A Better Economy for Palestinians, But Worse Enmity for Israel
In the past few years, the annual economic growth rate in the West Bank has been 7 percent. The wages have recently risen 24 percent and the level of tourism is increasing. The well-executed economic policies of the Palestinian Authority have produced impressive results.
However, when looking at the past decade, two elements of the Palestinian attitude toward Israel remain constant: the unwillingness to reconcile and the insistence on supporting terrorism to reach political goals. It is revealing that improved economic conditions and strong economic growth in the West Bank have not resulted in significant improvement in political attitudes toward Israel. According to a recent survey commissioned by the Israel Project, two-thirds of the people living in Gaza and the West Bank believe that Palestinians must work to get back all of Palestine for a future Palestinian state. The millions of dollars in foreign aid, pumped into the economy, have done nothing to significantly change the Palestinian view of Israel.
This November, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas’ ruling Fatah party held its Fifth Revolutionary Council in Ramallah. Setting the tone for the proceedings were speeches proclaiming admiration for Amin al-Hindi, the mastermind behind the 1972 Munich Olympics massacre of 11 Israeli athletes. Getting down to business, the Fatah council rejected the recognition of Israel as a Jewish state.
Such unwillingness to reconcile seems odd, considering the substantial improvement of the standard of living in the West Bank. Could it be that when the idea of an independent Palestinian state became attainable, but not yet concrete, radical attitudes increased? In his important 1951 book The True Believer, Eric Hoffer, one of the great American thinkers of the past century, writes:
Discontent is likely to be highest when misery is bearable; when conditions have so improved that an ideal state seems almost within reach. A grievance is most poignant when almost redressed [...]. The intensity of discontent seems to be in inverse proportion to the distance from the object fervently desired.
What looks evident is that the vision promulgated by Shimon Peres, Benjamin Netanyahu, and many in the Israeli political elite — a vision in which economic cooperation will eventually lead to political cooperation, and, ultimately, to peace — seems like a fantasy.
Hoffer’s analysis illustrates that moderately improved economic conditions do not always lead to positive shifts in political attitudes.
Palestinians are at a crossroads: institutional, all-encompassing enmity toward Israel — or a complete and total institutional and cultural change that will lead to a possibility of peace? The latter option seems unlikely. As Hoffer observes: “Our frustration is greater when we have much and want more than when we have nothing and want some.” In the context of Hoffer’s insight, having more would mean that the Palestinians would continue to pursue their goal — the destruction of Israel.
Perhaps a step towards resolving the conflict can be taken when the Palestinians are made to understand that getting more isn’t an option.
The number one product of the muslims of palestine are anti-semites. The actions or inactions of Jews have nothing to do with anti-semitism. Anti-semitism is hatred of G-d.
the Peel Commission wrote in 1937:
The general beneficent effect of Jewish immigration on Arab welfare is illustrated by the fact that the increase in the Arab population is most marked in urban areas affected by Jewish development. A comparison of the census returns in 1922 and 1931 shows that, six years ago, the increase percent in Haifa was 86, in Jaffa 62, in Jerusalem 37, while in purely Arab towns such as Nablus and Hebron it was only 7, and at Gaza there was a decrease of 2 percent…
We have found that, though the Arabs have benefited by the development of the country owing to Jewish immigration, this has had no conciliatory effect. On the contrary . . . with almost mathematical precision the betterment of the economic situation in Palestine [has] meant the deterioration of the political situation. (Peel Commission)
So long as Hamas and Hezbollah are in the area, there is bound to be fighting with Israel. A final showdown will come because the Palestinians cannot shake off this stupid religious fanaticism that is being sustained by both Hamas and Hezbollah. If the Palestinians ever joined the “real world” and decided to be an actual peaceful state, rather than having a death wish because they are tied to two radical Isalmist organizations, then they would have great results. Instead, they are tying their future to Hamas and Hezbollah, two groups that will insure their destruction.
‘Peace economics’ is a figment of the addled, appeasement oriented western imagination.
This is because jihadist Islamists couldn’t give a rat’s behind about economic living standards.(are Osama & his band of fellow Islamists poor boys?)HOWEVER, they do live by the sword and die for Allah,only pleased as long as they have enough money for jihad/killing the infidel,then they are at ‘peace’.
So, while western leaders, including-and inexplicably so-the MIT educated Netanyahu march toward the economic drummer-in TOTAL denial of history & reality, conveniently forgetting that the 2000 Arafat led terror intifada happened DURING the most prosperous times in the PA economic history- still ! repeatedly beat the economic drums.What are they smoking…..
To wit, the PA 98% ! controlled territory could become a Silicon Valley facsimile, yet it won’t stop the jihadists from destroying their own economy, as long as Israel explodes.
Denial is a river of (Jewish) blood…..
What is amazing is how the ideology of “multicultural diversity” has blinded people to the reality of conflicting cultural norms that cannot be overcome by kumbaya get-togethers.
1400 years of mind numbing brainwashing cannot be overturned by showering a believer of the honour/shame culture with material benefits and expect him to experience gratitude at the handouts of a dhimmi. There’s no honour in that, just shame. That’s why those people mentally convert the shame into honour by declaring tha benefits as jizya, the poll tax non-Muslims are forced to pay to their Muslim Rulers.
However, I think is a good news: Even if they are not to become jewish-loving people, I think they are sowly going to discover what Values are. In the objectivist sense: values are things you want to gain and/or keep, here and now; not only spiritual values but also material ones, which are still a consequence of your inmaterial values: you work hard, you pay all the bills; you work hard, you eat and start living better.
That’s it. Hence, they are going to consider very well if they want to lose it all just for a stupid war launched against Israel.
On one hand, look at the euros, they can be anti-semitic and anti-american as much as they want, but I doubt they want to be carpet bombed because they prefer a war instead of their not-that-bad way of living.
On the other hand, I remember Lebanon and how Palestinians managed to bring her back to hers pitiful current state.
The future is always open, but I think their discovering of a better way of living brings some hope at least.
Let’s see… Poverty supposedly causes the Muslims of the world to resort to terrorism . It’s strange how this dynamic doesn’t work with dirt poor Sikhs, Hindus, or African pagans… groups that also have millions of abject poor but who rarely ever produce the myriad murdering maniacs which Islam unleashes on the world. And how true can this be when the main funders of terrorism in the world, Iran and the Gulf Arabs, are the recipients of trillions of unearned dollars since the accident of oil was discovered under their feet?
Isn’t it more true to say that when the Arab/Muslim world was deep in poverty at the tail end of the Ottoman Kaliphate that Islam had all but ceased to be a force on the world stage? It’s only the influx of money into the hands of Muslims — any Muslims — which results directly into the uptick in terrorism and Jihad we see across the board from the Muslim world.
Money + Islam = Terrorism, Jihad, insurrection, subversion, mass murder.
Wealth in the hands of Muslims is converted into a weapon for mass murder and conquest. Why is this so hard for most in the West to comprehend. The same is true of just about any useful tool we place in the filthy hands of the Muslim world. Cell phones, planes, access to engineering educations all eventually are converted into weapons to wield against so-called “infidels” for the advancement of Islam.
peace with ISLAM is an oxymoronic idea- it is impossible as one side has no intention of peace and never has- all is moot however as Eu and UN will declare the PLO-NAZI-Judenrein state without regard to facts on the ground.All in effort to permannetly destory ISrael the goal since day one -of the farce called peace process
So how will this Palestine state govern? will the Fatah traitors ever be accepted by the Gaza Hamastans? no they will kill each other soon as this fantasy state is formed-
so much stupid..all around — it can’t be fixed
I suppose the Christians may be right- nuclear Armageddon time
Adina,
Don’t lose heart. We must be the Bielskis who triumphed in the midst of it all. The exhausted quarry who nevertheless created “Jerusalem in the Forest” That is our heritage. It has never been destroyed.You and your posts are the concrete evidence of this heroism.
Adina,
Don’t lose heart. We must be the Bielskis who survived in the midst of everything and created “Jerusalem in the Forest”. This is our heritage. It will never be destroyed. You and your posts are concrete eveidence of this continuing heroism.
This article exposes truths that were long ago described by Hoffer and the Peel commission, but no one in a position of political power is in the least bit interested.
So many canards we get from our politicians and from the media experts have been proven false again and again. The last two intifadas were launched following periods of above average economic growth. You can check out the figures reported by the World Bank and IMF to see that this was true. In fact, both Intifadas halted their rising economic prosperity.
Another canard is that terrorists are motivated by poverty and hopelessness. A number of studies, going all the way back to the 1950s have shown that terrorists tend to be educated and from more affluent families in their societies. Yet you will still hear our political luminaries talk about solving the problem by reducing their poverty. The belief that poverty produces terrorists has always been a myth going all the way back to the bolsheviks and nihilists of the late 19th century, who were mostly intellectuals and urbanites.
“Such unwillingness to reconcile seems odd, considering the substantial improvement of the standard of living in the West Bank.” Actually, it’s not so odd. The Palestinians have their cake and get to eat it too. Despite their ongoing incitement against Jews and Israel, despite their clear attempt to “end run” the diplomatic process to get their state without any concession, the world continues to enable their activities.
Consider: Hamas starts a war, gets the crap beat out of them, and the US organizes a “donors conference” to help them rebuild. So even their aggression is cost-free. The PA’s fire departments are better equipped (courtesy of foreign aid) than those of Israel. Despite their determination not to sit down with Israel unless all their demands are guaranteed up-front, Clinton just announced another pile of money to help the PA balance its budget.
So why should they change? They don’t see anything at risk.
It seems like 40 years ago Rabbi Meir Kahane explained clearly that in-door toilets would do nothing to change the local Arabs’ minds. It seems that he was correct but they kicked him out of Israel.
Islamic terrorism and hatred of Jews and Israel is not caused by poverty or “oppression” but by the conglomeration of insane ravings that is the Koran, and its problem child Sharia law. The problem is Islam itself. The Jews and Israel and by extension the rest of us “infidels” will have peace when Islam is no more. So, perhaps, never. But one can always hope. All religions are NOT equal, any more than all economic systems, or moral codes or legal systems are equal: some are better than others. In the grand scheme of things Islam and Sharia law are the lowest of the low. Perhaps only total chaos is worse. One wonders if even that would be preferable.