Raja Shahadeh

That's absolutely true.

Palestine has always been a place for three religions.

And the three religions lived side by side and enriched life because it's enriching to have the differences.

And now one religion is trying to dominate and say it's the only one that is going to be allowed in that land.

And that's perverse.

Well, Zionism has made my life impossible all along because, first of all, they tried to create a state in 1948 and forced people in Palestine to leave.

And they didn't allow them to return.

And so that was the beginning of the problem, not allowing the refugees to return.

And then in 67, they continued with the policy of trying to build settlements and force, actually encourage people to leave.

They have called it negative magnet, that they will make life so difficult for us in the West Bank that we will leave.

And so our life has been complicated by the Zionist aim of emptying Palestine from Palestinians.

And we are subject to so many rules and regulations that make life rather impossible.

But people have...

persisted on staying and refused to leave.

And I think that it's been the most important tactic and strategy, much more important than armed resistance, because armed resistance only causes more arms, which Israel has.

Absolutely.

I've never had that problem because I've always felt that Jews are just members of a religion and it has nothing negative about it and nothing in enmity with me.

But Zionism, which is trying to use the religion to promote a certain political project, is an enemy to me.

And the two are separate in my mind entirely, and I have no difficulty.

And I find it very strange when people say that the criticism of Zionism is anti-Semitic.