I feel I must respond to Mira's comment.
I am not saying there are not terrible acts perpetrated by both "sides" in this conflict. I am also not faulting anyone who doesn't choose to cross the green line.
Something I have learned living in the racist US is that when an oppressed minority retaliates, while it may be truly terrible, it is somehow different from when a powerful majority perpetrates a terrible act. An ongoing argument or discussion regarding race in the US has been...can african-americans be called racist when they hate euro-americans, given the history of euro-americans oppressing african-americans? The context plays an important part in how we view events.
There is a child's game called "Who will stop the hurting?" where kids take turns punching each other, harder and harder, until finally someone chooses to stop. It seems to me that it is incumbent upon the strongest to stop punching first, even if they end up taking the last punch. Maybe that is naive of me, or too idealistic. I don't know how else to see it though.
Mira I do not in any way mean to diminish the pain and suffering of Israelis who are hurt or injured or who lose loved ones. I do think, though, that the one with the most weapons and the most force at their disposal has got to be the one to stop the fight, to extend the olive branch. Otherwise it just keeps going, as it has for so long.
18 April 2008
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3 comments:
Baruch just go cross the green line by yourself if no one wants to take you there. And see with your own eyes that Palestinians are not barbarous monsters, like some people want to make you believe, but perfectly normal human beings, just like you and me, who have to live in very difficult circumstances. I know many, also jewish, people who have been there and they were very welcome, because they came without hatred.
I did some research on that last year. What was true for last year may not be true for this moment. It can only be worse now.
I phoned the checkpoint and told them I wanted to cross over with a tourist friend. They told me that no Israeli citizen is allowed to cross through the check-point and that any Jew bearing a foreing passport is also not allowed. The latter is not a problem because the tourist crossing over can always say he is not a Jew.
As there where some activist groups helping rebuild demolished houses over the green line, I told them I wanted to go over and asked them how they cross the green line. They told me they don't go through the checkpoints but through certain areas where there are still no walls. Sometimes they are caught by the Israeli authorities on the way back, hold up for questioning. One may go to jail but not necessarily.
But then they never cross over alone but as part of a large group with a group of non violent Palestinian activists waiting for them on the other side.
The majority of the Palestinians are nice people and just want to make a normal living. I myself went there some times when it was still allowed. The same way as there are extremist groups that do not want peace on the Israeli side there are some extremist groups sponsored by the Iran/Syria/Russia that are not interested in Peace. Israel is a weapon test ground for Bush the same way as Palestine/Lebanon is a weapon ground for Iran/Russia.
If someone crosses over this person must have someone waiting on the other side vouching for this person as this person could be easily mistaken for a westerner with bad intentions by some groups.
Also there is always the possibility in being caught up in a crossfire between Israelis and Palestinians.
In my opinion it is important to bring more awareness to the people living in Israel which are blinded by the propaganda. But whoever goes too far in the open is murdered like Prime Minister Itzhak Rabin was murdered as he was on the verge of making real peace. After making peace with Jordan he signed a peace treaty with Yasser Arafat an was about to give them autonomy and independence. He was also on the verge of signing a peace treaty with Syria. There was a New Middle East atmosphere in the air. But this was contrary to the groups making money on weapons.
Then Bibi from the right wing came to power and destroyed everything that Rabin had built.
I'm looking forward to the drumming for peace and hope that many people will come.
Love
Arie
Oh Baruch, Anita, The whole world, I don’t hate anyone. I am just sad and in despair. I don’t want to poses anything. I just want to live. I just want a place to call it home. Is it such a horrible thing? It is hard for me to express myself in English the way I would like to. And even in Hebrew this conversation can go on and on. Actually this kind of conversations is going on and on.
You are portraying us as a big strong majority bullying the weak minority. The thing is Baruch even if this is the reality (and I suggest that you look at a map and check the demographics) the thin is Baruch that we the Jews have a mentality of prosecuted people. For thousands of years we have been chased, banished, enslaved, prosecuted, unti-Semitized, accused of horrible things, locked in ghettos, put in gas chambers. It's no wonder we feel so insecure. And then the whole word pointing at us and saying "you bad stupid Israelis just stop fighting and there will be peace. Live those poor good Arabs alone". This is only amplifies our insecure feelings. .
Would you think approaching a man with an abused childhood or a woman that was repeatedly raped and telling them stop being afraid or start trusting men? Would it help explaining to that woman that most men are trustworthy? Would you tell her she can walk alone on the streets at night and nothing will happen to her? If you would can you blame her for getting angry at you for telling you have no idea what you talking about for feeling offended by you?
You see Baruch; it is the same thing here. We are a nation with an abused childhood; we were repeatedly raped for thousands of years. I'm not saying that as an excuse for anything ore in order to get some pity. As with a rape victim there a lot of healing works to do, on both sides, and there's a right way of approaching this person and there's a wrong way.
Just to clarify, I am pro peace. I don’t hate Arabs ore Palestinians
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