Hi. I strongly endorse the film event noted just below Uri Avnery's
article. It's history of the government's 40 year war against
the Black Panthers is incredibly powerful, still happening, and
preventable. -Ed
----- Original Message -----
From: "Sid Shniad" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Uri Avnery
31.3.07
Pussycat
CAN A pantheress turn into a pussycat? Impossible, a zoologist would say.
But last week, we saw it happen with our own eyes.
Condoleezza Rice came here to teach Ehud Olmert, once and for all, who is
boss. The President of the United States wants to make order in the Middle
East, and the government of Israel has to fall into line. Otherwise…
Two days later, nothing of the threat remained. Olmert refused again. And
what happened? Nothing happened. The fearful pantheress slunk home, her tail
between her legs.
Muammar al-Gaddafi, a unique combination of dictator and comedian,
complimented the "dark-skinned African woman", and disclosed that he likes
her. She has but to raise her little finger, he said, and all the security
chiefs in the Arab world, who are the real rulers of their countries, come
running. But even Gaddafi did not argue that she had Israel on the run.
JULIUS CAESAR, as is well known, reported to the Roman Senate "I came. I
saw. I conquered." Condoleezza could report to the US Senate: "I came. I
saw. I capitulated." Who to? To a failing Israeli prime minister, whose
popularity rating is approaching zero and who practically nobody expects to
survive to the end of the year.
In the ongoing debate about which is wagging which - the dog its tail or the
tail its dog - the proponents of the tail have won the day. In the round
just finished, Israel has won against the United States.
This bout started with President Bush deciding, it seems, to clear the decks
for action. The US is preparing for war against Iran. For that purpose, it
has to put an end to the mess in Iraq, unify the pro-American Arab regimes
and find a solution to the Palestinian problem.
In the beginning, everything worked just fine. All the leaders of the Arab
countries (except Gaddafi, the inevitable absentee) gathered for a summit
meeting in Riyadh. The king of Saudi Arabia was reconciled with Bashar
al-Assad. Mahmoud Abbas brought Hamas leader Ismail Hanieh with him.
President Emile Lahoud of Lebanon, the protégée of Syria and Hizbullah, took
his place at the round table.
The united Arab world breathed new life into King Abdullah's peace plan,
which offers Israel of recognition, peace and normalization with the entire
Arab world, in return for its withdrawal to the borders of June 4, 1967. The
plan pays lip service to a "just solution" of the refugee problem (and how
could it avoid that?) but states unequivocally that any solution depends on
Israeli agreement.
If the Arab world had made us this offer on June 4, 1967, we would have
raised our eyes to heaven, lit candles and uttered the old Jewish blessing:
"Blessed are you, Lord, our God, king of the world, who has kept us alive,
sustained us and enabled us to reach this day."
But this week nobody lighted candles and blessed the "sovereign of the
worlds" for the Arab peace offer. On the contrary, Olmert & Co. were racking
their brains to find a way out of this trap. Since they could not think up a
more convincing reason, they argued that it was impossible to accept an
offer that mentions the UN resolution about the refugees. Most of the media,
under the baton of Olmert's spokespersons, kept quiet about the explicit
dependency on Israeli agreement.
In short, Nyet!
THAT WAS the moment for the huge American steamroller to get going. After
all, vital American interests are at stake.
All the Arab rulers who depend on the US are crying out that they cannot
pledge their support as demanded, so long as the pus is still streaming from
the occupation tumor. How can the King of Saudi Arabia and the President of
Egypt rally their masses for a war against Iran, when they and their
subjects are exposed on Aljazeera, morning, noon and evening, to the
horrifying sight of the Israeli army attack dog sinking its teeth in the
flesh of an old Palestinian woman and locking its jaws?
Condoleezza arranged a showdown with Olmert and was ready to submit an
ultimatum. But it seems that at the last moment new instructions came from
the White House: Let go and come home.
It appears that President Bush is even weaker than Olmert. In the two houses
of Congress he has suffered a stinging defeat on Iraq. The American public
has no stomach for another war, this time against a country far more united
and determined than Iraq. In this political situation, the last thing he
needs is a head-on collision with the pro-Israeli lobby, with its Jewish and
Christian wings.
The two professors, Stephen Walt and John Mearsheimer, won this round. In
this clash between the national interests of the United States and the
Government of Israel and its America fans, the Israeli side won.
The steamroller did not roll. Condoleezza went to Olmert and sat with him
for three hours. Her final statement sounds more like the purring of a
domestic cat than the snarling of a predator.
AND THE Israeli public? The public that saw another historic opportunity
going past and being ignored?
No doubt, the huge majority would have supported Olmert, if he had announced
his acceptance of the Arab offer. But only a small minority is ready to
rebel against Olmert when he does the opposite.
The silent majority includes the victims of the next wars, their parents and
children. Could it be that they don't care? That it does not concern them?
The public does not get excited. Does not complain. Does not raise its
voice. Does not demonstrate.
This week, the Peace Now movement called for a demonstration, to demand that
Olmert respond positively to the Arab summit initiative. The event took
place near the residence of the Prime Minister in Jerusalem. The organizers
brought the flags of all the Arab states, including Palestine. That was a
refreshing sight for those who remember how 20 years ago an activist was
driven away from a Peace Now demonstration because he was carrying a small
Palestinian flag.
How many came? A movement that once called out 400 thousand demonstrators
after the Sabra and Shatila massacre, attracted this time (true, on a work
day) 250 people. Neither Haaretz nor any other newspaper mentioned the
colorful demonstration with one word, no TV channel showed a single picture.
Except for Aljazeera.
What is the reason for this indifference? Fatalism? Fatigue? Past
disappointments? Distrust of the government and/or the Arabs?
No doubt: something dramatic is needed to shock this public into action. One
commentator suggested that the Saudi King follow the example of Anwar Sadat
and come to Jerusalem, speak in the Knesset and address the Israeli public
directly. But Sadat made his historic visit only after Moshe Dayan had
promised, in secret meetings in Morocco, that Menachem Begin was prepared to
give back all of the Sinai peninsula. Olmert is not promising anything.
DID OLMERT respond? You bet. After all, it was impossible to ignore it
altogether.
He declared that he was ready to meet with the Saudi king. Naïve people
could be favorably impressed. The Prime Minister of Israel was ready to meet
with leaders of the Arab states. Nice. Very nice, indeed.
Actually, this is an old gimmick of Israeli governments, from the days of
David Ben-Gurion on. A meeting with the head of one of the most important
Arab states could be interpreted as normalization, and normalization is the
main Israeli demand. Meaning, Israel achieves its main objective without
giving anything in return. No Arab leader does, of course, fall into this
trap.
Immediately afterwards, Olmert declared that not a single settlement outpost
would be dismantled until the Palestinians "fight terrorism". This also has
an historical background: when President Bush agreed to recognize Israeli
"population centers" - the large settlements set up beyond the Green Line in
total violation of international law and previous American demands - Ariel
Sharon undertook to dismantle all the settlements established after his
taking office in early 2001. Even under Israeli law, these settlements
("outposts") are illegal.
This undertaking is also included in the poor old Road Map. According to it,
Israel was obliged to dismantle these settlements in the first phase, and
simultaneously the Palestinians had to disarm their organizations.
Amir Peretz, who as Minister of Defense is responsible for this sector,
declared again and again that - any minute now - he was going to dismantle
the outposts. In practice, not a single one was dismantled. Now Olmert
declares that first of all the Palestinians must "fight terrorism", and only
then will the government decide what to do about the settlements.
In other words: no outpost will be dismantled.
In such a way, the "window of opportunity" is closing. (To use a rather
stupid American expression. After all, a window is an opening through which
one views what's happening outside, not one to pass in order to do
something. For that there are doors.)
ON THE eve of Passover, Olmert has poured out his thoughts, such as they
are, in all the media.
Israel's largest mass circulation daily splashed a sensational headline
across its front page: "Olmert: Within Five Years We Can Achieve Peace!"
What? Five years? In 1993 we signed the Oslo accord, which foresaw the final
peace settlement between Israel and the Palestinian people within five
years. Since then, 13 years have passed, and even negotiations on this have
not yet started.
It seems that the "five years" belong to the same world of illusions as
Condoleezza's "political horizon": as you go forward, it recedes.
***
Mary Sutton
Program Director
Center for the Study of Political Graphics
8124 West Third Street #211
Los Angeles, CA 90048
[EMAIL PROTECTED]
ph: 323.653.4662
fax: 323.653.6991
ii Please circulate widely !!
Great opportunity for anyone interested in
radical activism, alternative media, law,
political education!
FILM SCREENING AND PANEL DISCUSSION:
"Legacy of Torture: The War Against the Black Liberation Movement"
Tues, 4/10, 6:30pm, free
USC, Waite Phillips Hall B27, 3470 Trousdale Parkway, LA 90089
30-min documentary followed by panel discussion between
activists, scholars, and family members of the Panther 8, who
were tortured by law enforcement in 1973 and re-arrested in
January 2007.
Invited Panelists:
* Bilal Ali, veteran activist, Jericho
Movement and UNITY Mission to Free the Panther 8
* Phyllis Boudreaux, activist and wife of Panther 8 Ray Boudreaux
* Macarena Gómez-Barris, Assistant
Professor of Sociology at USC and author of
forthcoming Where Memory Dwells
* Yusef Omowali, Director of the Southern CA Library
* Janice Willis, activist and sister of Panther 8 Ray Boudreaux
[USC map:
http://www.usc.edu/private/about/visit_usc/upc_color.pdf.
Trousdale Parkway is an entrance into USC from
Jefferson, between Hoover and Royal St. Park free
on the street after 6pm. Walk towards the tall
building topped with a
globe; WPH B27 is the downstairs auditorium
accessible from the square stairwell plaza, just
to the right of the tall
rectangular brick building labeled Waite Phillip Hall]
Sponsored by the USC College of Letters, Arts, and Sciences
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