Six decades since the Arab states invaded Palestine and occupied the west bank of the Jordan and Gaza, there are still Arab children, now called Palestinians, living in refugee camps.
Any fair person recognizes that the Palestinians live in a bad situation. A civil society built while under occupation is not a good one. Israel’s occupation is more lenient than the one imposed by the occupying forces in 1948, but how does that help these children grow up in their own state?
That said, do you really believe Israel can unilaterally create peace? Don’t Gaza, Lebanon and Syria show how difficult that challenge is?
Like the American liberals who call on Israel to take action, I think the term “apartheid” is accurate. The kids in these camps are no different from the kids living in South Africans länder. The term, however, is loaded with one sided implications not relevant to the Israeli/Palestinian divide. Sadly, those implications are the only content of the liberal’s action. If the American Studies Association wants to put pressure on Netanyahu or on Israeli extremists , I would applaud. Where is the pressure on the Palestinians to allow peace to happen? Would the ASA join in a boycott of irredentist Arab states that are STILL in a state of war with Israel and fund Hamas’ occupation of Gaza?
What effect does the ASA think their posturing has vs. the effects of yesterday’s bus bombing in Tel Aviv or the plight of some Palestinian entrepreneur trying to create jobs in Ramallah while dealing with threats form Palestinian civil society to close him down if he works with Israeli or American partners?
Meantime, amidst all this posturing, Palestinian kids are still living in camps.