Knocking on taboo's door 

In an attempt to build bridges with the Arab world, Palestinians who also hold Israeli citizenship held a conference in Cairo for the first time ever. Amira Howeidy reports 

Silence -- broken only by a few sarcastic chuckles -- reigned in the small conference hall of the five-star hotel overlooking the Nile. "Do you honestly think," asked Georges Ishaq, a member of the Catholic Schools in Egypt Secretariat, "that if you ask anyone in the street what they think of 1948 Palestinians, they will know what you are talking about? They will probably ask whether such a group exists and whether they live in Israel or the occupied territories." 

Ishaq, an Egyptian, was participating in a workshop on the side-lines of a conference interestingly titled "1948 Palestinians: Knocking on the Door of the Arab World". Held earlier this week, the three-day conference represented the first time in the 54-year-old history of the Arab- Israeli conflict that this taboo topic had been addressed in such an open way in an Arab capital. 

Cairo, then, was the venue for the complex and sensitive issues relating to the one million Palestinians who live inside Israel's 1948 borders -- and who hold Israeli citizenship. Jointly organised by the Cairo Institute for Human Rights Studies (CIHRS) and the union of Arab community-based associations (ITIJAH), representatives of more than 70 Egyptian and Arab NGOs participated in the event. 

Although rhetorical, Ishaq's question seemed accurate -- as tense discussions throughout the conference seemed to prove. Because their Israeli-Palestinian identity is, by default, an odd one, 1948 Palestinians often complain of isolation and discrimination inside Israel and also in the Arab world. For decades, they were viewed as Israeli citizens by the Arab world, with the Arab boycott of Israel and the region's traditional anti- normalisation stance including them. Although over the past 10 years this historic isolation has gradually worn off -- with more Arab intellectuals (the most prominent of whom is probably leading Egyptian political analyst Mohamed Hassanein Heikal) recognising them as Palestinians and an extension of the Arab world -- the 1948 Palestinians complain that the exclusionary attitude is still there. 

"This conference was supposed to last for six days, which were reduced to three, because of fear on the part of the Egyptians organising the conference that they would be accused of normalising [with Israel]," a 1948 Palestinian participant from ITIJAH told Al-Ahram Weekly. "We've been struggling with the Egyptian Foreign Ministry for 11 whole months, just to get its approval to hold the conference." 

Indeed -- several of the prominent figures and Arab NGOs who had been invited decided to boycott the conference. This sensitivity was also reflected in the conference programme, which actually only dealt directly with the 1948 issue in just two of its eight sessions, despite it being the event's main theme. "This too," said the participant "was to reduce the tension, so more space was given to the discussion of other topics, less relevant to the main issue." 

In any case, the conference was held and the topic dealt with, though not without both misconceptions and confusion, as well as the frustration that came along with them. Arab League Secretary-General Amr Moussa's speech, which was delivered on his behalf by Said Kamal, assistant to the secretary-general, referred to "the Arabs of Israel" just once. But as Kamal read out the speech, he continued to refer to them as such, even though the phrase was not repeated again in the official text. When he mentioned it for the eighth time, several members of the audience rose in anger. "How can the Arab League secretary-general himself refer to us as such?" some of them shouted. "We're Palestinians. We're the Palestinians of 1948!" 

Tensions also flared up when Egyptian journalist Magdi Helmi posed a question regarding the role of 1948 Palestinians serving in the Israeli army. Some audience members were outraged, seeing the remarks as a questioning of their loyalty. 

These matters faded in importance, however, against the more pressing issues posed by the 1948 speakers themselves -- who highlighted both their situation as an Arab minority in Israel, and the dualism of their identity. According to Lina Al-Me'yari of Al-Sowar Palestinian Woman's Centre, who presented a paper about the future of the 1948 Palestinians, they are the indigenous people of Palestine who live as citizens in a state they reject. They are forced to take part in Israeli politics, join the Knesset, and work in Zionist projects to make a living. At the same time, they hold anti-Israeli demonstrations. 

Another major problem facing 1948 Palestinians, argued Al-Me'yari, is the Arab failure to "absorb" their situation. Indeed, the gap between what the average Arab man in the street knows about 1948 Palestinians and the reality of their situation is huge, as was evident in the lack of basic information that coloured many of the discussions between Palestinian and Arab rights groups and intellectuals taking part in the conference. 

The media's role in this was a central point of concern amongst speakers who criticised Arab TV stations for hosting Israelis on their shows "under the pretext of objectivity or professionalism", while 1948 Palestinians "are a treasure of information when it comes to Israeli internal politics". 

More importantly perhaps, participants stressed the necessity of getting support from the Arab world. "We must recognise the fact that 1948 Palestinians are an explosive bomb in Israel," said Shawqi Al-Eissa, the director of the Jerusalem-based Law Society. Al-Eissa told the Weekly that "they are the obstacle for the Zionist project and that's why they have to be a priority when it comes to supporting the Palestinian cause." Al-Eissa suggested the establishment of a fund to support the land owned by 1948 Palestinians. "All Palestinians need support," Al- Eissa said, "but let us not forget the importance or the impact of moral, political and financial support for 1948 Palestinians." 

The conference issued four pages of resolutions under the title "A Call for Arab Governments and People", which stated that building bridges with 1948 Palestinians "is not normalisation". The resolution stressed that 1948 Palestinians are an inseparable part of the Palestinian people, and that the Arab League must recognise them as part of the league's Palestine unit. It also urged the Arab League to allow 1948 Palestinian NGOs to participate in the Arab NGO conference that will be held on the sidelines of the coming Arab summit in Bahrain. 

The Intifada, observers say, placed 1948 Palestinians where they belong -- with Palestine. Basically, it has also fuelled pan-Arab sentiment in Egypt as much as it has in the Arab world -- which is why, despite the delays, the timing of the conference could not have been better.