FFIPP-International: another bunch of useful... scientists

(It's no use telling self to limit the surfing to places self already knows. Self seems to be incorrigible.)

And so it happened that I have stumbled upon another interesting bunch of people that call themselves (a bit pompously to my simple tastes) "FFIPP, the Faculty For Israeli-Palestinian Peace". On the face of it, not a bad idea: we cannot have enough of cooperation between all Palestinians and Israelis of good will and good intentions.

But then it all went downhill very quickly. Starting with the Guiding Principles (see the link above) that mention the security of Israelis in passing only in item 9:

9. FFIPP-I views the struggle for justice and the support of Palestinian rights as simultaneously a struggle for the security and moral status of Israelis and world Jewry.

The formula is extremely ambiguous. Does it mean that the struggle for justice/support for Palestinians automatically resolves the security and moral status [sic!] of Israelis? And what does "world Jewry" have to do with all of the above? Too mealy-mouthed for my taste. Or made vague intentionally?

Other than the already quoted, the Guiding Principles do not mention the security of the darn Israelis (that, in general, seem to be rather a hindrance to the whole FFIPP business). Well, in fact they do, but in a negative way:

3. FFIPP-I regards academic freedom for Palestinians as a key issue, focusing on the human right of the Palestinians to study free of hardships. This entails a struggle for the immediate alleviation of the conditions of the vast majority of the Palestinians, i.e., an end to checkpoints, dismantling of the Wall, and a complete end of occupation.

Dismantling of the Wall... Surely, this measure is going to improve the security of both sides to no end. Let's see what does a more... er... down to earth, so to say, more practical person, in other words - Secretary General of the Palestinian Islamic Jihad terrorist organization - has to say on the subject of the Wall:

Secretary General of the Palestinian Islamic Jihad terrorist organization spoke with the Lebanese al-Manar television station and said that the security fence built by Israel has made it very difficult for his people to conduct attacks against the Jewish state.

"The fence is a barrier and has completely changed the situation on the ground," said Ramadan Abdallah Shalah, secretary general of the terror group which operates in Judea, Samaria and Gaza, but is headquartered in Syria.

Of course, it is perfectly possible that the fence (which is a barrier at the same time) described by this expert is not one and the same as the Wall that should be dismantled, according to FFIPP. Notice - it is not that they demand that the "wall" follow the so called Green Line, no - they want it to be removed. Probably to reduce the frustration level of Mr. Ramadan Abdallah Shalah (PBUH) that seems to be mightily displeased with that unfair interference with his plans.

So much about the Guiding Principles. Aside of this interesting exercise in fairness and balance, I have read only one other document: An Urgent Call to Stop Violence and Make Peace. To let you go to your beer and pretzels quicker, I shall summarize it for you: it follows the general line of its first sentence and a half: "The Palestinian people are again subject to horrific violence and unbearable suffering. Particularly critical are the conditions in Gaza..."

That is not surprising. What is surprising indeed is that the whole document does not mention Qassams nor the kidnapping of our soldier. That from a Faculty For Israeli-Palestinian Peace (not just Palestinian Peace, mind you). And then, another "surprise": "While it considers resistance to occupation legitimate, FFIPPI promotes non-violent practices as the best path for justice and peace.". So, Qassams on Sderot are legitimate, but FFIPPI will be willing to consider some non-violent practices as a... what? An alternative? An addition to Qassams? Unclear...

Now to the point. What FFIPPI stands for is more or less clear and hardly surprising. What does take the biscuit in this story is this list of signatures. The number of Jews who have signed it, if indeed they did, is amazing.

I really don't know - does high education and specialization in some narrow area of science harm some basic brain cells? Do I have to be happy for the high moral horse some of my people are riding or to cry that my people seem to give birth to so many useful idiots? Aw, what the heck - mere rhetoric it was, and you and I know it...

Cross-posted on Yourish.com

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