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Time for Palestinians to Honor Dr. Martin Luther King's Legacy
(Newsweek) Bassem Eid - As the Israeli-Palestinian conflict drags on, it has become increasingly clear to me that the Palestinian leadership deserves much of the blame for the lack of progress. In Israel, Dr. King would have been proud to see the progress Israel has made toward making his dream of a free, equitable society a reality in the Middle East. Israelis - be they Jews or Arabs - can practice their religion freely, serve in government, and raise their children without fear of retribution. Every day, thousands of Palestinians are allowed to cross the border into Israel to work side by side with Israelis. Meanwhile, the Palestinian leadership has rejected this vision for decades, to the detriment of our people. Rather than use his position to improve life for ordinary Palestinians, Mahmoud Abbas has spent his nearly two decades in office enriching his cronies. He has blocked fair elections, hindered peace with Israel, and done nothing to create jobs and opportunity in the West Bank. Things are even worse in Gaza, where a terrorist group runs the show. When I started the Palestinian Human Rights Monitoring Group in 1996, I sought to follow Dr. King's example. In his "Letter to an Anti-Zionist Friend," Dr. King referred to Israel as "one of the great outposts of democracy in the world, and a marvelous example of what can be done, how desert land can be transformed into an oasis of brotherhood and democracy." If Palestinian leaders truly seek to make life better for our people, they should follow the example of Dr. King and build a society rooted in diversity, equality, freedom, and opportunity - as Israel has done. The writer is a Jerusalem-based Palestinian political analyst and human rights pioneer.