Musing on Palestine

I was just watching Witness on Al Jazeera English (we have a satellite dish and I find English-language news preferable to Greek TV since my Greek is so execrable). This week's story was about the old Jerusalem airport which has been turned into a giant check point since the 1967 war. It was told from the point of view of (among others) a woman whose family, prior to the 1967 war, had the only house overlooking the airport. She has a Jerusalem ID and her sister, who lives in Ramallah only five minutes a way, has a West Bank ID so the one from Jerusalem must visit the other because her sister must get one of the few permits allowed at specific times (in this case, Orthodox Easter - I could tell because of the egg boiling and boiled egg fight which is the same here in this mostly Orthodox country).

But what caught my eye were the old pictures from the 1950s and 1960s of the passengers and air staff - not a hijab or khimar (Muslim headscarf) in sight. It seems to me that we (the West) have never considered our actions against Muslims as part of the reason many have retreated into their religion, some more than others.

So, it seems that we have been sowing the seeds of terrorism and our own destruction for some time. This is not a new phenomenon. And it seems that each time we meddle, we make it just a little worse.

We armed the mujahideen in Afghanistan to fight the Soviets - that didn't turn out so well. We disbanded the army in Iraq only to try to recreate that army after our action caused the sectarian violence that has racked that country. I was reading about how the US occupied Japan after WWII. The US sent in 350,000 military personnel, kept the Japanese army and the police (just disarmed them) and ensured that the Japanese populace had enough food. That was a model that worked. Could have been used in Iraq and feeding the population in Afghanistan would have helped as well.

This was followed by a story of Viva Palestina finally making its way into Gaza and delivering the aid to the people. Many ambulances, wheel chairs, food - a drop in the bucket to be sure, but at least someone is starting to recognize the bucket is empty and needs filling.

If the EU and the US would stop aiding Israel in its policy of collective punishment, a lot would be gained. It is hard to understand what is gained by preaching free and open elections and then punishing those who vote "the wrong way." How do you convince people without a history of electoral democracy that this is the way to go and then punish them when they do what you said? Makes no sense.

Letter to My Senator

Dear Senator:

Thank you so much for responding to my earlier letter about the situation in the Gaza strip.

However, missing from your letter was any discussion about the Palestinian people. Of course, Israel has a right to protect its people. What about the people of Palestine? Are they to be denied food, medicine, employment, freedom of movement, and now shelter forever?

What is Israel's responsibility to the people of Gaza and the West Bank? Israel is still occupying Gaza and has never "left" the West Bank. To say that Israel withdrew from Gaza ignores the fact that Israel controls all entry and exit into that narrow strip of land, smaller than Rhode Island, including air space.

It is time for members of Congress to be honest about what is going on. We have a new African American president; as he stated in his inauguration address his father wasn't allowed to eat in a restaurant in Washington, DC 60 years ago and now his son is the President.

It is time to stop allowing Israel to treat the Palestinians as less than people, even slaves were better treated because they were property and assets, and to insist that Israel begin to obey international law. After all, the US exports our military hardware, dollars and oil to that country. What do we the citizens get in return - Israeli actions that incite terrorism in the Middle East, Europe, and the United States.

Thank you,

Opening Gaza

Evidently, Israel has agreed to open Gaza to much needed food stuffs and energy supplies. But this opening will not last and will not be enough to lift the Gazans out of the dire straights they find themselves in today.

For some reason, the Israeli government feels that treating their Palestinian citizens, in much the same way the German government of the 1930s and 1940s treated their Jewish citizens will result in the Palestinian population welcoming their government with open arms. While Palestinians are not considered Israeli citizens by Israel, they live in the country, were born there, and their families have for many, lived their for hundreds of years.

For me this is extremely painful because growing up, I had the most tremendous respect for the Jewish people for standing up to and facing down the Nazi government, against all odds and without losing sight of the righteousness of their cause and their lives.

This was important to me because as an African American baby-boomer, this was fairly recent history and seemed to be a way to behave in the face of oppression and subjugation. But then, the year I turned 20, came the 1967 war and the start of the settlements.

I just read One Missing Word Sowed the Seeds of Catastrophe and could not believe that the lack of a word has changed the world.

Because after the start of the settlements I came to see the actions of the Israeli government to be much too similar to those of Germany in terms of collective punishment, stealing land (wasn't part of the rationale of the Germany government in invading Poland the need for land for their people?), and finally just being unfair.

I know this is simplistic, but there hasn't been anything since to make me rethink my early judgments.

Obama, Obama

I was going to let the Obama dig at Edwards for being a trial lawyer, instead of working to help people (what the hell does he think trial lawyers do, for God's sake - Obama himself is a lawyer) but this latest dig at both Gore and Kerry is beyond the pale.

Is he trying to make it difficult for Democrats to support him while he's pandering for Republican votes?

But the worst thing about criticizing Obama is how his supporters act. Just like those who can't stand to hear anything negative about Israel.

An interesting phenomenon, eh? What shall they name it? You'll probably be accused of being racist like being accused of being anti-Semitic or an Israeli hater.

I found this to be the case on the Democrats Abroad listserv as well. Folks had better get over this silliness. Constructive criticism is a good thing. Unfortunately, I'm not finding Obama's criticism of Edwards, Gore or Kerry the least bit constructive in that no one has learned to change the past but Obama could certainly change how he describes his disagreements and differences with others.

So far, I'm not really sure what he is trying to accomplish, but I am starting to wonder how much I will work for him or find the money to support him if he is the Democratic Party nominee.

What to do About Israel and Palestine

A friend of mine in Helada asked me what I would do about the problems in Israel and Palestine. Here's my response:

Israel exists - no one should have to affirm their right to exist. We Americans didn't ask the Native Americans to affirm our right to their country. We took it, signed a few treaties (most of which we have continuously ignored) and all have moved on. To ask the Palestinians to affirm Israel existence really means to say that the Israelis were correct to take their country and that they fully agree with those actions. Even we Americans were quite that bold!

But Israel must return to the 1967 borders. Israel must affirm the right to return and I truly believe that if this is done, Israel's security issues will be far fewer than they are now.

But it is hard to give up power, especially that power which is maintained through force so I don't see this happening anytime soon.

But this would be my solution.

---

Of course, I wrote that before waking up this morning to see that Israel plans to build a 10,000 home new development in East Jerusalem. Boy, they really know how to negotiate a peace treaty, eh?

When Words Mean More than Actions

One of the things that my mother stressed over and over again was that actions speak louder than words. I think she was really hoping that this was so, because it seems to me that if you have enough power, no one bothers you if your actions don't match your words at all.

Take the conflict between Israeli and Palestinian governments and their peoples.

Israel is waiting for Hamas to say that they recognize Israel's right to exist and will observe all of the agreements that have been made by their predecessors. But Israel never says that it recognizes Palestine's right to exist.

Israel says that it will cease building settlements, but it never happens. And there seems to be no consequences for saying one thing and doing another.

Roger Cohen gives a wonderful example of what I'm talking about today:

Eyes to the future, I refuse to allow the latest fighting in Gaza between Hamas and Abbas’s Fatah to make me despondent, even when Mahmoud Zahar, a Hamas leader, tells me in a phone call that: “Without unification of the West Bank and Gaza, Abbas cannot represent the Palestinian side at Annapolis.”

Zahar, a doctor, predicts the get-together in Annapolis, Md., will be “a unique example of failure.” He counters my inquiries about a Hamas recognition of Israel with three questions:

“First, what is the border of Israel? And what happens to Jerusalem? And what happens to Palestinian refugees in the camps?”

Of course, those questions are never considered to be as important as " Hamas recognizing Israel." But Arafat recognized Israel and even agreed to the Oslo Peace Accords. And we all know how that ended. There is plenty of blame to go around, for sure. But Israeli transgressions don't seem to count in the overall scheme of the world.

I'm a huge fan of Juan Cole and his new group blog, Informed Comment Global Affairs. Here's one example of why.

Ehud Olmert stated on Monday that "It is impossible to repeat that the 2002 Road Map is a strategic asset for Israel and at the same time to ignore our obligations. Let us admit to ourselves: We committed not to built new settlements - we won't build new settlements. We promised not to expropriate land - we won't expropriate. We promised to raze illegal outposts - so certainly, we will raze them." How much credence should we put in these three promises and what is the declaration’s significance?

Bismarck is reputed to have warned against believing promises made on eve of elections, wars, and weddings. It is probably a good idea to add to this list promises made on the eve of peace conferences. A new round is to start in Annapolis next week.

Then there is Cynthia Fitzgerald's story. She's alleging fraud against her former Texas health care purchasing company. While we hear so much about Medicare fraud and how we need to get rid of it, she's actually trying to do something about it. She says she was offered bribes and her company disregarded its own ethical rules about contracts and bidding. She spents weeks

Being one of those people who thinks that if you bring wrong out into the open you'll be vindicated, she complained to her supervisors. She was marginalized, and of course, fired.

I'm sure her mother told her, as my mother told me: "All you have is your integrity as a human being. Once you lose that, you have nothing else." This too seems to be related to the power dynamic.