Samuel Sokol, Special to The Jerusalem Post , THE JERUSALEM POST Mar. 31,
2009
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New Balad MK Haneen Zuabi, the first woman to be elected to the Knesset as a
representative of an Arab party, has welcomed Iran's growing influence on
Palestinian affairs and praised Iran's quest for a nuclear weapon as a means
of offsetting Israel's regional military edge. Having Israel as the region's
sole nuclear power, she said, was "dangerous to the world."

Interviewed in English twice in recent days - in her Knesset office and in a
Jerusalem hotel - Zuabi, one of Balad's three MKs and the former director of
the I'lam: Media Center for Arab Palestinians in Israel, said Iran's role in
Palestinian affairs was "more useful" than that of regimes like Jordan and
Egypt, in that Iran stood more firmly "against occupation than a lot of the
Arab countries. This is our interest."

She said Egypt and Jordan were scared of a free and democratic Palestinian
state.

Queried regarding Iran's quest to manufacture nuclear weapons, Zuabi stated
that having Israel as the region's sole nuclear power was disadvantageous.
"It would [sic] be more supporting me to have a counter-power to Israel,"
she said. "I need something to balance [Israel's] power."

Zuabi was asked if she felt worried, living among Jews, that Iran was
getting close to acquiring a nuclear weapon. She replied: "No, I am not."
Indeed, she said was "more afraid from the Israeli nuclear [weapons]."

Israel does not officially admit to a nuclear weapons capability, but is
widely believed to have had such a capability since the 1960s.

When asked if she thought that Israel would use nuclear weapons, she
replied, "The Israelis? I think yes. And I am afraid from real risk rather
than from potential risk."

The Iranian bomb was only "a potential" threat. The real danger was the
Israeli army, she said. "Every day the Israeli [army] uses its violence,
army violence."

Zuabi said that Israel was an aggressor state, and that only a situation
similar to that which existed between the Soviet Union and United States in
the form of the doctrine of "Mutually Assured Destruction" would restrain
Israel. "It is more dangerous to the world, more dangerous to everyone, more
dangerous to the Palestinians, to Israelis, to have Israel as the only
powerful state. I need something to balance its power because this balance
of power will [sic]restrict the Israeli using of power. The Israeli violence
of the army is an outcome of Israel's convenient feeling that no one will
restrict her, that no Arab country will really declare a war against
[Israel]."

She added: "I believe that [Israel] would respect its use of power if she's
afraid of others. The fact that [Israel]is not afraid of Arab countries, the
fact that [Israel]is not afraid of a potential declaration of our Arab world
to declare war against Israel, makes Israel more violent. You understand
me?"

Asked whether an Iranian bomb would make America nervous and lead to more US
pressure on Israel, and whether that would be good from her point of view,
Zuabi replied: "Exactly."

Zuabi declared that the very concept of a Jewish state was "inherently
racist", saying that Israel must be turned into a "state of all its
citizens," which would eliminate its Jewish or Zionist nature.

The Knesset Central Elections Committee disqualified the Balad party from
running in the recent elections due to its members' refusal to recognize
Israel as a Jewish state and reported calls for violence against it. The ban
was overturned by the Supreme Court.

Responding to Zuabi's comments, Balad party chairman Dr, Jamal Zahalka said:
"I think Ms. Zuabi tried to explain some analysis [about] what's [sic]better
if you have. [But] this is not a position. It's an analysis [of] what would
be safer for the region, if there is a balance." Her comments, he said, did
not constitute "supporting a nuclear weapon in Iran."

Some of Zuabi's statements were consistent with her previously stated views.
On February 13, she was quoted by the Balad-affiliated Arabs48 internet news
site saying that "Balad's concept, which rejects the 'Jewish state' idea, is
the only idea that can remove [Avigdor] Lieberman from the circle of
political and moral legitimacy. When you agree with the 'Jewish state' idea,
you necessarily agree with the idea of loyalty to this state. Rejecting the
'Jewish state' concept will block the road for anyone who demands our
loyalty to such a state. There is no logic in demanding that I be loyal to
an idea to which I do not agree to begin with, especially since I am
proposing an alternative and fighting for it. The language of democracy does
not speak of loyalty. This is a language of fascism, just like Lieberman.
The language of democracy speaks of rights, equality, and values."

The writer is a freelance journalist affiliated with the Philadelphia
Bulletin.

I can't write here what I think should happen to this woman since she is a member of Knesset, but it would end her term in office right now!