Quotes of the Day

A generation ago, the most important event in the life of Arab parents, the one that got them most excited, was their child's wedding. It tells you how much the Arab mentality has changed that these days, parents attach just as much importance — and excitement — to their child's graduation from university. The graduation ceremony has become a must-attend event, one that many families make elaborate plans to attend, just as they would do for a wedding.

The trouble is, Israeli security officials don't seem to know or care about this: they make it very difficult for Arab families who want to attend their children's graduation ceremonies.

Recently, I paid a visit to some Palestinian friends, to greet them on their children's graduation from Bir Zeit University, located to the north of Ramallah. They had reason to be proud: one daughter had just completed a bachelor's degree in English Literature, and one son had got a degree in business management. But my friends weren't in a celebratory mood. They told me about the great difficulties they faced in trying to reach the university to attending the ceremony. It shouldn't take more than 20 minutes to get from their home to the university, but it took them two hours, because of an Israeli Army checkpoint on the way. My friends were ordered to leave their cars at the checkpoint and walk — dressed to the nines — in the hot summer sun. They weren't alone: most of the Palestinians at the checkpoint in the past few days have been families trying to get to the first graduation ceremonies held at the university since the start of the intifadeh 30 months ago.

My friends say there's really no reason for the checkpoint to be there at all: it's a long way from Israeli territory and there are no Israeli settlements in the neighborhood. They, like many other Palestinians, see their humiliation by Israeli soldiers as the result of a conspiracy to destroy their festive season. I don't necessarily agree with their evaluation, but I certainly understand it. Most Palestinians, like the majority of Israelis, are suspicious when coming to analyze their opponents' behavior. After short discussion, I was able to convince my friends to drop their conspiracy theory, but they still had a question: How come the Israeli security apparatus, which prides itself for knowing everything, doesn't know how important it is for Arab families to attend a graduation ceremony? I took their question a friend of mine who used to be a brigadier general in the Israeli army. He felt it would be appropriate for the Israelis to make a gesture toward the Palestinians, making it easier to attend graduation ceremonies. But he said the Israelis didn't have the manpower or the resources to have to pay attention to all the daily needs of the Palestinians.

I understand the position of my Israeli friend, but I believe the Israeli security apparatus should recruit some "peace officers" to help improve their understanding of the Palestinians' needs. The current relative calm in Israeli-Palestinian relations (and the declared will of both sides to implement the road map to peace) makes this the right time to launch such an initiative. The "peace officers" would communicate directly with the Palestinian community and advise Israeli decision-makers on how to address Palestinian concerns without harming Israel's security. Israel spends millions on its intelligence collection in the Palestinian Territories, claiming that this is essential to its security; surely it can spend a little more on such a confidence-building measure, to reassure Palestinians that the Israelis really do want peace.

• WADIE ABUNNASSAR
• Palestinians should be able to enjoy their children's graduation without Israeli interference