Looking through the list of contributors to the current NY Review of Books, I saw that Henry Siegman had written an article entitled "Hamas: The Last Chance for Peace?" Since Mr. Siegman had headed the American Jewish Congress as well as the Synagogue Council of America, despite the title I was prepared for an anti-Hamas diatribe. Need I say that I was pleasantly surprised?
Mr. Siegman's basic argument is that Hamas is primarily interested in reciprocity. Israel's policy of unilateralism has resulted in Israel's enlarging its borders by 50% beyond that which was granted by the UN in 1947, while reducing the Palestinian area by 60% in the ensuing years. Hamas obviously wants this land situation reversed and seems as though it will accept previous agreements and renounce violence when Israel does so. The problem with this is that both Israel and Hamas seem like two kids, each of whom demands, "You go first."
He acknowleges that Hamas began as a terrorist organization and still has many members who are terrorists. However, he reminds us of Irgun, the Jewish terrorist organization that attacked the British.
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