Peter Beinart's "Being Jewish After the Destruction of Gaza"

At the beginning of "Being Jewish After the Destruction of Gaza" (2025) is a small section addressed to a "former friend".  As a Jew Peter feels his views are not compatible with many Jews, including some long time friends.  Benjamin Franklin said "For having lived long I have experienced many instances of being obliged by better information or fuller consideration to change opinions even on important which I once thought right, but found to be otherwise".  At great personal loss to himself Peter Beinart over a period of time has changed his opinion.  As an outsider my views had been formed in one direction for close to 50 years.

October 7th was a shock and the initial response was horror.  As time went on some of the horror shifted to the bombardment of Gaza.  Hostages were used as bargaining chips including women, children and a few foreigners.  Some hostages noted that their greatest fear was of Israeli bombs and in truth some died as result.  We heard very upsetting accounts of what had been inflicted in the initial attack and subsequently on hostages.  

After World War II a lot of colonies wound down, however Israel was the exception where Jews took over land that was already occupied by a larger number of Arabs.  In North America we seldom stopped to realize that we took over land occupied by indigenous humans who actually co-existed better with nature.  For years we were led to believe the Arabs fled on their own initiative.  We came to learn they fled intimidation and violence.  Like being forced out of your house that your family had lived in for generations.  Actually about 750,000 Arabs were displaced in 1948 and several hundred thousand in 1967.

It was considered a problem of what to do with the Jewish Holocaust survivors.  None of the Europeans wanted to take it on.  One thought was that they should be compensated with choice land in Germany.  However there had been a political movement called Zionism that advocated settling in the Holy Land.   Nations that had blocked Jewish refugees before the war supported this notion, most notably the United States, that not only supplied money, but also weapons.

Since the formation of Israel it has gained in strength with Jews around the world viewing it as a safe haven in a world with lots of anti-Semitism.  They have developed some psychological props.  They are quick to point out how they have been victimized over centuries.  Beinart points out "There are still fewer Jews alive today than there were in 1939".

Another force boosting Israel is surprisingly (mostly 'American) Evangelicals who have interpreted Biblical verse that Christ will have a second coming, but only if the Jews control Israel.  They actively support Jewish settlers in Palestine and surprisingly some Jews join in the effort to influence American Evangelicals.  http://www.therealjohndavidson.com/2019/12/evangelists-and-trump.html   The Evangelical voting block strongly supports Republicans who in turn support Israel

Dehumanizing is a standard practice.  Palestinians are always characterized as lazy, poorly educated, violent and most critically want Jews dead.  Since October 7th we have heard and seen barbaric acts against Jewish citizens.  Israeli citizens minimize Palestinian deaths even suggesting they are made up, but in fact they compile their numbers from actually identified.  The stories of individual Palestinians suffering are dismissed. 

Alternatives to violence were tried with little success.  The real problem is to build trust in a hateful environment.  Netanyahu boasted that he killed the Oslo Accords, an attempt for peace.  He then encouraged settlements (that are illegal) in occupied Palestine.  What some would call terrorism, others would call freedom fighting.  Are you sure you don't have a bias?

The BDS  (Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions) movement offered another way to get the world's attention.  Essentially it was an organizational attempt to use economic warfare instead of violence.  Israel saw this as an attack (which it was), but instead of countering with arguments and incentives they tried to make it illegal and had success.  Israel did everything it could for the world to ignore this non violent effort.  The world mostly ignored the Palestinian case for freedom. http://www.therealjohndavidson.com/2018/12/the-bds-movement.html

Beinart suggests there is hope for a peaceful resolution.

One example comes from South Africa.  Afrikaners expressed disdain for the blacks, deeming them to be lower humans.  They feared that if ever they got control there would be a massacre  They fought five different African nations declaring armed groups as terrorists, but  actually after the blacks got a vote anti-government violence within almost disappeared while the armed battles against ceased. 

Palestinian doctors are 30% of Israeli doctors, 25% of nurses and 60% of pharmacists, all jobs require trust by Jewish patients. 

There are Israelis who are trying to bridge the two cultures often through music, art or sports.

Trump recently demonstrated his insensitivity by suggesting the Palestinians should be sent over to Jordan or Egypt and that would leave their homeland partly into a Mediterranean resort.  It would please some of his supporters, but certainly exasperate the problem.  If American voters prefer Trump solutions, the Mideast will be in continual turmoil.  It is difficult to predict the future, but until more people understand there are two sides to the dispute it will be impossible to negotiate peace.

A previous blog about Peter Beinart  http://www.therealjohndavidson.com/2012/07/crisis-of-zionism-book-review.html

 Another respected Jewish thinker is Yuval Noah Harriri and he has a relevant perspective http://www.therealjohndavidson.com/2018/12/21-lessons-for-21st-century.html

Settlements are an act of defiance

A lot is shaking the Middle East.  Hatred and fear are mixed through misunderstandings.  It does seem that might is right, and both sides seem to understand the role of power.

I am offended by the Canadian government who has decided to take sides.  I would say the wrong side, but there would be an improvement if they at least tried to stay neutral.

I am an outsider who has only a superficial understanding of what has happened in Palestine, but I have read and listened countless hours as various positions are advocated.  It boils down to this.  Palestine is Biblical, the Jews were exiled from their own lands, mostly after the Romans.  They suffered from persecution everywhere they went culminating in the Holocaust.  Europeans and North Americans felt very guilty (partly because they ignored the Jewish plight and even discriminated against them as well).  Jews, mostly in Europe campaigned for a homeland where they would not be persecuted and Israel seemed the most logical. location.  They were successful through the United Nations in being granted their homeland with a few restrictions.  The Arabs were resentful and resisted this incursion on what they thought was their homeland (they too had been promised more independence) and many were either forced, misled or intimidated into leaving.

The Jewish settlers fought back and with help of foreigners actually conquered large amounts of surrounding lands which made them feel a little more secure with a cushion all around them.  A lot of resentment from Palestinians, but not enough support from their Arab and Muslim neighbours, some of whom were quite wealthy.  The Palestinians resorted to violence and picked up the idea of suicide bombs from the Tamil Tigers.  Suicide bombing is perhaps the most frightening weapon of anyone.  Even with the atomic bomb you realize the aggressor is probably concerned about survival.  The outside world looks upon it as a barbaric, inhuman, misguided and pathetic.  Israelis feel justified in harsh, methodical methods to protect themselves.  The Palestinians claim they want their land back and they want their idea of freedom.  They have been looked upon as backward psychopaths.

I am sure both sides can tell me stories of atrocities, stupidities and unsportsmanlike behaviour.  Most of us in the West feel the Palestinians are backward and should be grateful for what they have.  If they don't behave themselves they deserve to suffer.

Fear and hate, a very bad combination.  The problem at this level is simple enough.

Compounding the problem is this feeling of righteousness.  Words were written thousands of years ago that make one side feel they are entitled to even more land.  They think these words supercede any efforts to work things out fairly.  Israel, as part of their resentment of the recent United Nations vote to award Palestine non voting membership have decided to step up their settlement program.

Increasingly more of the world sees the settlements as an act of aggression against the Palestinians with really the intention of grabbing as much land as possible.  Factions of the Palestinians have grown tired of trying to negotiate and being ignored.  Their occupier has decided the only way to deal with the Palestinians is to press down harder and build walls to protect themselves.  They see no reason to negotiate seriously or to take seriously the complaints of the Palestinians.  When negotiations are not practical, practical people look for other means to attain their ends.

The Israelis are understandably afraid, but some are very self righteous.  They are not alone.  European settlers were similar; they conquered large parts of Africa, Asia, North and South America.  There was even a Biblical theme expressed by some that they had a duty to spread the true word of God to the heathens.  They had superior technology, they were more unified and diseases they brought disarmed much of the opposition.  All of these nations or tribes felt they had mythical justification for their existence, although we tend to look at most of them as backward and often can't understand why they aren't more grateful for the civilization we brought to them.

I don't have a solution.  The problem has been very one sided, with Israel having the power so they get to tell their story.  They are bolstered not only by Jews around the world, but by evangelical Christians who see their dominance mandated by the Bible.  Revenge is self perpetuating.  Trust can be very hard to build.  Building settlements in occupied lands  is very counter-productive.