A Silenced
Israeli Critic
Although the U.S. news media’s fancies itself the
world’s “gold standard,” it operates with stunning
hypocrisy and huge blind spots, none bigger than its
fawning coverage of Israel that ignores critics like
Miko Peled, notes Rick Sterling.
By Rick Sterling
October 12,
2017 "Information
Clearing House"
- Despite the U.S. media’s extensive coverage of
Israel, what Miko Peled says is seldom heard by
Americans, although he was born in Jerusalem and
comes from a famous Israeli family. Peled’s
grandfather was one of the signers of the Israeli
founding documents. His father was a soldier in the
war which led to the creation of Israel and later a
senior army general during the 1967 war. And one of
Peled’s nieces was killed in a suicide bombing
attack.
However, in
contrast to what one might expect, Miko Peled is a
voice of sharp criticism of Israel and Israeli
policies. He does not mince his words. Israel is a
“settler colonial state” and Israel does NOT have a
“right to exist” as an apartheid state with
preferential treatment based on ethnicity.
Peled does
not speak in the abstract; he gives specific
examples to demonstrate what he says. Palestinians
in the West Bank have no consistent running water
while settlers enjoy unlimited drinking water plus
swimming pools and water for green lawns. The
situation in Gaza is even worse. The two million
residents of the tiny Gaza strip endure horrific
conditions. Babies with medical conditions die while
just a few miles away, Israeli babies with the same
conditions will live.
Peled does
not limit his criticism to the “Occupied
Territories,” He says all of the state should be
called Palestine with equal rights and opportunities
for all. Peled pokes fun at the claims that Jews
anywhere have a “right to return” because of a
supposed 2,000-year-old claim and entitlement. These
claims are based on the Old Testament not scientific
history.
In contrast
with the myth, most Israeli citizens have zero DNA
connection to the region. Peled humorously points to
the irony of Zionists who claim a 2,000-year-old
“right” to the land as they deny and denigrate the
rights and claims of Palestinians who were expelled
in 1948 and after.
As Peled
explains, most Israelis are quick to tell
Palestinians to “get over it” despite the fact that
Palestinian claims are well documented and only go
back 70 years, not 2,000. Unknown to most Americans,
about half a million Palestinians languish in
Lebanon, waiting for the time when they return to
their villages in Palestine from which they were
expelled in 1948 and after. The actual history of
those events has been clearly documented by the
Israeli historian Ilan Pappe.
But Peled
is not entirely pessimistic. Indeed, he thinks that
it is better that the pretense of a “two-state
solution,” which has been used as an excuse to
justify the current situation, is openly dismissed
by President Trump and Israeli Prime Minister
Benjamin Netanyahu. Things are now clarified,
leaving two paths to the future. One, a supremacist
“democracy” for Jews and continuing occupation and
oppression for the Palestinians or, two, a one-state
democracy for all.
Peaceful Resistance
While
acknowledging that most Israelis today reject the
idea of equality for Palestinians, Peled recalls how
quickly the change from apartheid to democracy
happened in South Africa. He says if they could
overcome apartheid in South Africa, why is this not
possible in Israel/Palestine?
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In the
1980s and early 1990s, the international Boycott
Apartheid campaign helped to end open racism in
South Africa. Around the world, there is a similar
peaceful and non-violent campaign pressing for the
end of open racism in Israel. It’s called “BDS” for
Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions. The goal is to
pressure Israel to abandon its apartheid policies
just as South Africa did.
Making
clear his own stand, Peled wore a large BDS button
on his lapel. For those who mistakenly believe that
Israel is a progressive force internationally, the
reality is that Israel was one of apartheid South
Africa’s closest allies.
For taking
the stance he does, and especially because of his
family roots, Miko Peled has been vilified and
threatened. It takes great courage to follow his
beliefs as he has. His family is apparently with
him.
In his
memoir, The General’s Son: Journey of an Israeli
in Palestine, he describes how
his mother refused to take furniture or property of
Palestinians who had been expelled from Jerusalem in
1967, as many other prominent Jewish families were
doing.
Peled
describes his father’s evolution from military
general to an advocate for peace and respect for
Palestinians. And he describes the reaction of his
sister and how she blamed Netanyahu and racist
policies for the death of her daughter. Miko Peled
demonstrates courage and integrity. Through his
writing and speeches, he exposes racist policies in
Israel and the U.S. He seeks a better future even if
it sometimes appears hopeless and provokes slander
and personal threats against himself.
On
Oct. 6, Peled spoke in Lafayette, California, in an
event sponsored by Mt Diablo Peace & Justice Center
(MDPJC) with co-sponsorship by Jewish Voice for
Peace and others. Peled’s book is published by
Just
World Books. A
video
of his Lafayette
presentation, including the introduction by St
Mary’s College Professor Hisham Ahmed, is posted at
the Mt Diablo Peace & Justice Center
website.
Rick Sterling
is an investigative journalist based in the San
Francisco East Bay. He can be contacted at
rsterling1@gmail.com
This
article was originally published by
Consortium News
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