“I am not afraid my life will end, I am afraid it will never start”

Sudanese and Eritreans crossing the only way out of Africa via land are facing a horrifying journey to the Promised Land. Vague information is reaching the media about shooting incidents, becoming more common as time passes by. The Egyptian officials are handling this challenge with two main tools: night vision equipment and bullets. Israel? Let us think about it. 

More than 20,000 refugees and asylum seekers are “residing” in Israel today. More than 85% are from Sudan and Eritrea. Ever wondered what the difference is between myths and facts in this relation? Ever looked into the reality beyond the media? Do we really care? Can they go back to their homelands?
 

Sudanese and Eritreans’ first welcome to Israel is a detention facility in southern Israel. 2000 people are held there including women and kids from one to six months. No policy as to who should be released other than space considerations by the prison service. 

One of the major arguments against those refugees is being immigrant workers. A refugee is identified mainly by submitting such a request. We cannot assume otherwise until verified and confirmed, in legal procedures. Unfortunately, there is no such procedure in Israel. All Sudanese and Eritrean nationals are granted a “Conditional Release” status, giving them immunity from deportation to their homeland, period. Employment authorization? Social rights? Health care? What about a traditional procedure similar to the Western world? Not really. How about a distressing similarity to other Third world countries? Defiantly heading that way, slowly and safely. 

As time passes by and the authorities continue to avoid this major challenge to the State of Israel, we may reach the dead end of a lose-lose situation very soon. Refugees in Israel did not come to visit the holy places neither to enjoy the beaches of Tel Aviv. Let us try and learn from past mistakes to face the challenges of the future. This is not just a simple motto; this is the sad pages of a horrible history. Sadly, lacking any clear policy we are left with more questions and fewer answers.
 

So, what would an African refugee ask for in the Holy Land? I would assume a fair shot to prove his truth, in an attempt for a better future in the Holy Land or their Homeland. Refugee seekers are not immigrant workers and a clear policy in this matter is essential and vital to our future, everyone’s future.

A rush of idiots in my parliament

I tend to avoid television as much as possible but if I had to choose one favorite channel, it would be channel 99; the Knesset/Israeli Parliament channel. It keeps me company during late night hours with monotonic useless discussion but also with extremely interesting debates.

Last week, a striking event occurred in my parliament. I usually tend to avoid video clips in my blog but this is an exception, one I am not proud of.

After last week’s flotilla events and the focus from the media on MK Haneen Zuabi, the best show in town was yet again the Knesset. MK Zuabi planned to give out her speech at the Parliament with no successes whatsoever. Apart from a few sane voices in the crowd – I must mention Rubbi Rivlin for that – most of the MKs were not “happy” about Zuabi’s presence in the Parliament. While some repeatedly interrupted her speech others tried to physically pull her from the platform. 

No words could possibly describe this better than the video below.

Concluding the show, various MKs from different parties were happy to come on stage and to asperse words of hate calling Zuabi a traitor. Knesset member Plesner, a well educated graduate from the John F Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University, added the icing on the cake with a sexist statement asking Zuabi: “How would Hamas treat you in Gaza, as a single woman of 38 in age?”

I was so shocked from this discussion, if one could call this a discussion. I am not asking anyone to agree with MK Zuabi, I myself have some disagreements with her, but this is not how democracy responds to disagreements. I read Shahar Ilan post on how the parliament is not a place for manners; he may be right one way or another but guess what? The Knesset is the face of our democracy! 

Gaza Flotilla - 6 Vantage Points

The recent events from the freedom flotilla to Gaza and the Israeli aggressive reaction to it, makes you wonder what the hell happened here? How did Israel, again, lose its temper and react the way it did, causing the death of 9 activists. Peace activists or provokers – this is not the issue. 

In an attempt to understand this reality, I will try to go into the minds of each one of the players and see the reality from their vantage point.

Israel
The reality, in whichever view point you see it, was bloody. At the end of the day, 9 people lost their lives while things could have turned out otherwise. No blame is placed upon the Israeli Defense Forces and the elite unit soldiers. Once the policymakers decided to send those soldiers to the flotilla, defining it as a battle field, the outcome was predicted. Most importantly, the Israeli government must come up with a broader solution to the harsh reality in Gaza strip preventing such confrontations in the future and solving the humanitarian crises.
 

 Peace Road / Humiliation Boulevard 

In the short term, Netanyahu and his government must take full responsibility with the failure of this operation – even if it will cost some sort of political price and embarrassment. Moreover, in the long term I would expect the Israeli government to come up with a clear plan with the flow of similar rallies to the Gaza strip shores. The criticism Israel is facing these days about reacting in international water was never heard with the Karin A Affair (AKA Operation Noah’s Ark). Karin A was a ship worth of $400,000, the cargo used to conceal the weapons was worth $3,000,000 and the weapons was estimated $15,000,000 worth – all of the above mentioned was captured without one single shot by the same elite unit.  As much as letting Noam Chomsky into Bir Zeit University would have brought no international attention and criticism, letting the flotilla into Gaza would have possibly resulted similar possible harmfulness results.

Turkey
Turkey is clearly playing an important role in the Middle East. Unluckily for the Turkish people, or not - with Ardogan as the Prime Minister the attention is doubled. We all heard the unsympathetic reaction by Ardogan and the Turkish Parliament today, something Israel cannot afford. Yet on the other hand, Turkey must try and maneuver carefully and not lose its central role in the Middle East. Turkey has gained its crucial function not because of its geographical location or fancy hotel clubs; it is a continuous policy of understanding and interpreting the balance of powers in the Middle East. A policy that has somehow lost its direction with AK party in the government. Yet, let us not jump to conclusions. Turkey recognizes its role as a linkage point between the Arab/Muslim world and the West, a reality it must contain and preserve mindfully.

Palestinians
The people of Gaza must make a continuous effort to break the siege by any peaceful means. It is extremely difficult for the average Palestinians in Gaza to face and criticize the mistakes taken by the ruling entity (Hamas). Nevertheless, a rally of candles on daily bases in front of Erez checkpoint has more influence, both on the Israelis and the world, than thousands of rockets fired at Sderot or a third Intifada. The current reality gives a life belt to the Hamas Fatah tension too. Regardless, Fatah should continue with the proximity talks that hopefully will lead to real sincere negotiations toward a final agreement with Israel. 

Palestinians in Israel
Serious acts of cautions must be taken by the citizens of Israel. It is more than legitimate to criticize the Governments’ policy, let us just stay away from another October 2000 events. 

 Sages of Israeli Boulevard

The Arab World

The Arab/Muslim world couldn’t care less about the Palestinians. They are trying to adjust their statements to the voices heard from the streets. As long as they stick to the Arab Initiative and Israel shows some sort of sincere interest in it, they are providing a rescue boat to Israel mainly from Iran's negative involvement.

Iran
As much as the Arab world couldn’t care less about the Palestinians, the Iranian governments’ main interest is to stay in power. The Iranian people are starting to get closer and closer to their Government due to continuous mistakes by the Israeli Government, mainly in relation to the Palestinian-Israeli conflict.