I refer to Tan Sri Munir Majid’s article, ‘Malaysia’s Palestine Problem’ published by NST on 24 May 2021.
While his support for the Palestinian cause is very welcomed, there is much in the rest of his article that is very troubling, starting with his conclusion where he says, “We should state clearly that Israel’s right to exist must once and for all not be an issue…” We should recognize Israel’s right to exist is what he is asking.
A Zionist is defined as someone who believes in Israel’s right to exist. In other words, Tan Sri Munir is asking his readers to be Zionists.
He ought to know that there is a whole world of difference between acknowledging Israel’s existence and the right for it to exist. The former the whole world, Palestinian or not, have no problem with. It is just a matter of accepting the reality that Israel is there. It exists. The latter is highly loaded and, for people who are aware of the history that led to Israel’s creation, totally objectionable.
It is a matter of historical record that Israel came into being through violent ethnic cleansing and forced displacement of hundreds of thousands of the indigenous Palestinian population – the Nakba (Catastrophe), as Palestinians describe the dispossession of their land, property and identity in 1948. The massacre of hundreds of Palestinian villagers by Israeli terror groups was also part of the weapon of ethnic cleansing according to Israeli historians, such as Ilan Pappe and Benny Morris. It should therefore be plain to Tan Sri Munir that to ask Palestinians, or anyone who supports the Palestinian cause, to accept Israel’s right to exist is the same as asking them to accept that Israel has the right to commit those atrocities against them. It is like asking a victim of theft to accept that the thief has a right to steal from him. It is a complete non-starter.
There are other instances in his article that make me rather suspect Tan Sri Munir is an uncritical consumer of mainstream Western reporting of the Palestine-Israel issue which is biased, hypocritical and heavily slanted to Israel due to their pro-Zionist ownership.
One instance is his criticism of Hamas. He omitted any mention that Hamas was merely responding to Israeli criminalities in Sheikh Jarrah and Al -Aqsa Mosque. Nor was the disproportionate response by Israel against civilians in Gaza apparently of any concern to him. This is typical of your average BBC, CNN, Sky News, Washington Post, London Times etc propaganda on the issue.
Implicit in what passes as news by these outlets is the message that Palestinians ought not resist by any means at their disposal the dehumanizing oppression they are subjected to and the world should remain silent when Israel resorts to disproportionate retaliations against civilians, even if it amounts to state terrorism, as Israel has ‘the right to defend itself’ – a right not granted to the oppressed, unless they want to be labelled ‘terrorists’, but granted to the oppressor. This is a perverse and hypocritical logic long spotted by those able to follow critically events and their reporting by the Western media but apparently not by Tan Sri Munir.
Another instance is his blind parroting of the hollow mantra called ‘the two-state solution’ – as if that particular option is still in existence. Never mind that the outgoing Israeli PM and the incoming one have both gone on record to say they would never countenance a Palestinian state and that all, yes, ALL Israeli governments since 1967 have built settlements after settlements, all illegal under international law, in the West Bank and East Jerusalem in order to make a viable and contiguous Palestinian state a practical impossibility. The Western media as the purveyor of Zionist propaganda, however, persists with the ‘two-state’ illusion as it is a useful smokescreen for the Israelis: pay lip service to a peaceful resolution while in practice undermine any hope for one through relentless illegal settlements construction.
The two-state solution is dead, long gone if ever it was on the table in the first place. Only someone so hopelessly gullible to Zionist propaganda would seriously believe that it still exists or that Palestinians had in the past missed one chance after another for peace as asserted by Tan Sri Munir. Quote: “Many opportunities for a Palestinian state, alongside Israel, have been missed.” Unquote. Tan Sri Munir did not bother to say when and where these ‘many opportunities’ had arisen. One has to wonder if he was writing based on facts. The much-repeated claim that the Palestinians had missed many opportunities is often the ploy by the Zionist propaganda machine to put the blame on the victims for their continuing oppression. The fact is that Israel has never once showed any serious intent on complying with UN General Assembly resolution 194 affirming the right of return of Palestinian refugees, UN Security Council resolution 242 calling for withdrawal from all Arab lands it occupies and UN Security Council resolution 2334 demanding that Israel immediately cease all settlement activities in the occupied Palestinian territories. So, what ‘missed opportunities’ are we talking about?
Tan Sri Munir seems to be more outraged by the antics and words of some Malaysian pro-Palestine campaigners than by the Zionists who, with impunity, were committing war crimes in Gaza by bombarding innocent civilians including women and children. If ever there was a more misplaced anger. It would have helped if he presented evidence that those misguided ones were representative of the whole Malaysian pro-Palestine movement. Sadly, he didn’t. But his concern that the Palestine-Israel issue is still seen in Malaysia as mainly a religious issue is entirely valid, unlike elsewhere in the world where the millions who marched and demonstrated in support of the liberation of Palestine have clearly made it an issue of freedom, justice and humanity transcending race and religion. Pro-Palestine campaigners here have to work harder to make their message heard and embraced by all communities in Malaysia.
On the misuse and abuse donations intended for Palestine, that is totally criminal and unforgiveable and I share Tan Sri Munir’s anger over this. Those with the evidence should do their civic duty and report it to the authorities for proper action to be taken. The activities of these thieves should not overshadow the fact that there are many reliable and trustworthy bodies, mainly NGOs, through whom aid can be channeled to Palestinians. Prospective donors are advised to use those with proven track records.
Malaysians and the rest of the world are not entirely powerless in efforts for a just and peaceful resolution of the Palestine-Israel issue. Israel is now an apartheid state in all but name. The way forward therefore is to join the boycott, divestment, sanctions (BDS) movement which is a non-violent, all-inclusive, non-religion-based movement aimed at pressuring Israel to dismantle the apartheid system directed against Palestinians. Such a boycott movement worked against apartheid South Africa and it will work against Israel. BDS is gathering momentum the world over, especially in the US, after recent events. I call on Tan Sri Munir and all Malaysians to join and support BDS in all its campaigns to end Israeli apartheid.
Tajuddin Hashim
BDS Malaysia