Arab MKs To Attend Peres Funeral If Allowed To Distribute Candy

“I daresay the Zionist State will refuse this compromise, betraying the very intransigence which lies at the root of the conflict.”

Jerusalem, September 29 – Leaders of Israel’s Arab political parties softened their stance today on the death and funeral of former president Shimon Peres, saying that they will in fact attend the burial and eulogy ceremony at Mt. Herzl on Friday if they are permitted to give out sweets to others present in honor of the occasion.

Hadash Party chief and Joint List alliance head MK Ayman Odeh told Israel radio this morning that in contrast to an earlier statement that he and his constituents saw nothing to honor, he and his colleagues would moderate their decision on condition that they be allowed to mark the death of a Jew in their traditional fashion, which involves the distribution of candy. Odeh had previously asserted the Joint List would not honor Peres, who represented what the MK called the catastrophe for his people that began in 1948.

Other Arab legislators voiced similar flexibility in their position, saying that they could meet the State halfway on bestowing final respects on Peres, a man who made valiant attempts to reconcile the two peoples. “In the spirit of Mr. Peres’s willingness to compromise for the sake of conciliation, I am perfectly willing to attend his funeral, but on one condition,” stated Ahmad Tibi of the Raam-Taal Party. “In exchange for this display of honor that we provide by our attendance, we will not be disrupted, impeded, or discouraged from marking the occasion by sharing traditional Palestinian sweets and other candies with other attendees. It’s what we do.”

“I’m even willing to be more flexible than that,” offered Balad Party MK Basel Ghattas. “I’ll even go out of my way to make sure the candy and pastries I bring are certified kosher, so everyone can partake with a clear religious conscience. I daresay the Zionist State will refuse this compromise, betraying the very intransigence they have shown all along, and which lies at the root of the conflict.”

MK Hannen Zoabi, also of Balad, promised the distribution would be done in a tasteful manner, and would not disrupt the eulogies. “My colleagues and I have discussed this, and we agreed the most dignified way to go about it would be to restrict the candy distribution to when the proceedings have not formally begun, and in between speeches,” she explained.

The Knesset Ceremonial Committee has yet to respond to the Joint List’s proposal. “It’s complicated,” explained committee member who spoke on condition of anonymity, citing procedural rules. “For one thing, the cemetery strongly discourages bringing foodstuffs onto its grounds. What they might be able to do is deliver the candy to the Shiva, but I’m not actually sure the Peres family will be doing that. It’s so Jewish, you know?”