We are all racists!
An observer of the ongoing inside Israel, especially when peace opportunities fade away or die down because of Mr. Sharon’s determination to consecrate occupation imposing deformed and unjust solutions upon the occupied Palestinians, would for sure feel frustrated and hopeless regarding the possibility of peace in the region. To be fair, some statements regarding the Israeli continued occupation of Arab territories, including one by Sharon himself, even it was interpreted later as a lip service, still may give a glimmer of hope for peace. Personally, I follow up closely the Israeli public opinion swings regarding peace in our region. There are so many supporters for peace among the anti-occupation forces inside Israel, among the anti-“targeted killings” . I think these forces have even stronger matches of peace advocates in the surrounding. Together these forces can be united to make the brilliant peaceful dawn of tomorrow away from occupation, violence and oppression.
With this in mind, the Israeli Ha'aretz, on May 25,2003, wrote under the title “ The scent of racism” By Gideon Levy: “Shock is the proper reaction to the remark of cabinet Minister Gideon Ezra, who explained last week that Arabs should be used as security guards in Israel because only they have "the sense of smell needed to smell other Arabs, more so than guards who are immigrants from the former Soviet Union." If anyone in Europe dared to say something similar about Jews, the world would be outraged, and rightly so. Another possibility is to ignore what Ezra said: What's the relevance of a low-life utterance from a marginal minister whose level of speech only casts a gloomy light on the institution he came from, the Shin Bet security service, and on his current place at the cabinet table? On second thought, though, we should be thankful to Ezra: He has provided an apt description of the reality in which we live. We do in fact "sniff out" Arabs, all of whom are suspect in our eyes solely because of their ethnic origins. We are all racists. Like it or not, we live in a reality of national, not to say racist, separation.”
“Racism is here, but we continue to imagine that we live in a highly enlightened and progressive society. Now Ezra has come and inadvertently held up the mirror in front of us. And what it reflects is ugly. After all, what's the difference between trying to sniff out Arabs as Ezra would do, and making passersby speak in order to see whether they have an Arab accent? An "oriental" look or an Arab accent, dark skin or traditional dress immediately create serious suspicions. That may be understandable, but we must also be aware of the serious implications of such behavior. A society that classifies its residents according to their origin and is impassive about this behavior cannot be a just society. Every Arab is considered a suspicious object unless he can prove otherwise citing an example of Dr. Mohammed Darawshe, a citizen of Israel from the Givat Haviva Institute for Advanced Studies, who wanted to take a plane from Eilat to Tel Aviv. He had to answer dozens of impertinent and nosy questions about the purpose of his trip - and only because of his ethnic origin. There was no connection between the questions he was asked (Where did you lecture? What was the subject? Why did you come to Eilat?) and any sort of danger that was liable to accrue because of his presence on the plane. Separate lines for Jews and Arabs have long since become second nature here. There is no need to go as far as the occupied territories - where apartheid roads for Jews only and curfew for Arabs only have long been the reality - in order to witness the separation. It's here, within the country. Under the aegis of the security situation the phenomenon has grown to worrisome proportions, far beyond what's necessary. Arab students find it difficult to rent apartments in Jewish cities solely because of their ethnic origin and without any security justification. The country's Arab citizens are increasingly loath to venture out of their towns and villages because of the suspiciousness and humiliation they encounter in every contact with Jewish citizens or with the authorities. It is precisely because of the security needs, which sometimes oblige this sort of separation and discrimination, that unnecessary manifestations of discrimination should be reduced as far as possible.
Hope is still there, the truth would definitely prevail. It is the injustice and oppression imposed upon the oppressed and the under occupation and persistent humiliation which would always fuel and oil the burning fire of hatred and vengeance. On the other hand, it is the transparent objective dialogue which can bridge the wide gaps of mistrust and long years of enmity and denial. A stitch in time saves nine, an even balanced article is to be accumulated and heaped up so that the nation of peace hungry worldwide would not lose hope.
BY
Mohamad Abdo AlIbrahim