March 2001 Palestinians As Professional Victims By Rabbi Alvin Kass Why has it taken so long to solve the Israeli-Palestinian problem? To be sure, the issues are complex with multi-dimensional ramifications of both a substantive and ideological nature. But given the unprecedented effort of the Barak government to give the Palestinians what they want, there must be more to it. Lately, IÕve had the feeling that the root of the problem is that the Palestinians, either consciously or unconsciously, donÕt want the problem solved; because, they would then lose their status of victimhood. Strange as it may seem, psychologists have pointed out that being a victim has certain advantages. Victimhood, for example, can evoke sympathy and special treatment that promote your cause. It can also confer feelings of moral superiority by awakening a sense of guilt in others which can be expiated only by doing whatthe victim asks. Victimhood is a permanent status which no action can change. No matter how far you go in meeting the victimÕs desires, he will still feel that he is a victim. Sometimes, it must be difficult for victims to keep up the anger, but whether simulated or real, the note of outrage always seems to be there when they need it. Professional victims must at all times be angry, suspicious, and, above all, progress-denying. Hence, no matter what you do or say, in the eyes of the victim, you are oppressive and malevolent. How does one become a victim? The key prerequisite is an insistent self-declaration of oneÕs victimhood. You must loudly, emphatically, and uncompromisingly proclaim to one and all that you are a victim. ItÕs amazing to me that the Arabs have been able to convince so many of their victimhood when you consider that Israel is a tiny country of four million people surrounded by 200 million hostile Arabs. The Palestinians have been especially effective in representing themselves as the great victims of the Middle East.Ź Each time a woman or small child is injured in the organized riots known as the second intifada Š one might ask why small children are allowed anywhere near such danger Š the victimhood of the Palestinians is reinforced. To be sure, in order for victimhood to be taken seriously, there has to be a core of truth.Ź The Palestinians have indeed suffered, but not because of what Israel did to them. Many of their families voluntarily fled Israel when the Jewish State was created, confident that Israel would be destroyed quickly. They expected that soon thereafter they would be able to return to reclaim the whole country. When that didnÕt happen, they were kept in miserable refugee camps by Arab regimes which refused to allow them to become integrated into their respective societies. Their problems are the result of what they did to themselves and what their Arab neighbors did to them, yet they hold Israel totally culpable. No amount of fact-finding or historical investigation will change their attitudes.Ź They push their sense of victimhood stridently and menacingly such that the line between victim and bully seems to blur. One gets the sense that the Palestinians actively enjoy their victimhood, believing that it gives them the ethical right to tell off all of their enemies, to overstate their case, to absolve themselves from all responsibility for their condition, to ask the impossible, and then demonstrate outrage when it isn't delivered. The Palestinians are not the only people in the world who derive pleasure from thestatus of victimhood. At the same time, there are many deprived and oppressed people who do not consider themselves victims. They might have been kicked very hard in the stomach by fate or history. However, without denying or attempting to disguise the effects of this devastating kick, they neither whine nor protest about it. They take whatever has been given to them and make the most of their best. Israel and the Jewish people are the prime examples of this blessed category. In the meantime, the Palestinians remind us that the best way to become a victim is to think and act like one.