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التعايش مع الصراع
يجب أن تستمر الحياة، حتى وسط الحرب. يجب الحصول على الطعام؛ سوف يقع الناس في الحب؛ وسوف يرغب الأطفال في اللعب. ومن خلال المقالات المعروضة في هذا القسم، فإن الوثائق التي تصف الحياة اليومية، حتى تحت سيادة العنف، تتيح لنا أن نشارك معك بعض القصص الممتازة التي تطلعك على المزيد من المعلومات عن كيفية تأثير الحرب على حياة الناس. فمن صور راشيل بابو عن مجندات الجيش الإسرائيلي، إلى ملاحظات واريشا فاراسات عن اليوم العالمي للمفقودين في كشمير؛ سوف نسافر خلال مختلف الأماكن والثقافات، ولكن سوف نشاهد العناصر المشتركة بين التجارب.
Zena el-Khalil
المديرة
لبنان
This past summer, I experienced war directly for the first time. It started over night and was a surprise for most of us in Lebanon. One day I was going about my daily business, the next day there was war. I was trying to build my life in Lebanon, having only moved back from New York two years ago. I was building a family as I recently got married. I was taking care of my best friend who was diagnosed with ovarian cancer. I was building bridges between Beirut and New York, trying to start an artist exchange program between the two cities. I had just finished curating a big art exhibit that included 23 young Lebanese women artists. I was dreaming big for post-war Lebanon.

During the 34 day Israeli siege, I was tested in many ways. I experienced loss and pain. I experienced food, fuel and electricity shortages. No one went to art shows anymore. My best friend's hospital was a heartbeat away from shutting down. The list goes on... However, I learned how to cope. And then after some time, I also learned how to live.
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محادثة سجلي الدخول لنشر تعليقك | لست عضوة ؟ انضمي الان
38 - 19 من 38 الصفحة الثالية | الصفحة الاولى
. .
Posted on Saturday, January 26, 2008 8:59 PM
hey wajdi is that you? email me at saher2k@hotmail.com
your old body saher
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M. Said
كندا
Posted on Saturday, December 22, 2007 7:01 PM
My previous comment was dedicated to Khadija Baker about her "coffin nest" piece.
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Assabah Khan
Posted on Wednesday, September 12, 2007 2:04 AM
I really wanted to respond to comments by Paula Goldman about Custom and Costume that we all always keep thinking of money before going to the parlour but at times we are also unconscious about our ownselves. But to be conscious about beauty is also important
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Meera Rao
الولايات المتحدة الأمريكية
Posted on Wednesday, December 13, 2006 5:03 AM
In the story "the Invisible Kashmir -the other side of the Jannat" its obvious how and what the parents tell their children perpetuates the status quo. We adults have the full responsibility in making sure the children don't suffer the consequenses of our opinions and intolerance towards another cultures and other people. Its when we hold on to anything and everything 'our' so tight and consider that the only reality and see no'sacred grey' in the world - we have failed our children.
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Posted on Wednesday, December 13, 2006 2:47 AM
I want ot give recognition to a poor Driver Guljan who died in an IED Blast at Lolab Kupwara on 20th April 2004. Guljan was a resident of Bonamsar Sonawar of District Srinagar. Guljan is survied by his father who is suffering from heart disease, two sisters who are unmarried and and two brothers. One of the sisters is suffering from Gynae problem. It is worth mentioning here the human rights group with whom Guljan died working instead of paying compensation to the family managed to extract Rs 25000 from this poor family. Guljan's one more brother Showkat had died of Kidney failure. Guljan's elder sister also sufferd back injuries due to a Blat grenade at Gupkar Road at Sonawar. Is Guljan worth forgetting? Is it fair to extrat money from a family who lost not only thier son but thier vehicle in the blast which was purchased on loan JK01 1388. Is he not worth remebering because he is the poor son of the soil? Guljan was no millitant or Army man. He was a poor bread earner for his family.guljan's blood is sacred and pure though his mother never dares to call him a martyr. Lest we have such people in our society who keep giving reconition to elites and tend to forhet poor people like Guljan, Kashmir will continue to remain the mess it is today.
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Jelena Miletic
صربيا – الجبل الأسود
Posted on Monday, December 04, 2006 12:18 PM
Wake up from indifference

Summary


The focus of prestation is indifference of the citizens in post-communist and post-war period in industrial town Bor and methods to make citizens awareness of own responsibility. The postcard, e-mail art and poster were created during last four years. The aim of art is to be communicative, but the consequence of that idea was without answer. The reality of the city became conservative, military and fascist government and social conflict. The art presents continuum, the first postcard was attention, the second, e-mail art research, and the last is consequence. The art attempt to be communicative, but instead it become struggle of individual and surrounding. At the end I lost job and somebody attack me in front of wall were the first work was created


The first project “The Images of the Transition” started in 2002. The term “Belgradization” is very often used when referring to contemporary cultural production in Serbia. Centralization of cultural institutions in Belgrade is also frequently mentioned. Serbia is not state in which regionalization process start, the small towns in Serbia are marked by provincial spirit. The focus of the project was to turn in field of culture and to have made it possible for those who have a vision of cultural needs of the town. But what does it really mean?
Bor is industrial town in post-communist and post-war period in which citizens are not interested in art production for social purpose. The institutions of culture in Bor used to need consumptions instead production. There are static and they don’t need dynamic approach to social problems. The first art production was this project and mine participation with postcard “Greetings from Bor – Neo Afž ( Antifascist Women’s Front)” The form of the postcard is like it used to be the form of communist postcard from Bor, but content was terrible reality of social conflict between neo-fascist organizations and minorities of all kind. In that time, we send this postcard to all institutions of culture in Serbia. In mean Val, Branko Dimitrijevic curator of Museum of Contemporary Art in Belgrade attempted to present this art production in Art Biennale in Montenegro. This postcard became “problematic” to selectors of manifestation and started dictions in public. On the other hand, citizens in Bor were not awareness of the attention of the postcard. For them it was an event in town, but thay stay indifference. The attemption to be communicative to the citizens in Bor, the postcard was just “event” nothing else.
The second project was “Open secret” in 2003, after attendant of primeministar of Serbia, Zoran Djindjic. The project focuses on the phenomenon of open secret. The Law on Free Access to Information, one version of which is on the point of being passed by the National Assembly, provided the motive for conceiving the project. In that time, I only reaserch phenomena, and tried to know what hapends with emigrans who left Bor, in the last decade.I documents and juxtaposes the past and present. On one side, I shows the monument to Miklos Radnoti, Hungarian Jew interned to the Bor mines during the Second World War and executed by the fascist firing squad. On the other side, we see the place (on the bank of the Bor Lake) where the monument used to stand before it was stolen, probably because of bronze - the material it was made of. The same method is applied in the case of the photograph of a young professional at his home, before he immigrated to Canada. Now his empty room has been turned into a pantry, while he is abroad. In the third pair of photographs, one is missing. That is the photo of the patisserie "Pelivan" (owned by the members of the Turkish minority) smashed in 1999, on the first day of the NATO bombing campaign. I was looking for that photograph with the help of the exhibition audience and on the Internet. But there was not answer, only answer was indifference of audience and citizens.
N
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sesame seed
فلسطين
Posted on Thursday, November 30, 2006 10:14 AM
Perhaps I did not state things properly, David, when I referred to the obliteration of Israel...I was responding to your comment: "Many right-wing Israelis of course, would never accept this agreement, nor would those Palestinians that believe the only solution is the complete dismantlement of Israel in its current form." This statement - to me - meant that you assume any Palestinian who disagrees with the Geneva accords, and does not agree to Israel's demands to compromise their right of return is out to destroy Israel. However, when you have read the document that I posted, you will see that we can reach a compromise without undermining the Palestinian right of return, at the same time, without expelling non-Palestinians.

My objection to the Geneva accords is that it asks Palestinians to negotiate over a basic right: every Palestinian right to live in our homeland, free from oppression and racism.

Personally, I think Palestinians, and our leadership have compromised a great deal, and every agreement we've signed with Israel was not honored by Israel, yet all you hear is Israel and its supporters asking for more compromises. Israel took everything from us, yet the world has the nerve to ask us to compromise on our basic rights??? Well, I say ENOUGH! The displacement of Palestinians has to be addressed, and we will not compromise our right to return to our homeland and our right to live free from oppression and from Israel’s apartheid regime... History and other indigenous people's struggles inform my opinion and other Palestinians’ opinion on this. Take the Native American experience...compromise after compromise, and what did they get in return? An entire nation almost wiped off the face of the earth to make way for european expansionsim and greed hidden under the guise of religion, living in reservations and treated as second class citizens. This is exactly what the world is asking of Palestinians…compromise on your basic rights while your oppressor - Israel - continues in the path of destruction.

Here's an analogy that I hope you won't find too simplistic: when a slave asks for his/her freedom, do you think it is just to ask that slave to compromise on how much freedom they are given? Palestine is our homeland, it was occupied by Europeans, and now you're asking me to pick and choose which Palestinians are compensated and given back their rights??? Impossible! No matter how many agreements our government and representatives sign, if the right of return is not given to ALL Palestinians, no lasting peace will EVER be achieved. Generation after Generation, we will continue to demand and struggle for our basic rights.

I and the majority of Palestinians will not accept ANY agreement that in its core does not accept our right to live free and with dignity in our homeland. Anyone out there who thinks otherwise is greatly mistaken. Palestinians have been suffering – in Palestine and in the Diaspora – but no matter how much oppression and how many of us Israel and the US kills, we will continue to struggle until this world wakes up and regains its humanity by truly recognizing and taking responsibility for the injustice that has befallen our people.

Until then,
Sesame Seed
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David Sokal
الولايات المتحدة الأمريكية
Posted on Wednesday, November 29, 2006 12:04 AM
Sesame:
I will read the article you put at the end of your last comment. I'm just burned out right now. Too much computering...
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David Sokal
الولايات المتحدة الأمريكية
Posted on Wednesday, November 29, 2006 12:01 AM
Dear Sesame Seed,

I don't recall describing resolution 194 or any other of the UN resolutions as “calling for the obliteration of Israel.” If you review my comments on this blog (or anywhere else) I don’t think you will find any statement to that effect. I am sorry if something I said created this impression.

Yes, the right of return for Palestinians must eventually be addressed in any peace accord. The Geneva Accords does deal with this issue. It does not provide an unlimited right of return, recognizing that on the Israeli side a full right of return is seen as, practically speaking, leading to the dismantlement of the Jewish State. I personally do not completely agree with this view, but given that majority rule is the essence of democracy, I can accept the current reality in order to achieve equally important goals such as security and prosperity and the right to self-determination for the Palestinian people, as well as a right of return for Palestinians scattered throughout the world to their own self-ruled nation.

I understand from your comments that you find the Geneva Accords are completely inadequate on the issue of return. I suggest to anyone reading this blog that they look at “Article 7 – Refugees” beginning on page 25 of the PDF at this link: http://www.americantaskforce.org/geneva.pdf. There is also an Arabic version: http://www.americantaskforce.org/geneva_arabic.pdf. I would enjoy hearing what other members of this conversation think.

The permanent borders established in the Geneva Accords are in alignment with international law including UN Security Council Resolutions 242, 338 and 1397, as well as with previous agreements and declarations such as those made in Madrid in Oct. 1991, the Declaration of Principles of Sept. 13, 1993 and other international agreements. These borders would return all land taken from Jordan and Egypt in 1967 to the Palestinians. There would also be a one-to-one land exchange that would equally benefit both parties.

Your statement that the land is divided disproportionately probably refers to the fact that 3.5 to 4 million Palestinians would receive a bit more than 1/3 the land area while 5 million or so Israeli Jews would receive the rest. This ignores the fact that another 1.5 million Palestinians live within the territory of Israel. Please correct my numbers if they are wrong as I am basing them on rough estimates and memory and have not had time to research.

The issue of Jewish settlements in the final agreed upon territories of the Palestinian state is also addressed. See “Article 4 – Territory,” and “Article-5 – Security.” The Accords explicitly state that: “The state of Israel shall be responsible for resettling the Israelis residing in Palestinian sovereign territory outside this territory.” Furthermore, all facilities built by the settlers are to be turned over to Palestine. I don’t see where there is any ambiguity in these statements.

As for a one-state solution based on the US model of secular democracy, I would be in favor of this, but do not believe it would be workable under current circumstances. Even if a majority of Israelis and Palestinians favored this approach there remains great danger that simmering hostility in many segments of both societies could tear apart the country. Why not try to live peacefully as neighbors in separate, fully independent nations first? This would be a major step in the right direction.

I agree, Sesame, we should strive for our ideals. However, if we cannot work out compromises that are inevitably less than ideal for both sides, there is no peace and that is my utmost ideal.

David Sokal
http://www.peaceoil.biz/
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sesame seed
فلسطين
Posted on Tuesday, November 28, 2006 8:26 AM
I’m not here to give you a history lesson, David, and my apologies for using a simple analogy, but the concept of Justice is very simple. I am also not sure how you reached the conclusion that resolution 194 or anything I have mentioned in my comments calls for the obliteration of Israel. The Palestinian right of return does not necessarily lead to the obliteration of Israel; it is a right after all, and it does not mean that every Palestinian will actually exercise that right.

As you said…the “displacement of Palestinians has been one of the main injustices committed by Israel and this needs to be addressed.” Palestinian right of return is a starting point to addressing the issue of unjust displacement. I’m though a bit confused: while you admit that displacement of Palestinians is an injustice, you reference the Geneva accords “unofficial proposal” which negotiates and signs off on Palestinian rights. Which one is it?

The Geneva proposal also promotes dividing up the land into disproportionately unequal parts, and does not fully address the issue of illegal Israeli settlements…These settlements, mind you, have since then increased in numbers and size, by confiscating more lands from Palestinians even when countless peace agreements and UN resolutions have called for the cessation of settlement building, and their complete dismantlement. Do settlements that displace even more Palestinians help us move on? This to me doesn’t address the injustice, but actually negates that the injustice took place, and promotes future injustice. It also goes contrary to your statement of “I believe a good majority of both peoples are open to a pragmatic solution that will bring peace, justice, economic stability and hope in equal measure to both parties.” Are Bantustans your idea of justice, economic stability and peace? Apartheid did not work in South Africa, and I for one don’t see it working anywhere. Do you? We have to learn to live together , rather than drawing more lines and protecting ourselves from the “other.” How about a one-state solution? One person, one vote…where each person has an equal right to live on that land, practice whatever religion they want, and have an opportunity to participate and have a voice in government.

Finally, just a side note on your comment: “In an ideal world all nations would cease to exist and people could live wherever they want.” Granted it is an ideal, but does this mean we should not aspire to at least come close to that ideal?

Sesame seed…

P.S. See Salman Abu Sitta’s The Feasibility of the Right of Return : http://www.arts.mcgill.ca/mepp/prrn/papers/abusitta.html
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David Sokal
الولايات المتحدة الأمريكية
Posted on Monday, November 27, 2006 10:39 PM
http://www.propeace.net/node/1400
Interesting article on Congressman Dennis Kucinich's visit to Lebanon and to the West Bank shortly after the war. If you haven't read already...
David Sokal
http://www.peaceoil.biz/
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David Sokal
الولايات المتحدة الأمريكية
Posted on Saturday, November 25, 2006 12:05 PM
Dear Wajdi,
Thank you for the article from the Jeruselam Post. I was not aware of this situation, so now I get to change my opinion! I agree that Olmert's rejection of the Syrian offer for peace negotiations is a mistake. Perhaps the author is correct in guessing that the real reason is Olmert's desire to please Bush who also refuses to talk directly with Syria. Talking is much better than fighting, but some people don't get this very simple fact. But then there are many things which the US president does not seem to understand. Eventually, Israel will realize (hopefully before it is too late) that its best friends could be right next door instead of all the way across the ocean.
Thanks again for bringing me up to date Wajdi.
David Sokal
http://www.peaceoil.biz/
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Wajdi Nassour
ألمانيا
Posted on Saturday, November 25, 2006 4:40 AM
Sorry,

Below the Link to Jerusalem Post.

http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1162378355985&pagename=JPost%2FJPArticle%2FPrinter
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Wajdi Nassour
ألمانيا
Posted on Saturday, November 25, 2006 4:38 AM
“I could look for a poll of Syrians that says they do not think peace with Israel is possible either”

David,
Syria and Syrian were prepared for peace. Syria and Israel were at the range of a peace agreement that considers the return of the Golan Heights. Why did it fail at the Last minute?
Syria & Syrian are still prepared for negotiation and peace, it is not Syria that is rejecting negotiation but Israel & USA.
See a comment of Jerusalem Post dated 08.November 2006 “Rattling the Cage: Why Israel must talk to Syria”
http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1162378355985&pagename=JPost%
http://www.propeace.eu
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David Sokal
الولايات المتحدة الأمريكية
Posted on Saturday, November 25, 2006 4:02 AM
Dear Wajdi: Given the access we have to survey data and other wonderful information on the web, we could easily engage in a war of words (to parallel the war of guns and bombs) until we die of old age (G-d willing of old age). We could be finding evidence of the evil intentions of our "enemy" until our fingers froze up from all that typing and mousing. I too have read surveys, and even during the war majorities of Israelis and Palestinians were in favor of a negotiated settlement with one another. And yes the opinion polls are always changing for Israelis as they do for Americans, French, Germans, Chinese, Lebanese and Iraqis all other people. I myself change my opinion about things now and then and hopefully will be able to do so as long as I'm alive.
Israelis did support the war effort at first as it was seen as an attempt to stop bombs from falling on their homes. My aunt and uncle who have lived on the Lebanese border for the last 60 years have experienced shellings, shootings and attacks of various kinds for that entire period. They never felt they had to leave their home until this most recent attack. For the first time in 60 years they fled for fear of their lives. So Hizbullah didn't do too badly either in the way of making people miserable and frightened. And they have achieved wide respect in the Arab world and elsewhere for doing so.
I agree with Amnesty's assessment that Israel deliberately targeted civilian infrastructure and did so with devastating effect. Amnesty also brings Hizbullah to task for the crime of attacking civilians, but obviously the crime is much worse on Israel's part as its firepower and accuracy are much greater. But Hizbullah demonstrated this might not always be the case.
I feel as great sorrow and pain for each death, injury and displacement in Lebanon as I do for each of the same in Israel. And there was clearly more suffering in Lebanon and will continue to be more due to the extensive environmental and infrastructure damage. The images of the beach in Beirut covered in oil sludge were particularly disturbing to me personally.
But worst of all, as mentioned by more than one of us in this conversation, are the cluster bombs that continue to kill and maim the innocent, especially the children. If there is any aspect of modern warfare that should finally awaken humanity to the need to end this madness once and for all, you would think the cluster bomb would be it. Can you imagine what it must be like to work in the factory where these weapons are made? What does it take to step across that line of decency and create such insane devices, load them on a plane and drop them on people's lands, homes and ... on the people themselves?
We could argue about the fine points of who did what to whom, and who did it first and who was more justified and on and on. It goes in a vicious circle just like the war of guns and bombs, a dragon eating its own tail.
So what about the Golan Heights? Perhaps there is a poll of Israelis that shows the vast majority don't think it should be given back to Syria. Now you have lobbed your grenade at me. I could look for a poll of Syrians that says they do not think peace with Israel is possible either. Now I have lobbed one in your direction.
Clearly Israelis and Syrians don't trust each other. But what about you and I Wajdi? Could we do what Yossi Beilin and Yasser Abed Rabbo did and sit down and try and work out the issues one by one? Many Israelis and Palestinians are already convinced that this is the only way to achieve peace. To build trust one step at a time, one person at a time. For the sake of our children if not for ourselves, we must take the risks that peacemaking entails. We must be braver than the warriors and hopefully some day outnumber them as well.
Thank you for your attention.
David Sokal
http://www.peaceoil.biz/
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Wajdi Nassour
ألمانيا
Posted on Saturday, November 25, 2006 1:44 AM
“I believe a good majority of both peoples are open to a pragmatic solution that will bring peace, justice, economic stability and hope in equal measure to both parties.”

I can hardly believe that the majority in Israel is convinced of the necessity of a justice peace. The last war in Lebanon shows that this majority is “variable”. The vast majority in Israel has supported a war that aimed at a deliberate destruction of civilian infrastructure. See http://web.amnesty.org/library/index/engMDE020182006
And I guess there is only a very small minority for peace agreement that considers the return of the Golan Heights to Syria?
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David Sokal
الولايات المتحدة الأمريكية
Posted on Friday, November 24, 2006 6:26 PM
Hi Sesame Seed. There have been many injustices and crimes committed by both sides in the last 100 plus years. The history is very complex and, in my humble opinion, cannot be boiled down to the simple analogy you present. Although I agree that displacement of Palestinians has been one of the main injustices committed by Israel and this needs to be addressed.
In an ideal world all nations would cease to exist and people could live wherever they want. When the Messiah comes ... until then we try to find a compromise that will meet the basic needs of both peoples. I believe (as did a majority of Palestinians and Israelis when it first came out) the Geneva Accords is the best starting point to date. See http://www.americantaskforce.org/geneva.htm. There is also a nice summary on Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Geneva_Accord.
Many right-wing Israelis of course, would never accept this agreement, nor would those Palestinians that believe the only solution is the complete dismantlement of Israel in its current form. I believe a good majority of both peoples are open to a pragmatic solution that will bring peace, justice, economic stability and hope in equal measure to both parties.
As they say, "the devil is in the details" and there are probably parts of this agreement (maybe all of it?)worked out by Yasser Abed Rabbo and Yossi Beilin that you will not like. Tell me what you think. It has been a while since I have read, so I may take another look. I think they recently (last year or so) filled in some of the parts that were not completed in the first writing.
Nice talking to you Sesame Seed and hope to hear from you again.
David Sokal
www.peaceoil.biz
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sesame seed
فلسطين
Posted on Friday, November 24, 2006 5:54 PM
Hi David…
well-said, and I do agree with the overall sentiments that you shared.

How do we move on?
How about we start with International law? Israel is currently in violation of over 70(?) UN Resolutions. My favorite: Resolution 194, which addresses the largest refugee population in the world today, and makes right the original injustice of displacing Palestinians to fulfill the Zionist agenda. Say person 1 approaches person 2. Person 1 assaults person 2, and steals person 2’s wallet. A few days later, person 1 comes up to person 2, asks for forgiveness, and apologizes to person 2, but doesn’t return the wallet, then says: “now, can we move on?” Would any person 2 move on... really, move on? Wouldn’t person 2 expect the wrong to be made right by getting his wallet back? Right?
Lets talk about that…
Sesame Seed
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Wajdi Nassour
ألمانيا
Posted on Friday, November 24, 2006 12:32 PM
I was watching yesterday on TV the funeral of the assassinated Minister Gymail in Beirut. The first thinks game to my head was, why does the tragic death of a single person brings in Beirut thousands of demonstrators to the streets while the destruction and the death of over 1000 persons during the war last summer left these streets empty?
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David Sokal
الولايات المتحدة الأمريكية
Posted on Wednesday, November 22, 2006 10:20 PM
Dear Sesame Seed, I am glad you responded & I enjoyed reading your message. Racism is an intimate part of my life as it is for any conscious person. I grew up in Baltimore at a time when segregation still existed. My mother, a strong Zionist, was a member of CORE, a group of whites & blacks fighting to end segregation. She would drag me along to demonstrations at age five.
In elementary school, we were tracked by testing level, resulting in segregated classes. In 6th grade, they decided to end tracking & mixed the classes. It was a nightmare for me & other kids who weren’t street toughened. The tougher black kids would pick on us including threats of violence & actual physical abuse. My response: I became afraid of black kids that fit my stereotype of these "tormentors". At the same time there were other black kids that I got along fine with. This experience was not unique to me. White friends of mine had broken bones & other serious injuries after encounters with angry black kids. They did nothing to bring on these attacks other than be white, small & afraid. Were these attacks racist? I've heard the argument that victims of the broader, historical racism cannot behave in a racist manner themselves.
Baloney! This experience made it clear to me when I visited Israel many years later that anyone can behave in a racist way or have racist attitudes; even, & sometimes especially so, the victims of the most horrendous, genocidal racism ever experienced in human history.
Let me digress. I prefer the term “ethnocentric.” Why? Are Jews & Arabs a different race? Definitely not. Half of Israel’s Jews are of Arab descent & there is also a growing population of Jews of Ethiopian-African descent in Israel. Even more important the idea of “race” is itself a cultural construct. Is there really a “black race” & a “white race”? Modern genetics is not able to find a basis for these distinctions in our genetic structure. In your message, as you write you shift from the idea of “race” to the idea of “Western Culture” versus “indigenous” or “native people”, & then slip back to “non-whites”. Ultimately all these distinctions are questionable constructs of human culture more than of real differences in our nature. Jews, Romas, Poles, Slavs & Homosexuals were slaughtered by the Nazis, Were these “non-whites”?
Furthermore, dark-skinned people are not free of guilt when it comes to horrendous behavior. Long before Europeans had any influence in the Amazon region it was common practice for one group of village men to go into another village, kill all the older woman & all the children & take the younger woman as slave wives. Even our closest evolutionary cousins, the cute chimpanzees, have been caught in the act of brutal murder. To my mind this just makes them all the more human!
My perspective: humans all share the capacity for good & for evil. That is what makes us human.
As for apologies: I wish I could apologize for all the crimes committed by Israelis against Palestinians, for all the crimes committed by Europeans against Native Americans, for all the crimes committed by Europeans against all the people they have committed crimes against. If apologies could make it as if these crimes never happened I would be happy to apologize for anybody, anywhere, anytime even those that wronged me or my ancestors. But the crimes have happened, are happening now & will happen again & again.
The question is not who has done what to whom or how to make up for past wrongs. The question is how to move on. How do those of us who recognize that fear of the “other” & the very idea of “otherness” is the root cause of all suffering, help others come to understand this as well.
My goal is to help Israelis & Jews overcome the fear that blinds them to the suffering that Palestinians are experiencing. At the same time I hope to reach out to Palestinians to let them know the “enemy” is not of one face.
David
www.peaceoil.biz
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