I always blast Brit Tzedek on this site. Today Brit Tzedek sent me a transcript of a telephone press conference with a Washington rabbi/expert visiting Jerusalem, and I admit that just a day or two after my New Year's resolution of having a bigger spirit, I downloaded it with pleasure, anticipating bashing Brit Tzedek some more.
Well Marc Gopin should be chaired through the marketplace. In my W, Non-W division of the world, Gopin is W, Worldly. [Here's a link to download Gopin transcript] Here are a few of his wonderful statements. No, he doesn't say Guernica, or Slaughter, but the man understands:
There has been an increase in civilian counts of
death by first 1 out of every 4, but now is creeping up to about 50% of the
casualties (about 220 out of 490). I
think that is important because at the initial stages of the bombings, there
were clear infrastructure targets that were the great weakness of Hamas and
that is that they had developed a place in the world and that is something
Israel decided to attack in terms of their infrastructure and that was further
removed from civilians, but they started to get to houses where they suspected
Hamas was, which led to civilian casualties.
It will become more fatal to the civilians living in the crowded space
of 30 miles with a million and a half people living on it. Over 100 tons of explosives have already been
dropped on that space which is only about twice the size of Washington DC (not
greater DC, but the district itself). So
weâre having a situation where as this proceeds, there are going to be more
civilian casualties especially if there is ground assault.
So he is alive to Palestinian suffering, and here he knows exactly what the Arab world thinks about Zionism and the cycle of violence.
was in Lebanon) as to whoâs going to have the decisive advantage at the end of
the war? And we can all take a step back and ask, âis this a legitimate reason
to persist?â
The mood at the moment in Israel is somber,
despite doing well militarily, it's nervous, people are waiting for the other
shoe to drop. Among Palestinians and
Israeli Arabs… Itâs
just mourning, itâs rage, itâs frustration, they simply donât know what to do
anymore with themselves and in that atmosphere.
Thereâs no conspiracy, thereâs no planned Intifada thereâs just a lot of
teenagers hearing their parents crying and angry and screaming at their
televisions
I look at the quantity of hatred thatâs
producing and that history has proven the last 60 years that no matter how
excellent the execution, the war with the Arab world and with the Palestinians
doesnât end. Nothing was more brilliant
than â67, and that didnât end anything, on the contrary it created generations
of humiliation in neighboring states.
[emphases mine]
Just one problem with that statement, rabbi. Palestinians were supposed to have a state 60 years ago. The humiliation is of neighboring peoples, who have been denied the right of self-determination for nearly 3 generations in some large measure out of ethnocentric disdain. But here's Gopin on the Israel lobby, completely echoing Walt and Mearsheimer and my friend Michael Massing, too:
inexcusable that I go into congress with a Palestinian friend or student, and
they [congressmen] are horrified by seeing a Palestinian because they think that AIPAC will
find out or they think that the person is a terrorist. [When are we going to read that in the New York Times?] Itâs inexcusable in this day and age [amen amen amen amen] and itâs
absolutely vital that at the most simple level we flood congress with models of
a different future, that we demonstrate to them and we bring them evidence of
where many Jews and Arabs are working together both in the United States and in
Israel and in Palestine….
you want to be in their face both virtually and
in the offices with very constructive suggestions of positive engagement that
are so irrefutable that it would be silly not to do them as opposed to… those who say theyâre defending Israel and those who come in attacking Israel [Phil Weiss need not apply]. Thatâs a nonstarter in a congress thatâs
completely bottled up with thresh [sic; no idea what this means] if they say anything against Israel. Itâs the truly pro-Israel thing for Jewish community
here is to help congress help Israel with a new relationship between Arabs and
Jews and there are many congressmen who want to hear this message.
Why isn't this rabbi on the Times op-ed page? Now here is my favorite bit. In which Gopin says, Forget about working with other Jews in a communal way. Stop having private fights with neocons. In essence: Break with them.
single Jewish pro-peace activist who should ever again spend his life with other Jewish pro-peace Jewish activists or standing over a Sabbath table
arguing with his right wing family. He
should be building Palestinian relationships.
Even one. Arab relationships, Syrian relationships, this is the evidence
of the future and it takes a lot of courage and a lot of work, but it is the
evidence of the future that we need to put in the face of Washington.
One comment. This is what I've always said. THAT BECAUSE RIGHTWING ZIONISTS/ NEOCONS ARE "FAMILY," LEFTWING ZIONIST JEWS HAVE BEEN UNABLE TO BREAK WITH THEM OR CONDEMN THEM. It is ending. THE OMERTA IS ENDING. God bless Rabbi Gopin!
