I haven't read Ha'aretz for a while, because the Israel/Palestine endless crisis started to get repetitive for me, though I believe that it is still the most important issue in the Middle East, though totally overshadowed by Iraq, which is spectacular but transient beside the deep-rooted wound of the Holy Land. Anyway, I came across the following article:
Haaretz - Something for everyone - to hate: The left, still arrogant, still innocent, still rudderless and toothless and mute, quietly resents Sharon and questions his intentions. The left gazes from the side as Sharon dismantles settlements in Gaza - something the left could never bring itself to do. It clucks in reservation as Sharon cements Israel's hold on West Bank settlements the left, in theory, wants to cede - and which, in practice, the left for decades only built up.
The left needs to look at itself with honesty. For once.The right, which in its modern version was invented by Sharon, the right
that once looked to him as Israel's Caesar, has now recast him as its
treacherous Cassius.The right needs to look at its heritage with honesty. For once.
It's an introspective article about looking honestly at the actual behaviours of the different aspects of the Israeli political spectrum. I don't totally buy some of the assumptions. But that's not why I'm linking to it.
Ha'aretz has developed this user forum thing that it attaches to some of its articles. And there you find a lot of interesting writing (as well as repetitive flamewars) from people who are living it, as opposed to wars between lobbyists like we have on North American boards that discuss the Mideast problems. And this discussion took an interesting turn as it was observed that this entire article---about the pullout---managed never to mention the objects of the endeavour, the Palestinians. It became a discussion over the very personhood of Palestinians, and Israelis' inability to perceive it.
And so because some of the writing is transient (Ha'aretz articles have a tendency to vanish), I'd like to save a particularly poignant post (this link might expire, but hopefully it won't) by a Palestinian in East Jerusalem named Noor in response to an Israeli named Ronnie:
"Yes we learn different things,and also I can apprciate there can be honour in death,but to take a child give him or her explosives and blow up children,this is not honour,you have been sold something that is the most unreligious thing?????????"
Ronnie, I don`t know a single Palestinian who believes such a thing. We respect all life. There are extremists on both sides, and we consider all to be guilty of murder when they kill innocent Palestinians or Israelis.
No Palestinian mother wants to lose her child, whether at the hands of an Israeli or as a suicide bomber. I too have children and they don`t always listen to what I tell them. If one of them died as a victim of Israeli violence I would be devastated, and if by their own hand I would grieve for my own child and for all the victims of his action. I don`t know a single Palestinian mother or father who feels differently, even though many of them live in the Occupied Territories and have suffered far more than I myself have. I can understand, as I`m sure you can, how it must feel to lose a child or a parent and to feel defenseless and afraid every time your other child goes to school or out to play.
Believe me I`m not justifying anyone who attacks civilians inside Israel, but I wish more Israelis could really understand what it is like to live under such an occupation. Despair can drive people to do terrible things.
Israel always seems to believe it is the victim, because of suicide bombings which I would give anything to have never happened. But in truth Palestinians suffer such violence and more every single day. Israel seems to think revenge is acceptable for them but never for us. I myself don`t believe in revenge for anybody.
When a parent loses a child in war it is rare that they will condemn their child`s actions in public. When an Israeli soldier dies in Palestine, or an American soldier dies in Iraq, all we hear from the parent is pride in their child`s decision to go to war. Perhaps it`s because they need to believe their child died for something. I don`t condone suicide (or homicide) attacks on civilians, but we believe that every killing of a Palestinian by an Israeli soldier or an Israeli settler is an act of terrorism. We don`t understand how anybody can justify violence by Israelis, even when children are targetted, while blaming Palestinians for every violent act they commit.
All we know is that many many more of our children have died from Israeli violence (we call it terrorism) than the other way around.
So we aren`t sold anything. We hear rhetoric, as you hear rhetoric. I have already read quite a bit of zionist rhetoric right here which shows me that many Israelis don`t even recognize our right to live. It is difficult for me to understand that kind of hatred. But I do believe that most Israelis -- most Jews -- are basically the same as most Palestinians. We just want peace for everybody.
I think this article hits on what the fundamental problem in Israeli/Palastinian conflict is: a lack of empathy on all sides. Israelis generally never think about how the Palastinians feel and vice versa. Neither side recognizes that there are extremists as well as moderates on both sides. The North American mainstream media tends focus far more on one side of the conflict so the other side doesn't their message out. Those few media outlets that do show the Palastinian side never really show the Israeli side.
It's time for everyone to take a deep breath, start trying to understand the other side, and honestly and fairly reporting it.
- Mustafa Hirji
Posted by: Mustafa Hirji | May 22, 2005 at 03:12 PM