Regarding Hanan Ashrawi: Stand up Israel! The ‘Palestinian cause’ is racist

Last updated: January 12, 2014

613 AM, Sunday, January 12, 2014, the Israeli news outlet, Arutz Sheva, published a report entitled, “Ashrawi: Recognizing Israel Like 'Legalizing Racism'”.  Ms Ashrawi is a long-time ‘Palestinian’ official. She is a member of the PLO Executive Committee. She has high credibility in the West. When she speaks, people listen.

Arutz Sheva published this report because Ashrawi had been quoted in a Palestinian Authority (PA) news outlet suggesting that the PA could never recognize Israel. Such recognition  would deny ‘Palestinians’ their rights to return to Israel en mass. Recognition of a ‘Jewish state’ would legalize racism.

Recognizing Israel does not legalize racism. That’s an absurd assertion. It’s morally offensive. Israel is a sovereign state. By definition, sovereignty engenders recognition. If you want proof of that, look at the United Nations. Which other nation has its sovereignty so completely denied?

To refuse to recognize a sovereign state because it is Jewish is not politics. It’s not nationalism. It’s racist. Ashrawi says that ‘recognition’ of Israel is racism. As you’ll see in a moment, that’s a racist statement.  

The Israeli government should join with Jews across the world to speak against such racist posturing. Jews everywhere should label Ashrawi’s remarks for what they are, racist.    

If you have any doubts about this, consider the definitions of racism. Racism operates on many levels. But no matter how racism reveals itself, it always points to the same end: a hatred for a specific, clearly identifiable group.

Racism means to deny a specific group all rights to self-determination. That’s what Ashrawi is doing. She denies Israel the right to call itself—and be recognized as—a Jewish state.

Racism shows up in a culture as persistent dehumanization and demonization of another group. We see this hateful characterization of Jews in ‘Palestinian’ (PA) news, its TV programming and education curriculum.

Racism reveals itself also as the purposeful and concentrated effort to deny the history of another. We see this denial when we read PA claims that Jews have absolutely no history in Israel. We have seen it also in PA announcements that there is no evidence of Jewish ‘ownership’ of the Temple Mount.

Racism shows up as political national policy that denies the rights of another group. We see this racist denial in PA declarations that no Jews will be allowed to live in the new ‘Palestine’.

Racism reveals itself when we see one group identifying itself as superior to another. We see this racist superiority in ‘Palestinian’ assertions that Jews bring defilement to the Temple Mount when they ascend there; only Muslims, it says, may go there.

Racism is prejudice against an ethnic group. For this context, prejudice means believing something negative about another, where that belief is not based on reason or experience. We see such irrational prejudice in in its most extreme form in ‘Palestinian’ portrayals of Jews using non-Jewish children’s blood for religious ritual.

Racism is bigotry, which means viewing others with fear, distrust, hatred, contempt or intolerance on the basis of a group's ethnicity, race or religion. Bigotry is one of the uglier forms of racism—and it is deeply woven into the fabric of ‘Palestinian’ politics, culture and religion. Jews are hated, reviled and demonized repeatedly by ‘Palestinian’ TV. At least once a year, Arab TV calls Jews vermin or pigs, etc. Follow Palestine Media Watch (PMW.org) for twelve months. You’ll see that—and more.

The ‘Palestinian’ Arab is inundated with the worst, most vile kind of bigotry you can think of; if you can name an example of bigotry, you will find it in ’Palestinian’ literature, TV, speeches and educational curriculum.

Racism is related to ethnic cleansing. If you want to see ethnic cleansing, go to Ramallah or Gaza. Ask to talk to ten Jewish families. You won’t find them. Jews have been cleansed.

While any attempt to define ‘racism’ will almost always create controversy, racism (see Wikipedia) seems to be the belief that groups can in fact be ranked as superior or inferior based upon pre-determined characteristics. ‘Palestinians’ rank Jews as subhuman (pigs and apes). ‘Palestinians’ rank Jews as having no national identity (see the PLO Charter). ‘Palestinians’ rank Jews as spiritually repulsive (visit Palestine Media Watch).

The entire ‘Palestinian’ enterprise is founded on racism—a hatred for Jews. The Arab doesn’t hide it. Almost everything ‘Palestinians’ say in the press about Israel or Jews is tinged with racism. It’s everywhere. You can’t miss it.

 Ashrawi’s language is racist.

We can no longer remain silent. The time to speak out is now. The time to stand up is now. The time to defend ourselves is now.

If we do not defend ourselves, who will? If we do not defend ourselves now, exactly when will we?

Stand up, already. Defend yourself!