Tuesday, October 01, 2002

Why Palestinians are celebrating.
Danny Rubinstein, in Haaretz, explicates why the Palestinians are celebrating and overwhelmingly wish to see a continuation of hostilities. He quotes Dr. Ali Sha'ath (son of PA cabinet member Nabil Sha'ath), who offered a possible answer at a conference held last week in Abu Dhabi “The intifada (has) undermined the security of Israel, weakened its economy and caused the exodus of Jews abroad. In other words, we Palestinians are suffering, but we mustn't forget that the Israelis are suffering no less than we - and maybe more”.

I doubt if Israelis are suffering more than Palestinians.

I’m told the Palestinian press discusses the fabled exodus of Jews in great length. I see little evidence of such an exodus. Reports of rising antisemitism outside of Israel hardly make it a tempting option, for one thing. Even unemployed hi-tech people, who surely have better job options abroad, do not seem to be rushing to leave.