For some MKs, Palestine is here By Avraham Tal Ha'aretz - April 19, 2001 After having attained notoriety in the past for his extreme pronouncements against the State of Israel, MK Abdulmalik Dehamshe set a new record this week in a letter of condolence he sent to Syria's President following the deaths of three Syrian army soldiers in an Israel Air Force attack. Alluding to the "abominable attack by Israel's fascist government against Syrian targets in Lebanon," the letter called for "Arab unification in order to bring an end to Israel's radical actions." Though the off-putting contents and formulations in this letter received a suitable measure of attention, the fact that the letter was sent from "Nazareth, Palestine" might have escaped public notice. Too impatient to wait for the state which he represents in the Knesset to be destroyed, Dehamshe wrote to Syria's President from a virtual Palestinian state. Dehamshe wasn't a lone voice this week. There was a chorus from the Palestinian Knesset members (that's the term they use to identify themselves - Palestinian citizens of the State of Israel, which they want to turn into a binational state). The runner-up for abject, contemptible commentary was Hadash whip MK Mohammed Barakeh, who called Prime Minister Ariel Sharon a war criminal. Barakeh declared that Sharon should be, "brought to trial for crimes against humanity and against the Palestinian people;" and he sent a letter to the Nobel Peace Prize committee, demanding that Shimon Peres' award be revoked. MK Talab A Sana (United Arab List) provided justification for Dehamshe's letter. Likewise, MK Ahmed Tibi (Ta'al) declared that, "it's only natural to commiserate with the Syrian people." Appearing on a television interview, MK Azmi Bishara (Balad) refused to utter a word to console the family of Staff Sergeant Elad Litvak, the IDF soldier who was killed. While Dehamshe and his Knesset colleagues heighten their rhetoric, intensifying expressions of hatred of Israel as a Jewish state, the government has made an explicit effort to accommodate the country's Arab minority. This effort consists of two parts. First, there is recognition (which goes so far as to express atonement for sins) of discrimination against the state's Arab minority during the first five decades of Israel's existence; and second, plans are being formulated to rectify these wrongs, insofar as they can be corrected by the government. The last government prepared a four billion shekel, four- to five- year-plan for the development of the Arab sector. A relatively small sum was allocated in the state's 2001 budget to implement this program; with discussion ensuing about revisions in this state budget, efforts are being made to allocate one billion shekels for the plan's undertaking in 2001, despite the severe limitations stemming from the country's economic-security situation. Prime Minister Ariel Sharon went the extra mile to improve the atmosphere between Arab citizens of the state and the government. He fulfilled his vow to appoint a non-Jewish minister. In the first phase of his term, he has met with Druze, Arab and Bedouin delegates, promising to bring a halt to land appropriations, discussing the establishment of an Arab city, and broaching the possibility of preparing another development program, one which would supplement the plan that is supposed to get under way this year. As the government goes out of its way to promote reconciliation with Israel's Arab citizens, their Knesset representatives vie with one another to articulate contempt for Israel. It would appear that the Arab public operates on two levels. Politically, Arab Knesset members exploit Israel's democracy in order to prepare the ground conceptually for Israel's annihilation as a Jewish-Zionist state. On the second level, leaders of the Arab establishment (heads of local councils, and members of the Supreme Monitoring Committee) exploit the public's feeling of unease regarding past discrimination in order to demand and wrest a surfeit of benefits for their sector. This dissonance won't escape the notice of the Jewish public. Should Arab citizens continue to elect politicians like Dehamshe, Bishara, and Tibi to be their delegates, and should Arab citizens fail to take exception to the despicable comments which these politicians unleash between election seasons, chances for coexistence will wither and vanish. Arab citizens of the state would have no cause for wonder should increasing numbers of Jews in Israel come to support separation plans (we are here, and they are there), plans that would also apply to residents of Umm al Fahm, Tira, Bara al Garbiyeh and others.