SHOW LESSThe #MuftiMenkiftar in #UAE with an Israeli rabbi provides a good opportunity to explore the topic of normalization of relations between Muslim and Arab countries with Israel.  In my opinion, normalization is most properly understood, not as a betrayal of the #Palestinian cause, but as another form of confrontation with the #Zionists.  You can agree or disagree, like it or hate it; but it is a strategy for potentially gaining influence over Israel's policies and behaviour; and the approach we have adopted for the past 75 years has not resulted in any tangible benefits for the Palestinians or the fate of Jerusalem -- quite the contrary.  If we are serious about #Palestine, we have to analyze approaches objectively, and weigh their potential for achieving positive outcomes.  When I criticized Mufti Menk, it was for his disingenuous and manipulative, gaslighting "clarification" about the iftar event, it was not for the event itself.  Politics is a pretty ruthless and ugly affair, and often requires highly unpleasant and distasteful, upsetting decisions...there are almost no easily digestible approaches to the Palestinian situation, and you should not get involved if you don't have a strong stomach.