On April 23, 2011, the Follow-Up Committee on Prisoner Affairs convened in Nazareth in the offices of the High Follow-Up Committee for Arab Citizens of Israel. Speaking at a press conference that day, committee member Sheikh Raed Salah, head of the northern branch of the Islamic Movement in Israel, declared that "the State of Israel will not be in existence past 2020 C.E."[1]
In an April 29 article in the Israeli Arab daily Kul Al-Arab, Iman 'Odeh, secretary of the communist Democratic Front for Peace and Equality (Hadash) party in the Israeli Knesset, criticized Salah's statement, questioning the benefit of such remarks.
Following are excerpts from the article:[2]
"When We Disagree With [Salah], We Must Confront Him"
"It is impossible to consider Sheikh Raed Salah's remarks apart from his deeds and activities. The sheikh is a leader who supports the resistance, and his great contribution must be noted and praised. Every time the authorities [i.e., Israel] have put him on trial, we have stood by him without hesitation. But at the same time, when we disagree with him, we must confront him... in the service of the fate of our people, for that is the most important thing.
"Last Saturday, Sheikh Raed [Salah], I myself, and some of [our mutual] colleagues participated in a press conference, in protest of the ban imposed by the Israeli intelligence on holding a rally for our political and national prisoners. At the press conference, Sheikh Raed said... 'The State of Israel will not remain in existence past 2020.'"
"Are There No Other Means to Express Views Warning The Israeli Government Against Continuing Along Its Misguided Path...?"
"I had hoped the press would ignore this declaration, but two websites published it that same day, and the rest of the media followed suit. A number of questions bothered to me: Who has benefited from this superfluous declaration by a prominent Arab figure?... Was this an informed statement based on [logical] principles and evidence? Will this statement spur some of the public into stepping up the struggle and then cause them disappointment when they realize that it was [merely] illusory? Does Sheikh Raed Salah truly intend to destroy the State of Israel? Or does he perhaps believe that [some] Arab body will do so within nine years?...
"Are there no other means to express views warning the Israeli government against continuing along its misguided path, which brings misfortune upon its people as well, for instance by saying: 'All oppression is temporary and times change', or by giving warning, as Tawfiq Ziad has done, saying: '[Act now,] before time is up'; 'How can one who usurps [another's] right in wartime defend his own right the day the scales tip in [the other's] favor?'... These progressive slogans present a solution and a way out for both peoples, Arab and Jewish, such that they can live together in full national, civil, social, economic, and cultural equality, as a group and as individuals. [This is] an alternative [based on] the belief that the true interest of the Jewish people is to detach itself from Zionism and be a part of the region and its peoples, rather than being hostile to these peoples, as it is today."
"Had An Alien From Outer Space Been Present, He Would Not Have Understood What [Salah] Was Talking About"
"Occasionally, I hear fiery and surprising declarations from Sheikh Raed Salah. For example, at one of the 'Al-Aqsa Is in Danger' rallies, he directed a message at [then] U.S. president, the oaf George Bush, [saying to him] loudly and with great enthusiasm: 'Bush, leader of the Americans, show in public that you are a Muslim, O Bush.' I saw the thousands of participants [in the rally] call out excitedly 'Allah Akbar...' I pondered this drama and could not find in it a single rational goal. Had an alien from outer space been present, he would not have understood what [Salah] was talking about, nor the oppression we are suffering at the hands of the U.S. and Israel. If [the alien] heard Sheikh Raed Salah's declarations, his heart would fill with pity for Bush, the victim of Sheikh Raed Salah's threats [aimed at terrorizing the U.S. president into] converting [to Islam]."
"Is It Impossible To Take Up A Stance That Is At Once Just And Wise?"
"But his last declaration, according to which the State of Israel will cease to exist after 2020, is beyond all reason... Such declarations, coming from one of the prominent leaders [of the Arab community], serve our enemies exceptionally well...
"As a Palestinian, like all Palestinians, I have no love for Israel – its government, its regime, or its state... [But] why do we supply ammunition to those who lie in wait for us? Is it impossible to take up a stance that is at once just and wise? Our way was and still is to survive, to strengthen our identity, to fight for all of our rights, and to influence the Jewish public toward peace, equality, democracy, and social justice for all peoples and residents..."
Endnotes:
[1] Panet.ps, April 24, 2011.
[2] Kul Al-Arab (Israel), April 29, 2011.
