Lessons from the weekend protest you won't read about

Over the weekend, some 10,000 people protested over social issues in Tel Aviv. Unlike the violent protests the week before, where riots broke out and banks were broken into, this one was largely peaceful and as far as I can tell, no one was arrested

There was another, much smaller protest over the weekend that reveals a lot more about the Israeli/Arab conflict, however. And if it was covered at all by world media, it was barely a footnote.

From Ma'an:

Dozens of young Palestinians clashed with PA security forces in Ramallah on Saturday at a protest against the leadership's scheduling of a meeting with Israeli vice premier Shaul Mofaz.

The youth gathered in central Ramallah and tried to march on the headquarters of the leadership, the Muqataa, where they were blocked by riot police and some plain clothes agents.

"They beat them badly," a witness who asked not to be identified told Ma'an, adding that three people were taken to hospital but the extent of their injuries was not immediately clear. They were identified as journalist Muhammad Jaradat, Hassan Faraj and Waed Barghouti.

So at a much smaller protest with only dozens of people, we have six arrests and some serious beatings, including that of a journalist.

And their protest wasn't for social justice or for Palestinian Arab unity or anything like that. It was a protest against even talking with any Israeli.

And here's the kicker: It worked.

President Mahmoud Abbas was slated to meet Mofaz in Ramallah on Sunday, but officials announced Saturday the summit had been postponed indefinitely.

A senior Fatah official, speaking on condition of anonymity, told Ma'an the meeting was postponed for several reasons including public opposition under the current circumstances.

Imagine a world where Palestinian Arabs would protest to make peace with Israel. Has that ever happened, even once, in history?

It will never happen. Because only one side has shown any real interest in any sort of real peace, the kind where both sides compromise to reach a permanent solution. And the other side has been raised to believe that if they just wait long enough, they'll get everything they demand no matter what, so there is no reason to compromise, ever.