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Oct. 19, 2007
Insights of a Mideast expert
Veteran Arab journalist adds nuance to the Israel debate.
RON FRIEDMAN
If it weren't for his name, it would be very difficult to peg Khaled
Abu Toameh as a Muslim Arab. Judging from his comments on Middle
East issues, you could, alternately, think he was, a left-leaning
Israeli Jew, a staunch supporter of Prime Minister Ehud Olmert or
a detached international observer. But the truth is, with his varied
experiences and unique perspective, Toameh defies sectarian definition.
He describes himself as a veteran professional journalist.
Toameh, who was in Vancouver as part of a five-city tour of Canada,
sat down with the Jewish Independent to discuss Palestinian
politics, Israeli media, Arab Israeli relations, Muslim extremism
and his thoughts on the Middle East conflict.
Toameh was born in the town of Tulkarem, situated on the foothills
of the Samarian Mountains, about 15 kilometres west of Nablus and
15 kilometres east of the Israeli coastal town of Netanya, to an
Arab-Israeli father and a West Bank-Palestinian mother. His father's
Israeli citizenship meant that the family was allowed to live in
Israel.
Toameh grew up in Jerusalem. After completing a degree in English
literature at the Hebrew University, he went to work as a reporter
for the Palestinian Liberation Organization's daily newspaper Al-Fajr
(The Dawn).
Recalling his time working for Arafat's media arm, Toameh recounted
that, "You couldn't really call it journalism. It was like
working in the ministry of information of one of the Arab countries.
It was the official mouthpiece of the PLO. We had to write what
they told us to. The only criticism that was allowed was criticism
of Israel."
Very quickly, Toameh became disillusioned with the Fatah leadership
and their views on freedom of the press, which Toameh said had more
in common with Saddam Hussein than with a free media. Having grown
up in Israel, he also knew that there was an alternative.
"We lived under Israeli occupation for many years, but we were
also exposed to the Israeli democratic system and the freedom of
the media over there. I am not ashamed to say that we learned a
lot from the Jews, we learned all the positive things. And we were
hoping that, when eventually we would have our own government, we
would have a media similar to the media that the Jews have, a free
media, an open media."
Toameh said that, today, with the emergence of satellite television
and the Internet, government-controlled media is no longer influential
in the Arab world.
"There is not one Arab house that I know of that doesn't have
a satellite dish which gives you hundreds of TV stations from all
around the world. You don't have to rely anymore on what Palestine
TV broadcasts," said Toameh, adding that even refugee camps
have satellite connections and Internet cafés.
In order to practice what he calls "real journalism,"
Toameh found he had to work outside of the Palestinian influence,
even if it meant working for Jews. Toameh joined the Jerusalem
Post in 2002 as its Gaza and West Bank correspondent, where
he files stories on a wide range of topics and events.
"As a journalist, I have no problem writing for any news organization
that provides me with the platform. Whether it's owned by Jews,
Buddhists, Hindus ... I don't care. The Jerusalem Post provides
me with a very, very free platform. I don't write what my editors
want me to write. I write whatever I want," said Toameh.
One of the major issues Toameh has been writing about extensively
over the last year is the 2006 parliamentary elections in the Palestinian
Authority and its fallout. According to Toameh, people in the West
think that Hamas won because they promised to destroy the state
of Israel. He argued that this is a misconception and that their
victory was due more to disgruntlement with the Fatah leadership
than agreement with Hamas' fundamentalist views on Israel.
"The name of the game in January 2006 was – let's punish
the corrupt guys. Hamas was very clever; they ran under the banner
of change and reform. They knew exactly what the Palestinians wanted
and the Palestinians wanted good governance."
Toameh noted that the Hamas list that ran for office was relatively
moderate, made up mostly of technocrats, as opposed to the Fatah
list that, in his words, "consists largely of thugs, murderers,
bad guys and corrupt people." He added that had he been living
in Gaza, he would have likely voted for Hamas as well.
"The Palestinians were the first in the Arab world to bring
down a government, in free and democratic elections," Toameh
said, adding that, instead of getting support from the international
community, they were boycotted for their choices. "What the
United States did was, after the elections, they went to the guys
who lost the elections, the PLO, and gave them guns and money to
bring down the elected government. This backfired, it only increased
Hamas' popularity," he said. Toameh blames the international
community for playing into extremists' hands: "Iran, Syria
and Al-Qaeda came into an open door. We boycotted Hamas, we threw
Hamas to the dogs, and then these guys came and picked them up,"
he said.
Another issue that is particularly close to his heart is the relationship
between Jews and the Arab minority within Israel. "These days,
we [Israeli Arabs] are facing a very serious problem because of
the conflict with the Palestinians. The way we see it, our state
is at war with our people."
Toameh said that Arab-Israelis, who make up 20 per cent of Israel's
population, would like to serve as a bridge between Jews and Palestinians,
but he is afraid that violence has widened the gap, not only between
Jewish Israelis and Palestinians, but also between Jewish and Arab
Israelis.
"Israeli Jews no longer trust the Arabs because of what happened
in the last seven years. They think we are all just a bunch of Arabs
who want to destroy the state of Israel. Israeli Jews no longer
see a difference between Khaled, the good Israeli citizen, and Muhammad,
the suicide bomber from Gaza," said Toameh.
Toameh believes that the Israeli establishment has to change its
attitude towards non-Jews living in Israel.
"Israel is not an apartheid state," he said. "Israel
is not a racist state, but there is a problem with services to the
Arab community. There is a problem of discrimination when it comes
to funds, employment, infrastructure and all these things."
He warned that if the government does not take drastic measure toward
repairing the situation, he foresaw a third intifada taking place
on the streets of Haifa, Jaffa, the Galilee and the Negev.
Toameh noted that what Arab-Israelis are after is not separation
but integration, "I would still rather live as a second class
citizen in Israel, than a first class citizen in Cairo, Amman, Gaza
or Ramallah, because Israel is a free country, it is a democracy.
We have problems with equality, yes. But we have to fight for them
under the democratic system," he said.
On the issue of the controversial barrier fence or, as some call
it, partition wall, Toameh said: "Whoever unleashed the campaign
of terrorism and suicide bombings against Israel is responsible
for the wall. The wall is bad for both Jews and Arabs. I don't know
of one person who likes the wall, but what alternative did you give
the Jews?"
Regarding the future, Toameh remains of split mind: "I am optimistic
because the Jews have changed, but I am pessimistic because we,
the Arabs, haven't changed. The Jews have agreed to make concessions,
but if I go to downtown Ramallah and I say, 'Listen, my Palestinian
brothers, there will be no right of return for the refugees, let's
stop fooling ourselves and start looking for other solutions,' they
will call me a traitor and shoot me."
Toameh said that one of the things that surprises him most when
he visits foreign countries is the level of animosity he sees, especially
on university campuses. "What really worries me and I think
is very sad, is that I find many Arabs in the U.S. and Canada who
are much, much more extreme, than Hamas and Islamic Jihad over there....
Even in Ramallah, I don't hear 'Death to the Jews.' I have to hear
it in American campuses? Why should a Pakistani be more Palestinian
that a Palestinian?" asked Toameh.
"All these things I'm saying, it's not because I'm a self-hating
Arab or a self-hating Muslim and I'm just trying to bash the Arabs.
No, I'm saying these things out of concern. We deserve a better
government. We deserve proper institutions. We deserve a democracy.
We need to offer our children hope and a better future."
Toameh's visit to Canada was sponsored by the Canada-Israel Committee.
During his visit, he spent time in Montreal, Winnipeg, Toronto and
Ottawa, as well as Vancouver. He met with student groups, media
representatives, local politicians and Jewish community organizations.
"We were proud to host Khaled Abu Toameh in Vancouver so that
he could deliver his important message of hope for possible solutions
to the situation based on the realities on the ground," said
Adam Caroll, regional director of the Canada-Israel Committee. "It
is fantastic to have an opportunity to get past the chatter and
spin and speak directly to someone 'in the know.' "
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