The Oct. 3 commentary “Jerusalem bloodshed demonstrates legacy of Israeli sovereignty,” by Riad Abdelkarim and Fahhim Abdulhadi, is a breathtaking work of propaganda. They write that Ariel Sharon’s visit to the Temple Mount sparked “predictable demonstrations.” It amazes me that even these spin-doctors can say that a mob hurling rocks at peaceful Jewish New Year worshippers at the Western Wall qualifies as a “demonstration.” I presume that spraying a school bus with gunfire is also just a “predictable demonstration.”
As for the Israeli response, before we judge them, we should take a moment to consider what the local response would be if such violent and well-armed mobs (including armed “policemen”) were running loose on the Gold Coast or in Naperville. The proposition presented by professional apologists such as Abdelkarim and Abdulhadi–that the Palestinians bear no responsibility for a gross overreaction to a non-violent “provocation” by an Israeli–is, ultimately, a racist one. To believe their rhetoric is to believe that the Palestinians are mere animals who cannot be blamed when they simply respond to “provocations.”
This is nonsense. The fact is that Palestinian leadership has its followers looking for excuses to incite violence to improve bargaining leverage in peace negotiations.
