The first time I stepped into a settlement was during my military service. I did a job that let me go home every night, but every now and then we were required to do something they called AVTASH, or SetSec: settlement security. I was a guard in Ganim, in Kadim, in Homesh and in one other settlement whose name I do not recall. Every one of those settlements has been removed since then, as part of the Disengagement. We’d travel there in a military jeep. Somewhere near the city of Afula the officer who rode with us said we had entered Area A, and that we had to load our weapons. With our ridiculous guns we traveled through the car-part stripping facilities of Jenin, along ragged roads, until we came to the settlement. These were “quality of life” settlers and were quite nice, in a superficial acquaintance. I remember Homesh in particular. We were guarding in the winter, and the guard booth was covered with perennial fog that had a metallic aftertaste. Around us were mountains, Arab villages, and rock rabbits. I loved those guarding shifts.
The next time I would enter a Palestinian area would be on the way to a demonstration in Bil’in. I took a rideshare bus which left from Tel Aviv’s central bus station. It was odd to be there without a loaded weapon, to hope that the soldiers wouldn’t stop me at the checkpoint. It was even stranger to see the Palestinian Authority flag. Not strange – frightening.
Israelis don’t know Arabs. Left-wingers don’t, either. I met one at the university, another at work. I have never witnessed a meeting between an Arab and a right winger, but I find it hard to believe that it would be as amusing as a meeting between a left-winger and an Arab. They do a special dance at one another. And it’s mostly the left-wingers. They use a careful series of gestures to make it abundantly clear they are ok, and that they carry all of the right opinions. Having taken part of this very dance at least once I can tell how very embarrassing and inarticulate it can be. Arabs are not exempt of this, and perhaps they are even more committed to it. A meeting between a Jew and an Arab, even when it is full of good intentions – especially when it is full of good intentions – has explosive potential. The embarrassment remains with you thereafter, and you wonder if the problem is yours or if you just don’t like the person.
Relations between Jews and Arabs in Israel are so very charged that I had a hard time even writing the actual word “Arab”. In such a situation, where an entirely reasonable word has already been linked to a euphemism of its own – they’re called “minorities” in the Israeli discourse – it is something of a shock to enter Bil’in. These are not “Israeli Arabs” but Palestinians, and the village looks exactly as you’d expect a Palestinian village to look like, just like the ones in the press photos. I came to the demonstration after Bassam Abu Rahmeh died. Old cars were driving down the main street, covered with pictures of him and Palestinian flags. A kid rode his bike with a Bassam poster waving in front of his face, blocking his field of vision. Suddenly when you’re there, afraid, you understand just how many layers separate you from this experience, just how much a Palestinian still seems to be a creature of evil intent. You’re still there, with your weapon loaded.
Looking back it seems to me that this was an important demonstration. My criticism of the radical left was much sharper. Today I can’t even remember what it was. In his essay on nationalism Orwell described a condition of reverse-nationalism – the automatic, instinctive revulsion at one’s own country. Currently I have to double-check myself twice a day that that’s not where I’m at. Before Bil’in that was one of the things that infuriated me about the radical left, i.e. the demonstrating left.
I’m not sure this is a positive condition, but it does seem to be a relevant one, and to encompass more than just my own personal experience. You have to be there, and go there yet again, to see how a Palestinian flag can suddenly be taken for granted, almost as if you’ve come to a safe harbor. If you’re a left-winger there is no doubt that Bil’in is safer than the nearest checkpoint or settlement. Your identification framework shifts.
I think that most of us cannot understand the craptacular extent of the situation here. Keren, a friend of mine, phrased it well: for us, everything works. If we see cops down the street, they will obviously not harass us; we’re not afraid of a security guard or of a soldier on the bus. That’s not how it is for Arabs or, in some cases, for Mizrahi Jews. A young woman I know once told me about the calculus of stepping into a taxi: an older driver will try to lay you; a young driver will try, but only hesitantly; an Arab driver will try. This stunned me: the fact that entire chunks of my existence and hers were so radically different. A man doesn’t engage in this calculus, he doesn’t even know it exists. And what’s true for women is even more so about other populations. I am not sure that I can imagine how an Arab in this country perceives authorities, what it means to know that if you have a beer outdoors and a cop goes by, he’ll likely pour it out. As Keren put it, he’s entitled to, of course, but I don’t think this would happen to me.
***
It is for this reason that the debate about recent cancellation of performances in Israel make me tired, more than anything else. Because I don’t think it can actually, truly be explained. Singer Ninette Tayeb, Israel’s rags-to-riches darling, phrased it well in response to the cancellation of the Devendra Banhart performance: “why would you mix politics, which is the height of filth, with the purest thing, music, in the first place? I find it hard to understand this, I am quite agitated. What’s happening here is most upsetting.” How can you even explain to her that it’s not politics, that it’s people? She won’t understand. For her to start understanding she has to go through a checkpoint, and she’ll never-ever do that, because she does not understand.
And it doesn’t matter whether or not you’re a left-winger, because even as a left-winger, the number of times you butt heads with the state is very low, if ever you do. Because, even as a left-winger, you don’t really understand how extensive the occupation is, how much it trickles into every part of your life. The Israeli rage about the boycott of products from the settlements demonstrates a bit of that. The left likes to mention the economic price of the occupation and of the fact that we don’t actually have any clue about the budgets being diverted to the settlements. That’s true, of course, but to be fair, the occupation also yields profits. The boycott of settlement products concerns the regime for a good reason – the Palestinians are a market, and apparently a serious one. Journalist Amira Hass suggested that the prohibition on conveying coriander, cardamom, cumin, and hummus is in place in order to make Israel a monopoly in the field. In other words, it is quite possible that Israeli companies enjoy the siege of Gaza and support its continuation. Our lifestyle here, the economic growth, the tax income, the very existence of some Israeli companies – these all require that Palestinians be kept in conditions of starvation.
Ninette could not even say the word “occupation”. As far as she’s concerned, that’s politics. Her music can only remain pure, absent any politics, if Ninette can refrain from seeing the occupation. Orwell once wrote about the rough people, the ones who do the dirty work so the decent folks can sleep well at night. In Israel there is a whole army that does that work, and the decent folk can still live their lives without seeing it for even a moment.
I have no issues with apolitical art. Quite to the contrary. But our fear of the politicization of art does not pertain to aesthetic considerations. It is merely the simple fear of knowing that our lives here are political. A band cannot visit Israel today without making what looks like a political declaration. “We tried to make it clear that we are coming to share a human and not a political message, but it seems that we are being used to support opinions that we do not share”, said Devendra Banhart. He is wrong. There is no need for an agent to use him. Performing here [in Israel] is a political statement, and it is the wrong political statement.
Israelis like to claim that boycotting Israel only pushes Israeli discourse to the extreme. It is likely that they’re right, to a certain extent. But it seems to me that after 43 years, thousands of administrative detentions, thousands of casualties, and tens of thousands of homes demolished, Israel has lost the right to ask to be left to solve this problem alone. In fact, I am not sure that there is anyone who seriously believes that Israel is capable of doing so. This is why the cancelled performances gladdens me. Because it is only the beginning. When this snowball starts seriously rolling, and sanctions are imposed, Israel will no longer have any option but to make a decision. That keeps me optimistic. And I know this text will make many Israelis loathe me, and I know they will not understand. But, really, you’ve got to be there, by the Palestinian flag, with tear gas all around you, to start understanding. There is no other choice.
Itamar Sha'altiel is an Israeli blogger and an ex-journalist. While he should been writing about literary theory and cognitive studies, in which he majored, living in Israel compels him to engage mainly with politics and human rights. This article originally appeared in Hebrew on the Friends of George blog, on June 16th, 2010, here. http://www.hahem.co.il/
Brilliant article – a beautiful description of the cognitive dissonance of being Israeli in the midst of Palestine
Not much more to be said. Well done.
Very penetrating article; I’d like to see Richard Witty comment on it.
Lettuce reason together, Witty said crisply!
Message to agents of the Palestine Lobby who support BDS: Go to the Temple Mount and see it is illegal for Jews to pray there.
The reason that my comments are constantly moderated are simply because Jews that support Israel are moderated and censored in the fashion of the Iranian regime, while the Jew baiters can say the worst AntiSemitic things without any moderation.
I ask again that I not be moderated, as this is simply a tactic to silence moral dissent.
maximalistNarrative July 22, 2010 at 3:48 pm
Always with the whining….
mnarrative, there are places all over the internet you are very free to say anything you want. andrew sullivan recently asked if there were any non zionists journalists working in the american msm today. thus far no one has found one. jews that support israel are generally not moderated at all, it is us who are moderated and accused of anti semitism for saying what simply looks like truth as we see it. phil and adam have created a space for us here. if you don’t like it here go elsewhere.
“Message to agents of the Palestine Lobby who support BDS:”
maximalistNarrative: “I am NOT a lunatic! I have ALL the psychiatric reports to prove it!”
If you have not noticed people here address brutal Israeli policies and the destructive and disproportionate power and influence that the I lobby has here in the states. Trying to label much needed and deserved legitimate criticism of Israel and the I lobby is not “Jew baiting” When will you give up on this strategy. Just does not work any longer
“When will you give up on this strategy”
They can’t, Kathleen.
“When will you give up on this strategy”
They can’t, Kathleen.
No, they can’t. Absolutely, Mooser, you’re dead on. They have nowhere else to go – in a sense, they’re trapped themselves intellectually.
disturbing news
H Res 1553
“Nearly one third of the Republican Caucus in the House of Representatives has introduced a resolution giving Israel a green light to attack Iran. H.Res.1553 declares unwavering support for Israel to “use all means necessary,” to “eliminate nuclear threats” posed by Iran. ”
JULY 22, 2010
Mr. GOHMERT (for himself,
Mr. AKIN,
Mrs. BACHMANN,
Mr. BARTLETT,
Mr. BISHOP of Utah,
Mrs. BLACKBURN,
Mr. BONNER,
Mr. BROUN of Georgia,
Mr. BURTON of Indiana,
Mr. CAMPBELL,
Mr. CHAFFETZ,
Mr. CONAWAY,
Mr. CULBERSON,
Ms. FALLIN,
Mr. FLEMING,
Mr. FRANKS of Arizona,
Mr. GINGREY of Georgia,
Ms. GRANGER,
Mr. GRIFFITH,
Mr. HENSARLING,
Mr. HERGER,
Mr. KING of Iowa,
Mr. LAMBORN,
Mr. LATTA,
Mr. LOBIONDO,
Mrs. LUMMIS,
Mr. MARCHANT,
Mr. NEUGEBAUER,
Mr. PENCE,
Mr. PITTS,
Mr. POSEY,
Mr. PRICE of Georgia,
Mr. OLSON,
Mr. ROONEY,
Mrs. SCHMIDT,
Mr. SHADEGG,
Mr. SMITH of Texas,
Mr. WESTMORELAND,
Mr. ROSKAM,
Mr. MCCOTTER,
Mr. BROWN of South Carolina,
Mr. RYAN of Wisconsin,
Mr. MCCLINTOCK,
Mr. JORDAN of Ohio,
Mr. BARTON of Texas,
Mr. KINGSTON, and
Mr. CARTER
one of the more distressing names on the list is that of Paul Ryan of Wisconsin, a smart and promising representative, at least on domestic issues involving economic policy.
Not surprised to see my corruptocrat on that list.
curious that you compare your tragic, (non)moderated status to Iran rather than to Israel,
where NO journalism comes out of the state without the approval of an IDF censor,
where Avner Cohen was forced to seek refuge in the US after he wrote a book about Israel’s sacred Third Temple;
where Mordechai Vanunu is still silenced,
where Ameer Makhoul was dragged from his home in the middle of the night, his family terrorized, his belongings confiscated, he, tortured and imprisoned — by Israelis;
ISRAEL,
where in 2008, police secretly wiretapped 207,000 phone conversations;
THIS is what happens to you in Israel when you do something the “moderators” disapprove of, babycakes.
Anything like that happening to you?
Hasbara: the fact-free version of Israeli reality.
Then why, MaxiBS, would Ayalon be pushing for “more” opportunities for Jews to prEy there, rather than *any*? And those Jews who *already* do come from all over Israel, the Occupied Territories and the world, while I wonder how difficult it is for a Palestinian from outside E Jerusalem to make such a visit.
Message to Zionist tools: go to Herod’s wall and see Jews arrested for praying there.
It is illegal for Jews to pray in their most holy site. That doesn’t fit your humanist agenda however
See this:
link to intifada-palestine.com
which includes the priceless quote:
For those who use the bible to support Israel need to differentiate between God\s promise and Balfour promise (Balfour Declaration), because the occupation is the result of a promise given to the Israelis by Lord Balfour and not by God.
Thankyou, Itamaar, for an insightful piece
Temple Mount …
All the more reason to boycott the Israeli government that engages in such discriminatory practices. BDS until all are free to worship at the Temple Mount/Haram ash-Sharif.
Thanks, Itamar. Great post.
Outstanding piece.
An excellent deconstruction of what occupation as a state of cognitive dissonance means to the individual Israeli. Also a cogent defense of BDS – not as a campaign of “delegitimization” as Israel’ apologists like to say, but as a consciousness raising exercise. Consciousness sometime must be raised as a necessary prelude to finding a conscience. And Israelis have been allowing themselves far too long to live with neither consciousness of the palestinians within and outside the green line, and because of that lack of awareness – which the entire population is complicit in, the collective body of Israelites is in serious danger of slipping into conscience-free zone, of ever shrinking circles. I think Itamar ably illustrates why and how BDS – as exemplified by the cancelled performance- is so absolutely necessary to wake the people up from their stupor. Yes, people like Bernard Avishai will argue that BDS is not sufficient to bring about an end to the occupation. That may be true, but is exactly what makes it more, not less, necessary to at least start breaking the hold of the occupation within.
Danaa, your comment is an excellent complement to a wonderful article.
Thank, David :)
atmosphere of transparent suspended haze, beautiful rhythm
I just wanted to add that Margeret Atwood espoused that “pure-art” palaver also. Its either a dishonest tactic, or, if in earnest is really irritating in the sense of please pull your head out of your own ass and mingle the the little people.
“There is no other choice”
Sure there is; Masadadammerung!
DENA SHUNRA- Thanks for another meaningful translation.
It is a pleasure to translate this sort of piece. Itamar rocks!
The article ignores the violence committed by the Palestinian Arabs that led to the imposition of military rule.
Shaaltiel is complaining that war is hell, especially for the losers, so Israel should decide to lose!
Some of the reasons for the Israelis not knowing Arabs are a) The language barrier, b) a long stream of baloney coming from the PLO, etc. c) There isn’t any advantage to learning more, when there are more useful things to do; like living ones life, d) long spans of time in which the Arab Palestinians refuse even to negotiate (like now), e) long spans of time in which getting to know Arabs can get you killed.
And if were really so hard for Israelis to know the Arabs, why would we believe that Shaaltiel knows more than any other Israeli?
I’m not familiar with the performers mentioned.
I can’t see your entire avatar, is there a cart before the horse?
“I can’t see your entire avatar, is there a cart before the horse?”
:)
Look at the expression on the horse’s face. That alone says more than one needs to know….
Reminds me of freakin “Equis” oh man.
“The article ignores the violence committed by the Palestinian Arabs that led to the imposition of military rule.”
As opposed to all those military occupations which didn’t have military rule? As long as you are under military occupation, you are under military rule, I thought.
So when can we expect you to join the IOF, tomorrow or next week? If you don’t have an Israeli citizenship yet, we can start the ball rolling, get you all the right paperwork and in a matter of weeks you’ll be in.
Deal?
Military rule was imposed on the Palestinians way before the violence started. In fact, it was imposed right after the 67′ war.
And there is no language barrier between Israelis and Arabs. Most Palestinians speak hebrew fluently, and it’s even more so regarding the Israeli-Palestinians. It’s the Jews that don’t speak arabic. There should be more then enough chances for such meetings to occure. The reason this is not the case has nothing to do with the PLO (that does not represent Israeli-Arabs nor Palestinians living in Gaza) or the slim chances of getting killed. It’s reason C, in your comment, that tells the truth – most Israelis don’t want it, and it’s probably the same for some of the Arabs too. This, naturally, has something to do with the “Matzav”, the hebrew word for “The State of Affairs”. How does that has anything to do with the argument I was making?
You have no reason to believe a word I say, of course, though it’s a poor way of making an argument.
P.S.
(Itamar Sha’altiel)
For some reason, my previous comment didn’t appear, so here it is again:
Military rule was imposed on the Palestinians way before the violence started. In fact, it was imposed right after the 67′ war.
And there is no language barrier between Israelis and Arabs. Most Palestinians speak hebrew fluently, and it’s even more so regarding the Israeli-Palestinians. It’s the Jews that don’t speak arabic. There should be more then enough chances for such meetings to occure. The reason this is not the case has nothing to do with the PLO (that does not represent Israeli-Arabs nor Palestinians living in Gaza) or the slim chances of getting killed. It’s reason C, in your comment, that tells the truth – most Israelis don’t want it, and it’s probably the same for some of the Arabs too. This, naturally, has something to do with the “Matzav”, the hebrew word for “The State of Affairs”. How does that has anything to do with the argument I was making?
You have no reason to believe a word I say, of course, though it’s a poor way of making an argument.
It’s true that some Palestinians in Israel or in the occupied territories don’t want it. The Palestinians I have spoken with over the years, those who would fall into the not-wanting-to-talk-to-Israelis category, do so because they see the injustice Israel has caused, starting with the early colonization of Palestine in the early part of the 1900s up until this week where Palestinian homes were demolished. Once they see all this injustice, and they see that Israel refuses to acknowledge — at the very least — its past crimes, they refuse to talk to Israelis (Israeli Jews). If they did, they feel they would be relinquishing their basic rights, they would be recognizing the legitimacy of Israel’s criminal actions.
Why?
It’s a way for the occupied to reject the occupier’s, the colonizer’s legitimacy; “If you won’t recognize the simple fact that you have wronged us, then we won’t recognize your legitimacy to being part of this neighborhood we call the Middle East. Until you admit those injustices, we will continue to view you as European colonizers, foreign to this region”.
Yet another aspect has to do with resistance to oppression. I’ll use an extreme example here to make a point; imagine that allied military officers held in German POW camps made a great effort to learn German in order to better communicate with the file and rank German guards that ran the camps. What would one say about those officers?
Sure, there are a few anti-Semites here and there. The problem is that Israel’s apologists would like to dismiss the entire Palestinian people as “anti-Semites”.
I think we all saw how that accusation works with the recent Tablet tabloid. Zionists have dragged the “anti-Semite” label through so much mud, abused it so much, that it has become meaningless and hollow.
Going back to the point Itamaar was making, it’s true that most Palestinians, on either side of the Green Line speak Hebrew unlike the Jewish majority who barely know the Arabic alphabet. I’ll go further and say that many Palestinians speak better Hebrew than some Jewish Israelis. The Palestinians have a vested interest in learning Hebrew because they need it to go about their daily lives, Jewish Israelis could care less about Arabic since they can avoid Arabs and Arabic without even noticing their existence.
The center of power is taken by the majority, the Hebrew-speaking Jewish Israeli majority. Since Palestinians have been excluded from that center of power, they were forced to learn Hebrew in order to survive. Understandably, some Palestinians refuse to engage with Israeli Jews because they view that as surrendering their dignity to the Master.
Avi:
Excellent point, language is also about power. Using another’s language is a way of recognizing their legitimacy. Israeli Jews have the option to not have to learn Arab in order to lead normal lives – those going through checkpoints, responding to IDF soldiers, police, etc. have no choice but learn their language, it’s a given. I’m reminded of American tourists…
Most of Israeli-Jews don’t speak Arabic, even though they have more then enough opportunities to acquire it. As a child, I was given the chance to learn it at school, but I never did. I did my best to know English, but I never put the same effort in learning Arabic. I don’t think that it was due to the a clear thought process, one that was afraid of legitimizing the Palestinian demands. It’s never like that. The reason I didn’t try to learn the language then, even though it was surely much simpler then grasping with the English grammar, had more to do with a light kind of racism. I thought of Arabic as an “ugly language”, and one that I had no interest in knowing. I didn’t think of the Arabs as “ugly”, not that I recall, but I did associate their language with terror. Arabic was the language of the news, the tongue of weird, emotional speeches I could not, would not, understand.
There was a radio commercial in Israel, in which an inflammatory speech – to judge by the sound of it – was carried in Arabic. After the short speech was done, a new voice, in Hebrew, said: “Are foreign languages frightens you? Go and learn with…”. I think this sums it up.
When I was in junior high, in Israel, Arabic was a required subject. However, the school did NOT want us to learn it. What to do?
They put a teacher in charge of my class for two hours a week which were called Arabic studies, but during which she told us fascinating stories from the life of a grown woman. She was a rabbi’s wife, and had five children and a demi-infinite number of stories to tell.
Later on I got busy with other things, and by the time studying Arabic became a goal, I was far away from any Arabic teachers. (I’ll get to it someday. It is such a beautiful language!)
I’m sorry for the mistakes. The complexities of the English grammar, indeed.
(I’ll get to it someday. It is such a beautiful language!)
Yes Shunra. It is..A special mention to poetry..It’s in that form that Arabic language reaches towering heights, past and present….
BTW, Hebrew has a lot in common with Arabic. I was reading Ilan Pappe’s book “The Ethnic Cleansing of Palestine” and there are many Hebrew words that I could easily work out their meaning..Tihur = tathir (cleansing)…Nikkuy= neq’aa(cleaning)..Kippa=Qibba(dome) and Qub’aa’ (hat) Nachnou= nahnou(we)… Shabbat=Sabbt(Saturday)..etc.
Military rule was imposed on Arabs in Israel before there officially was an Israel. It’s more convenient that way, to have the troops standing by so the looters don’t suffer interference with their activities.
איתמר
נ ראה לי שא תה אד ם חז ק והח לטי. כל ה כ בוד.
Itamar,
You’ve done well. Thanks for sharing your experiences my good man.
Thanks :)
Thanks to both author and translator for a moving and important work. Thanks to this blog for publishing it.
Attention blogmasters: Here are two other pieces that I nominate as worthy of featuring:
Max Blumenthal interviews Haneen Zoghbi in Nazareth: “The Largest Threat to Democracy is Zionism”
and
Helena Cobban: Powerful Rebuke of SA Chief Rabbi Over Goldstone
Both are very important pieces.
bijou
first link – brilliant interview!
second didn’t seem to work.
thanks
Bumblebye
Try this:
link to justworldnews.org
Thank you!
There should be a few red faces at the Capitol – except they don’t do shame there either!
Envelopes full of cash do wonders at dispelling shame.
“In Israel there is a whole army that does that work, and the decent folk can still live their lives without seeing it for even a moment.”
Yes, in essence, this is really a big part of the “special relationship” of the USA with Israel, mutually ignoring – out of sight, out of mind? I can play this video, and it is equally true of both Israel and the USA –
BOMBS
Hey, “its not me, its not my family.”
ZOMBIE-ITIS
Cheers VR.
The israeli “bride”:
link to youtube.com
Has Mondoweiss given any coverage to the Bernard Avishai piece in The Nation arguing against BDS? Seems like that might be an important thing to critique seeing as it appeared in the print edition.
I’m pretty sure that was beaten with the ugly stick a little while back.
“I’m pretty sure that was beaten with the ugly stick a little while back.”
The nation is an ugly shtick.
A lot of ground that is very well covered in this piece. Very well done.
Be careful, Itamar Shaaltiel.
Itamar, i’m so moved by what you have written. it blows my mind you first entered the west bank, bil’in ..again so recently as after bassam had been killed. i was there myself for the first time last spring. it gives me so much hope in just one year..just..thank you. for me the most moving part of your writing here is your description of this special dance.
i have more to say to you (when i first entered gaza) perhaps tomorrow. thank you so much. keep being as brave as you are today the world really needs you, israel really needs you, palestine needs you, peace needs you.
Thank you for sharing your experiences with us, Itamar. The insight you convey is priceless.
As a South African, I always find this to be the saddest element of the Israeli Palestinian situation. South African white and black people were never so completely cut off from each other. As apalling as apartheid was, we never had walls and check points, so it was much harder for races to live so completely past each other. It had a fairly limited effect in the mainstream, translating into something close to the Israeli political left: “o gosh, we can see the suffering of these people and feel quite bad for them; so if they stop fighting us we will give them some more privileges so they’ll suffer less.” But at least the suffering was hard to avoid noticing, while walling people off makes it easy to hide.
The mixing also explains why many white South Africans were involved in the resistance struggle. Regardless of the amount of ANC violence, (and read our Truth and Reconciliation Commission documents to debunk the common belief that it was limited to infrastructure), white people at all times participated in their tens of thousands. Dare I repeat that the Jewish participation was especially lively? That’s why those who take themselves as speaking for the Jewish community in South Africa are constantly under attack by former anti-apartheid activists for their support of Israeli policies.
Rather than listen to all this subjectivising, what I would like to know is: What proportion of you disillusioned jewish israelis have dual citizenship, the other citizenship being of no matter what other country? What proportion of you are eligible for citizenship of some other country, but have not as yet obtained it? And why don’t those of you who have it just simply leave? You should have grasped by now that the state of israel is going straight to hell, and there is nothing you can do to stop it.
Rowan,
I guess we’re damned if we do and damned if we don’t. I have also been asked why I didn’t stay in Israel to fight for Palestinian rights. I have tremendous respect for those, like Itamar, who choose to stay and fight. Their contribution is vital.
I have no idea how many Israeli citizens are entitled to a foreign citizenship. I know the issue of foreign citizenship does not come off the agenda, at least since the sixties. Some law firms in Israel are dealing with just that, each specializes in a different country. as an Israeli, you might see some Google ads for those firms, when you open your email. But, as mentioned, I have no numbers.
About me, for all I know I’m not entitled to a foreign citizenship. It does not have to stop me; There are countries where it’s relatively easy to obtain citizenship – Canada, for example. But I do not see myself leaving so soon. I write in Hebrew, I write for my living` My parents live here, my friends, all that I know. Living abroad seems more enticing by the minute, but there is a price, and I do not know yet if I want to live as an exile. I’m also not sure that Israel is going straight to hell, as you said. It’s easy to become over pessimistic, especially considering the current state of affairs, but states don’t collaps just like that, and some manage to get out from even deeper depths. I’m still hoping it would happen in Israel too, somehow.
thank you Itamar Shaaltiel. thank you
Beautiful, thank you.
Dear Itamar: Here is an article I wrote about a visit to the OTs in May 2009 -
link to peacoil.blogspot.com
I, an American Jew, and Labor Zionist practically since the day I was born, also got to see things from a different perspective in that short visit. Also, never having lived in Israel other than for 10 months in 1975/76 on a youth program, I couldn’t possibly see things the way you do. But I am very aware of the sense of isolation Israelis on the left feel. I know how hard it is to openly express your views, and I understand that the politics has moved so far to the right, that expressing your views could get you into trouble with the authorities. As such, I fully understand that you support BDS. It is nice to know that at least a majority of the rest of the world sees things more like you do.
Recently, in response to the first grocery store in the US joining the boycott of Israeli goods, I wrote a long letter to its board saying why I’m against BDS. I’ve also posted the letter in the comments following an article on this site on July 20th about the Olympia Food Co-op boycott. It is the last comment.
The Olympia Food Co-op decided to exempt from the boycott a product that I sell them. The product is Peace Oil (www.peaceoil.net). It is Palestinian olive oil exported by Canaan Fair Trade, the largest Palestinian exporter of West Bank olive oil, and two Israeli fair trade groups that work with Palestinian farmers.
I am concerned that despite all the excellent reasons you give for the boycott, it might backfire. Centrist Israelis will move to the right. Right wing Israelis will harden their position. The government will get even more macho and refuse to budge. Rather than bringing an end to the list of violations of human rights that you cite, BDS may very well prolong it.
It is easy for me to say that I am in favor of the growing movement for non-violent protest by marching and striking in the West Bank. I don’t have to face live ammunition here at my computer in Seattle when I write that I’m in favor of it. However, I truly believe that non-violent direct action by Palestinians, International supporters and especially their Israeli Jewish supporters is the best tactic and most likely to succeed. I think the Gandhian model is much more appropriate than the South African model. Brave Palestinians who pose no threat to Jews, that have Jews standing side by side with them and who are committed enough to the cause to face bullets will have a much greater impact on the Jewish psyche than the whole world singling out Israel for exceptional punishment.
BDS is an invitation to the holocaust fear buried in the souls of most Jews, especially those in Israel, to take over the brain completely and render it useless. I’m sure you’ve heard the term “Masada Complex”. Jews have done it before and will do it again. In this case we have the power to cause massive suffering to others in the process.
There are many ways to support Palestinian self-determination that are better than BDS in addition to direct non-violent protest. I understand the frustration that has led to the BDS movement and I can see that superficially at any rate, it looks like a pretty straightforward tactic. But I ask you and other Israelis and Jews that are supporting it to look around you and ask, what will the impact be on my centrist and even rightist friends and family members? The goal should be to shift the political winds in Israel so that Israeli Jews see that helping Palestine come into existence is in our interest. Most people will act when their self-interest is impacted. Sadly, we haven’t evolved to where most people will act when they see injustice.