From: davidba@carmel.technion.ac.il (David Ben_Ami)
Subject: Re: Israel and Kuwait in the Spotlight
Organization: Technion, Israel Inst. of Technology
Date: Sat, 5 Sep 1992 08:52:02 GMT

In article <3720@copper.Denver.Colorado.EDU> aaldoubo@copper.denver.colorado.edu (Anisa Alnoor Aldoubosh) writes:
>Jake writes:
>>
>>Israel is in a similar position to Kuwait, in this respect.  Israel
>>offers Arabs more freedoms than they can have virtually anywhere else
>>in the Middle East.
>
>Liberating them from what, Jake?  Their homes?  The land of their
>birth?

Jake was talking about the 1 million Arabs inside Israel. They enjoy
the most free condition of Arabs in the region - they themselves say 
so and although many of them support a Palestinian State no one dreams
of going there and live there - they want to stay in the "Zionist Entity"
although it is so oppressive as Elgahni and Anisa claim. I heard an
interview of an Arab Israeli Student in the IDF Radio station that 
criticized the Government and the Army quite ferociously - yet the 
interviewer was clearly sympathethic to her and her causes and nobody 
harrased him or her for doing so. This is freedom of Speech, Anisa.
I think that nowhere in the Arab World (WB & G) included this could
have happened to an Arab Student let alone Jewish one.

>
>>  However, because it is so much in current events
>>and in the media spotlight, even relatively minor problems are posed
>>as monumental while very much more egregious problems nearby are
>>entirely ignored.  Other gulf states are not very different from
>>Kuwait but no one ever hears about them.  (Ask anyone in the street to
>>list the names of 4 gulf states; they probably won't manage it.  Ask
>>them whose land Israel has "stolen" and they'll all tell you.)
>
>You're right.  The media plays a major role in not presenting the facts
>and is the master of distortions.  This is true especially of the Gulf
>region.  Since it is in the good graces of the United States, known facts
>such as the prohibition of political parties and suffrage (especially to
>women), are virtually unknown to the average American.  They also view
>Israel as being the 'only democracy' in the Middle East because of the
>misconceptions and fear of Islamic and pan-Arab nationalism.  And because
>money seems to always be a factor when decifering U.S. intervention and
>political prestige, the average American supports such countries as you
>just stated.
>
>But then we have people like Anwar stating that this is better than
>what we see in the Middle East as a whole, while ignoring democratic
>processes and supporting aggression against other Muslim states such
>as Algeria, and Afghanistan.
>
>>I had been hopeful that Kuwait and Saudi Arabia would have recognized
>>that they don't actually have major quarrels with Israel and would
>>have done the right thing by moving forward with recognition and
>>relations.  I am still hopeful of this, though the weak progress
>>between these parties in the past 2 years has been disappointing.
>
>This, after suggesting in the past, that there is lack of human
>rights and equality for women and other Arabs, in such countries as
>Saudi Arabia and Kuwait.
>
>BTW, Kuwait and Israel are two vary different examples in view of
>the Palestinian situation.  The only common denominator is that
>the Palestinians were once again scapegoated.

I think that Palestinians cannot claim honestly that they were
plundered for no reason at all, they acted in both countries to
undermine the Govt. maliciously IMHO. Sure, many Palestinians were
innocent and did nothing or even tried to undermine what their brothers
tried to do. Well, to this I'll quote the Jewish saying: "Woe to the
evil person and woe to his neighbor" ["Oi La'Rasha ve'Oi LeShcheno" for
the Hebrew speakers] - This is terrible thing to happen, but when 
do hot emotions are involved - justice suffers and one can only blame
the original troublemakers who infuriated the other side by stabbing it
in the back. Sure, when things get cooler - this is painful for all
and compensations and help must be given to the innocent Palestinians,
I think that the reccurence of this backstabbing and whining tactic in
the case of the Palestinians makes one suspicious that there's a pattern
and unless Palestinians are going to break it they will never fulfil
their aspirations.
 
>Anisa

David.
-- 
=============================================================================
  David Ben-Ami (irc: bigdav)      |   "I can resist anything but Temptation"
  s2780369@Techst02.Technion.Ac.Il |       Oscar Wilde
  davidba@Carmel.Technion.Ac.Il  davidba@Moav.Techniona.Ac.Il