Santa Claus' underpants

13 november 2009

"There is no occupation because the Palestinian territories don't exist. You don't talk about the underpants of Santa Claus, do you, as Santa Claus does not exist." According to the official photographer of the Israeli Embassy in The Hague overhearing a discussion among a group of foreign journalists about the occupied Palestinian territories. This week, Foreign Minister of Israel Avigdor Levi Lieberman visited The Hague as a show of thanks for not supporting the referral of the Goldstone report an investigation report that calls for credible investigation by both Israel and Hamas into alleged war crimes committed by both sides in the December-January war in Gaza- to the UN Security Council. The fury that spat from the man's mouth is what Lieberman represents. Known for his extremist ideas advocating Israel without Palestinians, he is not welcome in most European countries. But in Holland he is. Minister Verhagen, the Dutch Parliament and Geert Wilders are happy to receive him. According to Joel Voordewind, MP for the Christian Union party, the meeting in Parliament was constructive: Lieberman did not insist he wants to throw a nuclear bomb on Gaza. According to others, however, Lieberman lived up to his reputation insisting that settlements are not an obstacle to peace and there is no humanitarian problem in Gaza. Over the weekend I was at a birthday party of a Jewish friend of mine. Another Jewish guest welcomed the referral of the Goldstone report to the Security Council and the prospect of credible investigations into possible war crimes committed by Israeli soldiers. She regretted the Dutch opposition against the Goldstone report and lamented the fact that Holland was too soft on Israel. "Israel only understands strength. Holland's non-critical attitude towards Israel hampers the prospect of peace." Also in the United States a different Jewish sentiment is emerging. Last month, a new Jewish lobby group, J-street, urged American policymakers to put pressure on Israel to talk peace. According to Ben Ami, the director of J-street, most Jews in the US favor a two-state solution and don't feel represented by the hawkish Jewish lobby in the United States. As a true friend of Israel, Minister Verhagen should listen to these moderate Jewish voices in the interest of peace. And to his own electorate: A number of prominent members of the Christian Democratic Party (CDA), traditionally a staunch supporter of Israel, signed a petition in the daily evening newspaper calling on the government to talk to Hamas. Peace requires talking to both sides and inevitably means getting your hands dirty. In this case, neither side is clean, both propagate extreme violence and both are democratically elected. It is good we talked to Lieberman; now we should take the next step and talk to Hamas. Today, the Dutch Parliament debates the situation in the Middle East. Dutch Middle East policy must move beyond the simplistic 'Minister Verhagen likes Israel and Minister Koenders likes the Palestinians'. It is time to live up to the ambition of The Hague as city of peace and justice, support President Obamas critical attitude towards Israel and show leadership. Offer the parties a table to talk. In short, to be a true friend. No matter how loud the hardliners scream, Santa Claus really exists.