Palestinians have so loudly and for so long rejected Zionism that Mufti al-Husseini, Yasir Arafat, and Hamas may appear to command unanimous Palestinian support.
But no: polling research finds that a substantial minority of Palestinians, about 20 percent, is ready to live side-by-side with a sovereign Jewish state.
Although this minority has never been in charge and its voice has always been buried under rejectionist bluster, Hillel Cohen of Hebrew University has uncovered its surprisingly crucial role in history.
He explores this subject in the pre-state period in Army of Shadows: Palestinian Collaboration with Zionism, 1917–1948.
Cohen demonstrates the many roles that accommodating Palestinians played for the Yishuv, the pre-state Jewish community in the Holy Land. They provided labor, engaged in commerce, sold land, sold arms, handed over state assets, provided intelligence about enemy forces, spread rumors and dissension, convinced fellow Palestinians to surrender, fought the Yishuv's enemies, and even operated behind enemy lines. So great was their cumulative assistance, one wonders if the State of Israel could have come into existence without their contribution.
Cohen calls collaboration with Zionism "not only common but a central feature of Palestinian society and politics." No one before Cohen has understood the historical record this way. He discerns a wide range of motives on the part of the Yishuv's Palestinian allies: economic gain, class or tribal interests, nationalist ambitions, fear or hatred of the Husseini faction, personal ethics, neighborliness, or individual friendships.
Cohen also confirms the key fact that not all Palestinians are the enemies of Israel. This offers cause for hope; indeed, were the 20 percent of Palestinians who accept Israel expanded to 60 percent, the Arab-Israeli conflict would close down.
Such a Palestinian change of heart – and not more "painful concessions" by Israel – should be the goal of every would-be peacemaker.
[Jerusalem Post]
*
*
No comments:
Post a Comment