Brave Palestinians

Many, perhaps even most, Palestinians distrust their Palestinian leaders.  Many reject their legitimacy as leaders, complaining that Mahmoud Abbas is in the 11th year of his four-year term as President of the Palestinian Authority (PA).  Last week he cancelled local elections, and this was not the first time.

The West needs to know that some Palestinian leaders want to work with Israel to help the Palestinian people.  They want to stop boycotts of Israel, and stop demonizing Israel, but engage with them in efforts to bring on-the-ground help to their people.  But when they stand up and utter such words, they are condemned as traitors by the PA and Hamas.  This is why they have to be courageous.

One of these brave Palestinian leaders is Sheikh Abdullah Tamimi from a prominent clan in Hebron.  Here are some excerpts from an article about him by a Palestinian journalist.

“For Tamimi, real peace begins between the people and through economic cooperation and improving the living conditions of the Palestinians. This, he explains, is more important than the talk about the establishment of a Palestinian state, which he believes, under the current circumstances, is not a realistic option.

“Tamimi’s courage and exceptionality showed up in a different sphere: he recently spoke at a seminar organized by Jewish residents of the settlement of Efrat, in Gush Etzion (south of Jerusalem). The seminar was held under the title, “Relations between Jews and Arabs in Gush Etzion.” The event was attended by another courageous Palestinian, Khaled Abu Awwad, General Manager of the Israeli-Palestinian Bereaved Families Forum, a grassroots organization that promotes reconciliation as an alternative to hatred and revenge.

“Thanks to this courageous move, Tamimi has now been ‘disowned’ by his clan. This is one of the most humiliating forms of punishment in tribal systems: the individual loses the support and protection of the clan and is boycotted socially — weddings and funerals become very lonely affairs. Moreover, Tamimi is being labelled as a ‘traitor’ and a ‘collaborator’ with Israel.

“Tamimi did indeed participate in the seminar. But that is not all. He took with him several Palestinians from the town of Yatta in the Hebron area and the Jelazoun refugee camp near Ramallah.

“Encounters between Jewish settlers and Palestinians are not unheard of. Thousands of Palestinians work in most of the settlements and many others maintain close relations with settlers and do business with them on a daily basis. These Palestinians could not care less about the anti-Israel boycott movement or the ‘anti-normalization‘ groups operating in the West Bank.

“For them, the need to earn their families’ bread far outweighs the voices calling for boycotts and divestment. These ordinary Palestinians strive to get on with their lives without the fear of boycott activists’ threats.

“Tamimi and his colleagues do not believe in boycotts and divestment. They are convinced that real peace can be achieved through dialogue between Palestinians and all Israelis — not just those who are affiliated with the left-wing. The Israeli left-wing, they contend, does not have a monopoly over peace-making.”