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Splintering as a strategy By Meron Benvenisti Tags: Palestinian Take note of the collection of items that were published on a single day this week: negotiating teams discussing a declaration of intentions that will be presented at the Annapolis conference; the prime minister's deputy reiterates his plan to remove "neighborhoods on the edge" of Jerusalem from the city's municipal borders, and causes a stir; the Knesset Finance Committee discusses a draft law that will permit the Jewish National Fund to lease land only to Jews; and the firing of a Katyusha rocket from the Gaza Strip leads to a noisy debate about the issue of taking control of areas of the Strip. The connection appears to be merely coincidental; after all, what connection does the JNF have to Katyushas? But a more thorough examination may reveal that, in fact, they are different aspects of what is called "the Palestinian problem." We have broken down this problem, for our convenience, into small issues, on the assumption that "if it is smaller, it will be more convenient to deal with." We are so accustomed to the paradigm of dismantling issues that we have forgotten that it is not the "problem" that we have broken down into its parts, but rather we have caused the Palestinian people to shatter, over the last three generations, into subgroups. We have not merely crushed them with force but also caused them to take upon themselves split identities and to surrender to an agenda that we have dictated to them. Advertisement The Palestinian participants in the negotiations ahead of the Annapolis conference humbly accept their role as the representatives of the Palestinian splinter that lives in the West Bank, and are struggling to get better conditions for about only one quarter of the entire Palestinian nation. Others will deal with the fate of the remining splinters - the Gazans, Palestinian Israelis, the diaspora, and residents of East Jerusalem. The residents of East Jerusalem want only to be left alone and not to be forced ("out of patriotism") to forego the privileges they enjoy as Israeli residents; in the argument between Haim Ramon and Benjamin Netanyahu over the division of Jerusalem, the residents of East Jerusalem support the latter. The Palestinian Israelis are fighting for the right to lease land from the JNF as part of their demand for recognition as a "national minority" and for equal rights. They do not tie their struggle to the struggle of their brethren who live on the other side of the separation fence. The Hamas activists in the Gaza Strip are not interested in the implications of their violent acts and their rhetoric about the interests of the entire Palestinian nation, and are continuing with their policies that bring in their wake the ostracism and excommunication of one-and-a -half million Palestinians. And those in the diaspora? They are continuing to carry around the keys to the homes that they left in 1948 and to dream of "returning." The process of splitting up into sub-communities has not yet reached its consummation, and the political, economic and security constraints are deepening the entrenchment of the divided identities. The Zionist enterprise, whose development challenged the Palestinian Arab community and unified it into a distinct national group, became over the generations the dominant force under whose fist the Palestinian community was shattered. The process of splintering became the major tool of Israeli control. It is thanks to this alone that Israelis can preserve control over all the areas of the Land of Israel and it serves as a guarantee against the "demographic danger" that will occur when, very soon, the Palestinians achieve a numerical majority in the region between the river and the sea. The ruling Jewish community will continue, even when it becomes a minority, to force this split on the Palestinians with the usual means - the carrot and the stick, dictating the agenda, threats, collective punishments and bribery. This will preserve and even deepen the lack of coordination, the conflicting interests, and the weakness of the splintered Palestinian communities. In the 1960s and 1970s, the policy of fragmenting was aimed at the small minority of "Israeli Arabs." Now it is being put into practice in the most sophisticated fashion against five million Palestinians, almost without attracting attention, and not by chance. Israeli propaganda has no interest in stressing the achievements of this split; on the contrary, Israel aims at erecting an "existential threat" scarecrow that portrays a monolithic adversary that relies on the dark forces of "Islamo-fascism." In this, they are unwittingly assisted by leftist circles who remain steadfast to the romantic notion about a Palestinian people united in its struggle for freedom, and they are joined by Palestinian spokesmen who do not believe in the success of the policy of shattering and who view the very utterance of the theory about a divide as hostile propaganda. That is why this strategy can succeed; attention is diverted to marginal issues such as the JNF and "the division of Jerusalem," and even those who are informed and well-versed, are surprised when the fragmentation is brought to their attention. It is not a Nelson Mandela that the Palestinians need, but rather a Giuseppe Garibaldi, who should rise from their midst and unite them. Bookmark to del.icio.us   Gore wins TAU prize Al Gore and Amos OZ are among the recipients of the 2008 Dan David Prize. Spring roll strike Asian eateries across Israel cut menu over plans to rid kitchens of foreign chefs.   1.   The Jews are always to blame- and the Arabs always innocent 10:57  |  Shalom Freedman 11/10/07   2.   Spintering as a strategy 11:12  |  Rachel Carter 11/10/07   3.   More BS from Benvisti - a supporter of Oslo & itnatkut 12:00  |  Oiy Oiy Oiy 11/10/07   4.   Every nation, every sect, every religion is "splintered". 12:00  |  Natallie Durson 11/10/07   5.   Benvenisti swallows a truth 12:20  |  peter 11/10/07   6.   there is no `palestinian` people 12:21  |  joe 11/10/07   7.   NO EXCUSES: Peace MUST Happen! ...They Can Stay Or Leave! 12:35  |  Proud Pal Defender 11/10/07   8.   PALESTINIAN JERUSALEM MUST REMAIN UNITED 13:04  |  Nectar 11/10/07   9.   Two questions for the fervents of the "Palestinian people" 13:04  |  Hastaroth 11/10/07   10.   Carp and Complain Carp and Complain 13:13  |  Jane 11/10/07   11.   The Palestinian weakness was always a major reason for their 13:46  |  Rafael 11/10/07   12.   So what? 14:48  |  Gene 11/10/07   13.   Answer to Shalom Freedman 14:52  |  ARTH 11/10/07   14.   Palestinians splintered into Israel, Jordan, Egypt 14:59  |  Herbert Kaine 11/10/07   15.   Jerusalem 15:06  |  Naim S. Mahlab 11/10/07   16.   Benvenisti 15:17  |  j10 11/10/07   17.   Really, Hastaroth 15:25  |  Murray 11/10/07   18.   #1 Shalom Freedman & Necessary Truths 15:43  |  Dutch 11/10/07   19.   "Israeli" Does not exist 15:49  |  dan 11/10/07   20.   #8 Nectar. It`s Called Demascus. 15:54  |  Ambrose 11/10/07   21.   Nelson Mandela not good enough? 16:01  |  Laurent Szyster 11/10/07   22.   # 18 Addendum Re: Necessary Truths 16:24  |  Dutch 11/10/07   23.   Dan,#19 16:25  |  citizen zero 11/10/07   24.   #17 Murray, and you comparing 16:44  |  TOMY 11/10/07   25.   again.. 16:50  |  khairi janbek 11/10/07   26.   #10 The same old crap from Jane .... 16:52  |  Dutch 11/10/07   27.   What? they don`t want to live in the utopian `Palestine` 16:55  |  SystemF 11/10/07   28.   Try reading, TOMY 17:33  |  Murray 11/10/07   29.   Switzerland? 17:54  |  David 11/10/07   30.   so what is he suggesting? 18:35  |  davidd 11/10/07   31.   This is riddled with inaccuracies. shame on you 18:50  |  David 11/10/07   32.   blame game 18:50  |  Wade 11/10/07   33.   So...E. J-lem Arabs are smarter than Chaim Ramon 19:08  |  Polybios 11/10/07   34.   Jerusalem has to be split 19:11  |  Elias Khoury 11/10/07   35.   BENEVISTI THE HI PRIEST 19:14  |  JOJO 11/10/07   36.   Dutch 19:19  |  Brett 11/10/07   37.   David #22 - Benvenisti is a symbol of Leftist confusion 19:19  |  Polybios 11/10/07   38.   The author must knew he is talking about 19:19  |  Robert 11/10/07   39.   Dutch using false statistics 19:24  |  Polybios 11/10/07   40.   splintering 19:28  |  matt k 11/10/07   41.   Proud Pal Defender #7 19:31  |  Polybios 11/10/07   42.   Between Herzl and Benvenisti 20:20  |  Otto Rand 11/10/07   43.   # 4 Fatmah, in trues arabs will realize... 20:34  |  Misha 11/10/07   44.   A more than decent proposal 20:53  |  Joseph 11/10/07   45.   East Jerusalem and the PLO 21:13  |  Joe 11/10/07   46.   #30 David, Re: What is Meron Benvenisti suggestion ? 21:27  |  dutch 11/10/07   47.   joe-t-a 22:21  |  David aDifferent Jew 11/10/07   48.   Michel Foucault is back 22:27  |  Honi 11/10/07   49.   #39 Polybios, I am just talking about Palestine ... 22:37  |  Dutch 11/10/07   50.   No one has keys from 1948 22:53  |  Efox 11/10/07   51.   What "Palestinian Nation"? 22:57  |  Efox 11/10/07   52.   # 47 Muhamed, trick somebody else, read the #43... 23:01  |  Misha 11/10/07   53.   East Jerusalem Arabs want Israeli benefits but without Israel 23:03  |  Efox 11/10/07   54.   # 47 Yes one more thing I forgot to mention, Muhamed... 23:07  |  Misha 11/10/07   55.   Polybios 23:42  |  Jasmine Murphy 11/10/07   56.   #30 David, Re: What is Meron Benvenisti suggestion ? 00:07  |  Dutch 12/10/07   57.   Dutch,greetings!&M.Benvenisti,Dutch have you looked at Abu Sitta` 00:39  |  lakshmi 12/10/07   58.   #30 David, What is Meron Benvenisti suggestion ? 00:42  |  Dutch 12/10/07   59.   Shalom Freedman 01:01  |  kay 12/10/07   60.   questionning 01:04  |  kay 12/10/07   61.   Its not up to them. They can leave for Haifa 01:10  |  Tamir Palestine 12/10/07   62.   Efox 01:10  |  kay 12/10/07   63.   Most of East Jerusalem Pals regected Israeli citizenships 01:13  |  Tamir Palestine 12/10/07   64.   #49 Dutch your statistics are a joke 01:15  |  Levi 12/10/07   65.   #28 Try reading Murray 01:45  |  TOMY 12/10/07   66.   Meron Benveisti , Re: Giuseppe Garibaldi, 01:51  |  Dutch 12/10/07   67.   Of course, Arabs want to live under Israels 01:52  |  TOMY 12/10/07   68.   shalom #1 02:06  |  tom 12/10/07   69.   Lakshmi, Yes, this is really the last chance for peace 02:36  |  Dutch 12/10/07   70.   Israeli citizenship 04:11  |  Dakkar 12/10/07   71.   THEY want Arab rule as required by both Hamas and Fatah covenants 04:37  |  PETER SM 12/10/07   72.   # 7 Pal Defender 05:26  |  Lynn 12/10/07   73.   #57 Lakshmi 07:41  |  ballistic1 12/10/07   74.   As Tamir Palestine stated: 08:03  |  Y 12/10/07   75.   to "Dutch" 09:15  |  Zvi 12/10/07   76.   COULD THE KNESSET LAND BEYOND THE WALL 09:30  |  A.Chance 12/10/07   77.   Taibe 09:31  |  Palestinian Brit 12/10/07   78.   To #21..Nelson Mandela?? What was so great about him? He hates 14:15  |  GrossedOut 12/10/07   79.   a Giuseppe Garibaldi needed 23:19  |  Canderra 12/10/07   80.   Barguti 08:16  |  Zvi Boger 13/10/07   81.   #49 01:31  |  Moshe 18/10/07   82.   #49 01:48  |  Moshe 18/10/07   83.   how to get in touch 04:01  |  max alexander 23/12/07

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