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N. and the Memory Wall (On a day in the future)

By Justin Podur at Aug 13, 2006

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N., a young Palestinian/Israeli Jew, was late for her meeting with her friend H., the child of Palestinian Muslim refugees who had returned from Lebanon on a bus a few years before. N. was still preparing her gift for H., a hat to cover his prematurely bald head. She was meeting him at the new Museum of Jaffa, which she called the Museum of Tel Aviv. That was the binational reality: most cities and town in Israel/Palestine had two names. She'd learned in school that the settlers had in some cases deliberately named towns to taunt the inhabitants they had displaced: Levi, for example, had been Lubia, the sounds chosen to echo a reminder of displacement (1). She had read about the passionate debates and disagreements at the constituent assembly about whether the old place names, including the name "Israel" itself, could remain, or whether they would be a bitter reminder of the past of dispossession. But in the end, when Israel acknowledged the crime of displacing and imprisoning the Palestinians and made its apology, the Palestinians who had remained steadfast in their territories and those who had returned from their harsh exile had decided that recognition was sufficient, that they did not want any more memories to be erased, but wanted instead to build on all the memories, good and bad. So the refugees had come back, and the Israeli residents had not left, so now it was Levi to its Israeli residents and Lubia to its Palestinian residents. And sometimes it was both, or neither, and much of the time it didn't matter. A lot of things that seemed to matter a lot to her parents, who had been born here to parents who had come very young from Russia, were hard for her to understand. Sometimes they lapsed into talk about "the Arabs", and she didn't get it. Hebrew was her first language, of course, but she was fluent in Arabic too. Her best friend had Arabic as a first language and spoke Hebrew quite well. Most of the kids she grew up with spoke both languages, switching back and forth with fluidity and ease, as she did. A lot of them learned English as well, and Farsi, and French, and Kurdish. She packed her gift and got on the bus, enjoying the short ride. H. was already there. It was really nice to see him wearing shoes. She had met him when he'd first arrived and he had always seemed to be in bare feet. Worse, his feet were always swollen, his pant legs and shirt sleeves ragged (2). But not today - today he had a neat set of clothes and shoes, and presented his bald head to her with a smile, his hands clasped behind his back. She had, of course, visited the Museum many times on school field trips, as had H. But they always enjoyed visiting the Memory Wall together. The Memory Wall was made of pieces of what was once called the "security fence" or the "apartheid wall". Artists from different parts of the country had taken these pieces and painted and sculpted a mural on it, depicting the whole history of the two peoples in the land. H. found some of the medieval history distasteful. With his interest in history, he thought that the Memory Wall's artists overstated the common oppression of Jews and Muslims by Christians. The crusades and inquisition were a historical wrongs, he would say, but many of us are Christians, after all. After everything we've all been through, surely we don't want to make Christians out to be the villains. N. thought he had a point. But the art work in the section that chronicled the history of Arab-Jewish civilization was spectacular, as the joint achievements had been. With her Jewish background, she spent a lot of time at the section commemorating the Nakba, the displacement of Palestinians and the creation of the State of Israel in 1948. H., for his part, spent a lot of time studying the large section depicting the horrors of the Holocaust. These were always powerfully moving moments for both of them. They were silent for some time as they followed the exhibit along. They followed along through the 1956 and 1967 and 1973 wars, the occupation of the West Bank, Gaza, the Golan Heights. They followed the 1982 war in Lebanon depicted, the war some of H.'s grandparents had survived. The Palestinian Intifada of the 1980s was celebrated on the wall, and the strange false start of Oslo. Why had her ancestors not negotiated in good faith, she wondered? And why did Israel's allies, instead of helping, pour fuel on the flames and provide weapons so that our parents could kill one another? Why were they so foolish as to believe that weapons and killing could solve such important problems? Why did they think building walls and fencing people in and trying to starve them would protect us, their children and their future? The Second Intifada was also commemorated here, with its thousands of victims. The findings of the Truth Commission of the war crimes committed during Israel's operations in that era, 2000-2006 were not rendered artistically, but provided in blocks of text. In the end, the punishments had been relatively light, N. thought, compared to the crimes committed. She'd had an uncle who spent some time in jail. She'd refused her parents' pleas to visit him, until H. and other friends of hers suggested that she do so. One of H.'s uncles had had trouble leaving resistance behind, had trouble accommodating to secularism, he told her. H. would sit with him, talk to him, calm him down, listen to his stories, listen to his lectures about religion. But that was different, N. had argued. Yes, H. had said, but we all have our duty. This time, N. and H. lingered a long while at the section on the 'Summer Rains' operation in Gaza and the Lebanon war of 2006. Such terrible, murderous folly. Killing thousands of people, displacing much of the population. So many children. And in the end, disgrace. How close it had all come to the unthinkable, with nuclear weapons and inflamed hatreds and America pushing for more destruction. How fortunate, N. and H. thought, that Palestinians had been able to hold on, and that the true friends of the peoples of the region were able to show the way. It was slow, and barely perceptible during that 2006 war, that the process had already begun. There had already been conferences - small, poorly attended - in Israel and elsewhere on the right of return. Many Israelis had already spoken out against what was happening and stated their belief that the future was for Israelis and Palestinians, sharing the land, together. Warmongers in America and Israel who thought they enjoyed total support and impunity were pressured by a growing campaign of popular boycotts, divestment, and sanctions. Eventually they could no longer present Israel's wars as "self-defense" or dehumanize Palestinians, Lebanese, and other victims. People in those countries gained a new political maturity, so that even several attacks by militants on Israeli and American civilians that happened in the years that followed could not be used to derail the process, especially since the legitimate resistance groups began to adhere strictly to the laws of war, even though America and Israel did not. Within a few years, just as politicians in both countries had to worry about losing voters if they supported apartheid in Israel, generals in both countries had to worry about their soldiers refusing orders to fight. When that started to happen, apartheid started to unravel quickly. How strange, that even her parents - who later had been so caught up that they participated in tearing down a section of the apartheid wall the day it came down - had worried so much about demographics, that if they couldn't be a "majority", even at the cost of imprisoning and starving and bombing all of their neighbours, Jewish life wouldn't be safe. How wrong they were: Jews were safer now, here, than they had ever been, and Jewish cultural life an established reality, a part of the Middle East. She'd visited her Jewish family in Iran, Iraq, in Syria and Lebanon, all of whom were living freely, openly, as part of the wider community of Jews in the Middle East, as part of their own countries, and as cosmopolitan citizens of the world. N. gave H. his hat, and they went to class - water management - before they had the chance to look at the years after 2006, the years when the tide turned in the world and everything was pulled back from the brink, when the electric fences and apartheid walls were torn down, when the refugee camps emptied and when no one, not one person, was thrown into the sea. Justin Podur is a writer based in Toronto. He can be reached at justin@killingtrain.com 1) See this interview with Israeli historian Ilan Pappe: http://www.zmag.org/content/showarticle.cfm?ItemID=7281 2) H. has actually been around for some time: http://www.palestineaidsociety.org/www/najiali.htm

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Person

Lies, lies, lies

By Kissenger, Clark at Aug 19, 2006 20:21 PM
Please stop telling lies. You just show your ignorance and lack of knowledge. Even Israeli leaders have said that they would have rejected what Israel "offered" them if they were Palestinians. The closest one came to a peace settlement was Taba. If they had kept at it for a few more days they most likely would have reached an agreement. But then Israel called it off. The Oslo Accords were a mistake by the Palestinian side, and they are paying dearly for it today. They pretty much gave Israel what they wanted, and got nothing in return. And yes, PLO recognized Israel's right to exist in Oslo. It is Israel and the US that rejects the Palestinians plight of a state. They have done this at least since 1976. All Palestinians want is peace, but Israel and the US won't let them. Here is a debate between Finkelstein and Ben Ami where they basically agree with the above. Israel have rejected peace on every occation.

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Person

Israel the MOST aggressive state in the world

By Kissenger, Clark at Aug 17, 2006 10:31 AM

You would admit then that the Israeli army is REALLY weak. Think about it. They have 1000s of tanks, 250 F-16, a standing army of 170,000 and much more. Yet in the last few years, the number of Palestinians killed by Israel numbers only 2,000 to 3,000. EVERY MONTH now sunni and shia are killing 3,000 muslims in Iraq. Do I need to tell you about Darfur? Chechnya? and many more. Since Israel is the MOST aggressive country in the world we sure are lucky, because a good army could have probably killed 100,000 Palestinians with this arsenal in probably one week or less.

And for the record the ARABS did not accept Israel in the Oslo accords. The Palestinian Authority under Arafat did. And Israel negotiated with them. And offered all of Gaza and some 97% of west bank and control of Muslim Holy sites...this was rejected by Arafat. Now, the Palestinian Authority is led by Hamas, which does NOT recognize Israel's right to exist. Would you negotiate with someone who did not recognize your right to exist?

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Person

Israel

By Kissenger, Clark at Aug 16, 2006 18:31 PM
So the fact that Israel and the US has been rejectionists to peace for 30-odd years has nothing to do with it? The fact that Israel are terrorising the Palestinians in every possible way on a daily basis has nothing to do with it? The fact that Israel are occupying their land has nothing to do with it? So what did the Arabs say in the Oslo Accords then? Wasn't it that Israel had a right to exist? For the sake of the argument, let's say your claim is correct, that all Arab nations, bar Jordan and Egypt, wants Israel to cease to exist. How does that legitimize Israel in occupying Palestinian land and terrorizing Palestinians in ways you can't even imagine? You are making excuses for the killing of innocent civilians. Israel is the most aggressive state in the world, behind the US. This is the real "axis of evil". Any sane person can see that what Israel are doing in Gaza and the West Bank and Lebanon are outright warcrimes, and should be condemned by a united world. There is no excuse for torture. There is no excuse for the killing of civilians.

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Person

Blather

By Kissenger, Clark at Aug 16, 2006 18:04 PM

My post, which makes perfect sense explains why "the issue of Palestinians in the West Bank and Gaza has nothing to do with Israeli society or racism."

The issue of the Palestinians in the West Bank and Gaza and why there is no peace yet is the fact that Palestinians and nearly all Arab nations except for Jordan and Egypt do not accept the right of Israel to exist. That is nation with a Jewish majority as opposed to a Muslim majority. Once this acceptance arrives, peace arrives. Just like with Egypt and Jordan.

To blame the whole issue of Israeli racism is really simplistic. As if there is no Palestinian or Arab racism against Jews. This is why I say you always blame Israel because you do !! You blame the Palestinian issue on Israeli racism.

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Person

Blather

By Kissenger, Clark at Aug 16, 2006 17:58 PM
Justin's post is about a positive vision for Israel/Palestine. In my comments I am attempting to engage in a discussion about that positive vision. So quit your knee jerking about my "always blaming Israel". I don't know what you want for Israel and Palestine, but I myself will settle for nothing less than peace and reconcilliation. I believe Israel could, if it wanted to, lead the way in this regard. My sense is that this cannot occur unless Jewish Israeli society examines not only its attitudes towards its neighbors and the Palestinians, but also towards elements of itself. This is not to the exclusion of other parties involved in the conflict; this is not even to the exclusion of the rest of the world. But claiming that "the issue of Palestinians in the West Bank and Gaza has nothing to do with Israeli society or racism" is pure hogwash, as is your looney tunes fantasy that a religious state, any religious state, can somehow be anything but intolerant. The rest of your kneejerk blather doesn't dignify a response. Keir The Hague

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Person

Easy to Always Blame ONLY Israel

By Kissenger, Clark at Aug 15, 2006 10:30 AM

Message from Salo

Keir -

You ignore my points and show your strong anti-Israel bias. You say that "Jewish Israeli Society" is "Inherently Racist." This shows you have no idea what you are talking about. You also easily group 1 million Russian Jews and say that they are "one of the least tolerant communities there." This is not true at all, and isn't grouping 1 million people and saying something negative about them a racial stereotype? Have you ever been to Israel? Are you aware that it is one of the most religiously tolerant countries in the world? Muslim, Christian, Jew, Bahai (yes, they are persecuted in Iran, but have their world headquarters in Haifa) all worship freely. In all the criticism of Israel, have you ever heard complaints about freedom of religion? Voting, which is equal for all women, all religions?

The Israeli Arabs are of course "Palestinians" as they are the Arabs who stayed in their homes when the Arabs attacked the newly formed Jewish state in 1948. Israel even offered Arabs who left a chance to return when the war was finished. Israel then absorbed 800,000 Jews who were kicked out of several Arab nations (clear racism, don't you think, to kick out people only because they were Jewish?), 800,000 Jews from all places. I again ask you to name me any other country that rescued many 1000s of starving black Africans from Ethiopia. Israel did. What did Europe do? Are the Muslims in France treated well would you say? Is this why they rioted? Would you say that French society is "inherently racist" or only Israel?

The issue of Palestinians in the West Bank and Gaza has nothing to do with Israeli society or racism. Again, all Israeli Arabs are Palestinians, and they have full rights, although clearly discrimimated against by the population (like in Netherlands, is the Lijst Pim Fortuyn still active?). The problem with the Palestinians in the West Bank and Gaza is that their leader for many years, Arafat, formed the PLO not to make peace but to destroy Israel (Do not tell me the PLO was formed due to the occupation, as it was formed in 1964, 3 years before the 1967 war). PLO's charter is very clear about this. Do you understand that it is hard to be friends or have good feelings about people who swear to kill you? After Israel captured the West Bank and Gaza in the defensive 1967 war (if you dispute this let me know, we can discuss as well) it offered these territories back to the Arabs in return for peace. The response was The famous Khartoum Resolution that said "No Peace with Israel, No Recognition of Israel, No Negotiations with Israel." (see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Khartoum_Resolution) Do you deny that this happened? Please then explain this Arab rejectionism. Or do the Arabs & Palestinians NEVER get criticized for the current situations. Have you seen Palestinian textbooks demonizing Jews? Isn't this clear Palestinian racism? When will I hear you criticizing this racism? Are you then will to call Palestinian society "inherently racist" or do they get a free pass.

This is too long to discuss in this message, but please show me which international law Israel is violating by its occupation of West Bank and Gaza. This is land that was Ottoman, British, Jordanian/Egyptian and now occupied by Israel. NEVER a Palestinian state. UN resolutions call for the return of certain of these territories in conjunction with a negotiated peace. Yes, there are many Arab obligations in these resolutions, so please explain to me specifically where Israel is violating laws regarding the territories. Which laws and when.

Also, please show me all the other arab countries where ALL people can vote equally and freely, especially women. This means that in all elections all women and all men are always treated equally. First tell me which countries actually have free elections for their leaders? Ha Ha ! Syria? Jordan? Saudi Arabia? Egypt? As usual, Arab dictatorships, opression, anti-women behavior, anti-christian behavior (of course anti-Jew) and much more is ignored. Would you agree that these societies are "inherently racist" ? Maybe this is why there is no peace with the Jewish Israelis? It is true that it is easier to pick on and blame Israel with only 5 million Jews and no oil.

 

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Person

Stratification

By Kissenger, Clark at Aug 14, 2006 17:42 PM
Anonymous (use pseudonyms, people, please!), your assertion that all societies are stratified misses the point I was making. My information about stratification within Jewish society in Israel comes mainly from Israeli Jews themselves, who identify racism as a major problem. Embedded within my previous comment was the notion that a lot of the racism in Israel may have travelled from Europe. My understanding is that Russian Jews in Israel are one of the least tolerant communities there. (There is the further issue of many ultra-orthodox skipping the army while supporting its actions, and I have to wonder if it is the Ethiopian and Yemenite Jews who make up the bulk of the ultra-orthodox community. I don't think so.) Fine, there is plenty of racism in The Netherlands that needs to be addressed, but the Dutch are not simultaneously occupying another country in contravention of international law, and (with a few notable exceptions in recent years) Dutch politicians don't make regular horrific and millitantly racist remarks about the people subject to their occupation. That all societies are stratified is immaterial. There are degrees of stratification and information is readily available about the relatively smaller gaps between rich and poor in places like my country of residence, for example. My feeling is that if space were made in government and society for marginalized groups (freed of course of the consciousness of their oppressors---I'm not talking Hillary Clinton and Clarence Thomas here), it would be a change for the better. I may be getting lost in fantasy, but I suppose that Israel's racist attitudes toward Palestinians would start to disappear if Jewish Israeli society wasn't inherently racist itself. PS: your statement that Israel is "the only place women can vote freely in the entire middle east" is one hundred percent false. Keir The Hague

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Person

Keir -- Examine all societies

By Kissenger, Clark at Aug 14, 2006 16:13 PM

Keir -- Show me one nation in the world that does not have a "stratfiied" society based on race, religion, income, etc.

Ironically Israel is the ONLY nation in the world to have airlifted BLACK people from Africa to live in their nation. Israel has spent alot to integrate Ethiopian Jews into Israel.

Are you going to tell me that in the Netherlands there is no discrimination against minorities? That income levels, access to jobs, politics is all equal?

I would not say that the problems of racism in Israel run any deeper than in any other country. Even with the hatred of Arabs surrounding Israel (Hamas, Iran, Syria, etc.), Arab Israelis are treated remarkably well in Israel, with voting, about 10 members in parliament. Even Arab women can vote in Israel, the only place women can vote freely in the entire middle east. Arabic is an official language in Israel. Are you aware that an Israeli Arab is on the supreme court? Yes, there is surely strong day-to-day discrimination against Arabs inside Israel, but like racism everywhere else.....do we even begin to mention the racism and mistreatment of women in most of the islamic world?

I think significant improvement can be made in Israel regarding treatment of minorities...but again, I can say this about every single country in the world.

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Person

Beautiful.... Completely ignores long standing hatred for Jews

By Kissenger, Clark at Aug 14, 2006 16:00 PM

Yes, a utopian vision is always nice, easy to make it as if Israel cannot live in peace with its neighbors, but really ignores numerous, salient facts:

1. Arabs have NEVER been interested in living in peace with Jews. The idea of a binational state is a fantasy, which would mean the murder of most Jews. Consider:

a. The partition plan of 1947/1948 created two states, Arab and Jew, as numerous commissions determined that this was the best solution. The Jewish leadership accepted it and the Arabs, including all the Arab states rejected it, and sent in troops with the very explicit goal of killing the Jews. I am sure the response will be that the deal was unfair to the Arabs. I disagree, but either war, does this justify a genocidal war against the Jews (if you need quotes from Arab leaders proving that there intent was genocide, let me know). This is one of the early examples of Arab rejection of any Jews living in the region.

b. The Arab nations have not shown a tolerance for other religions living in their countries as equals. When Israel was formed in 1948, the Arab nations kicked out all the Jews (800,000), creating a large group of refugees that the new state of Israel absorbed. So much for Arabs trying to accept Jews as equals.

c. Only Israel, of all countries in the middle east, has freedom of religion. Muslim and Christian worship freely in Israel. When The Jewish quarter in the old city of Jerusalem was occupied by Jordan, Jewish sites and cemeteries were destroyed. Arabs have never demonstrated a willingness to respect the Jewish religion as equals.

d. The PLO, Hamas, Hezbollah, Iran, Nasser of Egypt and numerous other examples have clearly stated their goal is to destroy Israel. Remember the PLO was formed in 1964, before any occupation of West Bank or Gaza, so real goal was always destruction of Israel. Even to the end, the PLO's charter that called for the destruction of Israel was never fully repealed. Hamas has never retracted this goal as well....this is the leadership, not some fringe right wingers.

e. If the Palestinians wanted a state they would already have one. In 2000, Clinton, Barak, Arafat were close to an agreement on a deal that would have formed a state on all of Gaza and about 95%-97% of West Bank, with ownership of East Jerusalem including the temple mount. This was rejected by Arafat. I bet I will get emails that the deal was not fair. I can show you much evidence, including from Saudi Arabian Prince Bandar, showing that they considered Arafat's rejection of the plan as a historic mistake. Instead, Arafat unleashed a wave of suicide bombs.

f. Except for Sadat of Egypt and Hussein of Jordan NO ARAB LEADER HAS EVER made a sincere gesture of acceptance of Israel. Turns out Israel made peace with these countries and returned land as part of the deal/ Perhaps your vision may come to be if Hamas, Assad, Iran, and 57 Islamic nations make a real gesture of friendship and acceptance of Israel. You would see a Palestinian state formed in about 10 minutes.

g. Remember that Palestinian and Arab school textbooks in general demonize Israel and Jews and reject Israel. See this website for details http://www.edume.org/reports/11/toc.htm. Israel is expected to consider living in the same country as equals with people who teach their children the worst hatred about Jews? While there is surely discrimination against Arabs in Israel (like Blacks in the US, gypsies in Europe, Sunnis/Shiite, etc ad nauseum), this is certainly not taught in Israeli schools.

I could go on an on. Let me put it clear. Any talk of creating a unified Arab/Jewish state instead of Israel and Palestine is CODE WORD for the destruction of Israel. Another subtle way to say that you do not think that Israel has a right to exist as a majority Jewish state with freedom of religion.

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Person

Racism..

By Kissenger, Clark at Aug 14, 2006 12:58 PM
Its strange how the human mind can get corrupted with discriminatory beliefs.. I have confronted racists ( told them to shut up) in bank whom complained that none Bank employees were white, I get pissed when I hear that chinese don't understand because they are chinese, or jamaicans makes babies here and there because welfares pay more. To tell you the truth , I do not know how to react when I hear that some zionist raise money for israel specially so arabs get killed and then in the same breath being told that I am an anti-semite for protecting arabs. I am not going to be an accomplice of murder.

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Person

Vision

By Kissenger, Clark at Aug 14, 2006 07:19 AM
This is important work Justin. I think it is vital that we envision what things could be like, regardless of how far-fetched the vision may seem now. I remember a wonderful essay a few years ago by environmental writer Chip Ward, I think, about how 100 years of devoted and sane attitudes toward land use could heal some of the horrible scars in North America. It was equally moving. On racism I have been told that the problems run very deep indeed---Jewish Israeli society itself is highly stratified, with Arab and African Jews lower on the societal totem pole than those of European decent. I wonder to what extent addressing and healing this issue would contribute to a reversal of Israeli policy towards non-Jews. Keir The Hague

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Person

Also Leila

By Kissenger, Clark at Aug 13, 2006 15:54 PM
I'm not sure what email you're using now, would you mind writing to me at justin@killingtrain.com...

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Person

Time is not on our side

By Kissenger, Clark at Aug 13, 2006 15:45 PM
It does look that nothing was learned from the holocaust but everything was learned from greed. Racism and hate speeches are another type of weapons; to justify their crimes, Israel and the US aim to the ownership of the land.

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Person

I agree

By Kissenger, Clark at Aug 13, 2006 15:32 PM
I thought it was worth putting out there as an expression of what is possible. The racism is deep, though, and brutal. I've just been listening to Eqbal Ahmed's talk, which Sonali put on her radio show. http://uprisingradio.org/home/?p=582 I think I'll do a separate blog on it, but he talks about the issue of "transfer" and how racist ideology develops. If expulsion doesn't work, there's concentration, and when concentration reaches its limits there's extermination. Most of the Canadian press, most of its politicians, certainly most of the American political class, would happily defend any of these. Time is not on our side.

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Person

it's a beautiful vision

By Kissenger, Clark at Aug 13, 2006 10:29 AM
and i hope it comes to fruition. unfortunately, we also have to be aware of the deep racism that still permeates israeli society and has yet to be substantially challenged. in fact, it seems to be becoming further entrenched with polls showing rising support for the idea of "transfer" - i.e. ethnic cleansing to rid the jewish state of its non-jewish citizens. why so pessimistic right now? i just read this article: http://www.israelnationalnews.com/article.php3?id=6453. i know that arutz sheva is a right-wing newspaper but it's really rather amazing what that the author can propose the outright transfer of over a million citizens based on their ethnicity. israel has laws against "incitement" that are regularly used against the arab press. as an example, one case involved a sheikh's interpretation of a koranic passage that alluded to resistance against injustice. the author and editor of the paper have been jailed for over a year while waiting for the court proceedings to take place. still, here's hoping that the likes of ilan pappe will find greater appeal than the likes of the kahane kach in the days, months and years to come. here's hoping ...

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