We Will Not Elect These People

by Dr. Abdul-Sattar Kassem

Fair, free elections mean giving every person full latitude to choose the candidate or the program he sees fit — provided it is one that is in keeping with the nation’s goals and interests. People usually agree on the goals, because they are set down in writing in the constitution or the charter, but they differ over how to define the national interest. Differing definitions of the national interest never mean a commitment to personal, party, or clan interest. One person might say the national interest means resisting the occupation through peaceful means, in the Indian style; another might say resistance means using weapons against Israeli soldiers; while yet another might see resistance as the use of violence in all its forms against every Zionist Jew. But the definition of the national interest can never be to accept American wishes in the region, or to serve family members and friends. Whenever the definition shifts, in theory or in practice, away from the public dimension, it cannot be accepted, and must be rejected as contrary to the national interest.

A theoretical or practical definition that tends toward the private must not merely be rejected — it must be resisted, because it constitutes a danger to the nation as a whole. It steps outside the framework of striving for the public good and enters the world of selfishness, appropriation, and the diversion of public interests toward private aims and purposes. It has historically been observed that every state or revolution that made peace with private interests grew weak, and the foundations of its survival and the elements of its strength deteriorated. On the Palestinian scene, we accepted many private dimensions as though they were national ones, and so we entered labyrinths of chaos, corruption, poor vision, and the erosion of purpose. This is why treason itself became a mere matter of judgment, to be respected, and even coordinated with, at times.

The Palestinian people have not been able to purify their journey of the many impurities, flaws, deviations, and confusion through a path of struggle, and now a political opportunity — the elections — stands before them to correct the situation. Our people failed to achieve this through the presidential elections, and a large number of them were swept along behind media steered by states with an interest in keeping us in a state of chaos; they can now set matters right, even though the legislative elections do not carry the same weight as the presidential elections.

If we place the public interest against the private interest, and if we are among those who fear God and know the value and weight of trust, then it is our duty not to elect those to whom the following descriptions apply:

First: We will not elect anyone who broke away from the Palestinian National Charter and annulled it, because doing so was a very grave act requiring the agreement of all the influential groups and individuals in Palestinian society. The Charter is a document that sets out the goals and clarifies the path, and if it must be amended or changed, there is no escaping open deliberation to achieve something close to Palestinian consensus on it. Those who amended it, or agreed to its amendment, submitted to foreign orders and inflicted a great deal of organizational damage on the Palestinian people. Here I am not speaking of who agreed or disagreed with the Charter, but of a trust that must be thought through again and again as to how it is best discharged. Whoever was not faithful to the Charter he himself helped draft up cannot be faithful to legislating for the Palestinian people; and whoever betrayed his first covenant will betray his second.

…their agents, whether they intended that deliberately or not. The corrupt person is morally fallen — he will inevitably descend into the arms of the enemy, dragging along with him many who lick filthy spoons.

Third: We must not elect any person who has cooperated, or cooperates, with Israel on security matters. There are individuals and leaders who cooperate with Israel on security by providing information about members of the Palestinian people, or handing Palestinians over to the Jews, or arresting Palestinians for the sake of Israeli security. There are those who have handed Palestinians over to the Jews, and those who meet with the Jews for the purpose of security coordination, etc. These people are against the homeland and against religion, and whoever elects them becomes a partner in their crimes.

Fourth: We will not elect those who receive support from the United States and the Western states. Any support that comes from abroad must be for the benefit of the Palestinian people, not for the benefit of a particular person or group. There are individuals and groups that receive support from the United States of America and the European states in order to facilitate their victory in the elections. These are agents of foreign states who take their orders from them, and we will not submit to their wishes, nor will we be foolish enough to elect their clients.

Fifth: We will not elect the tribalists who operate from a family standpoint and are concerned with family interests rather than national interests. These people serve nothing but their own families, and whenever the national interest clashes with the family interest, they choose the family interest. The same applies to partisan factionalists who are fanatically devoted to their party or organization at the expense of the public interest.

Sixth: We will not elect those who go to excess in their election propaganda. There are those who shower money on their agents, paying them in dollars, and boast of the numbers of posters they put up and the size of those posters and the lights shone on them. Millions are being spent in Palestine right now, and it is very hard to believe that the candidates’ own pockets are the wellspring of such abundant money. These spendthrifts only want to buy votes or blind people with electoral pomp and glitter. Any candidate who goes to excess in election propaganda is suspect when it comes to financing, and the path of safety requires that he not be elected.

Seventh: We will not elect those who ride around in cars bearing red license plates. These cars belong to the Palestinian people, and if they must be used at all, their use must be confined to public business. A car with a red plate does not belong to any one person, and its personal use confirms that whoever uses it that way is corrupt and inflicts harm on the public interest.

Eighth: We will not elect anyone whose promises exceed his stature. In 1996, we elected those who told us they would liberate Jerusalem, sweep away the occupation entirely, and bring back the refugees. We ought to have taken this into account, and to have known that men of big mouths and solemn oaths are too incapable to fulfill their promises — God have mercy on whoever knows his own worth.

Ninth: We will not elect those who carry a VIP card, which stands for “very irresponsible person,” meaning someone extremely reckless. Were these people not disreputable, the Jews would not have given them such cards to let them pass through the checkpoints with ease. Whoever wants to represent the Palestinian people must live the life the Palestinian people live, and must taste the flavor of suffering in order to know what he will do for the Palestinian people. And whoever wants a homeland must let his own feet taste the roughness of the mountains.

Source: Translated from the original Arabic, “لن ننتخب هؤلاء:-” by Dr. Abdul-Sattar Kassem.