Peter Hoffenberg: Demonizing Israel Does Not Advance Mideast Peace
[Peter Hoffenberg of Hawaii Kai is an associate professor of history at the University of Hawaii-Manoa.]
The Rev. Neal MacPherson's "Island Commentary" of Feb. 24 ("Israel deserves right to exist, but not at Palestinians' expense," Star-Bulletin) claims that he and his colleagues in the Hawaii chapter of the Friends of Sabeel North America (FOSNA) desire "peace and security for Israel and also justice for the Palestinians."
Sounds eminently reasonable, as would be peace and security for the Palestinians and also justice for the Israelis.
Unfortunately, but not surprisingly, FOSNA's Web site and foundational documents belie such claims as they persistently blame only Israel for the violence and instability in the region and continue to demand that only Israel admit wrongdoings and compensate in various ways the Palestinian people....
There is no mention by FOSNA of Palestinian responsibility for violence and instability, either historical or contemporary terms. No mention of Palestinian hatred for Israelis and Jews, or of Palestinian militarism....
The Friends of Sabeel say that they recognize Israel and that they want peace, but their public statements and their official documents tell a different story. They want justice on their own one-sided terms. Making Israel the only villain in their melodrama and the Palestinians the only victims does neither side any good. The Palestinians have a right to their own legitimate, functioning state and nation, but not at the expense of Israel, Jews, justice, peace and the truth.
We have been down the deceptively straight road paved and trodden by MacPherson and his colleagues many times. It remains a dead end, a road strewn with wrecked dreams and bodies.
Read entire article at Honolulu Star-Bulletin
The Rev. Neal MacPherson's "Island Commentary" of Feb. 24 ("Israel deserves right to exist, but not at Palestinians' expense," Star-Bulletin) claims that he and his colleagues in the Hawaii chapter of the Friends of Sabeel North America (FOSNA) desire "peace and security for Israel and also justice for the Palestinians."
Sounds eminently reasonable, as would be peace and security for the Palestinians and also justice for the Israelis.
Unfortunately, but not surprisingly, FOSNA's Web site and foundational documents belie such claims as they persistently blame only Israel for the violence and instability in the region and continue to demand that only Israel admit wrongdoings and compensate in various ways the Palestinian people....
There is no mention by FOSNA of Palestinian responsibility for violence and instability, either historical or contemporary terms. No mention of Palestinian hatred for Israelis and Jews, or of Palestinian militarism....
The Friends of Sabeel say that they recognize Israel and that they want peace, but their public statements and their official documents tell a different story. They want justice on their own one-sided terms. Making Israel the only villain in their melodrama and the Palestinians the only victims does neither side any good. The Palestinians have a right to their own legitimate, functioning state and nation, but not at the expense of Israel, Jews, justice, peace and the truth.
We have been down the deceptively straight road paved and trodden by MacPherson and his colleagues many times. It remains a dead end, a road strewn with wrecked dreams and bodies.