Reply #34: Indeed, Mr. Watie

[The Magistrate]

Mr. Bargouhti should receive the lion's share of the credit there, although the contributions of Egypt's Mubarak should not be ignored, either. Mr. Abbas still should not be ignored as a factor: a figurehead can be quite useful. Without a new face for the public, anyone but Arafat, so to speak, the minimal progress made thus far would have been unattainable, and things would have crippled on at their accustomed lethality. Even with these recent incidents taken into account, there has been a great reduction in killing from both sides lately, which must be counted to the good of all.

Your second suggestion is an interesting one. Calling for vigorous action by the Israeli government against settler outrages is not too far off that demand. A renunciation of violence by the various irregular bodies of Arab Palestine would lend such a demand real force: if there are no attacks, what need have these people of arms?

There is something to the argument that violence draws notice and thus achieves some political effect for the cause of Arab Palestine, but it seems to me this argument does not follow on far enough in its analysis. This is not quite the same situation as a press agent's cry there is no such thing as bad publicity. It is important not to mistake infamy for fame. It is often remarked here that only the killing of Israelis draws notice: thus these tactics of attacking civilians gaurantees that the cause of Arab Palestine will come to the attention of many only accompanied by crime in it's name. Large numbers will accordingly be steeled by revulsion at such acts against any consideration of their motivation, and whether there might in fact be some justice to their cause.