Based on my experiences with the Palestinians, which extend over seven decades, I can say that they are the strongest in the battlefield engagements, the most ardent in combat, the most thirsty for education, and the most eager to have children, perhaps because of their fear that Israel will kill a child of theirs, and a second person will die in a road accident, and the Arab and municipal regimes will kill them. Two or three of them, and therefore they must have the largest number of children, so they can continue to survive and resist!
Frankly, and without courtesy, and based on my long practical and banking experience in collecting donations, I found that the very wealthy Palestinian, in general, is the one who contributes the least to the struggle of his nation and his people, and gives the least to the cause, compared to others, who are the least close to the cause, and this is what I experienced, read about, and asked about.
I may be wrong, and there are those who have given millions, but I and many others have not heard of them, and this is shameful in itself, as donating to the cause is not a matter similar to paying a sum to a poor neighbor and publishing his picture and “displaying” himself afterward, but rather it’s a people’s cause.
Generosity is contagious, as I have often experienced, and the world must know who paid, who provided, and who spent, and most importantly, how and to whom, so that there is subsequent monitoring and prosecution of what was donated.
During the era of Arafat, for example, no one ever knew the budget of the PLO or Fatah. “Al-Khitiyar” was the one who ruled over every penny, and the first bank account for “Fatah” was with the bank where I worked and managed in 1965. Today it is said that a large portion of the organization’s funds disappeared with the departure of Abu Ammar!
One of the things that some people do not know is that the Zionist movement, which sought, over decades, to create a homeland for the Jews, worked with amazing sincerity and dedication to achieve the idea, and none of its leaders were ever known to be involved in any scandal or seizure of its funds, over the half-century that preceded its founding.
Their state and this is what was not achieved on our side, despite all our repetition of various examples and religious texts, billions were lost and disappeared due to effective action. Some believe that the lack of accountability for countries, the Gulf countries in particular, pay to support the “Palestinian struggle” is the reason for the failure of some to find a solution to the issue.
The reason, perhaps, is the reluctance of wealthy Palestinians to donate to it, especially with the absence of a “trustworthy” party to which they can donate!
The Palestinian diaspora holds dozens of nationalities, covering the entire world, and the majority of them are located in the Gulf states, Jordan, Western Europe, and the Americas. Their wealth is estimated at about $200 billion. The Palestinian’s obsession with amassing wealth is no less than his obsession with having children.
There is no doubt that the Palestinian cause was betrayed, as there are those who sold land or cooperated with the occupation, but in exchange for these few individuals, there are millions, who did not betray their country, nor did they sell their lands.
Therefore, Palestinian patriots, and their wealthy individuals in particular, are required to seek to establish a national fund, not for relief, but for the renaissance of Palestine.
When the Jewish immigrants came with their families and money to Palestine, the first thing they did was to establish the “Hebrew University” in Jerusalem, which subsequently became one of the best universities in the world. For a hundred years, we failed, not only in Palestine but in all Arab countries, to create a “national” university. It is identical to half its level.
Through Google, you can find out about every millionaire of Palestinian origin, and the miracles they can perform for their country, together or individually, and real participation, not in supporting the struggle of the people of Gaza and helping the people of the Strip, but in contributing to the establishment of a model state!
In conclusion, it is very important that the Palestinians win their struggle and obtain a homeland, but what is more important is providing sustainability for the promised homeland, and this cannot be achieved without providing high-quality education, cultural progress, and respect for human rights.
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By Ahmad alsarraf
