Boycott the Zionists: Israeli Generals son tells

developing nations

By Ameen Izzadeen-Sunday, December 06, 2015

An Israeli Generals son, now in Sri Lanka, has called on developing countries to break
off trade and diplomatic ties with the Zionist State and push for Boycott, Divestment
and Sanctions until justice is done to the Palestinian people. Miko Peled, author and
peace activist, on Friday delivered the keynote lecture to mark the United Nations Day
for International Solidarity with the Palestinian People at an event organised by the Sri
Lanka-Palestine Solidarity Committee. Excerpts from the interview with the Sunday
Times:
Why has peace eluded the IsraeliPalestinian crisis for more than seven
decades?
As long as the state of Israel exists there
can be no peace. Israel was established and
exists on an ideology called Zionism which
calls for the colonisation of Palestine by
Jewish people. They claim that Palestine,

From Uzi to Olive Branch: Peace activist Miko Peled, the son of
Israels famous General Matti Peled, delivering the lecture on Friday
at the Sports Ministry auditorium at Race Course to mark the
United Nations Day for the Solidarity with the Palestinian People.
Pix by Amila Gamage

which Zionists call The Land of Israel,

belongs to the Jewish people and therefore there must be Jewish state there. The
Zionist ideology and the Zionist state will not compromise on the issue of the land, and
therefore there can either be peaceful existence in Palestine or the existence of the
State of Israel but not both.

What made you to give up your gun and take up the olive branch?
My military service was the minimum required by law, three years. So I was never
planning to carry a gun for very long. As I describe in my book The Generals Son, in
the chapter named The Red Barrette during my service I was exposed to the
horrendous treatment of Palestinians by the Israeli army. Then, many years later,
when my sisters little girl was killed in a suicide attack in Jerusalem, I decided I had to
get involved. I did so by meeting Palestinians, travelling to Palestinian towns and
villages, something unheard of before, and this helped me formulate my opinions
regarding Palestine.
Settlement building activities in occupied Palestine by successive Israeli governments
in violation of international law are lending credence to the theory that the Zionists are
gradually achieving their dream of Eretz Israel or Greater Israel that extends from the
Nile to the Euphrates.
Your comments.
It is true that settling the Land of Israel, which includes all of Palestine, with Jewish
people is a crucial strategic objective of all Israeli governments. I do not think that
Zionist ambitions go beyond the boundaries of Palestine.
Why did the Oslo agreements fail?
I dont accept the premise that the Oslo
agreements failed. I think they were a
tremendous success because they achieved
precisely what they set out to do: Weaken
the Palestinians, create more fragmentation
politically, socially and geographically and
A section of the audience that included Chief Guest Speaker Karu
Jayasuriya, Sri Lanka-Palestine Solidarity Committee co-chairman
Imthiaz Bakeer Markar and Palestine Ambassador Zuhair
Mohammad Hamdallah Zaid at Fridays lecture

strengthen Israeli hold on the land, the

people and the resources.

Why do you insist on one state solution as the way forward for peace in the Middle
East?
The One Democratic State in Palestine was the platform of the PLO originally so it

has been around for a long time. Today there exists a single state that controls all of
Palestine, it is the State of Israel. It is a racist regime with one set of laws for the Jews
and another for non-Jews. A two-state solution would require the state of Israel to
compromise on the land, and as I explained earlier, that will not happen. So there are
two options: Accepting the current reality or moving forward with boycotts, divestment,
sanctions and isolation to bring down the Zionist regime and allow for a democracy in
Palestine to emerge, with equal rights for all Palestinians and Israelis.
Hasnt this formula its own problems such as the return of the refugees and the
possibility of the Palestinians outnumbering the Jewish population?
Palestinians already outnumber Jewish Israelis. Of 12 million people who live between
the Jordan River and the Mediterranean Sea there are 6.1 million Palestinians. I dont
know why this should present a problem, and indeed the return of the refugees will
increase the number of Palestinians, and again I dont see a problem with this. If there
are Israeli who do not want to live in a country with a Palestinian majority then they are
living in the wrong country.
The Temple Mount complex regarded as sacred to both Jews and Muslims remains a
flashpoint. How do you see a solution to this crisis within the crisis?
Like all the other issues that relate to Palestine, once the Zionist regime falls and there
exists a democracy in Palestine with equal rights, this issue too will be resolved. A
democracy means each person may worship as he or she pleases, and all holy places
must be treated with respect, particularly one as important as the Temple Mount.
Shouldnt the Temple Mount come under the control of the United Nations so that the
followers of all religions
can have free access to all parts of the complex?
Israel will not permit this, and as I said, once there is democracy in a post-Zionist
Palestine, this issue will be resolved; in fact there is reason to believe it will no longer
be an issue.
Benjamin Netanyahus reelection indicates that a majority of the Israelis are opposed

to peace with the Palestinians and they support the policy of building more settlements
in occupied Palestinian territories. So how can any peace process succeed?
That is true but it is not new. The peace process cannot proceed. It takes two parties
and Israel, as I mentioned is not a party to peace, it has no intentions of making
peace with the Palestinians. Israelis and Palestinians can only live in peace in a postZionist democratic Palestine. The settlements in the West Bank are not unique; they
are no different from the settlements in other parts of the country. All of Israel is
occupied Palestine and all Israeli cities and towns are illegal settlements built on
stolen Palestinian land.
Given the United States close friendship with Israel, despite the recent hiccups in
relations between the Obama administration and the Netanyahu administration, can
Washington play an honest brokers role?
No. The US never played an honest broker because of the way US politics works.
No American can be president, or senator or member of congress or even a city
council, unless they have the support of the Israeli lobby. This is changing now, but
slowly.
Former US president Jimmy Carter in a book he authored calls Israel an apartheid
state. What is your take on this?
He didnt in fact say that. He stated over and over that when he used the word
apartheid he was referring to the West Bank. But he was wrong. Israel has been an
apartheid state from the very beginning. The very first laws that were passed by the
Israeli parliament, the Knesset, were laws that defined Israel as an apartheid state
with exclusive rights for Jewish people. Everything from citizenship to land rights to
water rights demonstrates clearly that the state of Israel is and always has been an
apartheid state.
Is Hamas which administers the Gaza Strip a terrorist organisation?
No. Hamas is a resistance organisation that was established by the Islamic movement
to resist the brutal oppression of the Palestinian people and the occupation of
Palestine. Had there not been an occupation and oppression there would be no

resistance. The only terrorist organisation in Palestine is the Israeli army.

What should the Palestinians do to achieve peace?
They should do what they are doing now resist. The BDS movement calling for
boycott, divestment and sanctions against Israel is gaining momentum. It was just
published that Israeli military exports dropped close to 45% in the last four years.
Banks and unions and academic organisations as well as churches are voting to
accept BDS and support it. Palestinians on campuses in the US, Canada and Europe
are growing in numbers and their voices have changed the level of debate on the
issue of Palestine. Israeli politicians, military commodores and even academics and
artists are not wanted around the world. And of course the popular resistance in
Palestine, in the villages, the refugee camps and the city is growing and gaining
respect particularly because of its adhering to non-violence. So Palestinians and those
who support them are doing all the right things but the world needs to get behind
them.
During the Cold War days developing nations following a policy of non-alignment,
boycotted Israel. But today the situation is different. Many champions of non-alignment
such as India, Egypt and Sri Lanka are maintaining close ties with Israel. On the
other hand, in Developed Europe academics are in the forefront of a boycott Israel
campaign. How should the world community respond to Israels continuous occupation
of Palestine?
Israel should become a pariah state like South Africa was during apartheid. Sadly
relations with the US which many developing nations covet are tied to support of Israel
and Israeli military technology, intelligence services and policing have become
popular in developing countries. But people of conscience must demand that their
governments stop all trade and diplomatic relations with Israel, and support the BDS
call until the siege on Gaza is lifted, Palestinian prisoners are free and free and fair
elections are called, with one person one vote.
The ISIS in its literature has described the liberation of Palestine as one of its
missions. What is your take on this?

ISIS is a violent gang of criminals and I wouldnt even mention it in the same sentence
as legitimate Palestinian resistance.
From Zionism to peace
Miko Peled, author of The Generals Son, was born in Jerusalem in 1961
into a well-known Zionist family.
His maternal grandfather signed the Israeli Declaration of Independence.
His father, Matti Peled, fought in the 1948 Israeli War of Independence,
and was a general in 1967 during the Six Day War when Israel conquered
Gaza, the Golan Heights, the Sinai, and the West Bank. Later, General
Peled became a peace activist, a leading proponent of an Israeli dialogue
with the PLO.
Miko Peled grew up in this highly political insiders milieu. A young
patriot, he volunteered for a Special Forces Commando unit in the Israeli
Defence Forces, service he later came to regret.The death of his niece
Smadar, 12, in a suicide attack in Jerusalem in 1997 was the starting point for the remarkable,
personal story of a man who sought solution not through revenge, but through understanding
an understanding that transformed his heart, and ushered him into a singular life of propeace activism and, some would say, risk.
Posted by Thavam