Opinion • February 1 2004

Palestinian Pizza

Jeffrey Pullicino Orlando visits Israel and is negatively impressed by Sharon and positively impressed by Jerusalem
On a recent visit to Palestine I was struck by an analogy used by an elderly Palestinian Arab to describe the state of affairs in the Middle East. He compared the relationship between the Arabs and the Jews to a situation involving two acquaintances eating a pizza together. One of the individuals insists on discussing how to slice the pizza up and share it and the other patiently participates in the discussion. In the meantime the first individual is gobbling as much of the pizza up as is humanly possible while the other has no option but to look on. Most Palestinians feel that Israel is simply buying more time to annex even more land when it insists on interminable rounds of discussion. This perception is to some extent understandable. It makes it difficult for moderate Arab leaders to dissuade those who feel that terrorism is the only option left open to them.
Having an extremist like Sharon acting as head of the Jewish state does little to help the state of affairs. Sharon’s military past weighs heavily against him. He is known to have been involved in incidents which, to say the least, he should be ashamed of. It is difficult for an Arab to control the rancour he feels for this man, difficult to sit around a table with someone considered to be a ‘butcher’ by his people. It is ironic that terrorism led the Israelis to elect such a man. Many felt that heavy handed tactics were needed to control the attacks being perpetuated against innocent civilians.
I formed part of a delegation made up of European Parliamentarians who participated in a ‘peace mission’ organized by the ‘Medbridge’ organization. It transpired that Medbridge has the support and encouragement of the ‘World Jewish Congress.’ We had the opportunity of talking to Sharon and amongst the many questions we asked him was a very direct one: ‘did he have any qualms about the tremendous loss of innocent lives on the Palestinian side as a direct result of Israeli military action?’ His answer astounded us: ‘we are doing our best to make our missiles even more accurate so we will be able to pinpoint our targets with more precision.’ Ingenious! He does not even consider the need to rein in his sometimes over-enthusiastic soldiers. Someone, I can’t quite remember who it was, once said: ‘an eye for an eye and everyone ends up blind!’ The only way to stop violence is to renounce violence. Mr Sharon will never come around to accepting this historically proven fact. In the meantime we will continue to assist to tragedies similar to the one we witnessed last Thursday.
We also met up with Shimon Peres. His ideas are diametrically opposed to those of Sharon. He feels that the only way forward, the only way to eliminate terrorism, is to give the Palestinians a fair deal. I clapped enthusiastically when he finished his speech, so did my fellow European Parliamentari-ans, but it was disheartening to note that many of the Jews present openly showed their disapproval.
Visiting Israel was an experience I will not forget. I had the opportunity to visit the site of the Crucifixion in Jerusalem and the church in Bethlehem which is traditionally believed to mark the place where Our Lord was born. I always thought that people claiming to be genuinely moved on visiting these sites were exaggerating. I don’t anymore.
Israel is unique. I felt as if I was on a European islet in an Arabic ocean. It really felt like home. The Israelis were very friendly and welcoming and they did their best to help us to understand the difficulties they encounter due to the hostility they face within and without their borders. I left with a better understanding of the situation. I cannot condone the terror originating from both sides but I appreciate the frustration that leads to it. I personally felt frustrated listening to extremists from either side and I was simply a visitor to the region. I can only start to imagine what moderates who have been working for peace in their country like Shimon Peres must feel. The only way forward is to divide that pizza up between the two parties and to find someone who can slice it up fairly, someone who enjoys the trust of both sides. Who that may be is anybody’s guess.

Jeffrey Pullicino Orlando is
a Nationalist MP