Dominique Najjar(right) has first hand knowledge about Palestine. He was born and grew up in East Jerusalem. After high school, he came to the United States where he met and married a Minnesotan. They have now been married for 27 ½ years and have five children. Dominique has not forgotten his home country of Palestine. He remains in close touch. His parents still live in East Jerusalem and he visits them annually. He was there again last July.

Palestine Post Arafat was the topic of discussion at Middle East Peace Now’s monthly meeting on Saturday, December 4th. Dominique, a long-time member of Middle East Peace Now, was the presenter. Middle East Peace Now is an organization formed in 1976 to advocate for peace and justice in the Middle East through education and dialogue. Florence Steichen is its president.

Dominique has been speaking about Palestine for 25 years. It is an issue that carries a lot of anguish for him. The past decade has not been a good one. He has seen things get worse. The population is sinking morally, psychologically and economically. Palestine, especially Gaza, is overwhelmed with poverty, malnutrition, depression and despair. Unemployment in Palestine overall is over 55%, 70% in Gaza. And even in East Jerusalem, which is like being in heaven compared to the rural areas, he could not shower for two days last July because the water was shut off. These are the harsh realities that can’t be escaped.

Can I make a difference?

Dominique’s haunting question as he talks about Palestine is, “Can I make a difference?” With the passing of Nasar Arafat on November 11, everyone is asking, “Now what?” Dominique doesn’t claim to know, but he was willing to share what he thinks and what he wishes. He started by candidly discussing Arafat – his strengths as well as his weaknesses.

Dominique praised Arafat as a wonderful revolutionary who knew how to lobby and get Palestine on the map and in the history books. He was able to pull the loose factions together under one umbrella. He was able to do things for the refugee communities. He knew how to maneuver out of difficult situations and survive.

He had a persona that made him a symbol of the Palestinian struggle. The Palestinian people looked up to him. Because of that, he alone could carry on political discussions with Israel and deliver the message back to his constituents. That is why, for example, at Camp David, Arafat was wise enough to know that he could not have sold the deal to the Palestinian people. He knew the structure and had the wisdom to walk away.

But, in Dominique’s view, Arafat was a tactician rather than a strategist. While he believes Arafat truly believed in the cause, he criticized Arafat as not being adept at being head of state. He did not understand governance. He didn’t know how to build and run institutions. He maintained control of the military and the purse strings and kept the people on his payroll happy. He didn’t look to the common good. He failed to transfer jobs into Palestine causing more and more Palestinians to depend on going into Israel to earn their daily bread.

Arafat also failed to give positions in his hierarchy to people who lived and grew up in the struggle for Palestine. Instead these positions were given to “outsiders,” people who had been in exile outside of Palestine. Consequently, Arafat did not have good connections with the people who have struggled. This will become apparent in the post-Arafat struggle. Arafat’s entourage will not earn the same forgiveness and support that he had.

Since November 11, the world has witnessed a remarkably peaceful transition of power in Palestine. Many predicted a doomsday scenario upon Arafat’s death. That has not happened. Most Palestinians are committed to a higher cause. They are able to sort out power sharing without resorting to internal conflict. The majority of the Palestinian people, including most extremists, want the common good and support a secular state as the ideal solution.

Elections are scheduled for January 9th, 2005. Dominique feels that the process may be flawed. It is too soon. Because Arafat gave positions to “outsiders,” many people who lived and grew up in the struggle (the “insiders”) were left out. There are a lot of movements on campuses today. These are younger and more active Palestinians. Many of them view the Oslo process as flawed. They want a seat at the table. Palestinians need time to bring the disillusioned to the table.

All are anxiously waiting to see how the drama plays out, but we must realize that the only thing the Palestinians can deliver to the international community is credibility in the process. Beyond that, it is out of their hands. Hope no longer lies in a single persona. No matter who ends up governing, they will not be able to remove the military power or deliver the economic progress that the population needs. The infrastructure for that is just not there. The outcome really lies in the hands of Israel and the United States. They alone can take the steps to provide some important political security and economic improvements that will give the population reasons to line up behind the new leadership.

But it is a monumental task to convince Israel to bring about political measures that involve control of the Special Forces and the purse strings. The depth of this task might be more understandable if one realizes that while Israel continues to needle the Palestinians by cutting off water, manning checkpoints and expanding settlements, Palestinian security forces are expected to protect Israel, not their own people. If you think of that, the enormity of what lies ahead may be more realistic.

Locked in a lethal embrace

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Rose GrengsRose Grengs, a new web reporter, has been a SJA parishioner since 1982. She is an immigration attorney and passionate about the subject. She is a member of the choir and active in the Peace Movement. She and her husband, Paul, routinely attend the 11:00 Mass. She is the mother of four children and grandmother of two. She is looking forward to retirement, travel and enjoys music, especially singer-songwriter, Greg Brown.

Palestine and Israel remain in a lethal embrace. Israel has shown no inclination to provide any relief. It continues to build settlements and expropriate land. Meanwhile, the Palestinians must see some economic and security improvements or they will continue to shift to the extremes. The question is who will go down first.

Now back to Dominique’s first question. Can we make a difference? Our political voices seem to have been drowned. But, there is a movement afoot for divestment in Israel that seems like a ray of hope. Economics speak loudly. It worked in South Africa. It may make a difference now. If Israel doesn’t take a path toward true recognition of Palestine, it will lose the ability to negotiate a viable, peaceful settlement. Divestment may bring about some real change. He encourages people to take a serious look at this option.

To learn more about Middle East Peace Now, contact Florence Steichen, President, at 651.696.1642 or steichenfm@usfamily.net.