This weekend’s Lead Screed goes to John Whitbeck, who got op-ed space in the Christian Science Monitor to blast the idea that Hamas must recognize Israel:
To demand that Palestinians recognize “Israel’s right to exist” is to demand that a people who have been treated as subhumans unworthy of basic human rights publicly proclaim that they are subhumans. It would imply Palestinians’ acceptance that they deserve what has been done and continues to be done to them.
As the Israeli public accepted over time the idea of a two-state solution and to negotiate with the PLO, there was plenty of national debate and soul searching. For the Palestinians to recognize Israel means nothing more than accepting the existence of a Jewish state. If recognizing Israel makes the Palestinains feel “subhuman”, how can Israel do business with them?
Click here to write the Monitor.
