Nakba Day this Year Saw Unprecedented Violence between Israelis and Palestinians. Above, Palestinians in a well organized breach of the Israeli-Syrian border on the Golan Heights.
Recognizing the nakba at this juncture would be a timid response to a day whose events were inspired as much by either the Arab Spring or prodding from a desperate Syrian dictatorship as they were by frustration over the nakba itself. Just because some ass hole ran over someone on a Tel Aviv sidewalk, does not mean I am going to recognize your version of history. The two things have nothing to do with each other, that is for sure, but enough people think they do that caving into an implicit demand would be giving more reason to continue violent protests – that is, riots – when there is a latent political issue.
Aftermath of Tel Aviv Rampage on Nakba Day
Caving to violent demonstrators, especially trying to invade our territory, is just like caving to violence that didn’t start out of protests. The attitude of certain demonstrators matches the attitude of the Turks on the Mavi Marmara in 2010 that felt entitled to bring knives to start a fight with Israeli soldiers. That is a seriously messed up mentality. There is no legitimacy to these riots, and Israel nor the Jewish people can afford to make it appear as though there is. Any actual recognition should be far removed from these events for these reasons.
These demonstrations were unprecedented. Palestinians have never been this violent on Nakba Day. There are more immediate issues at hand here. For sure there are people just as angry with Jews for ignoring Nakba Day as there are Jews who hate when Palestinians minimize or deny the Holocaust.
But there is an undeniable gulf between the attitudes of the two peoples. The past is not prologue to many Palestinians, but it is going to have to be if we are ever going to get anywhere in the Middle East – especially with terrorist states like Syria’s always willing to throw a wrench into the works in order to screw up the system.
The peace process is bigger than political. In the long run, I agree with Ben Sales that recognizing the Nakba, whatever that entails, would go far for peace’s progress. It fits snugly with what I have written the last couple weeks about the Palestinians’ need to recognize the Holocaust. The issues are neither directly related to each other nor can a serious person be able to compare the two events, but mutual solemnity would push Jewish Israelis and Israeli or Palestinian Arabs to recognize each others’ humanity.
