Israel and Palestine: Cognitive Dissonance Required

I can’t find the right Facebook group. I’m Jewish, I’m progressive, I love Israel, but I hate where it’s going politically and I think the Occupation needs to end. I’m in a group that purports to be Zionist and feminist, but they hedge away from anything relating to Palestine or the occupation. “Progressive Zionists of the California Democratic Party” has a damn essay as their mission statement, with a 9-point list of their affirmations and then a compare-and-contrast section of anti-Zionism and anti-Semitism. But I’m not a Democrat. I’m definitely not in the “Cool Jews” group whose picture is the Palestinian flag. 

All these spaces seem so fraught. People go bananas. I questioned some of the claims in an article critical of Linda Sarsour. Someone posted a quote on my comment saying “Please stop telling people to respect others’ opinions. That’s for things like “I don’t like coffee” not for “I don’t like black people.””  Hey, thanks for woking me up, bro. I said reasonable people could disagree about this, and a lady responded with “#nope.” Turns out that lady owns the studio I exercise at. She’s perfectly nice in person! When it comes to Israel-- People. Lose. Their. Shit.

This was around the time that people were on edge because Israel was protecting itself and then Hamas launched hella rockets in defense, or at least that’s how most people were describing it, depending on which “side” they’re on. But I don’t believe in the idea of sides anymore. Both “sides” can be right at the same time. It’s possible for someone to look at information from one “side” and justifiably condemn the other side. People speak from their truth. The predicament comes when you see both sides as humans who want to live in peace and dignity. For some reason it seems as though there is no room for moderation, balance, or reason. Well, actually, I think I know what the reason is.

In The War on Peace, Ronan Farrow explains how diplomacy prevents military involvement-- military intervention is an indication of a failure of diplomacy. It’s possible to make a case for Israel that is rooted in facts and history. It is also possible to make a case for Palestine that is rooted in facts and history. All of those facts can be true at the same time. However, a lot of the violence that has occurred in the Holy Land could have been avoided with effective diplomacy. No matter which “side” you take, we should agree that the diplomats have failed. I know many pro-Israel folks insist that they have no one to negotiate with, but that is nonsense. A skilled diplomat will be able to negotiate with anyone. Both “sides” seem to lack them.

It’s easy to lay blame at your enemy’s feet. In this conflict, you can keep going back and back to say who started it. I don’t think there is a point to that. Israeli and Palestinian leaders are relying on military solutions because they do not have the courage to negotiate an end to the conflict in which they won’t get everything they want. I know that one day there will be peace, even if I don’t yet know the leaders who will deliver it. 

Real people have experienced profound loss, pain, grief, terror, and suffering over the last few decades in the Holy Land. I want that to end. Israelis and Palestinians have put up with enough bullshit already, and I’m tired of arguing about whose shit stinks more. I want the people engaged in these conversations to keep their eyes on the prize: no more Occupation; no more violence; self-determination, safety, and dignity for everyone.

I'm Coming Out (against the occupation)

I attended a K-8 Jewish day school in the 90's. We had daily Hebrew class, celebrated all the Jewish holidays, and had many Israeli families and staff. Israel was portrayed as an underdog state, born from the desert, surrounded by enemies. I didn't have animosity against Palestinians, maybe because some of my earliest friends were my Palestinian neighbors. Dedication to Israel was a given in weekend Hebrew school, but I started to have questions about why Palestinians hated us. My Junior class Israel trip was cancelled because the Second Intifada had just started.

Israel/Palestine was a hot issue on my college campus. There were two groups: AIPAC and Students for Justice in Palestine. Both distributed inflammatory literature. Given a choice between two noxious organizations, I sided with AIPAC. I went to a few meetings and protests. I took a History of Modern Israel class with a popular professor. There was some anti-Israel and anti-Jewish bias on campus. I once found a sketch of an airplane hitting the World Trade Centers with Jewish stars around it on a classroom wall. My Community Studies professor was appalled. The University briefly offered one year of Arabic (which I took!), but there were no other Arab or Muslim studies classes. On campus, the Israel-Palestine conflict looked very black and white. Both sides felt the other had wronged them and should be held accountable. Both sides were mostly telling the truth, but neither was telling the whole truth. AIPAC talked about wanting peace more than SJP, and I thought it was a no-brainer that AIPAC was the right side. Peace is good, violence is bad. Palestinians should stop being violent toward Israelis...but then what? Just keep living under an occupation? Lay down their nationalist cause? Part of me wished they would, but part of me knew that if the tables were turned I wouldn't stop fighting for my homeland. And wasn't the Occupation itself a conduit for violence? But on campus, the attempts at dialogue consistently failed, so we were left with a polarized understanding of a complicated topic.

After graduation I visited Israel for the first time on Birthright. I cried when we landed. It meant a lot to be in the place I'd studied and supported all my life. I later came back to live in Jerusalem. Living in Israel moderated my views. Instead of seeing Palestinians as my adversaries as they were on campus, they were just everyday people working, shopping, going home. The Conflict seemed to be less on their minds than it was on mine during college. They were just people living their lives. Rather than being different from me, they were the same as me because we were on the same bus, or doing business together, or sweating together in the heat.

For years after, I continued speaking out in favor of Israel. Whenever the Conflict would erupt into violence I would explain why Israel had to defend itself, all of which is technically still true. People would condemn Israel for high Palestinian death tolls, and I would blame Hamas or their leadership or other Arab states for promising but not delivering help, for supporting terrorism, for putting innocent lives at risk. That is a legitimate debate to have, but not one worth having.

Everything boils down to the Occupation. Military occupations are bad. People want to live in freedom and dignity. The Israeli military paints itself as humane, but that is an oxymoron. The Occupation can not be justified, and it cannot be improved. It's going nowhere. As long as the Occupation continues, the Conflict will continue. If Israel tries to expand the Occupation, the Conflict will get worse. If Israel ends the Occupation, maybe there will be peace. Many people would say then the Palestinians will try to destroy Israel. Is that a likely outcome? We have an advanced, established military. Israel itself is established. Even if people talk about wiping Israel off the map, they can't. That's not a real thing that will happen. We all know the Palestinians are going to have their own country one day, why are we fighting against it? They're not going to give up. The Jews were expelled from that land for 2000 years and we did not stop praying to go back. Some anti-Palestine people try to argue that Palestinians aren't even a real people, they could go elsewhere, etc. They're mad at the UN. They have 1000 complaints. But none of that matters. Palestinians also have 1000 legitimate complaints against Israel. "Pro-Israel" folks are trying to stall by resolving every little issue, throwing up roadblocks. That's not how negotiation and compromise work. The elephant in the room is the Occupation. Nothing can move forward while the Israeli military has its foot on the neck of the Palestinian people. The Occupation is wrong, it is an embarrassment, and it goes against Jewish values.

For years I supported Israel, right or wrong. I still love and support Israel. But it's my love for Israel that wants it to be a peaceful country. It hurts to see my country harming others. I've kept quiet for years, but now it's time for me to come out against the Occupation. What about the Israelis living in the West Bank? Israel encouraged people to move there, they can encourage people to move back. If settlers can only be "safe" by making everyone else's life a living hell, then that is a problem. Obviously undoing a vast military occupation comes with risks and will be difficult. Those risks and struggles are worth it in the long run. We must end this unjustifiable military occupation so that both nations can move forward in peace and dignity.

My Solution to the Israeli/Palestinian Conflict

The Israeli/Palestinian Conflict is one of the most pointlessly ideological and political conflicts of all time. While there are many opinions about how the Conflict should be resolved, the majority of people on both sides actually agree on a surprising amount of the issues. So if everyone agrees on how this should end, why is it still continuing? The politicians are unable to make really tough decisions and compromises. It's likely that whoever is involved in the final negotiations of the Conflict will be labeled a traitor or sell-out or betrayer etc., and that will be the end of their political career. And what's the point of solving a decades-old conflict if you get no glory? But whether or not either side has a bold enough leader, the people themselves know what the end solution is going to look like. Here are my ideas about the core issues:

Borders:
Palestine will include the Gaza Strip and most of the West Bank, which is east of the Green Line of 1967. In recent negotiations Israel has offered up to 97% of the West Bank, I think I read in the "Palestine Papers" recently released by Al Jazeera and The Guardian. There is talk of including some of the Arab villages along the Green Line in Palestine, but it seems as though many of these Arab Israeli do not want to lose their Israeli citizenship. I suggest that these Arab villages along the border have local elections to determine which state they will belong to. This will involve some trust among the Palestinian and Israeli leadership, since both sides would have to be OK with having all, none, or some of those villages.

Jerusalem:
Israel is not giving up the Old City. Ever. There are some neighborhoods of Jerusalem along the edge that I think Israel should and would be able to give to Palestine. The Arab residents of East Jerusalem are mostly Jerusalem residents, not Israeli citizens (which requires renouncing other citizenships and swearing allegiance to Israel), so Israel would not be revoking their citizenship if their neighborhoods became part of Palestine. Without busting out a map, I think it's fair to say that Arab neighborhoods on the periphery of Jerusalem should go to Palestine, and adjacent Arab neighborhoods. It's unlikely Israel would agree to give away Arab neighborhoods that are surrounded by Jews.

Settlements:
There are a few major settlements which Israel should keep, like Maaleh Adumim and Ariel. They can either have Israeli-controlled freeways going straight there, or the existing roads (with ramps into Palestinian land) can be maintained by Palestine. Maaleh Adumim is close to Jerusalem, but Ariel is farther out, so maybe a few solutions can be employed for the different situations. The rest cannot be controlled by Israel. The residents of the smaller settlements should be given 3 choices: 1. remain citizens of Israel living abroad, 2. become citizens of Palestine, 3. move back into Israel proper.

Refugees:
"Palestinian refugees" are different from any refugees in the world. While a refugee is normally someone who has been displaced from their home during a conflict, Palestinian refugees are those who lived their for only two years or more, giving refugee status to many more people than would otherwise have received it. Be that as it is, The Arab refugees of 1948 should be given either Israeli citizenship, financial compensation, or even citizenship to other countries, as some have suggested. Their descendants probably won't get anything, since Israel is not going to let in massive amounts of non-Jews, just as the Palestinians don't want tons of Jews in their country. Call it whatever you like, but that's how it is. Furthermore, Jews who were expelled from Arab countries in 1948 should also be given financial compensation for their property. It is unlikely that many Jews would want to return to countries like Iraq and Algeria.

So it's not that complicated. None of my ideas are original. From what I heard from OneVoice, a majority of people on both sides agree on most of the issues. At this point it's all politics. We need two leaders who can step up to the plate, who are willing to risk their careers and lives for an end to this conflict. The rest is details.

Sucky Israeli Names

Anat

Osnat

[someone's at the] Dor

[sock] Dror

Udi

Uzi

Moran

Or

Gal[l]

Tal

Guy

Inbal

Inbar

[sc]Rotem

Nimrod

Shai

Alon

Dudi

NEW 1/25/11: Nir

Mai (my)

From Aliya: Snir

from Shiranne: Ofir

Coolooloosh 4/2/09

So hella days ago I went to see Coolooloosh at a venue called "The Music Room" in Tel Aviv. On the way there I found a copy of an 18th century painting of some ladies in big dresses waving to some people in a carriage. They're in a garden and the sky is blue with puffy white clouds. It was in a dumpster. Clutching the rolled print, I waited an hour and a half for the band to come on. I was tired, but the rest of the people in the room took the opportunity to get smashed, which made them way more excited for Coolooloosh than I could understand. Midway through the set they brought on an old African-American guy who sang soul hits from the 70's. I am not at all interested in 70's soul, but apparently it struck some kind of sentimental chord in the crowd because they were really into it. White people love when they like black people music. One of my friends talked about him for the rest of the night, and another bought the Coolooloosh CD hoping Old Black Guy would be on it. He wasn't.

Although I was bored to tears, I gained a bit of understanding of Israeli culture in that smokey basement. Israelis get super into stuff, even when it sucks. It doesn't even matter that they're too naive to know that Old Black Guy isn't a real soul singer from the 70's. Israelis lack some of the cynicism that Americans often have. I could sit there and recognize that this guy was a hack, but the Israelis didn't seem to care. I like that about them.