Jalil Dabdoub | Don’t tarnish Jamaica’s reputation

The Israeli massacre in occupied Palestine including the West Bank continues unabated despite unending calls for a ceasefire. As of today’s date, an estimated 22,0000 Palestinian civilians have been killed. Former deputy UN Secretary General Mark Malloch Brown says the death toll in Gaza is likely an underestimate.

With the continued butchering of the Palestinians, we in Jamaica can find little comfort in the fact that our government finally took steps in atonement for their earlier sin of abstention. Jamaica finally took a small step in regaining our moral clarity by not only voting in favour of a cease fire, but in co-sponsoring that UN resolution.

Notwithstanding, there is much more that this administration can do to assure its citizens and the rest of the world that it is still opposed to any form of apartheid, genocide, occupation, colonialism and still strongly supports human rights and the right to self-determination.

The prime minister needs to state his administration and his political party’s position in a manner which makes it clear that Israel does not have their unqualified support for conducting a genocidal war in occupied territory which results in the annihilation of Palestinian civilians and society. It is time for this administration to return to the traditional Jamaican and JLP policy of support for human rights, self-determination, respect for international law and the unqualified condemnation of apartheid, genocide, colonialism and occupation. In doing so he will clearly be disassociating itself from the presence and remarks of Minister Aubyn Hill, who, at a function, pledged unqualified support for Israel.

Perhaps, if the government would allow urgent debate in Parliament on the resolution tabled by the Opposition on the Palestinian issue the administration’s position would be unequivocally clear.

STILL WONDER

Jamaicans still wonder as to the reasons why Jamaica abstained in that 2017 UN Vote declaring President Trump’s unilateral recognition of Jerusalem as the capital of Israel as being null and void. This abstention coming on the heels of an official visit by PM Holness to Israel where he met with Israeli PM Bibi Netanyahu.

Unfortunately, there are those who find it intriguing that Jamaica’s traditional position on issues of human rights and international law seems to have moved towards a pro-Israeli position at or around the same time that recent cooperation with the Israeli government begun. Without full public disclosure Jamaicans are left to speculate whether there is a quid quo pro for Jamaica moving away from its traditional positions on apartheid, human rights, self-determination and international law in exchange for cooperation from Israel? Is this a possibility? Have we sold our morality in exchange for some “scarce benefits”?

The country is entitled to know, for example, what is the security cooperation Jamaica will receive from the Israeli government. Is Jamaica going to for example, employ the same “security strategy” that the Israelis use? Will our citizens be subjected to human rights abuses similar to that inflicted on the Palestinians. Certainly, Israel’s record in 75 years leaves much to be desired on the issue of human rights. Our own SOE have called into question certain human rights violations and constitutional issues. Breaches of human rights and our constitution is certainly not the path Jamaica should embark upon.

There are also serious questions, which arise in relation to the Israeli firm Pangea being awarded the EOJ contract for a biometric system. Will the biometrics of Jamaicans be made available to the Israeli government? What role will the Israeli firm Pangea play in ensuring that our strong democratic processes are upheld and improved? What control will Pangea have over our electoral system? These are all critical questions which the country is entitled to have answered with full details and in a transparent manner, particularly as elections are quite possibly close. It certainly catches the attention that Pangea was also awarded a biometric contract in the Democratic Republic of Congo, a country in which Israel is deeply embedded in the mining sector, and in which human rights abuses also take place.

NOT ENGAGING WITH

Close relations with a country, which has breached more UN resolutions than any other country, has a poor record for human rights abuses, practices apartheid and genocide is not the type of country, Jamaica should be engaging with. In fact, it is a diplomatic relationship many feel should be severed.

Israel, has as its core foreign policy agenda the cultivation of support from the international community for its racist colonial project in Palestine. In that regard it seduces smaller developing nations while at the same time paying lip service to the more powerful members of the international community. Among its lip service is its “support” for the two-state solution.

Our PM in addressing the Israeli Palestinian issue constantly refers to the “two state solution” for peace. It appears he thought he was supporting his friend Bibi by promoting that line.

It must be embarrassing to our PM that Netanyahu without reservation has finally confessed that he is proud to have thwarted the two-state solution for years. While this comes as no surprise when one reflects on Israeli actions, which were clearly designed to prevent the two-state solution over the last few decades, our PM continues to speak about the “two state solution” without calling on Israel to withdraw from occupied Palestine and allow Palestinians self-determination. Given Netanyahu’s recent mea culpa, will Jamaica continue to follow “back a him”?

This administration needs to make its policies abundantly clear by disassociating itself from the Israeli connection and continued atrocities, lest they allow continuous Israeli sins to stain what has otherwise been a fairly decent stewardship.

It’s high time that our PM, by his actions, let Netanyahu know “fi stop tek big man fi fool”.

Jalil S. Dabdoub is an attorney-at-law. Send feedback to columns@gleanerjm.com.