Local News

Draining the swamps of terrorism

By Joshua Rosenstein, Assistant Editor, JTNews

    "A good parent is

    not necessarily a parent that gives their child everything

    they want," said former Israeli Knesset member and peace

    advocate Avrum Burg on October 12 at Seattle University’s

    Campion Ballroom. "Rather, a good parent is one who gives

    their child what they need."

   

    He used this

    metaphor to illustrate the relationship between American

    presidents and Israel. Burg’s strongest words to his

    American audience concerned their role in the

    Israeli-Palestinian conflict. He urged them to go out this

    November and vote. He emphasized the importance of American

    leadership in working for peace and compromise in the Middle

    East.

   

    Finding Common

    Ground, a local, nonpartisan group that educates people

    about the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, brought Burg and

    Palestinian civic leader Yasser Abed Rabbo to Seattle to

    talk about the Geneva Accord. The accord, an unofficial

    peace proposal, is hailed by some as the first credible

    attempt at a peace agreement that would resolve the most

    difficult issues on the table. FCG, which is composed of

    Jews, Christians and Muslims, also seeks to actively engage

    Americans in the peace process. 

   

    Burg and Rabbo

    gave public debates at Seattle University and University of

    Washington. They also met with local interfaith groups and

    leaders of the Jewish community. Over 200 people attended

    the reception following the UW debate. Senator Maria

    Cantwell and Congressman Jim McDermott attended a pre-debate

    dinner, as did many religious and community leaders.

   

    Rabbo and Burg

    were the main architects of the Geneva Accord, along with a

    small group of Israeli and Palestinian civic leaders. They

    negotiated and signed the accord in December of 2003, which

    called for the formation of a Palestinian state in Gaza and

    the West Bank, and granted Palestinians sovereignty over the

    Temple Mount. An international security force would

    guarantee Jews access to the site. The accord gave

    Palestinians the right of return in their state but not

    within the State of Israel. According to a recent poll,

    slightly over 50 percent of both populations supports the

    Geneva Accord.

   

    "There is a

    spreading despair in the Holy Land these days," said Rabbo,

    addressing his audience in articulate but heavily accented

    English. "Terrorism feeds on despair. If we want to dry the

    swamp of terrorism, we must conquer the reasons that lie

    behind it." Rabbo, the former Minister of Information and

    Culture of the Palestinian Authority, served on the

    Palestinian Liberation Organization’s executive committee

    and acts as head of the Department of Information and

    culture. In 1968, he founded the Democratic Front for the

    Liberation of Palestine, a leftist group in the PLO. Rabbo

    also participated in both the Madrid and Oslo peace

    negotiations.

   

    "To understand

    the core of the conflict you must understand that it is

    about icons," said Burg. "The practical components of the

    Israeli-Palestinian conflict could be solved in a matter of

    half an hour. The real conflict is about symbols. Every time

    an Israeli is killed, we see the Holocaust continuing, and

    every time a Palestinian is killed they see colonialism

    eternal."

   

    Burg was the

    youngest Speaker in the history of the Israeli Knesset. He

    was a senior member of the Labor Party and also served as

    the head of the Jewish Agency and the World Zionist

    Organization.

   

    Burg spoke in a

    whirlwind of metaphor and poetry.

   

    "Anger is a very

    bad strategist," he said. "Hatred is a poor political

    advisor."

   

    He has six

    children, four of whom are currently serving in the Israeli

    army. While he no longer serves on the Knesset, he continues

    to be a leading advocate for pluralism and tolerance in

    Israeli society.

   

    While the local

    Jewish community is often at odds over the Middle Eastern

    conflict, audience response to the debates was positive. Bob

    Borish and Corrie Golub-Borish of Seattle came to hear the

    debate because their daughter is currently living in Israel.

   

   

    "It was

    heartening to hear people willing to be respectful of each

    others’ stories," said Golub-Borish. "I was especially

    impressed with what [Burg] said about our role as Americans

    in voting for an American president."

   

    Malka Maizel of

    Mercer Island is a member of FCG.

   

    "People somehow

    think we are anti-Zionist or that we hate Israel," she said.

    "My nephew was killed in a terrorist attack three years ago,

    I deeply support Israel, but hatred is not a solution. As

    American Jews, we have the perspective not to be caught in

    the cycles of fear and hate, we must serve as mediators,

    working for peace and compromise."

   

    Cindy Corrie of

    Olympia attended the debate with her daughter Erin. Cindy’s

    other daughter Rachel was killed in Rafah while protesting

    the Israeli occupation in March 2003, and has since become

    an icon on the Palestinian side of the conflict.

   

    "I was pleased at

    the size of the audience," Cindy said. "It is terribly

    important to forge these relationships and to work for peace

    on a grassroots level. I also think it is important for

    Americans to understand our role in the conflict and the way

    we effect the solution."

   

    Audience members

    at the debates were asked to suspend their applause until

    after the debate, but toward the end, it became difficult to

    contain.

   

    "One of the best

    things we can do as Jews, who strive to leave the world a

    better place then we found it, is to humanize the conflict

    in the Middle East, and create opportunities for paradigm

    shift to solve the present conflict," said Barbara Lahav,

    FCG member and co-organizer of the event.