Jonathan S. Tobin, Commentary/Contentions..
The key phrase in Palestinian Authority leader Mahmoud Abbas’s speech to the United Nations General Assembly today didn’t mention Israel. He had promised Jewish leaders he would recognize Jewish rights to the land that is disputed by Israelis and Palestinians. He moved a little closer to such recognition with his mention of the ties of the three monotheistic religions to the country and did say he didn’t want to delegitimize Israel–though much of his speech was clearly aiming at just such a goal. But the most important sentence was the one where he complained about the Palestinians being moved “to the bottom of the global agenda.” He then went on to claim that the PA alone was the sole legitimate representative of the Palestinians and that there could not be two such bodies.
It was those sentences, in which he vainly banged his head against the wall of world indifference to his cause, that were telling. The fact is the Palestinians are at the bottom of the world agenda. That’s because, contrary to his boast, the PA is a corrupt, ineffective state which doesn’t control all of the territory it claims since Gaza is ruled by Hamas. Thus, while much of the world applauds Abbas’s imprecation of Israel as a racist, colonialist state and his outright lies about the fomenting of hatred that his government promotes, they have no interest in supporting him. It was for that reason that Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu gave Abbas’s speech barely a mention as he went on to concentrate on his country’s real problem: a nuclear Iran.
Abbas’s unhappy acknowledgement of the world’s opinion of the PA summed up exactly why the “diplomatic tsunami” that was supposed to engulf Israel last fall never happened. The global community may not like Israel and is not enraged by the anti-Semitic incitement that the Palestinians routinely produce. But they know that Abbas can’t make peace with Israel and won’t negotiate with it to create a state that will, as Netanyahu said, recognize the legitimacy of a Jewish state. They also know the PA is incapable of governing such a state and that Abbas, in the eighth year of his current four-year term as president, fears that Hamas will supplant him if given the chance.
The Palestinian issue is one that the world cares about. But it doesn’t care about the PA. That is why they are on the bottom of the global agenda and will stay there so long as they produce leaders such as Abbas.
don’t agree at all with this statement. These conditions existed prior so that cannot be the reason. The reason results from the “Arab Spring”. Arab spring is turning the ME upside down and showing the ME is unstable. But that is also not the direct reason: the world’s attention, including the UN and govts, is governed by the media and it is a matter of logistics that they cannot cover arab spring and still devote an inordinate amount of attention to the pals. The media spotlight has come off them for the time being. This should teach Israel to create events and situations to capture the spotlight. For example,
1-Jewish rights to west bank of jordan could command some media attention if pursued in courts and public fora. Even cases brought in Israel shining a spotlight on the GOI breaching the mandate trust in all roles: as successor trustee and/or as agent of jewish people.
2-The consideration of arab transfer as reasonably supported by precedent of Jewish transfer from arab states, India Pakistan, Kosovo, Gaza. Removing it from censorship and allowing its discussion. Spotlighting the double standards of accepting jewish trasfer but not arab.
3- The continued existence of JEW FREE areas in ALL of the former palestine mandate territory which is currently under arab muslim control
PR and legal campaigns which direct attention to these issues can help move attention from Pal non issues to Jewish issues. Therefore, a double advantage of getting air time AND moving the jewish agenda forward.
It doesn’t hurt if the arab spring chaos continues either.