Symposium on the Right of Return for Palestinian Refugees

Velice Chibriani, Secretariat of the Friendship Association

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Our world of today is overwhelmed with political, economic and moral turmoil as a result of which major disequilibria have emerged, leading to the predomination of frustration and suffering and to the exacerbation of conflicts. 

Fueling this state of chaos is the United Nation’s state of deficient credibility, a by-product of disregard for its resolutions. Tens of resolutions declared by the General Assembly and Security Council and concerned with the environment, democracy, justice, health and the rights of populations have gone unobserved and unimplemented, especially by the larger powers of our world.

Israel’s share of non-compliance with international legitimacy and non-implementation of UN resolutions is evident. Israel did not suffice itself with non-abidance, but went further to declare its objection to several General Assembly and Security Council resolutions, among which was Resolution 242, which should carry the United Nations force of law.

Such a grim picture is tinted with conflicts, civil wars, revolutions, the spread of poverty, and the increasing frequency of practices that violate the respect for human rights.

The mighty nations seek to impose their policies and to limit the choices available to others while working towards solutions through the election ballot. Such practices have been applied in Cambodia, Mozambique, Afghanistan, and Iraq, and there is no a difference between what has been applied to a remote village in Cambodia and another in Afghanistan, where representation measures do differ, and where traditions based on religion, age, experience and wisdom bear diverse repercussions. The great powers consider that the election ballot is the only means towards resolving the variety of problems and for reaching optimal solutions. The importance of seeking grassroots explanations to existing conflicts and tensions is not event considered.

The human catastrophe that befell the South East Asian populations also points towards a deep disequilibrium, for we observe how countries like the United States, Japan and Canada possess developed technologies for predicting such catastrophes, while Indian Ocean countries lack such resources.

Resorting to the subject of this assembly: In the opinion of one Italian thinker, an opinion that many others share: “The call of some European capitals for a United Nations intervention is discouraging and saddening, for I think it will fall on deaf ears.”

A strange paradox is inherent to this issue: Since the United Nations was the one to recognize the existence of Israel in 1947, why then would this country accept only those UN resolutions that it deems appropriate and refuse to comply by others, especially resolution 194 that was adopted by the United Nations 57 years ago and that stipulates the Right of Return for Palestinian refugees?

The right of the Palestinian people to return to the country from which they were expelled is guaranteed by international law, and this even before its announcement in 1948 through a UN resolution. The same is true of the national, legitimate and non-rescindable rights of the Palestinian people.

The decision that formed the basis for the UN resolution that advocated the Right of Return was sealed six months prior to the admission of Israel into the United Nations (General Assembly Resolution 273 of May 11, 1949).

The admission of Israel was conditional on its compliance with the responsibilities stated in the Charter of the United Nations as well as with the international decisions emanating from this international organization, of which Resolution 194.

Since then, Resolution 194 has been reinstated more than one hundred times, such assertion being voiced in many other international resolutions as well as in the General Assembly decisions concerned with the refugee issue.

Today, and within the framework of a comprehensive solution, it is possible to discuss the mechanisms for implementing the Right of Return or the right to a compensation for those who decide not to return, or even issues surrounding the land that will host refugees, but it is not possible to go further than this as Jerusalem Post has when it stated that “Palestinian demands totally contradict the framework of the Peace Process which is based on the acceptance by the Arabs and Palestinians of the principal of land partitioning, and where the final objective is in essence the creation of two separate states for two separate people, the peace and normalcy between which would hinge on the stability of international agreements and the degree to which parties are committed to such agreements. The Palestinian demand for keeping the “Return” files open for discussion is but a sure source of dispute.”

It is as if the writer of the above lines does not consider the international resolution dedicated to the Right of Return to be part of international agreements. Regarding Resolution 194 and the abstention from its implementation, I believe that all present in this Conference are completely aware of the issue and its repercussions. Allow me then to move on to other matters that are presently receiving focus and are being discussed in Italy and Europe.

Israel’s lack of readiness for dialogue with the various organizations and bodies that do not entirely adopt its position was obvious through Israel’s animosity towards the European Union’s delegation of 2002, that delegation which was denied the chance of meeting President Arafat.

The results of a European Union poll that revealed that Europeans hold the Jews responsible for raging international tensions has earned Europe the accusation of being anti-Semitic.

Apart from certain Nazi, Right wing and extremist groups, Europe does not harbor any problems concerning the Jews, and this is by no means due to the existence of the Israeli state, but rather to the blending of Jews into European societies where racial discrimination is simply not tolerated.

The primary motive behind the European feeling expressed in the poll mentioned above is directly visible through the Israeli government’s practices against the Palestinian people and through the opinionated obstinacy that characterizes Israel in its international relations.

To date, not one of the various influential information media has made an effort towards uncovering the real reasons behind European annoyance with the Jews, reasons that are based on neither religion nor sectarianism. The accusation of anti-Semitism is often used to shift focus from the real reasons. The person speaking in front of you was President of ARCI in Rome, ARCI being the largest organization in Italy that is concerned with culture, civil rights and peace. From that leadership position, I had worked on introducing Jewish culture in Rome and on presenting theatrical works about Jewish life. Today, I stand here to deplore the politics of Israel, for I have witnessed sufficient justification to that end. The fact that Israel is a Jewish state, although not a theocratic one, does not stand in the way of my conviction, and neither does the fact that the Jews have suffered under Nazism.

What bothers me is the inability of Jews to understand this mode of thinking, which is not confined to me personally or to Italy alone. Any criticism of Israel is immediately labeled anti-Semitic, and any disapproval of a war on Iraq is immediately considered anti-American.

Thereafter, I had worked as a General Manager of the non-governmental organization affiliated to ARCI. The first project realized between 1988 and 1991 concerned foster adoption of distant Palestinian children: “Children of Peace and the Olive Branch”.

I still remember two things about that project: its success and the interest of Italian nationals in this initiative, and the obstacles that Israeli banks erected in the face of the project, alongside the logistics problems created by Israel to hamper the delivery of books, pens and schooling requirements.

At the time, solidarity with and interest in the Palestinian cause was popular. Today, such interest is confined to politicized groups that concern themselves with international causes. Today, we witness a waning sympathy for the Palestinian cause. What could the reasons be?

I will try to briefly present a modest analysis of such reasons:

Many consider the Israeli-Palestinian problem to have reached an impasse where no solutions are visible. Images of death enter our homes on a daily basis, and range from the killing practiced by the Israeli Army to terrorist operations, the war on Iraq, the conflicts in Chechnya, Afghanistan and the Ivory Coast… All of that has rendered tragedy familiar, reducing our feelings of sadness and pain that are usually triggered by images of falling victims.  Mass media’s coverage is generally inaccurate, insufficient when it comes to international coverage (the case of Italian media) and as has become obvious, affected by power groups and by the interferences of economic and financial stakeholders.

In reality, armed strife (of which terrorism is not part) is only partially covered when speaking of the Palestinian side, while the terrorism that has been the foundation of the State of Israel is never spoken of. Were it not the terrorist groups led by Menachem Begin that had executed 256 Palestinians in the village of Deir Yassine? And who was behind the bombing of the King David Hotel in 1946? Or of the Samiramis Hotel in 1948?

Who terrorized the inhabitants of Palestinian villages and forced their exodus to neighboring Arab countries? Who allowed the execution of the Sabra and Chatila massacres? Who shot that wounded girl and killed the child hiding behind his father?

Despite it all, we read in the Israeli constitution that the Sate of Israel is founded on the principles of freedom, justice and peace, that it will work to ensure the highest degree of social and political equality possible for its people without any prejudice towards religion, race or gender, and that it will guarantee the freedom of religion, creed, language, education and culture. You may ask the Palestinian living in Israel to what extent are these constitutional passages respected.

Another equally important problem is that with the fall of the Communist block, a ruling mass that had previously been capable of handling difficult and complicated situations whether in the East or West disappeared from Italy and the rest of Europe, to be replaced by statesmen and politicians flying the flags of liberalism and anti-Communism but lacking in experience and wisdom, and more concerned with economic and financial problems than the suffering of peoples, oppression or poverty.