Seems simple, even hip. If “Free Palestine” meant to just give Palestinians an independent state, then I along with almost all Jews, including the Israelis, would pay to propagandize such a positive message.
But the questions that I have for those “Free Palestine” shirt-wearing people are:
1) What do you mean by “Palestine?”
2) In which ways do you mean to make Palestine “free?”
There have been the 1993 Oslo Agreements, Camp David agreements in 2000. (Despite Israel heeding to almost all of the Palestinian demands, Arafat walked out because he feared of being murdered for finalizing the two state solution) and the Israeli pullout from Gaza. (Handed over to the Palestinians were greenhouses to help jump-start Gaza’s economy, but the Gazans rioted and damaged them.)
Israelis are currently planning to drop most West Bank Settlements, hand over Arab Jerusalem to the Palestinians, finalize borders and give the Palestinians 100 percent independence.
Unfortunately the Palestinian government has welcomed this as a “declaration of war.”
Today Hamas continues to say that they want all of Israel as a part of their Palestinian state under the Koran. They also inciting the crowds to say their greatest desire is “death for the sake of Allah.”
“Free Palestine” to the Palestinian leadership means taking over all of “Palestine,” including Israel, through violent means.
So please reassess your support for those “hip” T-shirts. What matters is not what you think it means, but how the Palestinian leadership interprets the statement “Free Palestine.”
Paul Borsuk
Business senior