Hussein Shobokshi

In the never-ending talk about peace in the Middle East, many initiatives, opinions and ideas have been rejected, questioned, betrayed and falsified, not to mention those who paid with their lives for their belief that peace was a possible dream. The assassinations of King Abdullah I of Jordan, Anwar Sadat and Yitzhak Rabin are proof of this, as well as the moral assassination of Habib Bourguiba because he tried to look pragmatically at a difficult and profound problem.

It is important that you remember that you are making peace agreements with your enemies and not with your friends. So there is a difficult question: Are all of the people of the Middle East really ready for peace and willing to live with each other? This is a very profound and important question. In his 1989 book “A Peace to End All Peace”, author David Fromkin explained that the collapse of the Ottoman Empire and the birth of a new Middle East unleashed a new world war that has not yet ended.

America has long sought to launch a final solution to the problem of the Middle East, but United Nation’s resolutions have not been implemented by Arabs at times and by Israel at other times. Israel is a “democratic” state but it does not resemble America in its democracy, and in fact is similar to South Africa in its racism.

Full Palestinian citizenship is required, whether under one state or two states, and the right of return for Palestinians abroad, who were forcibly stripped of their lands and expelled from their country. Religions have nothing to do with the land and the sharing of territories, and, therefore, the application of justice is required by a law that applies to all. America must look to its Constitution when it seeks a solution to this complex issue and go back to the opening words of its Declaration of Independence: “All men are created equal,” and, therefore, there is no room for discrimination based on race or religion.

The Old Testament makes it clear that Palestinians lived in this land before the Jews and, therefore, they cannot be deprived of their rights. Peace is the most difficult choice but it is the right choice. It is a way of countering extremism and the sacrificing of innocent people in the name of resistance. To achieve this, however, everyone needs to feel that it is a true and just peace, and that dignity, justice and safety are essential parts of the desired solution. That is a difficult road.

Peace requires a persuasive force supported by laws that guarantee justice and right no matter how the beneficiaries may fight to keep the current situation unchanged.