085. The Humiliation of Negotiating with Israel
85. Al-Shihabi, Istratajiyat al-Qur’an fi muwajahat al-yahudiyya al-‘alamiyya (Damascus: Arab Writers Union, 1997), 132–33, cited in Cook, Contemporary Muslim Apocalyptic, 227. “Begging our enemies” refers to the Oslo Peace Process. Similar sentiments about Oslo from Edward Said, “An Unacceptable Helplessness,” Al-Ahram, 16-22 January 2003 (for a detailed analysis of this article as it reveals Saïd's embodiment of the very "Orientalism" he denounced, see R. Landes, "Edward Said and the Culture of Honor and Shame: Orientalism and Our Misperceptions of the Arab-Israeli Conflict"). Just negotiating with Israel is considered humiliating, a fortiori making any concessions. See the “scandal” aroused by the “leaking” of details on the Israeli-Palestinian negotiations “Al Jazeera Leaks Shock, Anger Palestinian Officials, The Gulf Today, January 25, 2011.
