Palestinians: unite or self-destruct

Aref Assaf

May 26, 2008
Thanks to the last ditch efforts of a few people, the Palestinian community in NJ was privileged to hear calming voices of reason prodding the different Palestinian factions to rise above sectarian and political divides and to merge their collective resources to fight their common foe: the Israeli military occupation. This was the theme echoed  so radiantly by the several speakers who were concluding a US tour commemorating the 60th anniversary of the Palestinian Nakba.
The event took place Sunday, May 25, 2008 at the Schutzen Park in North Bergen and was attended by about 150 people. The speakers included the Mufti of Palestine, Tayseer Tamimi  and  Abdallah Abdallah, a well known Palestinian legislator. Other speakers joined in later on and they included Imam Qatanani of the ICPC and Father Makhloof. They too echoed the message of unity and steadfastness as the only route to realizing our national aspirations.
We at the AAF support and indeed demand that the leaders of the different Palestinian political factions forgo their tactical differences and commit to uniting their voice and resources.
It was a discomforting moment when the plea was made to our community in the US to avoid divisiveness and political fragmentation. We were reminded that as a unified community we stand to impact the decision making of this country's foreign policy in the Middle East. Amen!

I could not let this sad milestone pass with some serious commentary. I wrote an op-ed for the Daily Record and at least too longer versions appeared on Arabisto.com and Opednews.com