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Ghassan’s Prediction and the Emerging New Palestinian Reality
by James J. Zogby
During the past year, I’ve had the pleasure of receiving
visits from Ayman Odeh, Ahmad Tibi, and most recently Basel Ghattas—as
they passed through Washington. All are Palestinian citizens of Israel.
And all are Members of the Israeli Knesset, part of the Joint Arab List
that won a record 13 seats in the last Israeli election. It was a
delight to sit with them and learn from them not only about the
difficulties they face, but the progress they have made.
I have written
about how I first became attached to the Arab community in Israel. It
was the insightful Palestinian novelist, Ghassan Kanafani who caused me
to divert my doctoral dissertation research from the Palestinian
refugees in Lebanon to the Palestinian Arabs who remained in their homes
after Israel was created in 1948. He gave me two reasons. While much
had already been written about the refugees, there was an absence of
good literature about the Palestinians “inside” and, he said, they are
the most promising component group of the Palestinian people since they
have been forged like steel in the hearth of Israel. Facing enormous
difficulties, they have developed a uniquely progressive identity and,
he believed, the day would come when they would be in a position to
provide real visionary leadership for the entire Palestinian people.
My meetings with Odeh, Tibi, and Ghattas have given me
the sense that Ghassan may have been right. These are remarkable
individuals, part of a larger movement that has faced down the
increasingly repressive, ultra-nationalist Israeli government while
defending their rights and securing their political role.http://lobelog.com/ghassans-prediction-and-the-emerging-new-palestinian-reality/#more-35568
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