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News & opinions from a Palestinian-American
living & working in Ramallah/Al-Bireh, Palestine

WSJ: Letters: Palestinians Don’t Need Pity, but Full Human Rights

by | April 18, 2014 | Latest News

The Wall Street Journal published a pitiful op-ed and I replied with a letter to the editor. They did not chose to print mine, but I place it here, along with the two they did publish today.

Dear editor:

Norman Podhoretz’s Pity the Palestinians? Count Me Out (April 9, 2014), left me astounded and dismayed. Why would any mainstream US media still print such a text? Why would Mr. Podhoretz not blush to espouse it?

He says: “I have no sympathy—none—for the Palestinians. Furthermore, I do not believe they deserve any.” What educated person would think this statement relevant? Let’s be reasonable: Palestinians are not seeking sympathy. We already have enough global sympathy to bottle and export it. What we are struggling and dying for, literally, is our inalienable right to freedom and independence. “The Kurds haven’t got theirs” is not a serious argument against our aspirations.

That demonization of Palestinians continues apace is unsurprising, given that Israel, still waiting for Palestinians to turn into Zionists, is increasingly isolated and embattled. Living and working here as a Palestinian American businessperson since 1994 I’ve watched Israeli policy, time after time, disdain an equitable solution for a side-by-side peace with the people Israel uprooted in 1948 and occupies today with an army.

I, too, am an educated man. Hence I cannot accept as the eternal legacy of Jewish tradition a brutal project of slow-motion ethnic cleansing. In short, the future will prove that when Jews be Jewish their social justice credentials will kick in and not only end the Israeli military occupation, but will also allow for the end to discrimination of non-Jews in Israel, and open the doors of Israel for those Palestinians who were made homeless due to Israel’s violent establishment. Then and only then, can Israelis and Palestinians truly expect to live in peace.

Sincerely,
Sam Bahour
Ramallah, Palestine

http://online.wsj.com/news/articles/SB10001424052702303663604579504333757239404?mg=reno64-wsj&url=http%3A%2F%2Fonline.wsj.com%2Farticle%2FSB10001424052702303663604579504333757239404.html

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Author

  • Sam Bahour

    Sam Bahour is a Palestinian-American business consultant, writer, and commentator based in Al-Bireh/Ramallah, Palestine. He is the principal of Applied Information Management (AIM), a consultancy specializing in business development and startup advisory services.

    Bahour played a foundational role in establishing two of Palestine’s publicly traded companies: the Palestine Telecommunications Company (PALTEL) and the Arab Palestinian Shopping Centers (APSC). He co-founded Americans for a Vibrant Palestinian Economy (A4VPE), of which he is now an emeritus member, and served as an independent director on the board of Arab Islamic Bank P.L.C. from 2004 to 2025. He currently serves on the board of Just Vision and The Palestine Economic Policy Research Institute (MAS).

    He frequently gives talks to delegations visiting Palestine on the subjects of Palestine’s political economy, Palestinian Politics 101, and a general orientation to the state of affairs under Israeli military occupation.

    A prolific writer on Palestinian affairs, Bahour has been published in major international outlets including The New York Times, The Guardian, Haaretz, The Washington Post, The Boston Globe, the Los Angeles Times, Al Jazeera America, Le Monde diplomatique, Al-Monitor, +972 Magazine, The Hill, and Arab News. He has appeared as a commentator on NPR, CNN, BBC, and other broadcast media.

    Bahour is the co-editor of Homeland: Oral Histories of Palestine and Palestinians (Olive Branch Press, 1993) and was profiled in the bestselling anthology Kingdom of Olives and Ash, edited by Michael Chabon and Ayelet Waldman, in a chapter authored by Chabon titled “The Tallest Man in Ramallah.” He holds an Associate’s and Bachelor’s degree in Computer Technology from Youngstown State University, and a Kellogg-Recanati International Executive MBA — a joint program of the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University and the Recanati Business School at Tel Aviv University.

    He tweets at @SamBahour, blogs at www.epalestine.ps, and may be reached at sbahour[AT]gmail[DOT]com.

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