AAF president Aref quoted in the Daily Record
08/17/05 - Posted from the Daily Record newsroom
Morris residents cautious over Gaza pullout
Some express hope for peace; others say it's not enough
BY JENNA M. MCKNIGHT
DAILY RECORD
http://www.dailyrecord.com/apps/pbcs.dll/art_tips?Date=20050817&Category=NEWS01&ArtNo=508170326&SiteData=C0&Profile=1005&SectionCat=
Maha Kabbash has her hopes when it comes to Israel's pullout of the Gaza Strip.
She also has her doubts.
"I guess I could say I'm a bit suspicious in the sense that it's a positive step
only if it is the first step in a bigger plan," the Morristown attorney of
Palestinian descent said on Tuesday. "I'm cautiously optimistic."
Kabbash, a board member of the New Jersey chapter of the American-Arab
Anti-Discrimination Committee, is one of many area residents who say they have
mixed feelings about this week's evacuation of roughly 8,500 Jewish settlers
from 21 Gaza settlements.
The deadline to leave is today, marking the end of Israel's 38-year occupation
of an area slightly smaller than Delaware.
Audrey Parker of Montville, who is Jewish, said it's heartbreaking to hear of
synagogues being dismantled, Jewish graves being moved and people being forced
to leave their homes in Gaza. However, if the withdrawal brings about peace, she
thinks it's a good thing.
"It's such a small piece of land," Parker said. "I hope it makes a difference."
Other Jews in the Morris County area also say that while they are disheartened
about the forced relocation of Israeli settlers, they hope the withdrawal might
help foster peace in the region.
Local residents who identify themselves as Palestinians, however, say the
evacuation of Jewish settlers is no different than the displacement of
Palestinians decades ago.
"This happened to 750,000 Palestinians in 1948 and the world remained silent and
continues to deny them the right to return," said Denville resident Aref Assaf,
president of the newly formed think tank, American Arab-Forum.
Assaf, 47, grew up in a refugee camp outside Jerusalem and moved to the U.S. in
1976. He just returned on Sunday from a month-long trip to his homeland.
Palestinians, he said, are not pleased with the pullout, considering that Israel
will still control the region's borders.
"Instead of being a small prison, it's going to be a larger prison," he said.
"Instead of being in your bedroom, they're going to be on your fence,
controlling the air you breathe and the water you drink.
"The fact that Israel did not consult with Palestinians on steps needed to
arrange for withdrawal is an indication of its unilateral policy to ensure its
own security and demographic superiority over the Palestinians," he said.
Kabbash, who lives in Green Brook and has family in Israel, said the Gaza
withdrawal should be followed by withdrawals in the West Bank and East
Jerusalem. A Palestinian state can only be formed when those three territories
are combined, she said.
"It's something that our family talks about all the time," Kabbash said. "A full
pullout is something we've always hoped for. There have been so many
disappointments in the past that we never let ourselves get fully optimistic."
Salaheddin Mustafa, a 35-year-old from Clifton who identifies himself as
Palestinian, said the pullout is a hopeful sign. But he, too, wants to see
Israel withdraw from other territories.
"I'm definitely concerned they won't follow through with the peace and justice
that's demanded by the international community," Mustafa said. "This can't be
the first and last step. It has to be the beginning of a long process that
achieves lasting peace."
Local Jews, too, said they hope the pullout will help resolve a conflict that
has raged on for too long.
"I have very mixed feelings. In one way, I feel like the Israelis have really
been gypped of their land. On the other hand, I feel in terms of the peacemaking
process, it's a better idea than not doing it." said Beth Gurtov, 31, of
Parsippany.
Jack Gardner, a 75-year-old from Livingston and member of Hanover campus of
United Jewish Communities Metrowest New Jersey, said the pullout is warranted,
considering Israelis are far outnumbered in Gaza. He also thinks Israel should
evacuate the West Bank.
"But I think Jerusalem should be one city," he said, "and it should be under the
control of the Israelis."
Elihu Davison, of Morris Township, said overall, he supports the pullout.
The 57-year-old man said it's illogical for some 8,000 Israelis to remain in
Gaza when there are more than one million Palestinians there "who hate their
guts." It's also inefficient and economically unwise to use Israeli security
forces to defend "a handful of communities far removed and functionally
insignificant to mainstream Israel."
But the truth is, Davison said, there is no perfect solution to this complex
situation.
"I think that the disengagement from Gaza is the absolute worst thing the
Israeli government could do," he said, "except for staying there."
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Jenna M. McKnight can be reached at (973) 428-6634 or jmcknight@gannett.com.
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