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Showing Faith in the Impossible Dream

Posted on: Tuesday, 17 January 2006, 06:00 CST

By Rhona Ganguly

As a teenager I learned about Palestine's conflict with Israel in my Religious Studies class.

I remember watching the famous handshake between Rabin and Arafat and I even kept the newspaper cutting so I could look back at this instrumental deal in the future.

The assassination of the Israeli leader soon followed and I often glance at that browning newspaper cutting, wondering if peace in the Middle East will ever come.

And now, following Ariel Sharon's stroke, it is an issue more pressing than ever.

But according to Dan Shaham, director of public affairs at the Israeli Embassy, Sharon's health will not hinder his similar dream for a peaceful future.

For years Sharon got himself into situations which caused perilous moments in the country's quest for peace.

In 1998 he refused to shake hands with Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat at the Wye Plantation peace talks' in 2000 he insisted on visiting the Temple Mount in the Muslim-controlled holy site in Jerusalem, which led to the intifada.

These events led to many labelling him a fanatic, with no interest in the lives of the ordinary people of either nation.

In Birmingham yesterday for a conference designed to "facilitate an open and honest question and answer session about Israel's policy towards the Palestinians with an Israeli government official", Mr Shaham said Sharon's work towards peace should not be forgotten because of his controversial moments.

"He will be remembered for his willingness to take risks. The voluntary withdrawal from the settlements was about doing what is right for Israel. But at the same time, reducing friction with the Palestinians," he said.

"He took particular risks but nevertheless was willing to make that step and I think people respect him for that. Some cynics may not agree but he was trying the right things in order to bring about a reduction in the number of casualties on both sides."

At the conference he looked at misconceptions about Sharon, Israel itself, its ever present conflict with Palestine and more recently the country's poor relations with Iran.

He was also keen to dispel the myth that Muslims and Jews cannot live side by side in peace and said he hoped to attract more tourists to the country, which in his eyes has developed to become a multicultural society and is gradually becoming safer.

"People have preconceived images of Israel. They think it is full of Orthodox Jews and in fact it is absolutely different to what they think. In Israel you have people from over 100 countries and you cannot imagine the number of languages used - Israel's second language is Arabic.

"We have a million Israeli Arabs and a million Russians - 18 per cent of the Israeli population are Arab Israelis. They are actively involved in political parties, both Arab and Palestinian parties and the big parties of Labour and Likud. There are Arab members of the supreme court and some are university professors.

"In the 60s, Jewish people came from all over the world like my parents - from Morocco - to an underdeveloped country where the services were not great. You would think 'how do you integrate these people into the mainstream?' But we did."

Mr Shaham was keen to show there could be compromise between the two nations, even complementing Palestine on its reaction to Iran's president who said he wanted Israel to disappear from the map. Mr Shaham said Iran needed to stop thinking they could kick the Israelis out.

"The biggest misconception is that the Palestinians are victims of somebody else's doing. The Israelis also feel very vulnerable given their position and size. We feel very much under attack and in danger.

"Do you give in to that victim mentality? I think there is nothing more devastating than to think it is someone else's fault.

"Part of the solution has something to do with what action the Israelis will take but it is also the action of the Palestinians.

"Israel was willing to pull out settlers with a great cost to society, both human and economic, but we did that voluntarily. But until today we have not seen the Palestinians taking any action."

Mr Shaham is keen to show the world that Israeli Jews and Muslims can live side by side in harmony - and there has been a 100 per cent increase in Christian pilgrims in 2005 and Israel's growing Muslim population. But there is still a widely-held fear about visiting the country.

Such is the fear, that the venue of yesterday's Birmingham meeting could not be advertised - and security was extremely tight.

But Mr Shaham has a stark message for those who believe terrorism would end should Israel cease to exist. "Radical Islam was born before Israel was born - long before we came to the region. The Israeli-Palestinian conflict is a territorial and local conflict. It cannot bear the brunt of all of the Middle East's problems, nor is it the sole cause.

"Even if it is solved we will have nothing to do with the ongoing problems in countries such as Saudi Arabia and Iran."

Source: Birmingham Post; Birmingham (UK)

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