Democratic Palestine : 39 (ص 29)
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- Democratic Palestine : 39 (ص 29)
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the commentary accompanying the
exhibit pointed out, history has proven
their critique of Zionism correct.
The first panel speaker was Mar-
wan Darweish, a Ph.D. candidate in
the School of Peace Studies at the Uni-
versity of Bradford. Mr. Darweish, a
native of Um Al Fahm in the Galilee,
spoke about the effects of settler col-
onialism on Palestinians, particularly
those inside the green line. Clarifying
that the term settler colonialism
applies equally to recent Soviet Jewish
immigrants as it did to the various
waves of immigrants before and
immediately after the founding of
Israel, he outlined the ongoing trans-
formation of the Palestinian economic,
political and social structure. Beyond
further land confiscation and _ pro-
letarianization of Palestinian peasants,
the asymmetrical relationship between
settlers and Palestinians in their sepa-
rate economic, residential and educa-
tional spheres will be — further
entrenched by the recent settlement
drive. In addition, Soviet immigrants
will inevitably become part of the state
security apparatus used to oppress
Palestinians.
This colonization process is creat-
ing new areas of hinterland by immig-
rants who settle in and around Palesti-
nian communities and who exploit the
human and other resources available to
them. As a result, the Arab villages
inside the green line will become
dependent on these hinterland settle-
ments for medical care, employment
and access to government Offices.
Another aspect of the settlement
drive is the accompanying dehumaniza-
tion of Palestinians in an attempt to
justify their displacement. Slogans of
the past such as «a land without a
people for a people without a land»
are likely to reappear, in effect making
Palestinians invisible.
The internal effects on Israeli soc-
iety are manifested in increased daily
incidents of racism, creating a situation
in which there is no safety for Palesti-
nians. This situation has created an
atmosphere in which the concept of
transfer is now legitimate, Israelis in
general having lost their sense of out-
rage about it. Underpinning all of this
is Israeli state policy which feeds this
phenomenon, as do vaguely disguised
threats made against Palestinians by
various Israeli officials across the polit-
ical spectrum.
In his closing words, Mr. Dar-
weish gave a chilling account of the
disappointment expressed by neighbors
of the man responsible for the Rishon
Letzion massacre that he only man-
aged to kill seven Palestinians as one
indication of the growing racist attitude
of Israelis. This in the context of the
judicial system which sentenced Rabbi
Levinger to five months in prison for
killing a Palestinian, while he would
risk one year imprisonment for sitting
at the same table with the PLO.
The next speaker was Michael
Palumbo, an independent researcher
and author of The Palestinian Catas-
trophe. Mr. Palumbo discussed the
nature of Zionism and the Zionist
movement before 1948 as being based
on expulsion to accomodate new
Jewish immigrants. These _ realities
form the historical precedents for pre-
sent day immigration and disposses-
sion, which serve the same purpose as
they did over 40 years ago.
Continuing his discussion of the
Palestinian dispossession, he criticized
the apologists for Zionism who main-
tain that because there was never a
formal blueprint for the expulsion of
the Palestinians, Zionism is therefore
not guilty of committing an historical
injustice. He pointed out that rarely in
history does injustice occur in such a
mechanical way, yet this by no means
exonerates the perpetrators from
«Sin.»
Turning to the war between the
Arab states and Israel in 1948, Mr.
Palumbo touched on some of the
myths surrounding it. For example, the
alleged Arab radio broadcasts which
were said ta have encouraged Palesti-
nians to leave their homes were actu-
ally propaganda tactics employed by
the Haganah. In fact, Arab states were
threatening Palestinians not to flee. He
also discussed the use of terror by
Zionists to «encourage» Palestinians to
leave, and made the case that concen-
trating on the few known cases, such
as the Deir Yassin massacre, misrepre-
sents the reality of what was happening
at the time. That the world knows of
only a few villages where massacres
occurred gives the false impression that
they were isolated incidents when, in
fact, they were frequent.
Ending his remarks, Mr. Palumbo
reiterated the historic continuity to the
present day threat of transfer, and
expressed his pessimism about the
future of Palestine.
The afternoon panel was led off
by Dr. Uri Davis, director of the
Jerusalem and Peace Service consul-
tancy office and one of the founders of
the Return group. In his remarks, Dr.
Davis discussed the meaning of return,
emphasizing that it is fundamental to
any discussion of the Israeli-Palestinian
conflict. He maintained that resistance
to the Palestinian right to return is
rooted in entrenched racism and the
knowledge that Israel can’t accomo-
date the economic restructuring Pales-
tinian return would necessitate, as the
state was constructed to benefit Jews
only. In addition, speaking from a
purely moral aspect, it is untenable to
advocate democracy and then accord
rights only to Jews.
As the right to return would entail
radical changes in many spheres, its
meaning needs to be clearly under-
stood in order to make it a viable real-
ity. What the right to return does not
mean, according to Dr. Davis, is that
the original Palestinian inhabitants of a
destroyed village would displace the
present day inhabitants. What it does
mean is that the former inhabitants
would have equal access to present
facilities and receive compensation for
lost property, as provided for under
international law. Clarifying the mean-
ing of return is essential to dispel the
false polarity that victory and return
for the Palestinians means Jewish
expulsion and misery. In a truly free
democratic Palestinian society, Jews
could find a political home.
In ending, Dr. Davis criticized
those who advocate a two-state solu-
tion as a final settlement as
accomodators of Zionism, interested in
protecting a racist system of separa-
tion. Joint struggle is based on joint
values to achieve victory, he said.
Raja Aghbariya, secretary general
of the Abna Al Balad movement,
made the next presentation, focusing
on return and the Palestinians inside
Israel. Mr. Aghbariya criticized some
elements in the PLO leadership for >
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