Abdullah Gul's "The Revolution’s Missing Peace": People Who Live in Glass Houses Should Not Throw Stones

Abdullah Gul, the president of Turkey, has written a New York Times op-ed entitled "The Revolution’s Missing Peace" (http://www.nytimes.com/2011/04/21/opinion/21gul.html?hp=&pagewanted=print), in which he claims that an Israeli-Palestinian deal is essential for peace in the region and that Turkey can help make it happen. Let's look together at what Gul writes:

"THE wave of uprisings in the Middle East and North Africa is of historic significance equal to that of the revolutions of 1848 and 1989 in Europe. . . . But whether these uprisings lead to democracy and peace or to tyranny and conflict will depend on forging a lasting Israeli-Palestinian peace agreement and a broader Israeli-Arab peace."

Excuse me, dearest Abdullah, but what have you been smoking? What does Israeli-Palestinian peace have to do with, for example, the tribal conflagration in Libya? What does Israeli-Palestinian peace have to do with the fact that Shiites, who comprise the majority of the population in Bahrain, object to being ruled by Sunnis? What does Israeli-Palestinian peace have to do with the revolt in Syria by a Sunni majority against an Alawite tyrant against the backdrop of a drought that has destroyed the agrarian sector of Syria's economy? What does Israeli-Palestinian peace have to do with the uprising of Egyptians mired in poverty and hopelessness against Mubarak? Answer to all of the above questions: Nothing.

Gul continues:

"The plight of the Palestinians has been a root cause of unrest and conflict in the region and is being used as a pretext for extremism in other corners of the world."

Ah, yes, the fabled "plight of the Palestinians," but my friend Abdullah doesn't trouble himself to mention that in Turkey, life expectancy is 72.23 years and infant mortality is 24.84 per 1,000 births, whereas in Gaza, life expectancy is 73.68 years and infant mortality is 17.71 per 1,000 births. Abdullah also forgets that Turkey has a literacy rate of 88.7%, while in Gaza it is 91.9%.

Needless to say, Abdullah also doesn't mention the horrors perpetrated by Turkey upon its Kurdish minority. If the comparison involving life expectancy and infant mortality was to be drawn between Gaza's population and Turkey's Kurdish minority, the readership of The New York Times would be truly in for a surprise.

Brother Adullah further states:

"Sooner or later, the Middle East will become democratic, and by definition a democratic government should reflect the true wishes of its people."

Absolutely, a democracy should reflect its people's wishes. But consider the following statistics released by the Pew Research Center on December 2, 2010 (http://pewglobal.org/2010/12/02/muslims-around-the-world-divided-on-hamas-and-hezbollah/): "At least three-quarters of Muslims in Egypt . . . say they would favor making each of the following the law in their countries: stoning people who commit adultery, whippings and cutting off of hands for crimes like theft and robbery and the death penalty for those who leave the Muslim religion." That should reassure the kind-hearted readers of The New York Times concerning the direction of Muslim "democracy" in the Middle East.

Abdullah, in all of his benevolence, goes on to say:

"I call upon the leaders of Israel to approach the peace process with a strategic mindset, rather than resorting to short-sighted tactical maneuvers. This will require seriously considering the Arab League’s 2002 peace initiative, which proposed a return to Israel’s pre-1967 borders and fully normalized diplomatic relations with Arab states."

Peculiar, but isn't a return to the pre-1967 borders with land swaps what two Israeli prime ministers, Barak and Olmert, proposed to the Palestinians, but whose offers were refused by Arafat and Abbas? And if we turn our attention briefly to Hamas, it is difficult to negotiate a solution with an organization whose charter repudiates peaceful negotiation and calls for the murder of all Jews and not just Israelis.

Abdullah, in his infinite wisdom, proceeds to say:

"Israel cannot afford to be perceived as an apartheid island surrounded by an Arab sea of anger and hostility."

Israel is perceived as "apartheid"? If he wants an answer to this slur, Abdullah might well want to note that earlier this month an African American students group took out ads in college newspapers blasting “Israel Apartheid week” organizers for abusing the term. Vanguard Leadership Group accused Students for Justice in Palestine of a “false and deeply offensive” characterization of Israel, and demanded that they "acknowledge that the Arab minority in Israel enjoys full citizenship with voting rights and representation in the government.” Abdullah might also take the time to read: http://jgcaesarea.blogspot.com/2011/02/israel-apartheid-e-coli-and-jimmy.html

Abdullah next declares:

"Moreover, it is my firm conviction that the United States has a long-overdue responsibility to side with international law and fairness when it comes to the Israeli-Palestinian peace process."

Yeah, right, the United States knows nothing of international law and fairness. Strange, however, how Turkey, that bastion of truth and fairness, now leads the world in jailing journalists (see: http://www.jpost.com/International/Article.aspx?id=215997).

Saving the best for last, Abdullah concludes:

"It will be almost impossible for Israel to deal with the emerging democratic and demographic currents in the absence of a peace agreement with the Palestinians and the rest of the Arab world. Turkey, conscious of its own responsibility, stands ready to help."

Surely even in Turkey they tell the joke about the man who knocks on the door and says, "I'm from the tax authority, and I'm here to help." Well thanks anyway, Abdullah, but I think you should start by dealing with your problems at home before offering assistance elsewhere. But next time you're in the neighborhood, please come by the house for coffee. I just saw "Midnight Express" again, and I don't think I'll be visiting Ankara anytime soon.