One great thing about this blog is that in addition to meeting Arabists and Arabs on the pretext, It's My Job, I have gotten the social comfort-food of meeting a lot of Jews who feel just the way I do: That the occupation is central to Jewish life here and now, and that it must be smote hip and thigh. Like my friend David Bloom who I've never laid eyes on but holds my hand when I go to bed at night. He just sent me this from Tirzah Firestone, a rabbi in Boulder, Colorado, writing in the Birmingham Post. Birmingham, Alabama? Nope Birmingham England of course. They don't run this kind of stuff–
This summer, towns like Nablus, Jenin, Hebron and even Bethlehem,
are locked down like ghettos, subjected to terror raids by night, and
long, dehumanizing lines at checkpoints by day.
I think of
Qalqilya, a town of 45,000, with one heavily guarded gate through which
thousands of occupants must enter and exit. Its sandy roads are swept
several times a day so that soldiers can look for footprints to make
sure no one has escaped.
in the old USA. Shame shame shame. The headline is "A Rabbi's shame at Israel's treatment of Palestinians.." I love you Tirzah. I grew up with guilt, now I got shame. How did it happen, rabbi? I thought the Christians were the shame culture.
Speaking of righteous Jews–a double entendre on righteous gentiles–here is Adam Shapiro speaking next week in New York on the Nakba Dailies, which seems to be a filmic effort to make those events of 60 years ago leap out as real and fresh:
Phil,
Is it your impression that the settlement blocs in the West Bank (some land purchased for most of them prior to 1948) should be removed of Jewish settlers?
Or, do you favor an alternative approach, perhaps of allowing them to remain as Palestinian citizens?
To say that ALL Jews should be removed from the West Bank is to advocate for ethnic cleansing (certainly for those that have demonstrable title to land).
The point is to AFFIRM LAW, in all locales.
Which law? Take your pick:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Israeli_settlement#Land_ownership
This conflict could last for another generation without a compromise on East Jerusalem, the West Bank and the barrier. What is preventing Israel from throwing in more settlers, creating more space for them, and then have that as a new fait accompli? I know what you imply, Richard, but this occupation, unless ceased tomorrow, can only grow with more Israelis littering the West Bank, therefore more opportunity for them to be a permanence even with a Palestinian state. You ask plenty of Phil, where do you draw the line on who stays and who goes?