The metaphor of the 'Palestinian Cause'

There’s a metaphor that describes the ‘Palestinian Cause’. It’s a metaphor that reveals the essence of the ‘Palestinian Cause’.

The metaphor has nothing to do with nationhood. The metaphor is, ‘tribal savagery’. 

How else would you describe a promotional video that highlights a PA soldier ‘eating’ (at least, biting into) a live snake? (Itamar Marcus and Nan Jaques Zilberdik, “Fatah fighter eats snake in terror promotion video”, Palestinian Media Watch [pmw], November 26, 2015).

How else would you describe a public call to exterminate Jews? (“Prayer for extermination of Jews at funeral of 2 Palestinians”, Source: Official PA TV Live, Nov. 16, 2015, pmw).

How else do you view a story on a ‘Palestinian’ TV station called, Wattan TV? This Arab TV station appears to be based in Ramallah (“Israeli raid on Palestinian TV station”, onthemedia, May 4, 2012). It was founded in 1996 as a self-styled “independent, secular and non-profit TV station” (“Wattan TV: Conflict Transformation and the Media”, respond.org, May 11, 2012). It says it offers “news and views of and for the people in Palestine” (ibid). It claims to ‘work creatively’ to promote conflict transformation, peacebuilding and tolerance [emphasis mine] (ibid).

Wattan TV’s Linkedin page, accessed on November 24, 2015, says that Wattan ‘advocates for democracy, non-violence, peace and social justice [emphasis mine]’ (Itamar Marcus and Nan Jacques Zilberdik, “Terrorists who butchered 5 rabbis exemplified the meaning of heroism”, Palestinian Media Watch, November 24, 2015).

There’s just one problem with all these nice words about peace and tolerance. They’re lies.

Here’s a question: if Wattan TV’s mission is to promote non-violence, peace, peace-building and tolerance—as stated above—what’s it doing with a celebratory story that glorifies two Arabs who walked into a Jerusalem synagogue in November, 2014 and proceeded, literally, to butcher four Jewish men while they prayed their morning prayers? Can you explain that?

Those four Jewish murder victims were scholars and teachers. They were untainted by violence of any kind (Alex Ryvchin, “Slaughter in a Synagogue: Why the Murders of Har Nof have changed Jerusalem”, ABC religion and ethics, November 26, 2014). They weren’t ‘fighters’. They were men of community and family who, at the moment of their death, stood in solemn, reflective prayer in a place of worship—a sanctuary.

Upon entering the synagogue, the two Arab terrorists would have encountered at least ten men, being the quorum required for public worship, standing silently in prayer. The worshippers were wrapped in tallit, the traditional Jewish prayer shawl, and teffilin, a set of small black leather boxes containing scrolls of parchment inscribed with verses from the Torah affixed to the forehead and upper arm with leather straps. These items symbolise the dedication of mind and body to G-d in observance of the commandment in Dvarim 6:5-9 (ibid).

Silence and serenity would have enveloped that house of prayer (ibid) at that moment. That serenity would have been interrupted only by the sounds of whispered prayers.

A police officer attending the scene said that the murders were remarkable for their savagery. The victims were hacked to death with an axe and a meat cleaver and shot repeatedly from point blank range as the terrorists shouted "Alla hu'akbar" ("allah is great"). Witnesses outside told of survivors running out with "half their faces missing" (ibid).

A fifth victim was an Israeli Arab-Druze police officer. He was the first officer to arrive at the scene. He was shot in the head by one of the terrorists (ibid).

After the attack, Arab residents in a nearby Jerusalem neighbourhood praised the attack. No one condemned it (ibid).

The Jordanian parliament observed a minute's silence--to honour the terrorists. Palestinian media erupted with cartoons and graphics celebrating the attack (ibid).

That’s not nation-building. It’s savagery.

Now, a year later, Wattan TV celebrates that attack’s first anniversary. The Wattan story called the terrorists who butchered these Jews, ‘heroes’ (Palestinian Media Watch [pmw], above). Their attack “exemplified the meaning of heroism” (ibid). The attack was “epos (sic) written by heroes” (ibid).

Such descriptions don’t promote peace or tolerance (as stated in the Wattan mission concept). They promote unspeakably savage genocide against Jews.

Wattan’s celebration of that attack reveals the essence of the ‘Palestinian Cause’. Neither Wattan nor ‘Palestinianism’ promotes peace, peacebuilding or tolerance. They celebrate savagery. 

Don’t blame Wattan TV. Fatah controls the PA with a heavy hand (Bassam Tawil, “Who Is Jailing and Torturing Palestinian Journalists?”, gatestoneinstitute, November 25, 2015). Wattan broadcasts because Fatah approves. Abbas approves.

That synagogue attack tells you that, beneath the ‘Palestinian Cause’ there lies a very dark savagery. How else would you describe this TV video created by Hamas to re-enact the murder of Jews?

                     (From the Hamas Arabic Facebook page, October 14, 2015 [pmw])

How else would you describe a Fatah official proclaiming that murdering Jews is a ‘a national duty’?

                                                             (from youtube [pmw])

How else would you describe a Fatah statement that murdering Israelis (Jews) is a 'Palestinian' right? (Ari Yashar, "Abbas's Fatah: Murdering Israelis is our 'right'", Arutz Sheva, November 18, 2015).

The ‘Palestinian Cause’ is not about statehood. It isn’t about peace. It’s not about tolerance. It’s about a hate that’s so savage that murder of Jews is a ‘national duty’--and a 'right'.

Such statements suggest that murder is bound up into the ‘Palestinian’ national identity. But communal murder isn’t nationhood. It’s tribal savagery.

That’s why ‘tribal savagery’ is the metaphor that reveals the essence of the ‘Palestinian Cause’.