Talal Abu Ghazaleh's Interview: About Talal Abu
Ghazaleh
Born in Jaffa in 1938, Talal Abu Ghazaleh grew up in Lebanon and attended the
American University in Beirut. He specializes in the fields of accounting and
intellectual property rights, and is the founder of several organizations and
firms, the chief of them being the Talal Abu-Ghazaleh Organization – a large
group of Arab professional service firms in diverse fields including accounting,
audits, corporate governance, and taxation. In 2010, he was appointed to serve
in the Jordanian Senate, but was forced to resign in 2011 following the passage
of a constitutional amendment prohibiting public officials from holding dual
citizenship (Al-Ghazaleh has Bahraini citizenship as well as Jordanian).
Abu Ghazaleh currently serves as deputy chair of the UN Global Alliance for
Information and Communication Technologies and Development, and he formerly
served as the chair of this organization and as deputy chair of the UN Global
Compact. He also holds senior positions in a number of other organizations in
the Middle East and around the world, including chair of the Evian Group in
Geneva, and president of the Arab Intellectual Property Meditation Society in
Amman and of the Arab Knowledge and Management Society in New York.
He is the recipient of various honors and awards, including the IP
(Intellectual Property) Hall of Fame award in 2007, an honorary doctorate from
Canisius College in New York in 1988, and France's Legion of Honor in 1985.
[1]
In the past, Abu Ghazaleh has claimed that the 9/11 attacks were perpetrated
by the Taliban as a result of a scheme by "Global Zionism," which controls the
U.S. and the world. In a July 14, 2010 interview with Decision Makers TV he
said: "[9/11] was not an Islamic operation, or Islamic terrorism. It was carried
out by the Taliban. In this day and age, Zionist power controls the
decision-making centers. I always say that just like us Arabs, the U.S. is a
victim of Zionist influence, which often – if not always – steers U.S. decisions
against American interests, and in keeping with Zionist interests at all
times...Hence, global Zionism created the notion of an enemy called 'the
terrorist Islam'... Zionism, which has been plotting all this time, came across
an historic opportunity, and convinced the U.S. administration that this was an
opportunity for it as well... The research centers – albeit quietly and in
secret – realize that the U.S. sank into this quagmire, as a result of the
Jewish hatred for Americans. Whoever thinks otherwise – believing that the
Zionist enemy loves America, and acts in its best interests – is wrong."
[2]
The following are excerpts from his recent interview, published February 25,
2012 on the London-based Arabic daily
Al-Ghad.
Resistance – The Key to Ending the Occupation
"The peace process, from its beginnings in the 1991Madrid Conference, has
failed. Negotiations, whether direct or indirect, will not serve to achieve the
Palestinians' legitimate rights. The occupation will not end through
negotiations – only through resistance. The victory of the resistance in the
Palestinian territories and the great victory of the resistance in Lebanon
[prove this]...
"The two-state solution is unfeasible... The solutions currently being
proposed [merely] enable the enemy to continue carrying out what it thinks will
achieve its objectives; but [these] objectives are at odds with history and
geography, and are unachievable...
"What is needed is Arab support for the idea of resistance to end the
occupation. I will not oppose negotiations with the occupying entity [i.e.,
Israel], so long as they pertain to a single clause regarding the end of the
occupation rather than what is discussed today, namely the issues of the
permanent arrangement, which are likely to result in an illegal situation. The
Palestinian negotiators do not know what to negotiate over. The enemy's agenda
is entirely different from the Palestinian one. The occupation creates facts on
the ground [while] the Palestinians hold talks...
"The initiative [I am proposing] is to be implemented in stages: the
resistance will continue, and [then] the Jewish refugees in Palestine, who have
become [our] enemies and isolated themselves, will come to the realization that
the land is not theirs..."
The Palestinians Have the Right to Return to Palestine, from the
Mediterranean Sea to the Jordan River
"I am not a politician or a historian, nor do I claim to be an expert on
[various] issues pertaining to ending the occupation in Palestine. I speak as an
Arab resident who was born in Jaffa, Palestine, and who has experienced the
bitter life of the refugee at first hand. I believe that the most salient and
important right among human rights is the right to return to [one's]
homeland.
"Based on my belief that I and all other Palestinians have the right to
return to [our] homeland, Palestine – which is to say all of Palestine, from the
[Mediterranean] Sea to the [Jordan] River – and based on the moral viewpoint,
which is distant from the moral approach taken by the powers that control the
world, [I feel that] the same yardstick should be applied to the Jewish refugees
currently in Palestine, that is to say, to all the Jews living on the soil of
Palestine, who immigrated there under duress and out of need. [They immigrated
there] as a result of the torment, oppression, and racial discrimination
inflicted upon them in the West – [i.e.,] in all the countries of Europe and
also in America – as well as in the Arab countries. It is a mistake to think
that the torment [of the Jews] was confined to Germany. The torment began in
other countries... even before (Nazi leader Adolf) Hitler...
"The Palestinian refugees in the Arab countries are unwanted guests. The host
countries say day and night that they are committed to returning the refugees to
their homes, and that they are unwilling to absorb them. I support this, because
every Palestinian has the legal, fundamental, and moral right to return, and we
must aid him in this rather than hinder him from realizing his right..."
The International Community Must Establish a Fund to Send the Jews back to
Their Countries of Origin
"The problem is twofold. [There are] Jews who immigrated to Palestine and
Palestinians who emigrated from it. The solution lies in returning every
immigrant to his homeland. Examining the members of the occupation's rightwing
government, we find that they were born outside of Palestine. The most prominent
of these, (Foreign Minister Avigdor) Lieberman, was a bouncer at a nightclub in
Russia before he was forced to immigrate to Palestine, after [the Israelis]
enticed and pressured him...
The international community must establish a fund... that will pay for the
Jewish refugees to return to their places and countries of origin...
"Without a resolution, the Palestinian problem constitutes a time bomb that
can explode at any moment. It is a source of trouble and instability throughout
the world. If a solution is not found to the Middle East problem, it will also
threaten the American and foreign [military] bases and forces located in the
region, as US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton pointed out..."
"The Jews Became Known for Manufacturing Lies and Carrying Out Crimes and
Terror"
Abu Ghazaleh cites numerous examples of persecution of Jews, including their
expulsion from various countries between the 14
th and 18
th
centuries, and examples of leaders and public figures who spoke out against
them: "Henry Ford saw the Jews as an international problem, and wasted much
money on media and other means to wage a campaign against them. He also
presented his ideas in a book called
The International Jew: The Protocols of
the Elders of Zion, The World's Foremost Problem [sic]. American president
Franklin Roosevelt saw the Jews as an American problem, and claimed that the day
would come when the Americans would regret that there were Jews in their
midst...
He concludes: "The Jews became known for manufacturing lies and carrying out
crimes and terror. [They] created a negative model for establishing a state when
the occupation authorities began bringing the 'Haganah' gang into Palestine, and
later enlisted all the armed Jewish movements, after calling on all the Jewish
residents of all the countries in the world to immigrate to Palestine and
establish a state [there]..."
[3]
Hazem Mubaidhin's Articles
In arguing that Jews should be encouraged to return to the Muslim countries,
and should enjoy equal rights there, Hazem Mubaidhin focused on the stories of
two individuals: Gilles Jacob Lellouche, a Jewish citizen of Tunisia who
recently ran for the country's new parliament (but did not get in), and David
Jerbi, a Jew from Libya who currently resides in Italy. Jerbi fled from Libya
with his family in 1967, one of tens of thousands of Jews who were expelled from
this country in the late 1960s. After the fall of Qadhafi he returned to Libya
with the blessing of its new authorities, with the aim of restoring the Jewish
community there and renovating the abandoned synagogue in Tripoli. His activity
was met with objection and even death threats from various elements in the
country.
[4] The following are excerpts from Mubaidhin's two articles:
About David Jerbi, Mubaidhin wrote: "It is hard to understand why a citizen
in any country in the world would object to the return of a fellow citizen who
was forced to leave the country due to circumstances beyond his control. It is
reprehensible that some Libyans objected to the return of Jewish [Libyan]
citizen David Jerbi to his homeland after the fall of Qadhafi, even if the
purpose of his return was to reopen Tripoli's only synagogue, which was shut
down over 40 years ago. It is [also] reprehensible that some people think that
his return is a provocation to Libya's new leaders. [These leaders] must prove
their commitment to the values of democracy and pluralism, [for Jerbi's case]
this is a test case, [which will indicate] whether they [plan] to pursue a
policy of discrimination, or [let] the new Libya become a real democracy.
"When he began to fix up the abandoned synagogue, David Jerbi received death
threats. Though the president of [Libya's National] Transitional Council shook
his hand, [recognizing his status] as a Libyan citizen, the Libyan authorities
[still] ignore his efforts to reopen the synagogue and restore the Jewish
community to prominence [in the country]. Yet 56-year-old [Jerbi] persists [in
pursuing] his plan, saying: 'They can threaten me and [even] kill me, but I will
not give up. I will clean the place of garbage, and pay some of the neighbors to
help me clear the walls of graffiti...' And he indeed received [the neighbors']
help."
[5]
About Gilles Jacob Lellouche, Mubaidhin wrote: "After the Libyan Jew David
Jerbi, who returned to his homeland following the fall of Qadhafi, came the turn
of Gilles Jacob [Lellouche], a Tunisian Jew, who, for the first time in the
history of modern Tunisia, ran for the Constitutional Council on behalf of a
small new party... This, even though he knew that no Jew had ever been elected
to a political post [in Tunisia], and that every [Jew] who had ever held such a
post had been appointed to it... This man, who is in his 60s and has a PhD,
dreams of a pluralistic and multicultural Tunisia, in which Muslims, Jews and
Berbers take part in the development of the country and none of them are
marginalized. He does not want to play a symbolic role, but is trying to take [a
real] part in realizing the platform of his party..."
Referring to the notion of repatriating Jews who immigrated to Israel from
Muslim countries, Mubaidhin stated: "This idea will by necessity serve the
Palestinian cause, so long as it is successfully and sincerely implemented. The
Jews from the Arab states have the same right to return [to their countries of
origin] as we demand for the Palestinians."
[6] He also
denounced the hypocrisy of some Libyans who say that Israeli Jews should return
to their countries of origin, yet object to the return of Libyan Jews to their
erstwhile homeland: "How can we explain the [position] of Arab nationalists and
Islamists who [want] Libyan Jews to continue living in Palestine, and forbid
them to return to their country of origin, yet at the same time tell the Jews
who came to Palestine from other countries to leave it [and go back to their
countries of origin]... We should encourage the [Libyan] Jews to return, and
grant them privileges that will lead them to turn their backs on the Hebrew
state and the Zionist plan..."
[7]
In support of his argument, the Mubaidhin mentioned PA President Mahmoud
'Abbas's proposed program "to repatriate the Jews who emigrated to Palestine
from Eastern countries," saying: "This program was theoretically approved by the
relevant Arab leaders, but no practical steps were taken to implement it...
Additionally, some of the Arab states to which Jews returned under this program
treated the latter as Zionist spies and agents. These Jews narrowly escaped, and
went back to Palestine."
[8]
Mubaidhin questioned Libya's commitment to the notion of equal rights for all
citizens, including Jews: "If the Libyans indeed believe in pluralism,
democracy, justice, equality, and honoring human rights, they must consent to
all rights, including the right of Jews to be equal citizens, like [members of]
all other sectors of society... [If] the country's new leadership deals with
this issue [properly], it is likely to promote [favorable] Western public
opinion vis-à-vis post-Qadhafi Libya – [and Libya] needs all the support it can
get during its rebuilding."
[9]
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