The international community should disabuse those Palestinians promoting boycotts of the idea that they can avoid these compromises. By failing to take that stand against the boycott campaign, professor Hawking has done nothing for the cause of peace. If anything, by encouraging behaviour that entrenches the conflict, he has set it back.
Dr Toby Greene is director of research at BICOM
Two weeks ago I attended the annual policy conference of the Institute for National Security Studies, Israel’s premier strategic think tank based at Tel Aviv University. On the panel, Fatah Central Committee member Jibril Rajoub exchanged views on how to reach a two state solution, in fluent Hebrew, with Israeli academics, current senior Israeli officials, and retired senior IDF officers.
If a leading elected Fatah official feels it appropriate to participate in a conference on Israeli security, at an Israeli university, hosted by retired IDF generals, it surely makes no sense that Professor Hawking should boycott a conference on human interaction hosted by Nobel peace prize winner Shimon Peres. So what explains this strange discrepancy?
Apparently professor Hawking was persuaded to take this action by Palestinian academics. No doubt they convinced him that this was the only way they could put pressure on Israel and secure their human rights. If so he was misled. The reality is that many of those promoting the boycott are not interested in achieving their rights through a peaceful two state solution, but mistakenly believe a greater goal is attainable for the Palestinian people: international isolation of Israel which leads to a single Arab majority state.
Negotiate for peace
To justify their rejection of negotiations, they claim that talking doesn’t lead anywhere. This is not the case. We are approaching the twentieth anniversary of the 1993 Oslo Accords. This agreement, the single most significant breakthrough to date in efforts to create peace between Israelis and Palestinians, came about as the result of unofficial meetings held between PLO officials and Israeli academics. It was these contacts which laid the groundwork for mutual recognition between the PLO and the State of Israel, and the creation of a self-governing Palestinian Authority. Since then Israeli and Palestinian leaders have twice attempted to address the final status issues and forge a final status agreement. On both occasions, in 2000 and in 2008, the talks led to very progressive Israeli proposals, which were not taken up by the Palestinian side.
Rather than not leading anywhere, negotiations have repeatedly led the Palestinians to a point where they must face up to the compromises required for a peaceful two state agreement. It is precisely these compromises that those promoting boycotts, and opposing dialogue and negotiations, apparently want to avoid.
Legitimate concerns on both sides
Professor Hawking should have listened instead to moderate Israelis and Palestinians like those active in the Bereaved Families Forum or One Voice, whose plea to the rest of the world is not take sides, but to understand that Israelis and Palestinians both have legitimate concerns that need to be addressed.
By not coming to Israel, professor Hawking has denied Israelis the opportunity to hear his views directly, and denied himself the opportunity to hear the Israeli side of the story. Most Israelis would like to end the situation in which they control the lives of so many Palestinians. This is why a large majority support in principle the creation of a sovereign Palestinian state in Gaza and the West Bank, a position that has been held by every Israeli government since 1999. But Israelis will not accept this without Israeli demands on security, and the future of Israel’s status as the national home of the Jewish people, also being met.
The international community should disabuse those Palestinians promoting boycotts of the idea that they can avoid these compromises. By failing to take that stand against the boycott campaign, professor Hawking has done nothing for the cause of peace. If anything, by encouraging behaviour that entrenches the conflict, he has set it back.
36 Responses to “Peace makers promote peace, not boycotts”
@DaranUK
well said.
@DaranUK
See the problem here is a small number of people using the history of what happened to the Jews to manipulate the 99% into saying – either you support us in a genocide of the Palestinians or it will be us. classic statements of netanyahu – never again..not on my watch etc etc.
@DaranUK
I totally agree with you…i couldn’t get past the first paragraph as it seemed he was too busy justifying his own interactions…so decided to read the comments and im glad i came across your comment – because i thought i was the only one who switched off after the first paragraph….i wonder if The Nazis were murdering Jews and confining them to concentration camps for 60 years if Dr Greene would be of the same view…lets talk to them and persuade them.
@DaranUK
seriously..centrist?..more like ultra right.. 3 questions…
Is the Isreali goverment Taking land that belongs to Palestinians (and dont say that god gave it to the Jews because Most Pious Jews also know that they were ejected to wonder the world by god so they shouldn’t be setting up a state – and thats why the support the Boycott).
Are they restricting the freedom and prospects of all non jews Living within its border? are they restricting the religious freedom and digging under the foundation of a holy site in order to collapse it?
Are they blockading Palestinian areas By use of Walls (much larger than the Berlin wall), checkpoints and controlling what goes in (food, construction material, education material, Medicines) and are they controlling any money Palestinians make with trading with the world??
Now compare this to Nazis and South African Apartheid(Which used alot of Nazi tactics to control the indigenous people), are you honestly from a “centrist” perspective saying that these 3 evil systems are not similar??
lets see how centrist you actually are.
ps i heard the Isreali Regime even hired an army people to go around and make comments, could you be one of them? because ive read some of your comments and i must say your either blind or trying to persuade other to be blind.
@DaranUK
“when one feels one’s position to be irrational though strongly held, it
is absolutely imperative not to learn anything that might jeopardize
that position.”
and i’m sure you’ve followed the above advice.