Fatah should get radical...

Benjamin Franklin apparently suggested that "one definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting a different result."

And then there is Abba Eban, who said that "the Palestinians never miss an opportunity to miss an opportunity."

Personally, I am a great fan of the adage, "change your behaviour, change your results".

With this in mind, could it really be that the Fatah conference held this week in Bethlehem, the first since 1989; will perpetuate the same self destructive behaviour of the past twenty years. So much has changed for Fatah and the Palestinians over the past twenty years, sadly not too much for the better. Two Intifadas, the Palestinian Authority, failed peace negotiations, the humiliating defeat by Hamas in the 2006 elections and consequent loss of Gaza to Hamas in armed conflict, and perhaps the greatest loss of all, the death of their leader Yasser Arafat; have left the organisation and its supporters weak and divided. This week's conference was supposed to reinvigorate the organisation and revitalise its image and support in the Palestinian territories.

However from the start the conference has been mired in controversy. Hamas refused to allow some four hundred delegates to leave Gaza, insisting they would only do so if Fatah released one thousand Hamas activists currently held in prisons in the West Bank. The young guard of Fatah, the ones looking for real change; have accused Abbas and the old guard of manipulating the delegate list in order to assure they maintain their positions of power on the Revolutionary Council, the Palestinian Parliament. To top it off, Abbas and his cohorts have refused to have any meaningful debate regarding policy or to allow the finances of the organisation to be examined, much to frustration of reformers and those who wish to see twenty years of perceived mismanagement and corruption called to account.

Having said all that, all is not as dark as it may seem, well I suppose that depends upon you perspective.

On the bright side, there are somewhere close to two thousand delegates at the conference, many of whom are there for the right reasons. The act that the conference is happening at all is a major step in the right direction. Most importantly, it can be argued that never before has Fatah been in such a strong position in the eyes of the international community. The world sees Abbas as the legitimate leader of the Palestinian people and refuses to deal with Hamas (at least officially). With the new regime in the Whitehouse, Obama's desire to reach out to the Arab world along with his apparent commitment to a Palestinian state as part of a peace deal with Israel, Abbas and Fatah are being actively courted by western governments, as the moderate voice of the Palestinians. For the first time, Palestinians dare to hope that there may indeed be a fair broker in the Whitehouse, who will push Israel to make the concessions it perceives are necessary for a peace deal to be done. The pressure at the moment certainly appears to be on Israel, particularly in regard to settlements and the issue of Jerusalem.



One would assume that Abbas and Fatah would be able to take advantage of this new found popularity and support in the world. Looking at the conference over the past few days.... well one has to wonder. Over the past couple of years Hamas has stolen Fatah's thunder as leaders of "resistance" against the Zionist enemy. The fact that this so called resistance has led to nothing but disaster for the citizens of Gaza appears unimportant and Fatah officials are falling over themselves to reclaim their position at the top of the resistance tree. Hence comments from Fatah officials about armed struggle and continued resistance. There have been suggestions that Fatah needs to examine an alliance with Iran,a major supporter of Hamas. In addition the conference has accused Israel of murdering Yasser Arafat. There has been a flat refusal to recognise Israel as a Jewish state or to negotiate with Israel until all settlement building is stopped. including in Jerusalem.

These position may appear legitimate to some, however the concern is that the Obama regime's perceived willingness to lean on Israel along with current international support (or the perception of such) is driving the Palestinians to overconfidence. They see the wind is in their favour and therefore no need to compromise on their demands. Just the opposite in fact. There is a feeling that the Palestinians can in fact increase their demands and harden their position, then wait for the world to pressure Israel to concede further.

This is a flawed strategy. Just as the world's patience with Israel in regard to settlements and the peace process has run thin. So eventually will patience and support for the Palestinians. There are going to be real and difficult concessions on both sides. For Israel it will be territory, settlements and Jerusalem. For the Palestinians it will undoubtedly be the refugee issue along with some territorial compromise.

This message has been sent loud and clear to Israel. Eventually the same message will be delivered to the Palestinians. If Fatah fail to recognise this, they will miss a real opportunity. The world wants to see an end to this conflict and is prepared to pressure Israel on many issues. However the world also fundamentally supports Israel's right to exist as a Jewish state living in security.

Perhaps the Fatah conference should be coming up with bold initiatives in order to move the peace process forward, rather than finding excuses, however justifiable; not to talk. Instead of trying to recapture the radical resistance platform, which thus far has proved nothing but disastrous for their people; Fatah would be wise to get truly radical and come up with policies and actions to establish itself as the undisputed leader in the move for a genuine peace which can end the occupation and provide their people with a state and a better future.

Thomas Jefferson said (yes i know there is a debate as to whether he said this or not) that "in a democracy, the people get the leaders they deserve". The Palestinians' efforts at democracy thus far have not born this out too well. The Palestinian people deserve much better. Fatah should be working much harder to deliver.

When good people do nothing.....

According to the Irish political philosopher Edmund Burke, "All that is necessary for evil to triumph is that good men do nothing". Apparently, there is in fact some dispute as to whether Burke actually wrote, or said these words and that perhaps he has been misquoted. But I will not dwell on that for the moment............Personally I don't give a toss, because whoever came up with the notion is as right today as in they were in the eighteenth century perhaps even more so.

And so it goes in Israel today. Saturday night's horrendous attack on a centre for young gays and lesbians in Tel Aviv; resulted in the murder of Nir Katz 26 and Liz Troubishi 17 along with I believe fifteen wounded teenagers. some seriously. The gay and lesbian community is in shock and now has to contemplate a scary new reality. Demonstrations will be arranged and most likely well attended. Cafes and bars will echo as the chattering classes lament the horror of an attack which "defies belief.", asking how can this be?

Unfortunately, the sad truth is that this attack does not defy belief. As one looks at Israeli society today one cannot help but notice that it is sick and I am not talking about the non kosher type of flu which threatens the country in the coming winter. No this sickness has been developing over a number of years now. The main symptoms are cynicism, apathy and a feeling of powerlessness in the face of an ever increasing spiral of violence, hatred, crime, and corruption.

The murderous hate crime of Saturday night, although aimed at the gay community needs to be seen as a result of this sickness, one more, albeit extreme; example of the increasing violence on our streets which touches all of society, but which sadly, appears to be accepted by the majority of the population as a new fact of life, something which we are powerless to stop. And therein lies the problem.

A society does not lose its sanity or moral direction in an instant, it happens over time. Such is the nature of this sickness which unfortunately affects most of us. We are suitably outraged and horrified by events at the time, but hey, what can we do? For sure a depraved attack like that of Saturday night cannot be predicted. However when we see our society slowly descend into a violent abyss, and fail to act, then we should not be surprised when such events come to pass.

But what to do? Well, some say we get the society we deserve. Perhaps and then again perhaps not. Surely it is time for the "good people" (all things are relative) who make up most of society to take action, to say no..... this is not how we want to live. It is time for society to act in its own interests, to demand of itself and its leaders that the trend be reversed and the situation improved for all.

At the end of the day his comes down to personal responsibility. If we all take responsibility for our own behaviour with a view to improving ourselves, then surely our world cannot help but improve. When each and every individual member of society understands that there are consequences for all their actions and then acts to improves him or herself just a little then the effects will be felt throughout society. When each and every individual take personal responsibility then good things can happen. As the saying goes..."change your behaviour, change your results".

It is time for society to establish zero tolerance for violent behaviour in all its guises. Violence in schools has reached epidemic levels and must be stopped. Reports of teenage gang rape and sexual violence is now commonplace. Domestic violence and violence against women needs to be addressed properly. It must be abundantly clear that such behaviour is unacceptable and will not be tolerated. it must also be clear to all who would commit such acts that they will be caught and thqt their punishment will be severe indeed. Gangland violence which has caused so many innocent casualties of late must be dealt with. the streets must be made safe with criminals once more fearng the justice system. Violent demonstrations must be condemned and those who use such demonstrations for violence an intimidation must be appropriately punished. In addition political, religious or ideological leaders who encourage and incite such behaviour must be called to account.

It is time for people to shed the cynicism and apathy which permeates throughout society and to replace hatred and violence with tolerance and mutual respect. It sounds kitch, (I have a dream!)I know, but that is the cynicism talking.

To succeed will be hard indeed. It will require an iron will as well as huge investment both financially on the national level in education, social welfare and law enforcement along with a personal commitment from each and every one of us. The cynics will say it is a waste of time and effort. However failure to act will bring more of the same and in the end will have dire consequences for us all.