Reaching out
to American Jews
By Dr Shireen M. Mazari
President Musharraf
is going to address the American Jewish Congress
in September, while he is in New York for the UNGA.
This is an extremely proactive move in the realm
of foreign policy for Pakistan and as such it is
a welcome development for it signals self-confidence
in our own identity. Earlier, there was a tendency
to regard any public contact with Jews as a sign
of weakening in our commitment to the Palestinian
cause and in our principled rejection of the occupation
of Palestinian lands by Israel. So even informal
or chance meetings in international fora were shrouded
in secrecy and no one admitted to them.
Once the Arab world broke rank with each other and
some states recognized Israel, there were the beginnings
of a debate in Pakistan as to why we were still
holding out, especially since the PLO leadership
seemed to have a clear preference for India. As
the Indo-Israeli nexus grew, especially in strategic
terms, some in Pakistan felt that by a simple act
of recognition we could somehow overturn this relationship.
This was and is wishful thinking, given that India
and Israel have very real and strong interests -
both economic and military - in sustaining and furthering
their strategic cooperation, but then we are often
overwhelmed by such dreaming. After all, presently
we are dreaming that a miracle will take place in
the subcontinent that will compel India into conflict
resolution with us so that the peace process can
endure -- but that is another issue.
Coming back to the Israel question, regardless of
what some regard as lost opportunities, at this
moment in time it would be counter productive domestically
and of little use externally, to recognize the state
of Israel. We need to wait until we see Israel move
more clearly on the roadmap to establishing of a
viable Palestinian state and an end to the occupation
of Palestinian land. That is why the Foreign Office
statement on August 29 on the issue is timely. Equally
welcome is the decision to send a delegation to
Gaza and Al-Quds in response to Palestinian leader,
Mahmoud Abbas's invitation. After being in the forefront
of supporting the Palestinian cause, observing the
state of affairs on the ground should provide additional
support to the Pakistani position.
Also, it would be far less troubling domestically
for all those OIC countries that have still not
recognized Israel to do it eventually, collectively.
Of course, while recognition does not imply an inherent
friendship or alliance, it does imply an acceptance
and that is why we refused to recognize the Apartheid
state of South Africa even though most countries
of the world had done so. Today, if we accept the
Israeli occupation of Palestinian lands, which we
consider to be contrary to UN resolutions, why would
India not demand that we accept its occupation of
Jammu and Kashmir?
Keeping this in mind, President Musharraf's decision
to address the American Jewish Congress signifies
Pakistan's expansion of its operational realm in
terms of foreign policy. Too often we have been
hamstrung by self-imposed limitations and a blinkered
approach. Acknowledging the American Jewish community
reflects the argument that it is the policies of
Zionist Israel that Pakistan is not prepared to
accept and there is nothing inherently anti-Semitic
in Pakistan's stance on Israel. Also, where better
to explain our case on Israel and Kashmir than before
the group that lends major support to Israel and
has now linked up with the Indian lobby in Washington?
After all, preaching to the converted is not required.
Instead, we need to take our case and argue it forcefully
before the opposition. Whilst there are many rabid
Zionists within the American Jewish community, there
are a few rational voices as well and we need to
reach out to them. At the very least, our case should
not continue to go by default -- especially in the
face of massive Indian inroads into the American
Establishment and opinion makers.
Mr. Rosen, Chairman of the American Jewish Congress-Council
for World Jewry, has stated that he had invited
President Musharraf to address "the most pressing
problem -- the need for Muslims to embrace modernity."
Well, the President can also use the occasion to
point out the need for Israel and Zionists to accept
the reality that they cannot sustain the occupation
of Palestinian lands and there was a need for these
Zionists to also embrace modern ground realities
rather than seeking to establish the grand expansionist
plan for establishing Greater Israel on occupied
land.
As for the Jewish Congress's expectations that Pakistan
would recognize Israel, according to news reports,
Mr. Rosen, in his memo to the top Jewish leaders,
had pointed out that this could only happen in the
wake of an Israeli-Palestinian agreement. So the
Congress knows the operational limitations of Pakistan
on this crucial issue. And the Jewish community
also knows that Israel cannot continue to live in
a state of siege endlessly. Sooner or later it will
have to allow itself to be treated as a normal member
of the international community and for this it will
need to accept the same international yardsticks
to be applied to it as are applied to other states
-- on all issues including nuclear proliferation.
Presently, Mr. Sharon is trying to fool the world
with the Gaza pullout while Israel continues not
only to harden its grip on Jerusalem but also to
expand its occupation of the West Bank. But having
moved on the pullout from Gaza, there can be no
halt in the long haul to ending the occupation of
all Palestinian lands. Gaza cannot be accepted as
the end of the peace process to establish a viable
Palestinian state. Instead, it has to be seen as
a good beginning; and only in that sense can it
be welcomed by the rest of the world which has given
a commitment through the UN to the Palestinian people.
A Bantuland for the Palestinians in the shape of
the Gaza Strip will never be acceptable to the Palestinian
people who have sacrificed generation after generation
to seek liberation from Israeli occupation. Nor
can the international community accept such a brazen
violation of its will by the Zionists.
This message also needs to be conveyed boldly and
rationally to the American Jews. But perhaps most
important, the myth needs to be punctured that Muslims
are opposed to the Jews per se. It is time we confronted
this propaganda and laid it to rest. Ironically,
if there is a religious clash between the Jews and
other believers, it is with Christianity, both in
terms of religious dogma centering on Armageddon
and in terms of political persecution. Yet the myth
has been successfully perpetrated post-1945 that
the Muslims, particularly the Arabs, see the Jews
as their enemies. This has allowed the Jews to focus
all their post-holocaust aggression on the Arab
world and the Palestinians with the Zionists forging
ahead with their expansionist agenda. Muslims have
done nothing to challenge this propaganda. A beginning
can be made by President Musharraf through his address
to the American Jewish Congress.
(The writer is director general of the Institute
of Strategic Studies, Islamabad. Courtesy The News)
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