Where The Line Is Drawn XVI

At a UNESCO conference called "Peace - the Day After," Raja Shehadeh pointed out that the Palestinians were still under occupation and that the occupiers were deliberately settling their population in occupied areas. An Israeli professor replied that, whereas Palestinians were always speaking about the past, Israelis could speak of 3000 years of history. Shehadeh was speaking about the present.

Another scholar said that it was a lie that there was an occupation. Something very strange happens to the truth when groups of people acting in their perceived collective interests are unwilling to acknowledge the consequences for others. If life is alright for me, then it must be alright for everyone else and it is their fault if it is not. In fact, we are connected. When my savings earn interest, the wealth represented by that interest has not been created by my labor. When wealth is not money but land, the land seized by some is lost by others although it is possible later to deny that the others were there.