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January 27, 2006
Hamas, Bush, the Media
The White House position seems to be that we won't deal with a Palestinian government that doesn't recognize Israel's "right to exist."
I have reservations about all this talk in the media that Hamas will have to become less ideological, accept a two-state solution, and recognize this dubious "right to exist." Someone once told me that the phrase "right to exist" was coined by Henry Kissinger precisely to be something many Arab states and movements would never agree to. What does it mean? Does it mean accepting a state's self-definition: its histories and mythologies; its current, once, or future boundaries; its existing political formation? Should American Indians recognize the US "right to exist" if that's what it means?
It's hard to know how much Arab rhetoric about Israel is truly a denial of the right of Jews to live in Palestine and to self govern and how much is based on a well-founded fear that if the important unsolved issues in the establishment of the state of Israel are pragmatically and provisionally resolved, Palestinian Arabs will be locked into permanent apartheid in Israel, a permanent refugee status outside Palestine, and in insecure and nonviable enclaves in the West Bank and Gaza.
It's reasonable to expect Hamas to merge its fighters into a disciplined and legal Palestine security force and to stop terrorist acts. But a democratic one-state solution for Palestine is a serious position with respectable proponents, including within Israel. It seems that many pro-Hamas votes were votes against corruption, but many likely express sympathy for stronger bargaining positions. It would not be in the interests of democracy to force Hamas to radically change their political goals, now with a democratic mandate, out of fear of losing foreign aid.
Posted by johnn at January 27, 2006 9:16 AM
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