PA TV mocks PA for blaming Israel for all problems
for blaming all problems on Israel
by Itamar Marcus and Nan Jacques Zilberdik
Palestinians are used to hearing their leaders blame Israel for all the problems in Palestinian society, as Palestinian Media Watch has reported, but some Palestinians are not accepting this excuse anymore.
During Ramadan, a satirical PA TV show made a joke out of the PA's blaming Israel. In the skit, a young Palestinian woman complains to her boyfriend that he was late because he was cheating on her. The man responds that he was held up because of an Israeli roadblock, blaming "the [Israeli] occupation":
It's the [Israeli] occupation!
The occupation killed our beautiful moments together,
and kept me from getting to you."
The woman complains that whenever he is not with her, he always blames "the occupation," and challenges him:
Click to view [See full transcript below.]
This TV parody seems to be a response to the PA's routine blaming of Israel for every failure of PA society and often for the failings in the Arab world as well. In recent years, the PA has blamed Israel for initiating Hamas missile attacks, for drug addiction among PA youth, for AIDS among Palestinians, and for "spreading boars to destroy PA agriculture," just to name a few. The PA has also accused Israel of orchestrating pan-Arab troubles such as the civil war in Lebanon, the division of Sudan, the civil strife in Yemen, the massacre of Christians in Iraq and the persecution of Palestinians in Iraq.
A similar voice speaking out against the PA's automatic blaming of Israel was heard in the Palestinian paper Al-Quds in an article about problems with water supplies in Ramallah area:
Following is the transcript of the video:
Jose: "I was on my way to Ramallah, Amanda. The roads were packed and the [Israeli] roadblock was shut and crowded. Very crowded. I tried to convince the soldiers that you were waiting for me, but it didn't help."
Amanda: "Jose! You're always apologizing. While you were having a good time with her, you left me waiting a long time for you."
Jose: "You must know that I've never ever cheated on you. It's the [Israeli] occupation! The occupation killed our beautiful moments together, and kept me from getting to you. Damn!"
Amanda: "Jose! You always go back to the same old excuse: The [Israeli] occupation! The occupation! The occupation! Was it the occupation that made you spend all that time with her?"