| It is time we recognized (bleep) as a state. It is time we expelled this obstruction in our visceral thinking and acknowledged its presence. We admit its existence tacitly every time we smudge it if off our geography maps or bleep over the mention of its name, censoring the four-plus-two letter word as if it was corrupting obscenity. Our very reactions are in fact indicative of our obsession with - wait for it – Israel (there I have uttered the word). We are, whether we admit it or not, mesmerized by it, as if by a swaying cobra. |
| In my mind I have tried to rationalize why we have found it impossible to accept the reality of a state with which we have no overt quarrel. The Arab adage that my friend’s enemy is therefore also my enemy is an honourable philosophy to follow – provided my friend as consistent in maintaining his loyalty to me and his antipathy towards his foes as I am in nursing enmities on his behalf.[EXTRACT] |
| Published in THE NATION 23 June 1992, and reprinted in THE ARMLESS QUEEN (1994). |
|
