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Israelis and Palestinians both created by God
Q: In a statement Monday, Vice President Biden said the U.S. is consulting with other nations "on new ways to address the humanitarian, economic, security, and political aspects of the situation in Gaza." What are the religious and moral considerations in determining those "new ways," especially in light of Israel's raid on an aid flotilla from Turkey bound for Gaza.
Since Israel's commando raid on a flotilla of ships bearing humanitarian aid to Gaza, much real and virtual ink has been spilled analyzing Israel's action and the motivation of the activists seeking to break the long siege of beleaguered Gaza. This is not the place to reiterate all the points made on both sides of the debate; there is keen commentary available on all topics related to the situation: international law; Geneva conventions; security; resistance; dueling definitions of what constitutes a humanitarian crisis; dueling definitions of what constitutes an "Occupation;" in fact, dueling definitions of just about everything!
And that is the crux of the problem. As Israeli politician Naomi Chazan once said in my hearing, "The problem here is that there are two competing narratives of the history of the Israeli/Palestinian conflict, and they are both true - and they don't meet!" Just look at the Gaza situation.
Much of the world sees in that densely populated and poverty-stricken strip of land a terrible humanitarian crisis. Israel's leadership says there is more than adequate humanitarian aid going in. Gazans experience a total land, air, and sea enclosure - a continued "occupation" by Israel; Israel speaks of having withdrawn from Gaza and given it a chance to flourish. Israel justifies its draconian policies in Gaza by pointing to the launching of Qassam rockets into Israel and the terrorizing of its citizens; Gazans point to the right of "self-defense," resistance, and the "terror" of Israeli strikes.
The list could go on and on - and extend into the broader conflict, and should. Gaza is not an isolated incident in the struggle for peace with justice in the region. Gaza is a vital part of a future Palestinian state - and the current Israeli government is struggling mightily to separate it from the West Bank, turn it into the "model" of what a Palestinian state would look like, and relegate the West Bank into isolated pockets of Palestinian populations, similar to the American Indian reservations that much of the policy of Occupation has been modeled after - that and South African Apartheid on steroids. And to this, there is another "narrative" rejoinder: "disputed" territory rather than occupied territory; security measures rather than subjugation; moral high ground and biblical precedent versus violent resistance.
So, that said, back to the question of the week: What "new" can be done in the world's response to the Gaza crisis?
How about a return to something "old"? Speaking truth. Cutting through the fog of dueling narratives to recognize a basic truth: both Israelis and Palestinians are human beings. Both are created by G-d and deserve the right to live in peace with justice and security. An Israeli life is not worth more than a Palestinian life. A Palestinian life is not worth more than an Israeli life. To quote Arab Israeli religious leader "Abuna" Elias Chacour, "We're not born Jewish, Muslim, Christian, Israeli, or Palestinian. We're born babies."
The ability to recognize this truth, however, is inhibited by what Jewish author of "Compartments," medical doctor Steven Feldman of Wake Forest University, calls our tendency to see the world only through our own narrow lenses. Growing up orthodox Jewish, in a "compartment" that saw all Arabs as terrorists, Israel as having been created out of barren, uninhabited swamps and desert, and Palestinian resistance as evil, Feldman's "epiphany" came when he visited Israel and simply asked the obvious question: "If this land was empty before my people came here, then where did 700,000 Palestinian refugees come from?"
As a scientist, he began trying to get at the facts and was shocked to discover a far more complex history to the conflict than he had been compartmentalized into.
And what is the result of our being in our isolated "compartments"? Palestinians can be seen as "less than," as subhuman. Israelis can be seen as "evil," brutal oppressors. And the nature of the region today, with Apartheid walls, fences, checkpoints, by-pass roads, and travel prohibitions - fiery sermons, recent grudges, and dueling histories, only exacerbates it.
The result is random rocket fire into civilian population centers under the guise of "resistance." The result is an air force pilot asked if he "felt anything" when his F-16 dropped a one ton bomb on a Gaza apartment, killing the targeted "terrorist" but also killing 15 civilians - many of them children: "Yes; I felt a slight bump when the bomb was released."
How about the "new" being getting out of our compartments and viewing both Israeli Jews and Palestinian Arabs as human beings, not deserving of "terror," ghettoization, stereotyping, marginalization, and humiliation? And here, I have to say, the major change will have to be in both how we see Palestinians and Israeli Jews. Palestinians must be recognized as having legitimate rights to living in peace with justice, security, and the benefits we all seek in life. No American would tolerate fellow Americans being kept in the conditions Israel imposes on Gaza. No Israeli would tolerate a Jew anywhere in the world being treated like Palestinians in Gaza. Nor should we view Israeli Jews as heartless occupiers; their narrative, influenced by a sense of "siege" wherever they have lived in the world, affects their visceral response to threats against their existence. Nor should we view Israel any more as "David" versus "Goliath," "Good" vs. "Evil".
Palestinians and Israeli Jews are equals. Both are humans. Both deserve dignity and freedom. It's time for the "something new" to be a recognition of that fact, to stop treating Israel as something "special" and hold it to the same standards of international law and human rights that are defined by the rest of the world; to stop justifying violence by "security" and "resistance;" to seeing the loss of a Palestinian life as equal to the loss of a Jewish life.
Not as easy as it would seem, of course. We are firmly ensconced in our "compartments." But G-d is in the boundary-breaking business. And perhaps the events of the past week might just be the "epiphany" we need to begin hearing the "other" narrative in this conflict. Maybe then we'll recognize that there should be just one "narrative:" all humans are children of G-d; all humans deserve our respect, care, love, and assistance in living into a hopeful future.
By
Max Carter
|
June 8, 2010; 6:29 AM ET
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Posted by: BinBama | June 21, 2010 6:19 AM
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Here is the short answer to Mr/Ms Secular who hates Islam and its teachings and beliefs.
The Holy Quran says “O you believe, stand out firmly for God as witnesses to fair dealing. And let not the hatred of others to you, make you swerve to wrong and depart from justice. BE JUST, this is next to piety and fear God. For God is well aware of all that you do.”
Chapter 5: Verse 8
” The evil of all that is hateful in the sight of your Lord” Quran Chapter 17: verse 38….
”God by His words, does prove and establish His truth, however much the sinners might hate it” Quran Chapter 10: Verse 82.
>>>>May One True Almighty Lord of the worlds, guide the misguided people or punish them or forgive them in this world and in the next world as God wills, for the hater’s (secular)insolence, discredit, insult, hatred, haughtiness and arrogance.
Posted by: kodimirpal | June 11, 2010 1:04 PM
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kodimirpal you wrote:
"The Quran singles out apostles who were familiar to the Arabs—like Abraham, Noah, Moses and Jesus who were the prophets of the Jews and Christians.
Today Muslims insist that if Muhammad had known about Hindus and Buddhists, he would have included their religious sages also. After his death they were allowed full religious liberty in the Muslim empire.
On the same principle Muslims argue that the Quran would have honoured the Shamans and the holy men of the American Indians or the Australian aborigines.
The intolerance that people condemn Islam today does not spring from rival vision of God but quite from other sources."
You have absolutely no idea what you are talking about. For every pre-medina benign revelation there are at least twice as many intolerant post-medina revelations, in Koran. Your problem is that you start out with a premise that the so call holy books have any substance to them. These books are nothing but books of fables, much like Homer's Iliad, except that Iliad makes no pretensions of moral and ethical guidance and is lot more intriguing and colorful. These scriptures are nothing but a collection of Harangues to the adherents and the most vilest of intolerant exhortations, sprinkled with a few apparent homilies. The so called homilies are so, only when you take an expansive view of them, otherwise they too are nothing but propounding in-group morality & ethics.
The utter nonsense that Muslims insist that if Mo had known about Hindus, Buddhists, etc would have included those sages too is astoundingly rubbish. I don't know how old you are but when did you ever hear this horse-poop. Besides Mo is supposed to have gotten all these revelation from the all knowing dog. If so how can a muslim claim. " if Mo had known...." Mo was a meglomanaical-narcissistic-oppressor. Stop being such naive muslim apologist.
Posted by: Secular | June 11, 2010 11:50 AM
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The Quran teaches that God had sent messengers to every people on the face of the earth:
Islamic tradition says that there had been 124,000 such messengers. The Quran points out that it is not bringing a message that is essentially new. Muslims emphasize their kinship with other religions. To quote the Quran
“DO NOT ARGUE WITH THE PEOPLE OF THE EARLIER REVELATION OTHERWISE THAN IN THE MOST KINDLY MANNER — UNLESS IT BE SUCH OF THEM AS ARE SET ON EVIL DOING—AND SAY: ‘WE BELIEVE IN THAT WHICH HAS BEEN BESTOWED UPONUS, AS WELL AS THAT WHICH HAS BEEN BESTOWED UPON YOU: FOR OUR GOD AND YOUR GOD IS ONE AND THE SAME, AND UNTO HIM WE ALL SURREENDER OURSELVES'
Chapter 29: Verse 46
The Quran singles out apostles who were familiar to the Arabs—like Abraham, Noah, Moses and Jesus who were the prophets of the Jews and Christians.
Today Muslims insist that if Muhammad had known about Hindus and Buddhists, he would have included their religious sages also. After his death they were allowed full religious liberty in the Muslim empire.
On the same principle Muslims argue that the Quran would have honoured the Shamans and the holy men of the American Indians or the Australian aborigines.
The intolerance that people condemn Islam today does not spring from rival vision of God but quite from other sources.
Posted by: kodimirpal | June 11, 2010 7:23 AM
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Max,
I was wondering when you'd have some commentary up about Israel/Palestine. Your work over the years gives you remarkable perspective, and I'm glad you've been able to express your thoughts to a hopefully wide audience.
Adam Waxman
Posted by: adamwaxman | June 10, 2010 3:56 PM
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Basically, the Zionists Jews and their supporters (mostly other Jews and American Fundamental Christians and American politicians eager for Jewish money) are suffering from a psychotic delusion that they are special and have extra-human rights to do inhuman murder, destruction, and steal lands, resources, and lives without responsibility or concern for basic human dignity or actions! These Zionists have created a mythology that even minimal examination and analysis will demonstrate as a completely untrue; and oddly enough fundamental Christians have build an even more pompous mythology on top of crumbling foundation of ignorance and stupidity! What folly to allow these crippled people to create such destruction and damage based on a 3000 year old tale of greed and corruption! What possible benefit to humanity, to America, to even the Jews to allow this tragic farce to continue.
Posted by: CHAOTICIAN101 | June 9, 2010 12:36 PM
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I really had to go back and re-read parts to be sure I wasn't imagining things. I am so glad to hear someone admit to the way the Palestinians are being treated by Israel. I believe that God loves ALL mankind. I am not trying to point a finger and say one is evil and the other is good. But I do feel that people should not be judged for what their governments do. There are many Israelis and Palestinians who understand what is being said in this article and want to see true peace and equality for all. Thank you for this wonderful article. I have sent it to all of my friends.
Posted by: Loulouthia | June 8, 2010 10:01 PM
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Max, I agree in concept but I think you do what almost everyone does who sets up an equivalency: You say both are equal and then proceed to treat the Israelis as being "more equal" in regard to the consequences of their leadership choices.
You make it sound like Israel's security concerns come from a seige mentality. Have you read the Hamas charter?
Don't you think that the Palestinians bear some adult responsibility or are they perpetual victims to be pitied?
Posted by: rakiba | June 8, 2010 3:53 PM
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Amils,
You(yourself) may believe Every Human Being has right to justice,fairness and hymanity.Yes,very good Ideal.But,would you please show any islamic country where justice(contemporary justice,not justice of desert),fairness and humanity exist ?
Is there Humanity in any islamic country ? Lets be Realist,please,lets be realist...
Posted by: halozcel1 | June 8, 2010 3:42 PM
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This was my favorite article. A truly honest and sobering look at the situation. As a Muslim, I believe that every human being has the right to justice, fairness and humanity. Every human being has the right to live freely.
As a devout Muslim, I am not allowed to hate Jews, nor do I. We need to get out of this "well they hate us so we hate them" mentality.
Thank you for this article!
Posted by: AmilS | June 8, 2010 12:01 PM
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Thank you for this. Yours is the most reasoned commentary on the situation that I think I've ever read.
Posted by: lifeonmars | June 8, 2010 10:53 AM
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The comments to this entry are closed.
When Israel "withdrew" the people of Gaza, destroyed everything of importance developed and implemented there for their well being and quality of life.
Apparently, Islam forbids all modern infrastructure and wants every body to live like they did in the 7th century.
Part of the blame for their situation falls on their leaders.