Spring Break
Khaled Toameh urges Israeli integration
by Lital Shair
News | 3/4/08
Posted online at 5:20 AM EST on 3/4/08
Arab-Israeli journalist Khaled Abu Toameh, a reporter for the Israeli newspaper The Jerusalem Post, spoke last Tuesday about his experience covering the Arab-Israeli conflict, corruption within the Palestinian leadership and about the need for free media within the Palestinian territories.
Approximately 80 students attended the event in the Rapaporte Treasure Hall. The event was followed by a question-and-answer session. Toameh, a journalist for the past 26 years, started his career working for a Palestinian Liberation Organization newspaper. He attended Hebrew University in Jerusalem and said he now works for Israeli media because they offer freedom of press.
"As a journalist, I have absolutely no problem working for a newspaper as long as it provides me with a free platform," said Toameh, criticizing the lack of free media in Palestinian areas.
According to Toameh, corruption within the Palestinian leadership prevented any progress in the peace process after the Oslo Accords signed by Israel and the PLO in 1993 and again in 1995. "The idea of Oslo was excellent. The way Oslo was implemented brought about disaster," Toameh said.
After Oslo II, then-PLO chairman Yasser Arafat diverted peace process funds for personal use, thereby allowing Palestinian problems to worsen. "When you deprive your people of international aid, … they become disillusioned with the fruits of the peace process," Toameh said.
"The Palestinians didn't feel like there was real change in their lives. … They lost faith in the PLO and they lost faith in the peace process," he said.
Toameh also said that the al-Aqsa Intifada, which began in September 2000 and resulted in over 5,000 Palestinian and 1,000 Israeli deaths, was instigated by Arafat after a visit by Ariel Sharon to the Temple Mount, an important religious site in Jerusalem for Christians, Muslims and Jews. According to Toameh, who said he accompanied Sharon on his visit, Sharon "never set foot inside a mosque," but Arafat announced on television that Israeli forces were destroying the Temple Mount.
Approximately 80 students attended the event in the Rapaporte Treasure Hall. The event was followed by a question-and-answer session. Toameh, a journalist for the past 26 years, started his career working for a Palestinian Liberation Organization newspaper. He attended Hebrew University in Jerusalem and said he now works for Israeli media because they offer freedom of press.
"As a journalist, I have absolutely no problem working for a newspaper as long as it provides me with a free platform," said Toameh, criticizing the lack of free media in Palestinian areas.
According to Toameh, corruption within the Palestinian leadership prevented any progress in the peace process after the Oslo Accords signed by Israel and the PLO in 1993 and again in 1995. "The idea of Oslo was excellent. The way Oslo was implemented brought about disaster," Toameh said.
After Oslo II, then-PLO chairman Yasser Arafat diverted peace process funds for personal use, thereby allowing Palestinian problems to worsen. "When you deprive your people of international aid, … they become disillusioned with the fruits of the peace process," Toameh said.
"The Palestinians didn't feel like there was real change in their lives. … They lost faith in the PLO and they lost faith in the peace process," he said.
Toameh also said that the al-Aqsa Intifada, which began in September 2000 and resulted in over 5,000 Palestinian and 1,000 Israeli deaths, was instigated by Arafat after a visit by Ariel Sharon to the Temple Mount, an important religious site in Jerusalem for Christians, Muslims and Jews. According to Toameh, who said he accompanied Sharon on his visit, Sharon "never set foot inside a mosque," but Arafat announced on television that Israeli forces were destroying the Temple Mount.
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