Word: arabism
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Dates: during 1980-1989
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When confronted with undeniable evidence of abuses, Zealots sometimes turn to rationalization. "Human rights violations must be taken in context," read one response. Granted, Israel is a threatened nation. Granted, Jews have endured incredible suffering in the past. Granted, Israel's Arab neighbors are, in general, much less observant of civil liberties than Israel...
...thought the revolt would last long enough to mark a first anniversary, let alone a second. Israeli leaders insisted the rebellion would be quickly crushed. But a second year without a settlement pays credit to the Palestinians' remarkable endurance and ingenuity. Armed with stones and Molotov cocktails, Arab youths have managed to confound the Israeli army, regain their tattered pride, and remind the world that Israel's "enlightened" occupation is a painful contradiction in terms. Yet many Palestinians fear their revolution has stalled. Mass demonstrations have given way to smaller skirmishes waged by a hard-core group of activists...
...none of this has spelled defeat for the Palestinians. Ironically, the uprising's survival is assured by the army's harsh measures, which are drastic enough to guarantee hatred among Arabs but not to end the revolt. The methods Israel has refined to keep the intifadeh in check may be more responsible for Palestinian solidarity than the slogans of the Arab leadership, so that the uprising has been institutionalized as a self-perpetuating expression of pride and anger. But a growing number of Arab extremists argue that stones are no longer sufficient. "The only way we're going...
That is precisely what worries Palestinian moderates, who fear that any escalation would jeopardize hard-won international sympathy. Already, the carefully nurtured image of a rebellion fought by children with stones has % been tarnished by a gruesome turn to Arab-vs.-Arab bloodshed. At least 140 Palestinians have been shot, beaten, stabbed or hacked to death by fellow Arabs. Most of the victims were charged with collaborating with the occupation...
...brutish expression of Palestinian hostility. But that attitude ignores the fundamental accomplishments of the intifadeh. Two years of prime-time revolt have wrought an extraordinary shift in international, and especially U.S., public opinion, convincing many of Israel's supporters that the Jewish nation's continued rule over 1.7 million Arabs is dangerous and absurd. And after decades of serving as pawns for larger powers, the Palestinians in the West Bank and Gaza have taken control of the Arab struggle against Israel, forcing the rest of the Arab world to play catch-up. Jordan's King Hussein took his cue last...