby within Israeli society as opposed to threaten all Israelis with extinction which brings back memories of Auschwitz and Dachau? Do we honestly believe that this destructive approach is the way we can help Palestinians? This leads me to my second point, that of the complexity of Palestinian politics. In South African Muslim circles, Hamas often gets a lot of positive press whereas Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and the Palestinian Authority are seen as either ineffective in securing concessions from Israel, or worse, seen as collaborators. However, the destructive and counter-productive nature of violence as a strategy to secure territorial concessions is increasingly recognized by Palestinian society.

There is plenty more. Go ye now and read it all.

Comments

[James Clark]

A valuable and rare voice of sanity.

[greenmamba]

A very interesting post. 30+ years have created a "body of knowledge" about the situation that is false. The media, U.N. and E.U. have effectively conspired to provide veracity for these views.

Solomon is beginning to realize that he has been misinformed. He is to be congratulated for going in with open-mindedness.

[Steve]

Bear in mind that Solomon is no Kasrils. Unlike Kasrils Solomon still believes his people have been treated unjustly and he still believes that they deserve a state.

But he faces more hostility from the SA Muslim circles than Kasrils faces from the SA pro-Zionist circles.

But he also sees the other side of the coin - our side o fthe coin. He is prepeared to debate this stuf with us. He is not a man of "hatred" and he considers his opinions against historical facts.

He is a brave and loan voice - and a real nice guy. I have met him at that debate I spoke of. He stayed behind and really gave extra of time to meet and greet some people.