The moderate blindfold

Ben White, The Electronic Intifada, Oct 21, 2007

".....This interpretation of the situation in Palestine/Israel is only possible through a heavy airbrushing of history and a fundamental misreading of the present. Strikingly, the Tel Aviv concert was scheduled to take place in Hayarkon Park -- the same location where, almost 60 years ago, the Palestinian village of Jarisha was wiped off the map by Jewish armed forces.

Its residents shared the same fate as almost 800,000 other Palestinians, expelled from what became Israel and prevented to this day from returning home, their land confiscated. Yet official OneVoice material gives the impression that the conflict only began 40 years ago, when Israel occupied the rest of Palestine (the West Bank, Gaza Strip and East Jerusalem).....

Zionist colonization is not the preserve of a fanatical fringe in Israel -- it is fundamental to the state's identity and practice. As Martin Luther King said: "Freedom is never voluntarily given by the oppressor; it must be demanded by the oppressed." Since Israel continues to show no intention of relinquishing its role as colonial overlord, it's no good to condemn "both sides," as if there is equality between occupier and occupied......

The language of moderation is all the rage, from OneVoice to Condoleezza Rice, from the aborted peace concerts to the forthcoming November peace conference. It's a seductive dichotomy; on the one side are those who light the flame of peace, who strive for a "mass awakening" to the "forces of light and friendship and love." On the other side are the extremists who threaten, smear and mislead; they are wickedly intransigent -- they stifle, snuff out hope and burn flags.

But what is a "moderate"? In recent times, "moderate" has been applied to some rather unlikely characters in the Middle East. For the US, UK and Israeli governments, these include states like Saudi Arabia, Egypt and Jordan. None of these permit much genuine freedom of expression; all of them oppress opposition movements. In fact, Saudi Arabia is one of the world's most repressive regimes......."