"Guests" must remain polite when they are being slaughtered

From Ma'an, a story that unintentionally highlights the everyday discrimination of Arabs towards their Palestinian "brethren" - and how Palestinian Arabs are willing to accept it silently:

Palestinians in Syria will remain neutral in the conflict, a Palestinian Authority official said Saturday, as refugees become increasingly caught up in the violence.

Rising numbers of Palestinians are leaving their homes because of the fighting and in the latest attack on Yarmouk refugee camp 20 people were killed and 65 injured.

However, the Palestinian Authority has reiterated that the Palestinians in Syria should remain neutral as they are "guests" and not Syrian citizens.

Is there any PalArab group who is demanding that Arabs in Syria who have lived there for generations be given the option of becoming citizens if they want?

Of course not! Because their entire existence is meant to pressure Israel, not to enjoy equal rights in the only country most of them have ever lived in!

So we have a bizarre situation where Palestinian Arabs are the "dhimmis" of Syria, second-class citizens that everyone pretends are happy with their situation. They are afraid to speak up because they might be targeted (and murdered) by their supposedly benevolent hosts if they do. They can't flee to Jordan because Jordan will send them - and only them - right back. So they shut up when they are murdered and try to become invisible in the country where they are celebrated as "guests."

They are "dhimmis" not only because the Arab world insists on treating them that way, but because their supposed "leaders" work to keep them that way.