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

LOCAL CALL: NO CHOICE: THE PEOPLE WHO CAN NOT VOTE SPEAK

by | February 4, 2015 | Latest News

Published in Hebrew in LOCAL CALL on current Israeli elections:

NO CHOICE: THE PEOPLE WHO CANNOT VOTE SPEAK

Israel pretends its society is a normal, US-style melting pot, but there are only two problems – there is nothing remotely “normal” about Israeli’s societal composition and, furthermore, the pot’s ingredients, by policy design, have yet to melt. The destructive societal divisions amongst Israel’s population shines through during every election; this time around is no different. While Israel’s nearly five-decade military occupation of Palestinians is slowly, but surely, ripping Israel out of its global comfort zone, not one electoral contender has peeped a word about how the occupation will come to an end.

Likewise, while racism inside Israel against Christian and Muslim Palestinians—full Israeli citizens—has reached levels provoking even some Jewish Israelis to call it fascism, Israel’s political parties are acting as if it’s business-as-usual. The only bold and somewhat refreshing electoral move, thus far, is Avraham Burg’s joining of the Hadash Political Party, and even there the debate immediately focused around Palestinian political parties running in a single slate, or not, instead of the seismic shift that Burg’s move represents amongst Israel’s Zionist personalities.

Bottom line for us Palestinians ‘living’ under Israel’s boot of occupation: Historically, in the USA and many other places, when a population is long disenfranchised, unrest ensues, forcing greater equality.

Jewish Israelis living in perpetual denial should take note when they head to their polling booths this March, for their sake if not for ours. The looming fork in the road for us is signposted “Palestinian Statehood” or “Civil Rights for All.” While the idea of the former is dispensable, the coming of the latter is inevitable.

~Sam Bahour

SOURCE (in Hebrew): http://bit.ly/1EGd1EV

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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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