Talking Points for American Muslim Candidates on Palestine
By Nayyer Ali MD
American Muslim candidates cannot avoid confronting the Israeli Palestinian issue head-on, even more so since the Gaza war. Abdul El-Sayed has won the Democratic nomination for the open Senate seat in Michigan and winning that race is critical to Democrat chances of taking control of the Senate.
El-Sayed has been closely linked to Hassan Piker, an extreme left-wing figure who makes his living live-streaming his thoughts on politics on Twitch. He often makes inflammatory remarks about Israel, Zionism, and Jews which most Americans would disagree with and consider anti-Semitic. El-Sayed needs to stake out his own clear position on the conflict so that he can get liberal Jews to support him and obtain the votes of moderate voters who are critical to winning what is going to a be a very close election. This column would recommend he adopt the following strategy.
Emphasize non-violence. This conflict should be ended by direct negotiations between Israel and the Palestinian Authority as spelled out in the Oslo Agreement. That was supposed to yield a final status within five years, instead the Palestinians have only gotten decades of occupation and aggressive settlement expansion.
Denounce terrorism by both sides. Emphasize that Israel is engaging in terrorism in the West Bank and no one is holding Netanyahu to account for that. State that you support Hamas yielding control of Gaza to the Palestinian Authority and do not support Hamas use of violence against Israeli civilians
Avoid using the term Zionism. Zionism has many meanings. To most Muslims it means a person who wants to actively ethnically cleanse the Palestinians. But to Jews the word means the idea that Jews are not just a religion but also a national identity and therefore have the right to create their own state. There are liberal Zionists that want to make peace with the Palestinians and right-wing Zionists that want to ethnically cleanse all the Palestinians. Netanyahu opposes a Palestinian state and wants to either force the Palestinians out or keep them under eternal subjugation. This grossly violates the UN Declaration on Human Rights.
Emphasize that you agree with the 160 countries that have recognized Palestine, including most of Europe and Latin America. State that the US should also recognize Palestine and support a UN Security Council Resolution that grants Palestine membership in the UN. Highlight that the Arab League proposed in 2001 that all Arab countries would recognize Israel if it withdrew from the Occupied Territories and allowed Palestine to exist. Sharon rejected this, and Israel continues to reject this generous offer. This is now called the “23 state solution”, meaning Palestine and the other 22 Arab countries. Emphasize your support of any peace deal that the Arab League and the Palestinians come to with Israel.
On question of whether Israel has a “right to exist”, state that is a silly question, no one asks if the US or Germany or Egypt has a “right to exist”, countries just recognize their obvious existence. The real question is whether we accept that Palestine has a right to exist. State that it is not your goal that Palestine replace Israel. But Israel must either withdraw from the Occupied Territories or give all the Palestinians Israeli citizenship if Israel will not withdraw. Oslo made clear that the Palestinians accepted a two-state solution.
Emphasize that all the settlements are illegal based on the Geneva Convention. Israel building settlements in the West Bank is as ridiculous as if the US built permanent American settlements in Iraq or Afghanistan. To reach a peace deal the settlers will have to move 5 or 10 miles back to Israel, or they will have to become citizens of Palestine if they choose to stay. The US should use maximum pressure to stop all new settlement expansion or construction.
The Palestinian refugee question is complex. According to UNGAR 194, the refugees are entitled to a right of return. Many refugee descendants (almost all the actual refugees created by the ethnic cleansing of 1948 have passed away) still hold the very keys of the homes and apartments their families left. However, the limited polling of refugees on the question of return shows the vast majority do not actually want to move to Israel, which would mean learning Hebrew and becoming Israeli citizens. The Arab League peace proposal did not mention the refugees, and the Palestinians did not demand an actual return at the negotiations at Taba in January 2001 or at Annapolis in 2007 (the two times the sides came closest to an actual deal). But giving up on the right to return in exchange for nothing is not acceptable to the refugees either. Recommend we must acknowledge the moral wrong done to the Palestinians and that the refugees need to be “taken care of”, and that American Muslims will support whatever agreement the Palestinians and Israelis make to resolve this claim. Whether this involves financial compensation, a handover of evacuated settlements, or a limited actual return of some Palestinians is up to the negotiations.
The US should use its full diplomatic, economic, and moral leverage to push Israel to end the occupation and accept the creation of Palestine.
A full Israeli withdrawal from the Occupied Territories would hand over the Old City of Jerusalem with all its holy sites to Palestine. An adjustment can be made to allow Israel to retain sovereignty over the Jewish Quarter and the Western Wall but leaves Al Aqsa in Palestine.
Emphasize that solving the Israeli-Palestinian issue is of critical importance to the US. If Israel was at peace with Palestine, it would not need to fear Iran, and the US/Israel war on Iran would not need to take place. With this issue solved the US could withdraw its military presence in the Middle East and cut military spending so we can do more other things that help the American people.
A strongly pro-Palestinian stance is not going to doom El-Sayed’s campaign. But he needs to navigate the core issues with intelligence and nuance and be an advocate for a peaceful resolution of the conflict.
