By Mohammad Omar
Amman
The Arab Symposium to Counter Normalization with Israel will continue their deliberations on ways to fight what they call "Israeli infiltrations into the Arab World" for a second day in Amman.
Intellectuals, political and other key figures from the Arab world are taking part in the meeting, which opened Monday.
Organized by the Professional Associations Council, the organizers considered countering normalization with Israel "a religious and national duty."
Right at the start of the opening session, the speakers announced their total rejection of all forms of normalization with Israel, and the current ongoing peace process because "the land of Palestine is holy and no Arab or Muslim leader, has the right to concede one inch of it."
In his opening statement Saleh Armouti, head of the Professional Associations Council and the Bar Association, said the title of the symposium should be changed from the fight against Normalization to the fight against the Zionist infiltration which he sees as an advanced form of normalization. He added that this has gained process ground through legislations implemented by Arab regimes, to facilitate normalization with the Zionist enemy.
In his address to the assembly, Abdul Latif Arabiyyat, the head of the Jordanian Popular Congress for Confrontation and Protection of the Homeland stated "that the western-Zionist conspiracy aims to break the psychological barrier [between the Arab world and Israel], so that dealing with Israel becomes a reality, adding that "their future plan is to encroach on the Arab world."
Some of the speakers called for changes to legislation and plans that allow Israeli investors 'to infiltrate' into the Jordanian economy by building factories in industrial zones, purchasing land, and building large Hotels.
In general, most of the speakers handled the issue of normalization from a religious perspective.
In a paper he presented during the conference's morning session, Iraqi cleric Ahmad Kubeissi discussed the Islamic position on normalization. He went on to say that the anti-Semitism is a big lie, and "a sword the Jews use to threat the peoples of the world."
Kubeissi saw the symposium as part of the efforts aimed at promoting awareness among the people, "who should not succumb to the Jewish plots."
When Albawaba.com asked Arabiyyat to assess the Jordanian efforts against normalization with Israel, he said that when the peace treaty was signed in 1994, parties were marketing the agreement highlighting the benefits the peoples would get from peace. But it turned out within a few years that all of that was but lies, he said.
"In 1998, The University of Jordan's Strategic Studies Center conducted a poll that showed 89 percent of Jordanians were against normalization."
He added that that the anti-normalization committees have achieved a great deal and their activities extend to other Arab countries.
"This is a clear indication that the lie no longer fools anyone and that the fight against normalization has become a reality," he said.
In a statement to Albawaba.com, overall leader of the Muslim Brotherhood in Jordan Abdul Majid Thuneibat said that his group will "use all peaceful means to stop the crime [of normalization.]"
He added that the Brotherhood will stand against any compromises on the issue of Jerusalem.
Asked if he expects the meeting to come up with substantial results, the prominent Jordanian opposition figure Laith Shbeilat told Albawaba.com that the symposium is "an attempt to remobilize the society against zionization," charging that Arab governments are banning the institutions of the civil society from their right to fight Zionism.
Tuesday's morning session was due to tackle "the dangers of the Zionist enterprise, to be co-presented by Shbeilat and Ali Ogla Irsan, secretary general of Arab Writers' Union.
In the evening session, former mayor of Nablus and Egyptian journalist Mustafa Bakri will talk about their countries' experiences with anti-normalization -- Albawaba.com
© 2000 Al Bawaba (www.albawaba.com)
