Presenting PLO leader Yasser Arafat who has been the number one factor undermining regional stability in the Middle East for several decades as a moderate among radicals was the rationale behind the diplomatic process with him. Most Israelis became reacquainted with reality after Arafat rejected the flood of concessions that former Prime Minister Ehud Barak offered him at Camp David and, instead, began a new terrorist war against Israel. Now, the difficulty in severing ourselves from the dream dictates that we locate another PLO "moderate," by which means the PLO will be able to continue toying with Israel.
Dr. Sari Nusseibeh, a soft-spoken and mild-mannered academic, is the current "moderate", the proffered partner for dialogue. Aware of his image, and perhaps because of it, Yasser Arafat recently appointed him to "the Jerusalem portfolio" in place of the late Faisal Husseini. Nusseibeh has been charged with renewing Palestinian diplomatic activity in Israel's capital, after the government acted vigorously to forestall it - in accordance with the law and diplomatic agreements - by closing institutions (first and foremost, "Orient House") and preventing Palestinian Authority- or PLO-sponsored diplomatic conferences. Neither Nusseibeh's closeness to Arafat nor his official appointment disturb those who seek to portray him as being no less than "in opposition" to Arafat. If only this were true.
The necessity for dialogue between the peoples stems from the reality of the situation, but it also entails recognition of, and understanding for, one's interlocutors and their goals. In order to know and understand who Nusseibeh is, and what his views are, one need only to monitor his appearances in the Arabic media, not his PR pieces in the Israeli press. Thus, for example, on the "More Than An Opinion" ("Ekhtar Min Rai") broadcast last week on Al-Jazeera, Nusseibeh appeared alongside Majd A-Zir from the "Palestinian Return Organization" and said, regarding the "right of return": "There is no argument or disagreement between brother Majd and myself and the PLO leadership holds fast by all decisions on this issue. The Jews also began and established a state on a small part of Palestine and continued afterwards." Nusseibeh is, therefore, clearly loyal to the PLO's "stages doctrine" and, in his words, "We are at a crossroads today, and in my opinion, we must take what we can get."
Even Nusseibeh's reservations over terrorism (more accurately, over certain types of terrorism) are tactical reservations and not moral ones: "One must judge the choice of methods not out of emotional regard, but rather from the viewpoint of what will achieve our diplomatic goals." When he defends the Fatah movement, he recalls that it was the first one that operated along the lines of "the armed struggle."
As a matter of fact, Nusseibeh has filled the shoes of his predecessor, Faisal Husseini in more ways than one. In one of his last interviews, to the Egyptian weekly "Al Arabi", Husseini likened the Oslo agreement to a "Trojan Horse" by which the PLO infiltrated the Land of Israel and the current intifada he likened to the "pouring out from the belly of the horse." The Palestinian achievements in the Oslo agreements, said Husseini in the same interview, are actually "temporary steps" or "objectives by stages." The strategic objective remains "historical Palestine from the river to the sea, even if the conflict will continue another 1,000 years." Nusseibeh, exactly like Husseini, is among the most prominent standard-bearers of the PLO's "stages doctrine." He is now the Trojan Horse that the PLO is using in a clever attempt to infiltrate the heart of Israel's capital. Are there still Israelis who want to open the walls of Jerusalem to him?
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Gideon Saar is the Government Cabinet Secretary.
The article originally appeared in Yediot Aharonot and has been made available by the Government Press Office.
Dr. Sari Nusseibeh, a soft-spoken and mild-mannered academic, is the current "moderate", the proffered partner for dialogue. Aware of his image, and perhaps because of it, Yasser Arafat recently appointed him to "the Jerusalem portfolio" in place of the late Faisal Husseini. Nusseibeh has been charged with renewing Palestinian diplomatic activity in Israel's capital, after the government acted vigorously to forestall it - in accordance with the law and diplomatic agreements - by closing institutions (first and foremost, "Orient House") and preventing Palestinian Authority- or PLO-sponsored diplomatic conferences. Neither Nusseibeh's closeness to Arafat nor his official appointment disturb those who seek to portray him as being no less than "in opposition" to Arafat. If only this were true.
The necessity for dialogue between the peoples stems from the reality of the situation, but it also entails recognition of, and understanding for, one's interlocutors and their goals. In order to know and understand who Nusseibeh is, and what his views are, one need only to monitor his appearances in the Arabic media, not his PR pieces in the Israeli press. Thus, for example, on the "More Than An Opinion" ("Ekhtar Min Rai") broadcast last week on Al-Jazeera, Nusseibeh appeared alongside Majd A-Zir from the "Palestinian Return Organization" and said, regarding the "right of return": "There is no argument or disagreement between brother Majd and myself and the PLO leadership holds fast by all decisions on this issue. The Jews also began and established a state on a small part of Palestine and continued afterwards." Nusseibeh is, therefore, clearly loyal to the PLO's "stages doctrine" and, in his words, "We are at a crossroads today, and in my opinion, we must take what we can get."
Even Nusseibeh's reservations over terrorism (more accurately, over certain types of terrorism) are tactical reservations and not moral ones: "One must judge the choice of methods not out of emotional regard, but rather from the viewpoint of what will achieve our diplomatic goals." When he defends the Fatah movement, he recalls that it was the first one that operated along the lines of "the armed struggle."
As a matter of fact, Nusseibeh has filled the shoes of his predecessor, Faisal Husseini in more ways than one. In one of his last interviews, to the Egyptian weekly "Al Arabi", Husseini likened the Oslo agreement to a "Trojan Horse" by which the PLO infiltrated the Land of Israel and the current intifada he likened to the "pouring out from the belly of the horse." The Palestinian achievements in the Oslo agreements, said Husseini in the same interview, are actually "temporary steps" or "objectives by stages." The strategic objective remains "historical Palestine from the river to the sea, even if the conflict will continue another 1,000 years." Nusseibeh, exactly like Husseini, is among the most prominent standard-bearers of the PLO's "stages doctrine." He is now the Trojan Horse that the PLO is using in a clever attempt to infiltrate the heart of Israel's capital. Are there still Israelis who want to open the walls of Jerusalem to him?
-------------------------------------
Gideon Saar is the Government Cabinet Secretary.
The article originally appeared in Yediot Aharonot and has been made available by the Government Press Office.