Jerusalem, jerusalem.
I have been monitoring the protests against the promised withdrawal of Israeli settlements with interest. As we all know, the previous Israeli plan was to slowly shrink the bits of land that Palestinians held by establishing fortress-towns within the Gaza strip and West Bank. They hoped that the Palestinians would give up and move on, but the roots went deeper than expected. Now the settlers are being moved by force out of their homes.
At risk of sounding cliché, it seems like a gigantic case of "what goes around comes around." Consider the quote below in regard to Israeli protests that have erupted in violence:
'We are constantly reassessing the situation," Major General Dan Harel, the chief of the army's southern command, told Israeli reporters. ''If we feel we can't contain the situation, or that events are reaching levels we don't want to reach . . . we would have no choice other than to seal off the strip." The Boston Globe
So now they are considering sealing off the Gaza strip because of the attacks on the Israeli army by settlers. Perhaps they will build another wall- this one to keep the settlers out. I hate to see such violence on either side of the issue, but I suppose the settlers could begin to understand how the displaced Palestinians have felt the last fifty years. Or maybe I am just being optimistic.
posted by Erin 12:07 AM
6 Comments:
You're being optimistic. Simple as that. Sadly as that. Until people begin to see things from both sides, there will never be any mutual understanding, there will never be peace talks, there will never be people even attempting to live together and create a bit of harmony.
Not that optimisim is a bad thing. I just can't be quite that way too often....
You said "... there will never be people even attempting to live together and create a bit of harmony."
That seems to hit it on the nose. It is the initial attempt that is missing. I wonder if people resist trying new ideas because of fear. Rigidity tempts us with security even if it requires sacrificing joy.
What true social change comes from making people feel comfortable and secure? The women's suffrage and the civil rights movement in the US made people very uncomfortable because it required change and relinquishing a bit of personal power. So the settlers are having their security disrupted. That disturbance may not change the hearts of the current generation, but it might make space for their children to entertain new thoughts about human equality and justice. Thus I remain optimistic, although I concede that it requires some deliberate naiveté.
"... some deliberate naivete"
Brilliant AND inspired. Sometimes it does take some collection of righteous and inspired idealists to get some things accomplished. Pessimists, cynics, and even realists have this wonderful talent at telling you what's WRONG with a situation, all the while forgetting that they should also be giving some solutions to what's wrong. Alas, if you ask any good literary deconstructionist (or even counselor), it's SOOOO much easier to tear down than it is to build. Building requires vision -- right vision, balanced vision, long-term vision.
The problem with vision is that there are too many people involved in this struggle (and its corresponding debates) who are so consumed with THEIR vision for THEIR people that they disregard and demonize their opponents. Vision requires leadership for everyone involved, not just your friends, buddies, and those who will economically (or geo-politically) benefit from your solution(s).
The question is, in this wonderful, turmoil-laden Middle East of our world's, is this area ready for more discomfort, more change? Are we, as a global community, prepared for more craziness, more power-posturing, more power-grabbing, more disruption of the fragile (and some days nonexistent) security in Israel??
I just hope that there are plenty of people out there sharing your naivete who are willing to push through with changes in perspective and changes in the accepted reality, even as the world goes through more crap in that region.
Peace.
Have you read this New Yorker article about the settlers? It doesn't paint a very optimistic portrait - at least I didn't see much hope for compassion or understanding for displaced Palestinians in the interviews here. But there are strong voices of reason on both sides - I wonder why they keep getting drowned out by the more extreme ones. And have you read Strangers In The House?
I'm going to comment abit upon a question you asked Nancy. I think the reason that the voices of reason, sanity, balance, understanding, compassion, etc are ignored, while the extremes are heard is because people react to fear. People are afraid of what they don't understand and the fear-mongers on both sides play upon that fear. A way needs to be found to allow understanding to pierce the harsh & negative rhetoric. What would that way look/sound like? Any ideas?
Ah Nancy, the New Yorker is perhaps my favorite periodical in the entire world. I look forward to my copy every week. This article was in an issue I missed while I was overseas. Thanks for posting the link here. I haven't read Strangers in the House, but I will add it to my reading list.
You are right. The article doesn't paint a very optimistic picture. I suppose my hope is in humanity more than culture. Somehow I expect that the Israeli's must move beyond this eventually. Every nation has its dark history. Think of slavery in the U.S., or Apartheid in South Africa.
N, as far as your question goes, I think that relationship is the only way to break down the barriers of culture. Yet we have physical reminders like the walls build around Palestinian territory and the segregated communities. I wish that the settlers would be instruments of integration and peace instead of strategic territorialism. I don't know what the answer would look like. I almost think it will take a revolutionary leader like Gandhi or MLK Jr. to really move the hearts of these opposing viewpoints.
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