Please excuse me if I wax academic for a moment by "analyzing" something I saw in the recently concluded Olympic Games in Athens. It involved a bit of sign language that I not only saw flashed by an athlete from the fictional Arabic nation of "Palestine" during the opening ceremony, but also from a runner representing Morocco. I didn't see all the games, so I don't know if this sign was used in other venues, but the two times I saw the sign was enough to get me thinking.
The sign in question is one involving the upturned index and middle fingers spread apart in a wide "V." Some interpret this sign to be "peace" and others interpret this sign to be "victory." Its alternate meanings are no coincidence. The sign originated in popular culture during World War II's "V for Victory!" campaign, begun by Winston Churchill and adopted quickly by all the Allies. The sign was reinterpreted by war protesters in the United States during the 1960s, to mean "peace".
The duplicitous meaning of this sign is an important metaphor for the continuing attempt to negotiate with Arab groups in Israel and elsewhere. The "V for Victory!" sign is representative of a culture fighting for military supremacy. The "V" is a sign of encouragement to the warriors and support personnel involved in an active fight for what the population assumes is a just and valid cause. The "Peace" sign is drawn from a culture defined by pacifism, which is representative of those wishing to avoid conflict at any cost. The "Peace" sign is encouragement for those passively resisting conflict and war through non-violent action and diplomacy. Most Westerners, especially those born after World War II, will interpret the sign to mean "peace", as, in fact, Western media reporters did during the opening ceremonies. However, the sign is understood by most Arabs to mean "victory" (see www.honestreporting.com and www.israelaustin.com/israelnow/ for examples of this dual interpretation in the Western and Arab press).
Because the sign can be interpreted in two distinct ways, it is especially useful for those who value Mohammed's teachings regarding the use of deception to gain strategic advantage against those who are regarded as the "enemies of Islam." Moslems can easily flash this sign as an encouragement to those engaged in conflict while reinforcing the PR spin of "Arabs as peace-loving victims of Western aggression." It is hudna in the flesh.
But this sign goes much deeper. It reveals the very problem inherit in trying to negotiate with those who regard the Western penchant for "peace" as an avenue to gain "victory" for Islam. How many times have our soldiers encountered a group of Arabs waving a white flag, only to be drawn into a deadly ambush? How many times has Israel attempted to make a "peace deal," even with international assistance, which has lead, instead, to sustained and deadly terrorist actions against innocent victims in our cities, towns and villages? How many times has the US tried to negotiate a cease fire, only to face reinforced troops with additional weapons?
We are being lied to every day. Language, which is inherently enigmatic, has been used to subvert understanding through redefinition. As Diana Buttu, legal adviser to the PLO said, "The Israeli-Palestinian conflict is a battle over language sometimes more than over anything else." In the same way that "Palestine", the name the Roman's gave to Israel and the Jews, has been subverted into referring to a political movement of non-native peoples of Arab descent, we are being duped once more by another trick of language and symbol. We have already engaged in a passive truce that has lead to more violence, and now we are making the most deadly mistake of all: sacrificing the homes, dreams and land of law-abiding Jews to terrorist Arab gangs who will use that land to gain tactical advantage toward "victory" over Israel.
Our signs of peace are their signs of victory.
It is important to remember that the signs we take for granted can mean something completely different when translated to a different culture and a different language. We can hope for peace all day long, we can pray for peace, we can negotiate for peace, and we can show our intention toward peace through concrete actions - but those intentions, prayers and actions mean nothing to those whose intention, prayers and actions are only for the purpose of victory over us. We need to stop assuming that our enemies see things the same way we see them, and begin realizing the serious and looming error in signing away our future.
The sign in question is one involving the upturned index and middle fingers spread apart in a wide "V." Some interpret this sign to be "peace" and others interpret this sign to be "victory." Its alternate meanings are no coincidence. The sign originated in popular culture during World War II's "V for Victory!" campaign, begun by Winston Churchill and adopted quickly by all the Allies. The sign was reinterpreted by war protesters in the United States during the 1960s, to mean "peace".
The duplicitous meaning of this sign is an important metaphor for the continuing attempt to negotiate with Arab groups in Israel and elsewhere. The "V for Victory!" sign is representative of a culture fighting for military supremacy. The "V" is a sign of encouragement to the warriors and support personnel involved in an active fight for what the population assumes is a just and valid cause. The "Peace" sign is drawn from a culture defined by pacifism, which is representative of those wishing to avoid conflict at any cost. The "Peace" sign is encouragement for those passively resisting conflict and war through non-violent action and diplomacy. Most Westerners, especially those born after World War II, will interpret the sign to mean "peace", as, in fact, Western media reporters did during the opening ceremonies. However, the sign is understood by most Arabs to mean "victory" (see www.honestreporting.com and www.israelaustin.com/israelnow/ for examples of this dual interpretation in the Western and Arab press).
Because the sign can be interpreted in two distinct ways, it is especially useful for those who value Mohammed's teachings regarding the use of deception to gain strategic advantage against those who are regarded as the "enemies of Islam." Moslems can easily flash this sign as an encouragement to those engaged in conflict while reinforcing the PR spin of "Arabs as peace-loving victims of Western aggression." It is hudna in the flesh.
But this sign goes much deeper. It reveals the very problem inherit in trying to negotiate with those who regard the Western penchant for "peace" as an avenue to gain "victory" for Islam. How many times have our soldiers encountered a group of Arabs waving a white flag, only to be drawn into a deadly ambush? How many times has Israel attempted to make a "peace deal," even with international assistance, which has lead, instead, to sustained and deadly terrorist actions against innocent victims in our cities, towns and villages? How many times has the US tried to negotiate a cease fire, only to face reinforced troops with additional weapons?
We are being lied to every day. Language, which is inherently enigmatic, has been used to subvert understanding through redefinition. As Diana Buttu, legal adviser to the PLO said, "The Israeli-Palestinian conflict is a battle over language sometimes more than over anything else." In the same way that "Palestine", the name the Roman's gave to Israel and the Jews, has been subverted into referring to a political movement of non-native peoples of Arab descent, we are being duped once more by another trick of language and symbol. We have already engaged in a passive truce that has lead to more violence, and now we are making the most deadly mistake of all: sacrificing the homes, dreams and land of law-abiding Jews to terrorist Arab gangs who will use that land to gain tactical advantage toward "victory" over Israel.
Our signs of peace are their signs of victory.
It is important to remember that the signs we take for granted can mean something completely different when translated to a different culture and a different language. We can hope for peace all day long, we can pray for peace, we can negotiate for peace, and we can show our intention toward peace through concrete actions - but those intentions, prayers and actions mean nothing to those whose intention, prayers and actions are only for the purpose of victory over us. We need to stop assuming that our enemies see things the same way we see them, and begin realizing the serious and looming error in signing away our future.