{"id":35992,"date":"2017-04-21T16:49:39","date_gmt":"2017-04-21T22:49:39","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/?p=35992"},"modified":"2017-04-21T16:49:39","modified_gmt":"2017-04-21T22:49:39","slug":"op-ed-the-palestinians-dont-want-mandela","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/op-ed-the-palestinians-dont-want-mandela\/","title":{"rendered":"OP-ED: The Palestinians don\u2019t want Mandela"},"content":{"rendered":"<div id=\"block-yui_3_17_2_1_1492780070019_70917\" class=\"sqs-block html-block sqs-block-html\" data-block-type=\"2\">\n<div class=\"sqs-block-content\">\n<p>By JONATHAN S. TOBIN<\/p>\n<p>(JNS.org) &#8212; Palestinian internal politics and liberal hostility to Israel came together at The New York Times this month.<\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_35993\" style=\"width: 310px\" class=\"wp-caption alignleft\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/04\/BARGHOUTI.jpg\" target=\"_blank\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-35993\" class=\"wp-image-35993 size-medium lazyload\" data-src=\"https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/04\/BARGHOUTI-300x300.jpg\" alt=\"Palestinian women hold portraits of Palestinian prisoner Marwan Barghouti during a rally in solidarity with Palestinian prisoners in Israeli jails outside the Red Cross building in the West Bank city of Ramallah. March 27, 2012. Photo by Issam Rimawi\/Flash90\" width=\"300\" height=\"300\" data-srcset=\"https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/04\/BARGHOUTI-300x300.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/04\/BARGHOUTI-150x150.jpg 150w, https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/04\/BARGHOUTI-350x350.jpg 350w, https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/04\/BARGHOUTI.jpg 500w\" data-sizes=\"(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" src=\"data:image\/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAAAAACH5BAEKAAEALAAAAAABAAEAAAICTAEAOw==\" style=\"--smush-placeholder-width: 300px; --smush-placeholder-aspect-ratio: 300\/300;\" \/><noscript><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-35993\" class=\"wp-image-35993 size-medium\" src=\"https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/04\/BARGHOUTI-300x300.jpg\" alt=\"Palestinian women hold portraits of Palestinian prisoner Marwan Barghouti during a rally in solidarity with Palestinian prisoners in Israeli jails outside the Red Cross building in the West Bank city of Ramallah. March 27, 2012. Photo by Issam Rimawi\/Flash90\" width=\"300\" height=\"300\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/04\/BARGHOUTI-300x300.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/04\/BARGHOUTI-150x150.jpg 150w, https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/04\/BARGHOUTI-350x350.jpg 350w, https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/04\/BARGHOUTI.jpg 500w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><\/noscript><\/a><\/p>\n<p id=\"caption-attachment-35993\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">A Palestinian woman holds a portrait of Palestinian terrorist prisoner Marwan Barghouti during a rally in Ramallah, March 27, 2012. Credit: Issam Rimawi\/Flash90.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p>The newspaper provoked a firestorm of criticism through its decision to publish an article on the eve of Passover authored by Marwan Barghouti, the imprisoned mastermind of a second intifada terror campaign, without mentioning that he is currently serving five life terms for the murder of civilians. But a more important discussion got lost amid the outrage about media bias. The question to be asked about this episode is not whether terrorism is significant enough to be worthy of mention, but why Barghouti is a likely candidate to succeed Mahmoud Abbas as head of the Palestinian Authority (PA).<\/p>\n<p>Barghouti is currently leading a hunger strike by Palestinian security prisoners in Israel jails. But the real motive for this gesture is promoting Barghouti\u2019s desire to replace the 81-year-old Abbas. Given that Israel has as little interest in releasing Barghouti as Abbas does in having a new election\u2014the current PA leader is serving the 12th year of the four-year presidential term to which he was elected\u2014it\u2019s not clear how he\u2019ll pull off that trick. But the real issue here is the reason for Barghouti\u2019s popularity among supporters of the peace process is very different from the reason for his high standing among Palestinians.<\/p>\n<p>The New York Times promoted Barghouti on its pages because editors of that newspaper have bought into the notion that he is the Palestinian Nelson Mandela. While a narrative that paints Israel as an \u201capartheid state\u201d is a lie, the Mandela analogy is equally false. Mandela did support violence against the apartheid regime in South Africa, but only because all democratic and non-violent avenues to promote change were blocked. The same point applies to comparisons between Barghouti and others who were terrorists before leading countries to independence, such as Kenya\u2019s Jomo Kenyatta, and even Israel\u2019s Menachem Begin, who commanded the pre-state Irgun Zvai Leumi underground forces before signing a peace treaty with Egypt. (The Irgun directed terror activities at the British and their facilities, not civilians as Barghouti did.)<\/p>\n<p>By contrast, acting on Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat\u2019s orders, Barghouti undertook his terror rampage that contributed to a death toll of more than 1,000 Jews years <em>after<\/em> peace had supposedly been agreed upon in the Oslo Accords. It was also an answer to former Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak\u2019s offer of an independent Palestinian state. Rather than an attempt to force negotiations, Barghouti\u2019s terror was part of an effort to destroy hope for peace and coexistence.<\/p>\n<p>Of course, it is possible\u2014at least in theory\u2014for Barghouti to become the man Jewish liberals would like him to be were he ever put in power. But the problem with that exercise in wishful thinking also collides with the reason why he is so popular among Palestinians.<\/p>\n<p>Part of his appeal lies in the fact that he\u2019s been in prison for the last 15 years, while the rest of his Fatah party\u2019s corrupt leadership has been running the West Bank like mafia chieftains. Even though there\u2019s no reason to think a former Arafat aide like Barghouti will be different, like the equally corrupt and more fanatical Hamas rulers of Gaza, the current PA leadership is entirely discredited.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div id=\"block-yui_3_17_2_1_1492780070019_65914\" class=\"sqs-block html-block sqs-block-html\" data-block-type=\"2\">\n<div id=\"yui_3_17_2_1_1492814691844_723\" class=\"sqs-block-content\">\n<p>But Barghouti\u2019s popularity rests on more than just the fact that he isn\u2019t Abbas. Throughout the century-long Palestinian Arab war on Zionism, the political bona fides of that movement\u2019s leaders have always rested on a resume including violence against Jews, not good government or a vision of independence and peace. Barghouti\u2019s credentials rest solely on the fact that he is responsible for the deaths of Jewish men, women and children during the intifada. The political culture of the Palestinians\u2014which is reinforced by a media and an education system promoting hatred of Jews and glorifying terrorism\u2014is what makes Barghouti look good to the Arab street, not the hope he will rise above a record of wanton slaughter.<\/p>\n<p>The reason why Abbas has been incapable of making peace, even if he really is a moderate, is that he understands Palestinians see any recognition of the legitimacy of a Jewish state\u2014no matter where its borders are drawn\u2014as a betrayal. The same factor argues that a man with Barghouti\u2019s record will be expected to pursue more violence rather than become a Mandela. If the last quarter century has taught us anything, it is that the Palestinians don\u2019t want a Mandela in the person of a transformed Barghouti. What they want is another Arafat.<\/p>\n<p id=\"yui_3_17_2_1_1492814691844_722\"><em>Jonathan S. Tobin is opinion editor of JNS.org and a Contributing Writer for National Review. Follow him on Twitter at: @jonathans_tobin.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div style=\"padding-bottom:20px; padding-top:10px;\" class=\"hupso-share-buttons\"><!-- Hupso Share Buttons - https:\/\/www.hupso.com\/share\/ --><a class=\"hupso_toolbar\" href=\"https:\/\/www.hupso.com\/share\/\"><img decoding=\"async\" data-src=\"https:\/\/static.hupso.com\/share\/buttons\/share-medium.png\" style=\"border:0px; padding-top: 5px; float:left;\" alt=\"Share Button\" src=\"data:image\/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAAAAACH5BAEKAAEALAAAAAABAAEAAAICTAEAOw==\" class=\"lazyload\" \/><noscript><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/static.hupso.com\/share\/buttons\/share-medium.png\" style=\"border:0px; padding-top: 5px; float:left;\" alt=\"Share Button\"\/><\/noscript><\/a><script type=\"text\/javascript\">var hupso_services_t=new Array(\"Twitter\",\"Facebook\",\"Google Plus\",\"Pinterest\",\"Linkedin\",\"Tumblr\",\"Email\");var hupso_background_t=\"#EAF4FF\";var hupso_border_t=\"#66CCFF\";var hupso_toolbar_size_t=\"medium\";var hupso_image_folder_url = \"\";var hupso_url_t=\"\";var hupso_title_t=\"OP-ED%3A%20The%20Palestinians%20don%E2%80%99t%20want%20Mandela\";<\/script><script type=\"text\/javascript\" src=\"https:\/\/static.hupso.com\/share\/js\/share_toolbar.js\"><\/script><!-- Hupso Share Buttons --><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"ngg_post_thumbnail":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[22],"tags":[8397,8790,8795,514,8788,380],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/35992"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=35992"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/35992\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":35994,"href":"https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/35992\/revisions\/35994"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=35992"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=35992"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=35992"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}