In France's Dark Hour, Palestinian Media Stand By Their Longtime Ally

New America Media, News Analysis, Jamal Dajani, Posted: Nov 11, 2005

Editor's Note: As most Arab media fault France for marginalizing its Muslim immigrant communities, Palestinian media are criticizing the rioters, defending the French government and objecting to the use of the term "Intifada" to describe the unrest.

Since the start of the car-torching and vandalism that have wreaked havoc through the Parisian banlieues (poor suburbs), the vast majority of Arab media has criticized France's "failure" to integrate its Muslim and North African immigrants into society. Palestinian media, however, have taken a different line.

Pictures of burning cars and storefronts hit the front pages of Arab newspapers worldwide. Arab satellite TV provided round-the-clock coverage of the French riots. Ahmed Sheikh, editor-in-chief of the most viewed Arab television network, Al-Jazeera, declared, "We view the (French) problem with great importance, as it might spread throughout Europe and may affect both the Arab and Islamic Worlds." The Lebanese Al Safeer newspaper led with the headline, "Since the beginning, there was neglect," and added, "the French system needs reform...and other European systems do not fare better."

But Palestinian media came to the defense of the French government. "We as Arabs and Muslims hope for France and its friendly people peace and security," wrote a commentator in the Palestinian Al Quds. "One should not forget how France helped millions of immigrants to lead a life of dignity in its bosom."

The Palestine Broadcasting Corporation, the official mouthpiece of the Palestinian National Authority, recently replaced its usual English foreign-language newscast with a French one. During a recent broadcast focusing on the riots, the presenter began by conveying the Palestinians' regrets to the French government and people.

Moreover, Palestinian writers and reporters showed dismay and irritation at the use of the term "Intifada" in some Arab and European media in reference to the riots. Headlines such as "L'Intifada palestinienne pour modele" (the Palestinian Intifada as an example) appeared in Le Monde, and "A Toulouse, le quatier du Mirail partage entre intifada" (In Toulouse, the Mirail neighborhood is divided by the Intifada) in Le Figaro. The term "L'Euro-Intifada" has been added to the lexicon of several French television outlets, such as TV 5.

For years, scenes of youths pelting stones at the Israeli occupying army and burning tires have been synonymous with the Palestinian struggle, the Intifada. For years, Palestinians in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip have paid their "Arnona" (Israeli taxes) to their oppressors, but received nothing in return. Many Palestinian journalists, therefore, argue that the French disfranchised Arabs and Muslims have the means to fight within the system by conducting civil disobedience, without resorting to mayhem and destruction. This was the case, they argue, when French Muslims marched throughout the country against the "Laïcité" decision to ban from French public schools the "foulard," the headscarf worn by religious Muslim women.

"What is going on in France in no way should be compared to the Intifada," said Palestinian physician and francophone journalist Fares Shaheen in an interview from Gaza. "The Palestinian Intifada is for a noble cause -- it is an uprising to liberate an entire people. What's going on in France are just acts of vandalism, nothing else ... the people responsible for these acts of violence in no way represent Islam or Muslims, and they don't represent the Arab Nation."

Besides the desire to keep ownership of the term "Intifada," France's longstanding dedication to the Palestinian cause explains the reluctance of many Palestinians to criticize the French government.

One year ago, on Nov. 11, 2004, Yasser Arafat, president of the Palestinian Authority, died at Percy Military Training Hospital in Clamart, France. Before he was rushed there for treatment, the Israelis had made him a virtual prisoner in his West Bank compound for nearly three years. The Bush administration declared him a "persona-non-grata" and refused to negotiate directly with him, putting the breaks on the "Road Map for Peace" initiative.

France, during that period, watched in frustration as the United States focused on Iraq rather than Israeli-Palestinian peace. France refused to support the Iraq war, refused to isolate Arafat and took the lead in Europe within the Quartet (the United States, European Union, Russia and the United Nations) to keep the Road Map alive.

France had stepped to the rescue of Arafat before, helping him get out of Lebanon in the 1980s as Israeli forces closed in.

Ending the special coverage of the riots in France, the presenter for Palestine TV thanked her guests and said in perfect French, "And as such, we won't forget how France welcomed the late Arafat during his final days. Yes, that's something that the Palestinian people can never forget."

The Palestinians' strong sense of loyalty to the French government and their desire to differentiate "their" Intifada from the youth riots in France could backfire. After all, those same youths and their parents have been the loudest voices in France in support of the right of Palestinian self-determination. But for now, Palestinian media remain reluctant to criticize a longtime friend.

PNS contributor Jamal Dajani is director of Middle Eastern programming at Link TV (www.linktv.org).

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