Rebecca Vilkomerson tells a quietly-stirring story at The Only Democracy, about the (apparently-accidental) killing by Israeli soldiers of a Bedouin youth two weeks ago in a village in the Negev that is surrounded by military reserves. Vilkomerson explains that Qasr al-Sir was originally part of Dimona, the Israeli city in the Negev where they do hummina-hummina-hummina. Then the village got displaced. But despite the fact that it is a recognized village, it exists in a precarious geographical status, in which boys going for a hike in the hills are fired upon.
When people talk about Israel's right to exist, which is not something I dispute, I would point out that Israel is routinely denying the right of Palestinians to exist on their lands, and no one gives a hoot. Please note in the following story that there is no real investigation of the killing; and this is accepted around the world. Remember how the killing of one Greek youth detonated political upheaval in that nation? Do you think that Palestinians do not also cherish their children? I apologize for the sloganeering, but-- attention must be paid. Vilkomerson:
Qasr al-Sir was an “unrecognized” village in its new location—meaning it didn’t appear on any maps, didn’t receive any basic services like water, electricity, paved roads, sewage treatment, or garbage collection, and its homes could be destroyed at any time. The group of villages that were “recognized” in 2003 are controversial, because in return for the recognition, they gave up the right to the rest of their territorial land.
For Qasr al-Sir, this means that while the village itself now has some “amenities”–such as a school, some paved roads, and protection from home demolitions–it is still dealing with conditions that are unthinkable in Jewish communities in Israel. One of these problems is that right up to its very boundaries, unmarked, is a military training zone where soldiers can fire freely. The village is literally fenced in by the military.
This is no coincidence on a systemic level, as 85% of the Negev (or Naqab in Arabic) has been either requisitioned as a closed military zone or nature preserve. This is one of the ways that the Bedouins in the Negev have been forced to relinquish more and more of their lands, forced into isolated urban and rural areas with minimal, if any services.
The young man who was killed was a member of BUSTAN’s new eco-building training program. He was 19 years old. There was next to no media coverage of his death–one paragraph in YNET (the website of Yediot Ahronot, the largest Israeli daily paper) which mistakenly called the village “unrecognized” and implied that the men were trespassing–and nothing more. Similarly–no real investigation. When folks from BUSTAN called the local police chief to see why not, he was irritated and dismissive of their concerns.
No one thinks the boy was killed on purpose. It was Friday afternoon, almost Shabbat, a time when it should have been quiet and it would have been safe to walk the hills. In that sense, it was a “mistake.” But it was a mistake that speaks entire worlds.
“When people talk about Israel’s right to exist, which is not something I dispute,”
Thanks for that clarification. Is that your final answer?
“Is that your final answer?”
Yeah, like that’s your final question?
Let me tell you something, Witty. There’s a perfect, tho somewhat obscure, Yiddish word which describes you. Someday, I am going to learn that word, and when I do, I will use it, and mean it to sting! Ha!
Is that your final solution, Witty?
Richard Witty asks about final answers, perhaps thinking of final solutions (but whose?). “Israel has a right to exist, which I do not dispute” would not be my final answer. For clarification, I’d add this:
Israel has a right to exist but not to take other people’s water.
Israel has a right to exist but not to take other people’s land.
Israel has a right to exist but not to take other people’s lives.
Israel has a right to exist but not to invade its neighbors without good cause or to violate the laws of war.
And: Israel has a right to exist but not to exclude the people who belong to its land.
Now, admittedly, these caveats do not admit of perfect clarity. Suppose, for example, that the powers that will be decide that Israel has a right to exist where UNGA R. 181 said it did and not (as has been so widely supposed) inside the territory bounded by the “green line.” Suppose further that the PTWB decide that the water of the West Bank’s mountain aquifer belongs at least half (or more than half) to the Palestinians. And so on.
Presently the PTB (Uncle Sam) ignores all that stuff, greatly encouraging Israel to suppose that it can write the rules. Well, so far, it has. So far, Israel itself has, in effect, been both the PTB and the PTWB. As judge and jury and executioner it has done perfect justice.
But just take the last point. What justification can anyone give for a country’s deliberate (plan D) expulsion of a huge portion of the inhabitants of a land they have made home for centuries? “We had the guns!” is an explanation of how it happened, but not a justification.
The error (from the Palestinian POV) of “admitting Israel’s right to exist” is that the very meaning of this seemingly innocuous phrase is bound up in all the above “caveats” (and probably many more). Perhaps, instead, Palestinians should sidestep the “RTX” and, instead, say: you have a right to 1/2 our water and 1/2 our land.
If Phil sees it differently, perhaps he can expound on what he means by not disputing Israel’s right to exist.
There was a recommendation for dedicated humanist religious parties to say prayers for innocents killed.
A very compelling form of civil disobedience. I would recommend that any that attempt that make the effort to consult with orthodox rabbis to identify forms that that can happen without being in contradiction to Torah, thereby addressing in advance the accusation of violating Jewish law.
Yawn~
More apologetic from the resident village idiot.
“A very compelling form of civil disobedience.”
That’s your idea of “civil disobedience”? Holy Shit!
” identify forms that that can happen without being in contradiction to Torah,”
So saying public prayers for innocents being killed might be against the Torah? And we need to consult Rabbis “thereby addressing in advance the accusation of violating Jewish law”? Oh yeah, you are one piece of work. And not very bright, Richard. Listen, you idiot: of course Phil does not dispute Israel’s right to exist, how can he? But I’m pretty sure he knows, as do most of us here, that if Israel had to exist within the legal framework which usually contains nations it would fall to pieces.
Supporting Israel’s “right to exist”, you may notice he did not say “right to exist as the Jewish State”.
That’s your idea of “civil disobedience”? Holy Shit!
Yup, apparently Witty thinks praying is against the law, thus it is civil disobedience to do so. However, he’s all good with “civil disobedience” as long as we check with some Orthodox rabbis to make sure that the praying isn’t against [Jewish] law. Can’t engage in civil disobedience that might be against the law, you know.
Or was this just another clever self-parody on Witty’s part?
How come you never want to talk about Israeli soldiers killing civilians — children particularly — in cold blood? You constantly harp on Hamas for crimes that aren’t even that direct. You don’t consider this a crime, Witty?
I always get the feeling that Witty thinks he is talking past us to a discerning Jewish Zionist audience (which follows Mondoweiss?), which he pictures tsk’ing and tch’ing at our maximalist and near-fascist solutions, and exclaiming “Now there’s a real mensch!” when they read Witty’s posts.
I do appreciate that all of us are in the way of this web site’s true purpose, (as Witty sees it) to facilitate a private conversation between Witty and himself and that discerning Zionist audience.
But whatever you do, don’t give him a drink, or he’ll start demonstrating his brilliant synthesis of Tantric Yoga and “Sweatin’ to the Oldies” to his “Ravi Shankar meets The Klezmatics” record.
He has said that he gets appreciative emails for his posts here, so your feelings are probably accurate.
I see, Richard gets apreciative e-mails for his posts, but those people never, ever indicate their approval of Richard here, at Mondoweiss. Yeah, I believe that, cause when you click on Richard’s name, up pops his e-mail address! (No, it doesn’t)
What he means is that a couple of his comrades in crime who aren’t even brave enough to register and say it here, e-mail him.
Or he might be lying! After all, there is no shame in a person facing an existential threat, a life-and-death situation, saying an untruth to avoid death.
It’s not like this is some kind of exceptional action. Killing and maiming Arabs is no big deal to most Israelis, no matter how innocent, intelligent, beloved, or beautiful the victims are. This story of a friend of a friend of mine who was shot in the back by Israeli soldiers and then treated like crap by Israeli hospital staff is atypical only in that there was an American around to witness and write about it:
link to fasttimesinpalestine.wordpress.com
“I would recommend THAT any THAT attempt THAT make the effort”
Witty
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Richard, not to be mean, I’m not a third as versed in the English language as you, but..THAT gives me headaches that won’t go..
RE: “Judith Butler joins Chomsky, Tutu, Klein and a growing chorus worldwide in support of Berkeley divestment” – Horowitz
Just 24 hours to make history
From: Jewish Voice for Peace (info@jewishvoiceforpeace.org)
Sent: Tue 4/13/10 7:44 PM
Join JVP, Archbishop Desmond Tutu, Noam Chomsky, Naomi Klein, Judith Butler, and Bibi Netanyahu’s sister-in-law, Ofra Ben Artzi, as well as Israeli peace groups like the Shministim, Gush Shalom, and the Coalition of Women for Peace and help make history at the University of California at Berkeley by sending a letter of support for divestment now.
On March 18, UC Berkeley’s student senate voted 16 to 4 to divest from General Electric and United Technologies because of their role in harming civilians as part of Israel’s illegal occupation and the attack on Gaza.
A week later, the Senate president vetoed the bill despite a massive outpouring of support for divestment.
But the final decision will be made tomorrow, Wednesday April 14 at 7pm PST, when the veto can be overturned with just 14 votes.
The bill’s opponents have been waging a fierce campaign of misinformation, including a closed door meeting with the Israeli Consulate General where student senators were actually told that massive Jewish criticism of Israeli human rights violations is a cultural pathology. The senators have also been flooded with letters and we’ve now heard that Alan Dershowitz may be on campus.
That’s why we’re asking you to email the UC Berkeley senators to let them know why you support divestment and why they should overturn the veto.
TO SEND E-MAILS – link to salsa.democracyinaction.org
Prayer: A colossal waste of time.
Consulting with a religious “elder” to find out if engaging in solemn contemplation of a particular even is “kosher”: Utterly freaking stupid. It must require a staggering amount of brainwashing for anyone to think such a thing actually makes sense.
“particular event”, not “even”. (I wish we had temporary edit privileges.)