PA: Israeli Arab MP Mansour Abbas' statement that Israel is a Jewish state is "a historical concession and an overt selling of Palestine"
Excerpt of a column by Bassem Barhoum, regular columnist for the official PA daily
Headline: “Mansour the Muslim Brotherhood member is a clear Zionist”
“[Israeli Arab Parliament Member] Mansour Abbas, a member of the Muslim Brotherhood who made a covenant with the settler [Israeli Prime Minister Naftali] Bennett, agreed to the ‘Jewish [Nation-] State’ Law (sic., refers to his comments that Israel is a Jewish state, in which he also expressed his opposition to the law; see note below). In order to explain the matter to the reader, the Ra’am [political party] – which Mansour leads – represents the Southern Faction of the Islamic Movement, which is the arm of the Muslim Brotherhood organization in Israel. Since the start of summer [2021], it is part of the Israeli coalition [government]…
We must remember how the Muslim Brotherhood organization has been a pawn in the hands of the conservative Arab governments against the pan-Arab governments, and specifically the government of [former] Egyptian President Gamal Abdel Nasser, and how it was one of the pawns of the US in its war with ‘the Communist threat,’ the Soviet Union, and the socialist camp…
More serious than all of this, we all were witness to the organization’s role during ‘the Arab Spring revolutions’ – a destructive role that caused the dismantling of many Arab states and the weakening of the Arab nation in general. Due to this, Israel and the other states of the region began to do as they please with the [Arab] nation.
Therefore, the Mansour-Bennett formula is the formula that is liable to be spread in the entire region, and its gist is conceding on Palestine in exchange for the most extensive partnership [with Israel] in the Middle East. We must not take Mansour’s actions lightly. They are not a tactic or political cunning. They are a historical concession and an overt selling of Palestine…
The danger of the matter stems from this concession being made by a side that feigns to be the representative of Islam. The Palestinian public within the Green Line (i.e., Palestinian term for Israel; the Green Line is the ceasefire line between Israel and the neighboring Arab countries, 1949-1967) must settle accounts with this man and his movement and excommunicate them, so that everyone will know that he does not even represent dozens of members of the Palestinian people.
The fate of Mansour the Muslim Brotherhood member, the clear Zionist, is the trash can of history, because Palestine will only be Arab. It is the Palestinian people’s historical homeland, and Mansour cannot change this fact. Even Zionism with its tyranny cannot change this.”
At the Globes Israel Business Conference on Dec. 21, 2021, Israeli Arab Parliament Member Mansour Abbas said: "The State of Israel was born as a Jewish state. This is the people’s decision, and the question is not what the identity of the state is – it was born like this and thus it will remain… I protested the [Jewish] Nation-State Law and I do not want to deceive anyone. The question is what the status of the Arab citizen in the Jewish State of Israel is. That is the question.”
Jewish Nation-State Law – law passed by the Israeli Parliament on July 19, 2018, which codifies in Israel's Basic Law that Israel is the home of the Jewish nation with Jerusalem its capital, and the Hebrew calendar its official calendar. It establishes Hebrew as the sole official language and grants Arabic a special status, and it recognizes Jewish and Israeli holidays, memorial days, and the Jewish Sabbath as national holidays and days of rest - while guaranteeing the right of all Israeli citizens and residents to celebrate their holidays and days of rest. The law, which passed with 62 in favor, 55 against, and 2 abstentions, has sparked controversy within Israeli society.
Green Line - 1949-1967 ceasefire line between Israel and the neighboring Arab countries (Egypt, Jordan, Lebanon and Syria) following Israel's War of Independence (1948-1949). Land within the Green Line is all part of the State of Israel since 1949. Land outside the Green Line includes East Jerusalem, the West Bank, the Gaza Strip, and the Golan Heights.