Arabs Should Practice What They Preach

Arabs persistently lecture the West about Israel’s unfair treatment of the Palestinians. Yet the Arabs disregard their own similar conduct. Centuries of brutal oppression of Moslem and Christian minorities in Arab countries is of little concern to these same Arab critics. Further, despite the close presence of approximately 26 Arab countries, not one is willing to offer refuge to the Palestinians. These shortcomings do not prevent Arab complaints that Israel unfairly denies autonomy to the Palestinians. The international community must demand an explanation of this double standard.

Despite protestations to the contrary, one must question the sincerity of Arab sympathy toward the plight of the Palestinians. For example, prior to the Gulf War, the Kuwatians denied its resident Palestinians basic freedom and protection, let alone right to citizenship. If an Arab country such as Kuwait, one possessing unlimited wealth, cannot find it within themselves to grant basic protection to their fellow Arabs, it is difficult to understand the basis upon which Israel should concede territory or grand autonomy to the Palestinians. It seems safe to conclude that the Arabs are motivated by imperialism and deep-seated hostility towards Israel rather than genuine sympathy for the Palestinians.

The neighboring Arab countries deserve part of the blame for the plight of the Palestinians. Jordon was really Palestine until the British mandate created Jordan in 1947. Palestinians make up about 70% of Jordan’s population. Surely Jordan could be doing much more to assist the Palestinians. Many other Arab countries, such as Saudi Arabia and the Persian Gulf states, are oil-rich and under-populated. Yet, they have made no effort to resettle either Palestinians or Bosnian Moslims, even on a temporary basis. On the other hand, Israel, with meager resources, has resettled hundreds of thousands of emigrants from the former Soviet Union as well as refugees from Ethiopia and Yugoslavia.

Assyrians can readily empathize with the Palestinians because Assyrians are also unwanted in their own country. The Palestinians, however, have the advantage of a shared ancestry with other Arabs, including a shared language, religion and culture. Assyrians, on the other hand, are a completely different people.

One wonders why the Arabs didn’t speak up when the Kurds and the Assyrians were brutally oppressed any number of times in the recent years. The Arab community was able to look the other way even when Saddam Hussein was massacring Kurds and raiding Assyrian villages during the Iran-Iraq war. Perhaps the Arabs remained silent because it was not Arab lives that were lost. It is not clear to us, at least, why different rules should apply to Arabs.
The Palestinians should not be living under their present conditions. They should have a safe haven where they are able to live in peace and dignity and conduct their own affairs. But as long as Assyrian and Kurdish claims remain unsolved, justice has not been done.