Darwish Shares View of Middle East Politics : AZ IMC

The talk, entitled “Can Arabs Be Pro-Israel?” was sponsored by the ASSU Speaker’s Bureau, Hillel at Stanford and the Stanford Israel Alliance. Darwish, founder of the group “Arabs for Israel,” also promoted her 2006 book, “Now They Call Me Infidel: Why I Renounced Jihad for America, Israel and the War on Terror.”

The author spoke out against what she viewed as an indoctrination of anti-Semitism in Arab youth.

“Growing up, this hatred becomes a part of how you see the world,” Darwish said. “People in the Middle East will say, ‘don’t take candy from strangers, it might be a Jew trying to poison you.’ If you tell that to a child, hatred becomes easy.”

Darwish said that she was motivated to begin her cause in the wake of the 9/11 attacks, when she heard reports from the Middle East that a Jewish conspiracy was behind the strikes.

“After 9/11, for we Arabs to accuse the Jews of what we know we’ve done is shameful and unacceptable,” she said. “This treatment of Jews in the Middle East is a disgrace.”

To Darwish, support for Israel does not necessitate a rejection of Arabic culture.

“That I support Israel does not mean I am anti-Arab,” she said. “If we want peace, we have to support both. We need a new paradigm of how we as Arabs view Israel.”

Darwish also disagreed with the labeling of Israeli conduct towards Palestinians as “apartheid.”

“They call Israel an apartheid state,” she said. “Yet who is worse, the Arab world, where not a single Jew can be free, or Israel, where Arabs are free to work with Koranic verses printed on their outerclothes?”

“We don’t want to bring to college campuses a cult of bringing up these terms,” she added.

The author expressed full support for the Israeli West Bank barrier.

“I think Israel should increase its fence and make it higher,” she said, “because very soon there are going to be civil wars on the other side of it.”

Darwish further directed sharp criticism toward Arab media for ignoring or redirecting blame for Muslim-on-Muslim violence.

“The Arab media are accusing Americans and Jews of exaggerating Darfur,” she said. “To them, any Muslim-on-Muslim atrocities are Israel and America’s fault.”

“And where is the Western media reporting on and criticizing this?” she added.

Darwish recognized the tension she sparks in Arab and Muslim circles.

“I’ve never had a direct death threat,” she said, “but I’ve never been invited to speak in front of any Arab or Muslim group.”

But Darwish said that when she finds herself at odds with mainstream Arab opinion, she remains committed to her beliefs.

“Even when I feel alone, I’m doing what’s dictated to me by my conscience,” she said. “It’s not easy to overcome an attitude, but we must do it.”