NOTE: The word “Quds” is Arabic for “the holy place” and is the Arabic name
for Jerusalem. Al Quds day is an annual event held on the last Friday of
Ramadan when people around the world – Muslim and non-Muslims come together
to demonstrate their support for the oppressed people of the world,
particularly the oppressed people of Palestine. It is a day that belongs to
everyone who cares for those who suffer under the yoke of oppression. This
year, al Quds Day falls on Friday 3 September 2010.
As yet another round of peace talks is underway since the high hopes of Oslo
in 1993 (many forget that peace talks had, in fact, already been going on
since the mid-1970s) much is being written about their likely success or
failure. It is very interesting to read the views of a distinguished
American diplomat and defence and intelligence expert, particularly in light
of what he said back in 2005 "As long as the United States continues
unconditionally to provide the subsidies and political protection that make
the Israeli occupation and the high-handed and self-defeating policies it
engenders possible, there is little, if any, reason to hope that anything
resembling the former peace process can be resurrected. Israeli occupation
and settlement of Arab lands is inherently violent." In the speech below,
Freeman goes on to say that “. . .we Americans are long on empathy and
expertise about Israel and very, very short on these for the various Arab
parties. The essential militarism of US policies in the Middle East adds to
our difficulties. We have become skilled at killing Arabs. We have
forgotten how to listen to them or persuade them.” Definitely worth
reading.
America’s faltering search for peace in the Middle East: Opening for others?
by Ambassador Chas W Freeman. Jr (USFS, Ret)
Just World
Oslo, 1 September 2010
Remarks to staff of the Royal Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and,
separately, to members of the Norwegian Institute of International Affairs
You have asked me to speak to current American policies in the Middle East,
with an emphasis on the prospects for peace in the Holy Land. You have
further suggested that I touch on the relationship of the Gulf Arabs,
especially Saudi Arabia, to this. It is both an honor and a challenge to
address this subject in this capital / at this ministry.
The declaration of principles worked out in Oslo seventeen years ago was the
last direct negotiation between Israelis and Palestinian Arabs to reach
consequential, positive results. The Oslo accords were a real step toward
peace, not another deceptive pseudo-event in an endlessly unproductive,
so-called “peace process.” And if that one step forward in Oslo in 1993 was
followed by several steps backwards, there is a great deal to be learned
from how and why that happened.
There can be no doubt about the importance of today’s topic. The ongoing
conflict in the Holy Land increasingly disturbs the world’s conscience as
well as its tranquility. The Israel-Palestine issue began as a struggle in
the context of European colonialism. In the post-colonial era, tension
between Israelis and the Palestinians they dispossessed became, by degrees,
the principal source of radicalization and instability in the Arab East and
then the Arab world as a whole. It stimulated escalating terrorism against
Israelis at home and their allies abroad. Since the end of the Cold War,
the interaction between Israel and its captive Palestinian population has
emerged as the fountainhead of global strife. It is increasingly difficult
to distinguish this strife from a war of religions or a conflict of
civilizations.
For better or ill, my own country, the United States has played and
continues to play the key international part in this contest. American
policies, more than those of any other external actor, have the capacity to
stoke or stifle the hatreds in the Middle East and to spread or reverse
their infection of the wider world. American policies and actions in the
Middle East thus affect much more than that region.
Yet, as I will argue, the United States has been obsessed with process rather than substance. It has failed to involve parties who are essential
to peace. It has acted on Israel’s behalf to preempt rather than enlist
international and regional support for peace. It has defined the issues in
ways that preclude rather than promote progress. Its concept of a “peace
process” has therefore become the handmaiden of Israeli expansionism rather
than a driver for peace. There are alternatives to tomorrow’s diplomatic
peace pageant on the Potomac. And, as Norway has shown, there is a role for
powers other than America in crafting peace in the Holy Land.
To read the full article, please click on the link to go to our website http://australiansforpalestine.com/29086#more-29086
Also, don’t forget to visit the home page to see other articles and also the
latest news. Worth reading is an interview with Hamas chief Khaled Meshaal,
also another excellent piece by Dr Ghada Karmi and an article by our own
public advocate Alex Whisson that appeared in The Australian earlier this
week “Actions speak louder than talks for Israel.
http://australiansforpalestine.com
Sonja Karkar
Editor
Australians for Palestine
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