美国国家公共电台 NPR--A Jewish-Palestinian political coalition failed. Could it work in the future?

A Jewish-Palestinian political coalition¹ failed. Could it work in the future?

Transcript²

With elections in November, Israeli leaders are debating the just-finished political experiment that saw right-wing Jewish parties working with Arab politicians.

LEILA FADEL, HOST:

With another election ahead, Israel is debating the legacy³ of a political experiment in parliament that just fell apart. Can Jewish nationalists and Palestinian citizens actually share power? NPR's Daniel Estrin reports from Jerusalem.

DANIEL ESTRIN, BYLINE⁴: For the first time in Israeli history, an Arab political party helped build the governing coalition, breaking what was a taboo⁵ for many Arab and Jewish lawmakers. It lasted one year.

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MANSOUR ABBAS: (Non-English language spoken).

ESTRIN: "We've only just started," said Mansour Abbas, the leader of the conservative Muslim party in the coalition, on Israeli TV when the coalition fell apart. He said, I think the entire Israeli public will now look and see there is historic hope that we should not give up on. What he branded as a partnership⁶ of hope is a partnership that collapsed⁷. First, his party suspended its membership in the coalition when Israeli police stormed protesters at the Al-Aqsa mosque⁸. The party rejoined, but then another issue caused chaos⁹ in parliament.

(SHOUTING)

ESTRIN: Palestinian member of the party refused to vote to renew legal protections for Jewish settlers in the occupied West Bank. A Jewish nationalist lawmaker sparked a shouting match. Some declared the experiment had failed.

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BENJAMIN NETANYAHU: (Non-English language spoken).

ESTRIN: Including former Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. He's blamed it on, quote, "the Muslim Brotherhood¹⁰." I asked Netanyahu's right-wing party member, Danny Danon, if an Arab political party can ever be again in a governing coalition.

DANNY DANON: You know, I'm not optimistic about it. It will require strong leadership that will be able to put aside all the radical¹¹ ideology¹² and to decide that they are actually promoting, you know, domestic issues.

ESTRIN: The Islamist party does not consider itself radical to oppose the occupation of Palestinian non-citizens in the West Bank. The party was even willing to downplay that issue to work on getting bigger budgets for its community. It argued it's easier to fight for that when you're close to power. But being close to power is controversial in their community. Palestinian lawmaker Aida Touma-Suleiman didn't join the coalition because she thinks parliament reflects the power dynamics¹³ for Arab citizens in the country.

AIDA TOUMA-SULEIMAN: The kind of partnership they keep talking about between Jews and Arabs, it's a partnership of those who are controlling and those who are under control.

ESTRIN: Left-wing, Jewish politician Mossi Raz was in the coalition and says even though it eventually failed, the experiment was important.

MOSSI RAZ: We want to work together. And this is different from the past that the Palestinians and Jews did not want to work together. You could not find Palestinians and Jews to work together in a coalition. This is first time that it happens.

ESTRIN: Micah Goodman, an Israeli philosopher who's advised Israel's leaders, says what matters was that three right-wing, Jewish party leaders were willing to partner with Mansour Abbas, the Muslim party leader.

MICAH GOODMAN: All three of them sat with Abbas, worked with Abbas and legitimized Abbas. That's powerful, but it's messy. It wasn't smooth. Not all the people in the Arab community liked this. And not all the people in the right-wing communities really accepted this. But it's the beginning of a dramatic shift in Israel.

ESTRIN: He says, for one year in Israel, the government went against the currents of history and against a worldwide trend of politics that polarized countries.

GOODMAN: And it was one hell of an experiment.

ESTRIN: But with elections in November, right-wing Netanyahu is seeking a comeback as prime minister and says he wouldn't repeat the experiment.

Daniel Estrin, NPR News, Jerusalem.

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1 coalition   

n.结合体，同盟，结合，联合

参考例句：

• The several parties formed a coalition.这几个政党组成了政治联盟。
• Coalition forces take great care to avoid civilian casualties.联盟军队竭尽全力避免造成平民伤亡。

2 transcript   

n.抄本，誊本，副本，肄业证书

参考例句：

• A transcript of the tapes was presented as evidence in court.一份录音带的文字本作为证据被呈交法庭。
• They wouldn't let me have a transcript of the interview.他们拒绝给我一份采访的文字整理稿。

3 legacy   

n.遗产，遗赠；先人(或过去)留下的东西

参考例句：

• They are the most precious cultural legacy our forefathers left.它们是我们祖先留下来的最宝贵的文化遗产。
• He thinks the legacy is a gift from the Gods.他认为这笔遗产是天赐之物。

4 byline   

n.署名；v.署名

参考例句：

• His byline was absent as well.他的署名也不见了。
• We wish to thank the author of this article which carries no byline.我们要感谢这篇文章的那位没有署名的作者。

5 taboo   

n.禁忌，禁止接近，禁止使用；adj.禁忌的；v.禁忌，禁制，禁止

参考例句：

• The rude words are taboo in ordinary conversation.这些粗野的字眼在日常谈话中是禁忌的。
• Is there a taboo against sex before marriage in your society?在你们的社会里，婚前的性行为犯禁吗？

6 partnership   

n.合作关系，伙伴关系

参考例句：

• The company has gone into partnership with Swiss Bank Corporation.这家公司已经和瑞士银行公司建立合作关系。
• Martin has taken him into general partnership in his company.马丁已让他成为公司的普通合伙人。

7 collapsed   

adj.倒塌的

参考例句：

• Jack collapsed in agony on the floor. 杰克十分痛苦地瘫倒在地板上。
• The roof collapsed under the weight of snow. 房顶在雪的重压下突然坍塌下来。

8 mosque   

n.清真寺

参考例句：

• The mosque is a activity site and culture center of Muslim religion.清真寺为穆斯林宗教活动场所和文化中心。
• Some years ago the clock in the tower of the mosque got out of order.几年前，清真寺钟楼里的大钟失灵了。

9 chaos   

n.混乱，无秩序

参考例句：

• After the failure of electricity supply the city was in chaos.停电后，城市一片混乱。
• The typhoon left chaos behind it.台风后一片混乱。

10 brotherhood   

n.兄弟般的关系，手中情谊

参考例句：

• They broke up the brotherhood.他们断绝了兄弟关系。
• They live and work together in complete equality and brotherhood.他们完全平等和兄弟般地在一起生活和工作。

11 radical   

n.激进份子，原子团，根号；adj.根本的，激进的，彻底的

参考例句：

• The patient got a radical cure in the hospital.病人在医院得到了根治。
• She is radical in her demands.她的要求十分偏激。

12 ideology   

n.意识形态，(政治或社会的)思想意识

参考例句：

• The ideology has great influence in the world.这种思想体系在世界上有很大的影响。
• The ideal is to strike a medium between ideology and inspiration.我的理想是在意识思想和灵感鼓动之间找到一个折衷。

13 dynamics   

n.力学，动力学，动力，原动力；动态

参考例句：

• In order to succeed,you must master complicated knowledge of dynamics.要取得胜利，你必须掌握很复杂的动力学知识。
• Dynamics is a discipline that cannot be mastered without extensive practice.动力学是一门不做大量习题就不能掌握的学科。