Three thoughts:
17 Minutes versus 17 hours
I recently spent about a month in the States and the major political difference was: in the States I thought about the Middle East maybe 17 minutes a day, in Israel I think about the “situation” (the matzav) 17 hours a day (assuming a 7 hour sleep cycle). I think this difference makes me more sympathetic towards the Palestinian cause, because 17 minutes is not long enough to think deeply about the issue and 17 hours is way too much time to think only superficially about it. Of course not everyone arrives at the same conclusions after 17 hours. (Post “Cast Lead” I myself arrive at different conclusions than those I arrived at pre “Cast Lead”.)
But the point is that in the States one can avoid the topic most of the day and arrive at shallow conclusions and in Israel this avoidance is impossible for me and would be impossible for many others. (That is why Peter Beinart suggested that serious people visit the West Bank and see for themselves, for he feels that it is the superficiality of their involvement that allows them to disregard the seriousness of the current “situation”.)
Strangers versus familiars
The flight back from Newark to Tel Aviv left on Thanksgiving Day and so the number of Americans rather than Israelis was minimal on the flight. As usual there was a lack of room in the overhead compartments and when one passenger started to rearrange the contents of one compartment so that he could place his own carry-on bag in there as well, the owners of the other contents started to object. There was some intangible body language or tone of voice that the man used to convince the objector to cease his objections. The intangible communication stated, “We are not strangers, but familiar: in this together. Back in America you may act like a stranger to fellow airline travellers and object to my touching your carry-on bag, but that strangeness is no longer appropriate here. See, all I’m doing is moving your bag a few inches and placing my own bag in here with plenty of room. You see- that strangeness in America doesn’t make sense here, Calm down and accept that we’re familiar.”
Aesthetics versus politics
One of my favorite spots in Jerusalem is on the wall of the Old City near the Jewish Quarter. Particularly before I moved here and only came on visits I would walk through the Jaffa Gate through the Armenian Quarter to the Jewish Quarter and grab a bite to eat and then head out of the Rova (Quarter) through a parking lot and then park myself on the wall and enjoy the view: in the background the Mount of Olives and in the foreground the City of David (aka Silwan). This view is particularly breathtaking and inspirational at sunset or at night One time when I was taking in the view I was approached by a religious Jew who commented how beautiful it was. I agreed. And then he added, “If only those homes were owned by Jews and not by Arabs” referring to the homes in the foreground in Silwan. I reacted with fury, “I don’t care who owns them, the view is beautiful.” Of course his politics was retrograde and disgusting, but I was more upset that he had disturbed my aesthetic/spiritual experience and injected politics, thus deflating my high. But when I see the conflict regarding Silwan I think of that conversation.
