A friend phoned this week and asked me if I was ready to resign from membership in the Jewish people. No, I said, its only the Israelis not all of them that are behaving like brutal occupiers. Other Jews (not as many as I would like to see) have demonstrated against the Israeli invasion. And, I reminded him, even though the current military moves may be worse than ever, they are certainly not new. Keep perspective, I advised him and myself, as I winced before the TV images on war in the Middle East.
Since 1948 some of Israels founding fathers have tried to expel the Palestinians from the original, and subsequently enlarged, Israeli territory. Ariel Sharon, then a young soldier, apparently believed that only through ethnic cleansing could Jews exclusively occupy the now Greater Israel.
If ethnic cleansing offends some Jews, I would ask them to explain how Israeli behavior differs significantly from what those governments in Africa and the Balkans did to ethnic groups they despised in the 1990s. Perhaps Sharon has been less brutal than Milosevic, but nevertheless when he ordered his powerful air force, heavy tanks and artillery and a large and well-equipped army to invade another peoples territory (no matter the terrorist pretext) this amounts to a crime.
We have watched video footage of the Israeli Defense Force under Prime Minister Sharon, now an old soldier, stripping Palestinian men, refusing to allow wounded civilians access to medical care, and putting pornography on Palestinian TV. These practices and the cold-blooded assassination of some Palestinians labeled as terrorists, reminds me of the behaviour practiced by the condemned Serbian army and militia. Israeli troops have also raided hospitals, fired on ambulances, and prevented their crews from delivering wounded people to hospitals.
To make life as miserable as possible for the Palestinians on the West Bank, the Israeli military has deprived them of food, water, access to medical care, transportation, the ability to go to work, and all of their basic human rights. The Israelis have also shot some journalists. Deliberately?
Israeli troops shot Boston Globe reporter, Anthony Shadid. He took a bullet from an Israeli soldier on 31 March in an area they controlled. Apparently, there was no fighting going on when the Israelis fired at Shadid, who wore proper journalists identification. To say that such practices contravene international law would be a mild understatement.
But whats the point? To stop insanity, suicide bombing, by torturing, killing and humiliating an entire people? To demand from a powerless Arafat that he stop the terrorism, after confining the Palestinian leader to his house and allowing him the use of a cellphone? Something does not compute
So, where do we stand, the people of the world on the one hand, and those Jews who do not agree with Israeli policy on the other? We watch in despair as suicide bombers destroy themselves and innocent Israelis. We watch in despair as the Israeli Defense Force kills and destroys Palestinians and their property.
The lessons of history
I try to retain my optimism. As Haaretz columnist Tom Segev wrote in the 7 April Los Angeles Times, History shows that virtually all the national liberation movements of the twentieth Century prevailed, and virtually no regular army has ever defeated popular national terrorism. So, eventually, I hope, Israel will have to withdraw its troops to the borders recognized by the UN and negotiations can proceed, many of the settlements will be dismantled and a two state solution will emerge. After all, in 1948 the UN imposed this small piece of territory on two peoples who have encountered great difficulties living alongside each other in peace.
If that kind of historical thinking could seep into decision-making chambers in Washington and then be imposed on the Israeli government we might yet see the solution for this thorniest of issues in our time. Then some of us could go back to feeling like Jews again without having to worry that Israeli government policy might move us to resign from that great ethic.
Israelis tell the story of a rabbi fervently praying at the Wailing Wall and a tourist sees him and takes some video footage of this dramatic scene. The rabbi stops, and the tourist apologizes:
Forgive me, Rabbi, but I couldnt resist filming such energetic prayer. What were you praying for?
I was praying that the Jews and Palestinians would stop this crazy fighting and live in peace with each other, says the Rabbi.
Wow, says the tourist, what a great theme. Do you think you were getting anywhere with your prayers?
Feh, says the rabbi, its like talking to the wall.
Yes, I can still laugh. I hate to admit that I am joined by history to zealous Hassidim, who have little else in common with me, and with fanatic Zionists of all religious stripes, some of whom call me a self-hating Jew and they dont even know me.
Israel has threatened the ethic that has bonded Jews for thousands of years. As an atheist, I charge Israeli leaders with taking the Lords name in vain. Lets not even bring up Thou shalt not kill. In His name Sharon and company have violated His commandments. Lets hope and pray if were religious that this wave of violence will bring the dove of peace, not fan the flames of war, so as to help restore that noble ethic that demanded accountability to God without any excuse of commands of state.
