UNRWA (United Nations Relief and Works Agency) had to cancel it's marathon planned for April 10th in Gaza due to the fact that Hamas would not allow adult women to participate in the race.
According to the Times of Israel
Hamas had sent a letter to UNRWA claiming it was allowing the marathon to take place “under certain limitations relating to Palestinian customs and traditions,” the Gaza-based human rights watchdog Al-Mezan reported.Apparently one of those limitations relating to Palestinian "customs and traditions" (according to Hamas) is that adult women can't run in races. Of course not all Palestinians agree with this. Palestinian Authority Prime Minister Salam Fayyad absolutely blasted Hamas for this saying:
“This move harms the status of Palestinian women, their national and social role, and their absolute right to equality under the Basic Law,” “[It also harms] our people’s customs, which always aspired to enshrine the status of women and reject all attempts to exclude and marginalize them.”and Fatah had this to say:
“This decision deals a death blow to the Palestinian national liberation movement,” the statement read. “Those who prevented the participation of young Palestinian women are not only violating the natural and historic rights of the Palestinian woman… but they are also falsifying our people’s cultural and liberating image, presenting their own extremist worldview.”True to form (at least for so-called human rights organizations), the "Gaza based Human Rights Group" Al-Mezan group urged UNRWA to continue the race as:
“since it could contribute greatly to enhancing international solidarity with the Palestinian people.”I guess as long as those "people" are not adult women.
Now, apologists for the Palestinian people would cite the fact that it is only Hamas and NOT all of the Palestinian people that felt that way. And that might well be true. Probably most Palestinians or at least a large amount of Palestinians wouldn't discriminate against women running. But Hamas is not just an isolated movement in the Palestinian polity. They barely won the last Palestinian elections and now they lead the P.A. in all polling for the top spots in the leadership. Columns are Total - West Bank - Gaza
Tell us how do you evaluate the performance of the dismissed
government of Ismail Haniyeh in the Gaza Strip? Is it good or bad?
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1) Very Good
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16.8%
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15.3%
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19.1%
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2) Good
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39.1%
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44.7%
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29.9%
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An interesting note here: is that Hamas' leadership has higher favorables in the West Bank than in Gaza. Interesting fact there eh?
Of course these favorables translate to an election victory for Hamas in the poll:
- Haniyeh defeats Abbas in a presidential election by 48% to 45%, but Barghouti wins against Haniyeh, 51% to 42%.
- In a three way presidential elections, Haniyeh receives 39%, Marwan Barghouti 29%, and Abbas 27%.
- In a parliamentary election, Fateh wins 36% and Hamas 35% of the voters
So maybe Fatah and Fayyad are mad at Hamas but the Palestinian people... not so much.and considering that they are willing to have Hamas lead them in the next government this is very telling. We keep hearing from folks about Israel and it's problems but discussions about the Palestinians and their leadership are conspicuously absent. Imagine if this happened in Israel, what the outrage would be. BUT with Hamas... not a peep. AND considering that Hamas could very well win the next Palestinian elections, this silence is telling.
Also, disturbing in this poll is how a so-called "human rights" group Al-Mezan is willing to completely overlook the human rights of women so that people can "enhance their solidarity with the Palestinian people" (except for Palestinian women who apparently are not part of the Palestinian People). It is almost tempting to have UNRWA actually set the race up so that everyone in the world can see just what Hamas' "true colors" really are.
(livosh1)
ReplyDeleteThanks for bringing this to our attention, volley. No doubt that certain apologists will look the other way about this. But I also appreciate you noting that Fayed and Fatah put out statements strongly condemning this. Kudos to them. It does put things in perspective.
Ultimately it is up to the Palestinian people to decide that Hamas does not serve their cause. Here's hoping they come to that (rather obvious) realization sooner rather than later.
I think it is important that Fatah and Fayyad did this. They certainly are not "liberal" or "progressive" by any means (well Fayyad has elements) but I give them credit for the call out. I think that was more than just politics against Hamas as well... I think Fayyad really means it.
DeleteAs for the Palestinian people, yep... you are right, it is up to them - but they need to understand that (like any reactionary group) that bluster and bigoted rhetoric will not serve their purposes no matter what kind of five minute buzz they get from it.
This is the big elephant in the room of the Israeli-Arab conflict. Arab societies, including Palestinian Arabs, are the most regressive societies on Earth, in terms of gender equality and homophobia. Also, although many Westerners are not aware of it, in terms of racial discrimination. In Lebanon the hatred directed at darker-skinned people has reached national crisis proportions, and in Saudi Arabia South Asians are prohibited from using the same swimming pools as Saudis.
ReplyDeleteGiven this, Arabs have become a seemingly quite unlikely pet cause to a number of liberals and leftists. As we were discussing before, their opposition to the West, including the 'good' parts of the West, is part of what makes them so attractive as a pet cause.
Which is not to say that Palestinian Arabs don't deserve self-determination. They most certainly do. They are just a very odd choice for some Western liberals to adopt.
And this is why people who claim they support a One State Solution are either higher than a Kite or just dumber than Rocks. They are so blinded by their insane hatred of Israel that they don't care that their idea of a United States of Palestine has about as much popularity as a Ham Sandwich and Beer Combo in Riyadh. None of the Palestinians actually want something like that outside of a couple of young educated bloggers and their useful idiot friends.
DeleteMore than that, they care nothing for reality... nothing about the impact of their advocacy. It's all just a way for them to re-live the "glory days of the Sixties".
I totally agree with you that the Palestinians should have self-determination. After all if we advocate it for ourselves we should understand their desire for it as well. But we should not fool ourselves with what this self-determination will look like and honestly, it boggles my mind that otherwise sensible progressive people would look at any future Palestinian polity and think it will be a forward thinking political entity.
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ReplyDeleteJust for our brave ANONYMOUS poster... Your wish is my command. Your comment was deleted... Heh.
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