Home » Politics & Society » Middle East Politics » Cult of Violence

Cult of Violence

© lawhawk

In my last article, I mentioned the 'cult of violence.' Israelis and Palestinians have been locked into this cult of violence for more than 50 years and there appears to be no sign of it ending anytime soon.

The Palestinians live for it, and die by it, because their very identity is shaped by it. Israelis are bound to it because they feel if they don't, they too will die by it.

Thomas Friedman, author of From Beirut to Jerusalem and a regular contributor to the New York Times Op-Ed pages, wrote of a similar sybiotic (or parasitic) relationship between Yasir Arafat and Ariel Sharon and Ehud Barak. The ties that bind the three men together are based on the cult of violence that surrounds each. Ariel Sharon is widely despised among Palestinians because of his role in the massacre of Palestinians in 2 refugee camps in South Lebanon during Operation Grapes of Wrath (which he led as General).

Sharon needs violence by the Palestinians to show to the world and Israelis in particular that the Palestinians only know violence and must be dealt with accordingly - with violence. He sees Arafat as the lynchpin that controls whether violence can occur or not.

It is apparent that if the Palestinian authorities and the Waqf (the Islamic authorities that oversee the Temple Mount) want to prevent riots and rock throwing, the could easily do so. However, their choice not to would support the position that Arafat wanted the violence to force the Israeli hand on Jerusalem.

Barak also needs Arafat since his legacy and political future rests upon the consumation of peace between the Israelis and Palestinians. He must pursue the peace agenda even in the face of violence because he must break through the cult of violence that has wrapped these two peoples together for the last 50 years.

Arafat can choose between the two Israeli leaders - Barak or Sharon. Both can provide Arafat with a lasting legacy. Barak can potentially provide Arafat with a political and real victory in that there would be a Palestinian state with some control over parts of Jerusalem - in other words; create a state where none existed previously and legitimizing the Palestinian nation.

If Arafat throws his lot with Sharon, Arafat is likely giving in to the cult of violence that has shaped much of Arafat's career. He used the violence of terrorism and the Intifada to build a constituency and rise to power as the voice of the Palestinian people. Violence would let him continue in that role but he would never escape the cult of violence. Perhaps he has become so accustomed to reliance upon violence that he would not know what to do without it.

The copyright of the article Cult of Violence in Middle East Politics is owned by . Permission to republish Cult of Violence in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.