The Importance of Being Anti-Israeli

 By Dr. Ismail Salami

When valleys accuse their mountains of having altitude-and march denounces april as a saboteur then we’ll believe in that incredible unanimal mankind (and not until). — e.e. cummings

Anti-Israeli sentiments have begun to surge radically as the Israeli officials are going through fire and water to prevent the Palestinian bid for statehood based notionally on the 1967 borders from being even presented to the UN general assembly.

The feeling of aversion to the Israeli regime and sympathy for Palestine has even reached the United States. On September 16, hundreds of Americans and Palestinians rallied in New York City in front of the United Nation Building in Manhattan and voiced their support for Palestine’s statehood bid. Among the protesters were students and even pro-Palestinian Israelis who held Palestinian flags and chanted pro-Palestinian songs.

The proposal for UN membership will be submitted on Friday by the head of the Palestinian Authority, Mahmoud Abbas.

It is widely believed that the bid will fail; yet, it will be an important move on the path of the Palestinian cause. Even if the bid fails on account of the veto, the US wields at the Security Council, it will still be remembered as a moral victory for the Palestinian people. Besides, Palestine will gain access to some UN bodies including the International Criminal Court, which is no small victor for Palestine.

The US has already expressed its strong opposition to the bid and has vowed to veto it if it ever happens to find its way into the Security Council. Early this week, US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said that the path to a  does not go through New York but through Jerusalem, implicating that the bid will go to waste.

Despite all the pernicious forces mobilized against the Palestinian bid for statehood, Mahmoud Abbas has pledged to go ahead with the bid and seek full United Nations membership for a Palestinian state even though “all hell has broken out” over the move.

Some Israeli officials have warned of dire consequences and demanded tough retaliation against the Palestinian move which they believe is meant to isolate Israel. The US has threatened to cut humanitarian aid to the Palestinians, which totals approximately $500 million a year.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu that abominable brat speaks with utmost contempt and contumely for the Palestinian bid and makes condescendingly hollow promises if Palestine abandons its bid for statehood.

“I believe that in the end, after the smoke clears, after everything that happens in the UN, ultimately the Palestinians will come to their senses — that’s my hope — and will abandon these negotiations-circumventing maneuvers and will sit down at the table.”

Interestingly, many western states which pretend to be champions of democracy in the world have already started to throw their support for the Zionist regime and voiced their opposition to the Palestinian bid.

Italian Foreign Minister Franco Frattini has urged the Palestinian Authority to give up its push for statehood at the United Nations, saying the bid could be “divisive.” It seems that his one reason for his opposition is that it would be vetoed by the United States and that millions of people around the world would be disillusioned.

In general, there are two main camps in the EU: While some members have voiced their support for Palestinian statehood, some others do not feel very comfortable with the notion of a Palestinian state such as Germany, Italy, the Netherlands and the Czech Republic. There is still a third camp, among them, Austria, Belgium, Finland, Luxemburg, Poland, Slovenia, Spain, France and Sweden, which urge Palestinian Authority to apply for an upgrade to an observer status. Yet, may European countries have kept their cards close to their chests.

Anyhow, the Palestinian bid has garnered considerable support in the international arena. A recent BBC poll reveals that from among 20,466 people in 19 countries, 49% backed the statehood proposal while 21% said their government should oppose it. This is while only 30% declined to give a definite reply. Jointly carried out by the BBC and GlobeScan, the poll showed the majority voiced their support in four predominantly Muslim countries, with China strongly backing the bid. Even in the countries where there was a strong opposition to the bid, those who supported the bid far exceeded those who were against it.

Global support for a de facto recognition of Palestine was also reflected through social networks.

A Facebook page supporting the Palestinian cause with ten million signatures read, “Despite pressure from Western countries, we are asking for full Palestinian membership at the Security Council.”

Faced with the possibility of political bankruptcy, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has begun a tour of Europe, trying to marshal up support for Israel and making sure the Palestinian bid will fail at the UN. Fear is certainly the word that best suits how the Israelis feel at the moment.

So far, the West has danced to every tune of the Zionist regime and Israel has until now played, as Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyep Erdogan puts it, the role of a ‘spoiled child’ who frolics frivolously about in the international political arena, threatening the nearest target and one of the main supporters of Palestine e.g. Iran – which is too big a morsel for it to chew – with bombing their nuclear sites. However, time is running out for Israel which has now become a synonym for hate.

These days, the idea of being anti-Israeli is not a vogue in the world but a collective cry of protest by all freedom seeking people against the tyranny inflicted on Palestine and all the Palestinian people who aspire for an Israeli- free Palestine.

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Ismail Salami is an Iranian journalist and author. He has written numerous books and articles on Middle East some of which have been translated into more than ten languages. His articles can be found on many other online publications such as Global Research, Palestine Chronicle, Dissident Voice, Foreign Policy Journal, Veterans Today, Media Monitors, Salem News, Opinion Maker, Intifada Palestine, Iran Review, Counter Currents, Turkish Weekly Journal, Intrepid Report and Ramallah Online.

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