It seems that Israel's 60th birthday is not triggering wild celebration around the world. Even the American discourse is changing. The cheers are muted.
In Le Monde Diplomatique, they are openly savaging the "ethnic cleansing of Palestine" and repudiating the settlements, and quoting Avraham Burg.
Here in the Philadelphia Inquirer, an editorial celebrating Israel's birthday is a little dejected. The U.S. is the only one supporting Israel, and it may be that way for generations, the editorial says. Well, think about that; why is that? (Do we want to be in Iraq for 100 years?) The editorial writer seems to understand that's not a good answer, but can't take that on. Meantime, the peace process seems busted. To which the editorial adds,
In that context, the future for Israel is murky.
Meantime, the LA Times does its readers a tremendous service by openly addressing the idea of a one-state solution in Israel/Palestine.
Palestinians who favor the idea say they would have no problem living with Jews as equals. If Jews were to give up their superior status and allow Palestinians the right to vote and move about the country, they say, Islamic extremists would lose their appeal.
Emphasis mine. Radical notion--that took 60 years?
The article quotes the Israeli Meron Benvenisti, who is for one state.
"Israelis and Palestinians are sinking together into the mud of 'one state,' " he writes. "We need a model that fits this reality. . . . The question is no longer whether it will be bi-national, but which model to choose."
I haven't seen such a fair treatment of Israel's crisis in the American mainstream press before. It was written by men named Richard Boudreaux and Ashraf Khalil (yes with help from Batsheva Sobelman in Jerusalem). I assume they are non-Jewish. That is a necessary part of this crisis: America needs non-Jewish Americans to speak their minds on these issues!
P.S. The Times went further, here with a blogpost where Khalil lists lots of sources on the one-state question, including Electronic Intifadah and Ali Abunimah, as well as Uri Avnery's opposition to it. God bless America.
And, at the same time, "democratic" single-state Lebanon, is again in a state of functional civil war, with theocrats attempting to impose their dominance on the state.
Probably the majority of Lebanese favor a civil Lebanon, rather than a Hezbollah Lebanon (much much more theocratic influence than the Israeli religious parties exert). But, they don't get the chance.
Militancy chooses struggle (fanonist struggle) rather than order, rather than law, as the prevailing social momentum.
If the question were to choose what political form and political norm I would recommend for my friends of friends, it would not be Lebanon as model (civil war), Palestine as model (civil war).
How about you Phil? Ever live in a politically charged revolutionary state?
I spent a couple months in Bengal with a group that was in somewhat bitter conflict with the prevailing Bengali communist party. You gotta watch your back.
A bit unrelated, but I found this blog post from Juan Cole that made me feel good (maybe it's infantile, I don't care):
link to juancole.com
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Cole is a huge critic of Israel and always call a spade a spade. But such conciliatory articles are very important in my point of view.
"If Jews were to give up their superior status and allow Palestinians the right to vote and move about the country, they say, Islamic extremists would lose their appeal."
AKA end the apartheid state.
"America needs non-Jewish Americans to speak their minds on these issues!"
Sure. And have the ADL or JDL destroy your name or business as a result.
That's the hideous thing about all this.
P.S. I will never repeat here what my non-Jewish friends who have been targeted have to say about how they have been treated. The lack of ethics, morals, and plain decency in the exercise of their US First Amendment rights (which Israel doesn't have because they dont have a constitution, just a blank cheque they want the USA taxpayers to fill out annually) that has been visited upon them is unfortunate and unforgivable.
This will reach a tipping point.
MRW, you and your friends are not alone. I have had similar expriences. Look what happened to Phil, and he is a Jew.