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ChicagoPalestine

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• Rawabi, and the American mission to civilize the West Bank
  • ChicagoPalestine January 16, 2010 at 9:52 am

    I need to interject here. There are many flaws in the argument of Mr. Moor’s blog post, as well as with the comments that followed. Perhaps it will be easiest to do this in list form:

    1. Where, oh where, do you see any red tiled roofs, Mr. Moor? There are none. Completely fictitious comments may make your argument more colorful, but it doesn’t help drive your point home in the long run.

    2. Also, tearing apart the quote from “the Palestinian,” who touchingly remarks that he dreams of having a quiet and safe place to raise his 6 children…very tasteful. Very. And asking him where his dignity is? That is simply indecent. What do you know of this man? Of his life? And how did that, in any way whatsoever, help your argument?
    Also, I want to make one more point beyond that bizarre personal attack on “the Palestinian” who apparently has not, for whatever reason, earned the right to decide for himself where he wants to live (I guess he should have requested both your personal political analysis of and approval on the matter before daring to open his mouth…Oh, that blubbering fool). Equating someone who lives in the West Bank wanting a view of the sea with acceptance of racism against him is absolutely absurd. If a two-state solution is ever reached, and Palestine is given independence and all the things we hope to come with that, will he still not live in this area near his family and friends and job? Will the appeal in having a view of the sea from his neighborhood not remain? It’s amazing the things people can find fault in when that is their sole aim.

    3. Equating wanting to live in Rawabi with wanting to be invited to dinner with Ehud Barack? Now there’s a solid connection.

    4. The mortgage program. This is a revolutionary program in the West Bank. Thousands of Palestinian families are set to benefit tremendously from it. And who doesn’t need a mortgage to buy a home? Why is that appropriate anywhere but Palestine? I would love, really love, for either Mr. Moor or any of those who criticized that aspect of the story to explain themselves– to actually make a clear point as to what is wrong with a functioning mortgage program.

    5. To Jan_gdyn:
    Yes, it is true that Israeli settlements tend to be situated on hilltops but guess what else tend to be situated on hilltops? Palestinian villages. Yep, for centuries. Just wanted to note that, as you clearly have never visited the area, or you would be aware of that little factoid. Also, “This project, architecturally, is modeled on an Israeli settlement. No question about it.”
    Fascinating, did you come to that conclusion based on the one drawing Mr. Moor presents above? Because surely you do not have access to the detailed design drawings that the Palestinian engineers and planners have worked tirelessly to create. If you did, you would know that a great deal of effort has been put towards creating a place that is a unique fusion of Palestinian and western architectural traditions and one that is unlike the one-size-fits-all, red-roofed settlements nearby. Yes it is well-planned, yes it is organized. And that is where the similarities end. And simply because Palestinians haven’t done this on a large scale before now doesn’t mean it should be attributed to or limited to Israeli settlers. After all, they did not invent urban planning!
    By the way, just as an aside, you should probably inform those Palestinian engineers and planners that this, the project of their lives, has been “designed utterly without taste, without shame, without original vision.” And you would know, because you have clearly demonstrated your expertise on all things West Bank and all things Rawabi.

    6. I’d also like to note that there is a general trend among the author of this post and those who commented on it. It is one of anti-middle class/pro-traditional living. But I wonder, do you hold the same convictions with regard to your home countries and cities or only with regard to Palestine? I also wonder, have any of you ever been to Palestine? Better yet, lived in Palestine? Because I do. And if you did, I think you would have different opinions. The advancement and growth of a middle class in Palestine and a progression toward things more “modern” or yes, what we might even call “western” certainly is occurring, but it is nothing terribly new and it is nothing being forced upon them. If you would meet and get to know the young adults (and the older generations, for that matter) of the real Palestine – not the Palestine of your imagination and news blurbs – you would see that Palestinians are just like anyone else and they want the same things as anyone else. And what is that, exactly, you ask? Well, ladies and gentlemen, it varies! Some want to stay in the house of their grandparents (assuming they’ve still got it) and some want to live in bustling, charmingly disheveled downtown Ramallah, and some want a visa to France. And some like the idea of Rawabi and are eager to buy a brand new home on a quiet, well-manicured street a short walk from the restaurants, cafes, and shops of downtown pedestrian promenade and a few minutes-drive from a state-of-the-art new health clinic.
    You may be more comfortable, for whatever reason, with Palestinians staying in their traditional villages or preexisting cities (which, by the way, are painfully overcrowded and with municipal services overextended almost to the point of collapse) and without mortgages and without jobs (Rawabi will create 10,000 new jobs, making it the largest private sector job generation in Palestinian history)…but that is not what they want. And isn’t it about damn time that everyone let the Palestinians speak for themselves? Although clearly not, as I see how well the “the Palestinian” was received.

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