- Bill Richardson is withdrawing as Commerce Secretary nominee. I’m very sorry about that.
- John Cole, on Little Lulu: “So much hate, so little time.”
- From the famous plastic turkee to ducking shoes — Frank Rich looks back on the Dubya Years.
Finally, let’s talk about the word “serious.” There’s a thoughtful post by Peterr at firedoglake about Munib Younan, now the bishop of the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Jordan and the Holy Land (ELCJHL). Peterr met Bishop Younan 20 years ago, when the bishop was a parish priest in Ramallah, on the West Bank. So the bishop is a man who has been living in the center of the Palestinian-Israeli controversy for many years.
Peterr quotes from a talk given by Bishop Younan in 2007, in which the bishop begins by referring to the fall of the Berlin Wall.
[W]ho would have imagined that less than two decades later we would be back to building walls? I have no doubt that the Separation Wall in the Holy Land will one day fall for the same reasons. The only question is how many lives, how many shattered and demolished villages, how much dehumanization and stigmatization will we tolerate?
This Wall is not a sign of justice or peace, it is a material sign of the walls of hatred that are growing stronger everyday. This wall does not provide security, it breeds despair and a culture of separation. And it cannot contain the hatred and resentment that are building every day.
Yes, sadly, of course that is right. But I want to get back to the word “serious.” McQ of Q and O blog dismisses the Bishop’s comments — “Anyone who can liken a wall erected to keep oppressed citizens in with a wall erected to keep suicidal enemies out simply can’t be taken seriously.”
No, Bishop Younan is only a Christian bishop who has lived his life pastoring and serving the people who live with the Israeli-Palestinian conflict every day. What could he know? We can’t take him seriously. Only people sitting in their living rooms on the other side of the world can possibly be serious about the Middle East.
(Do some people ever stop to think that, maybe, other people may understand the world better than they do?)
But this is a common tactic of the left – attempt to draw parallels between any totalitarian regime and Israel so its attempts at self-defense can then be compared to those oppressive regimes.
I can understand someone taking offense at comparing Israel to the Soviet Union, because it is not a valid comparison. However, the Bishop’s larger point is valid, especially in the second paragraph — the walls of hatred that are growing stronger everyday. This wall does not provide security, it breeds despair and a culture of separation. And it cannot contain the hatred and resentment that are building every day.
I don’t often write about the Israeli-Palestinian conflict because there are other people writing about it who follow it more closely than I do — I do not, in fact, claim to know everything about everything — and I defer to their knowledge. However, I do follow it closely enough to know that ain’t nobody innocent. There has been enough wrongdoing and stupidity on both sides to fill oceans. This conflict is not going to stop with military victory. It’s going to stop when enough people are damn sick of it and want it to just stop.
Yes, the Israelis have reason to hate the Palestinians. And the Palestinians have reason to hate the Israelis. Somebody show me the practical application of hate. This is just going to keep escalating unless enough people are able to rise above their own emotions and self-indulgent need for revenge and just stop it.
As for oppressed people versus suicidal enemies — the two do seem to arise together, don’t they? People who identify themselves as oppressed give themselves permission to use violence to fight back. People who see other people are dangerous enemies give themselves permission to oppress. They not only can be “likened” to each other; they create each other. They co-exist in a sick symbiosis. Seriously.
The Little LuLu piece that John Cole writes about is a fine example of her style.
The original article which provoked it acts sort of like a Rorschach test – it has a lot of second- or third- or fourth-hand claims, no evidence or explanations, and mention of a lot of celebrities. (What else can we expect from an LA-based feature writer for a British paper?)
My reaction was frustration at how little actual information there actually is in the story- I can’t tell what the heck is going on, except that some people at one Habitat project in Florida seem to be complaining about some assortment of problems with their homes. Are they justified? Are they being unreasonable? What are the complaints, actually? Is it just this project, or more widespread? None of these questions can be answered, because the article is a Sunday fluff piece, by a guy who has recently written about bionic sex chips, and Will Smith giving to charities linked with Scientology.
But why should a lack of detail or evidence stop LuLu from using it as a pretext to slam both Habitat for Humanity, the people who live in Habitat-built homes, and associated “environmental activists”. Does she ask any questions? (What about the kitchen counter materials, you might think she would wonder?) But no.
Talk about someone who “simply can’t be taken seriously.”
There was a time when I was sympathetic to Israel, but after years of watching excessive retaliations and the brutal and dehumanizing treatment of the Palestinian people I no longer have a place in my heart for sympathy or understanding for the Israelis.
It’s not a case of who is right or wrong. It’s a matter who holds the lions share of crimes against humanity…and cumulatively that would be Israel.
During one of the intifadas( if it’s not a continual event) where Israel initiated the policy of severely beating protester to the point of near death was a turning point for me in how I perceived Israel. They had become as brutal and vicious as the Nazis who brutalized the Jews that garnered the sympathy that lead to the formation of the state of Israel.
And I’m happy about Ariel Sharon, though..I hope he gets his diapers changed on a regular basis, and that he doesn’t choke in his own drool. Couldn’t have happened to a more deserving guy. Assuming that he’s still with us?..Last I heard, he a wading in the Jordan looking for that chariot.
I agree with Swami. Also, the American press are sooooo pro-Israel that one has to go elsewhere to find out what is really happening in the mideast. The American press corps has become such a sad and poor excuse for a free press.
“What could he know? We can’t take him seriously. Only people sitting in their living rooms on the other side of the world can possibly be serious about the Middle East.”
Music to my ears… In this day and age where we are invited to sound off in so many ways…a poll, a blog, talk radio, it is easy for many to get so pumped up on themselves and their opinions that they forget that they lack knowledge and facts.
No doubt the leadership of the last 8 years has emboldened this way of thinking with accusations of “elitism” levied at anyone who might have decent command of the facts.
We could use more of that kind of elitism if that’s what it is…the ascendancy of those who actually know. What a novel idea!
Swami, I once heard someone describe Israel as “the abused child that grew up to be an abuser.” I heard this roughly 25 years ago. In the time since, things have only gotten worse. Rabin assassinated, Sharon elected P.M., nukes into the equation. I also share Bonnie’s frustration that if ever there were two sides to a story, it would be the Palestinian & Israeli conflict– and all we ever hear is one side.
Well, the International Court of Justice said that the Wall violates international law – building to stop and what’s standing had to be torn down. Israel argued that human rights treaties do not apply to what she does in the Palestinian territory or the West Bank.
Interesting and revealing that Israel equated the Wall with human rights. (By the way, the US funds the Wall so is the US breaking international law? Wouldn’t be the first, but I hope last, time.)