Thank you, Mitt Romney!

With one factually wrong, decidedly insensitive, and patently biased comment, Republican presidential aspirant, Mitt Romney, did more to focus U.S. media attention on the impact of the Israeli occupation on the Palestinian economy than any other development in the past two decades.

Romney's observation that "culture makes all the difference", which he offered as his explanation for the disparities between the Israeli and Palestinian economies, was so remarkably out of touch with reality that it set off an unprecedented explosion of press commentary in the U.S. and Europe. In the two days that followed these remarks, the "Palestinian economy" received more than 6,700 mentions in the media. Most of the U.S.'s major daily newspapers featured articles, commentary, and even editorials taking issue with the Romney quote - highlighting repressive Israeli policies, and not an "inferior culture" as the reason for the poor performance of the Palestinian economy. Most made this point by including citations from the World Bank ("the government of Israel's security restrictions continue to stymie investment") and the C.I.A. World Factbook ("Israeli closure policies continue to disrupt labor and trade flows, industrial capacity, and basic commerce...[and] have res ulted in high unemployment, elevated poverty rates, and the near collapse of the private sector"). What is striking is that while these assessments were not new, it took Romney's remarks to bring them into the public discourse. In fact, when the most recent World Bank report was published just a few days earlier, it received scant attention. The only take away for many reporters was the Bank's comment that the Palestinian's were too dependent on foreign aid and that their "economy is currently not strong enough to support...a state" - a line latched onto by opponents of the Palestinian's bid for statehood.  

There is no doubt that there are huge disparities between the Israeli and Palestinian economies. In fact, they are significantly greater than Romney stated them to be. While he cited per capita GDP numbers giving Israel a two to one edge over the Palestinians, the World Bank says the gap is more like 10 to one (and according to other sources, it may even be double that). continue reading

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Washington Watch is a weekly column written by AAI President James Zogby, author of Arab Voices: What They Are Saying to Us, and Why it Matters, a book that brings into stark relief the myths, assumptions, and biases that hold us back from understanding the people of the Arab world.

The views expressed within this column do not necessarily reflect those of the Arab American Institute. We invite you to share your views on the topics addressed within Dr. Zogby's weekly Washington Watch by emailing This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

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