History may not be on their side

With so much bad blood over so many years flowing between them, Israel and Palestine face daunting odds when it comes to the dream of establishing a meaningful and lasting peace.

Many (but not all) Israelis believe that permanent settlement of the land is their God-given right, some have simply lived there all their lives and don't wish to leave a place they consider home. Meanwhile, Palestinians likely feel as though they live under an illegal occupation begun by UN mandate and continued through Israeli governmental force. It is, obviously, an incredibly volatile situation.

Neither side is wholly guilty or wholly innocent in this mess, but it can be extremely difficult for the various involved parties to see that, given the deeply personal stakes.

For anyone to criticize Israel is seen by some to be anti-Semitic. Who wants to be accused of that, especially when the specter of the Holocaust is raised as part of the accusation? But it is absolutely essential that we all be allowed to have an open and honest dialogue concerning the actions of the modern Israeli state in regards to their Palestinian/Arab neighbors. To ignore any and all abuses of power by them would be to do a gross disservice not only to those immediately effected by the problems, but also to those ancestors who actually lived through Nazi persecution.

I heard an Israeli man quoted on NPR yesterday in regards to the current bombing campaign in Gaza. He said he wanted to "see them eradicated." The utter irony of a Jewish person calling for the devastation of an entire people apparently flew right over his head, and that, quite frankly, is incredibly sad.

Too, the extreme degree of violence being leveled against the Palestinians by Israel is appalling. In alleged response to a couple of rockets (honestly, it probably goes back further than that), the country has sent its airforce to bomb various buildings throughout the strip. Doesn't this seem a little, I don't know, disproportionate? Here's another example of the disparity:
I see the frustration on both sides. Far too many people, both civilian and military, have been needlessly killed in this seemingly never-ending conflict. Most folks, both Palestinian and Israeli, simply want to be able to go about their lives in peace, with access to basic needs like clean water, food, and medicine, and with relatively safe streets and schools for their children.

But Hamas and other militant groups (and even heads of state) insist that they want to wipe Israel off the map, and/or kill all of the Jews. That, too, is disgusting and reprehensible. So is sending random rockets into civilian areas.

None of the actors in this are innocent, none without blood on their hands. But no one else should have to die, either. Someone has to step up and put an end to the ridiculous cycle of retaliation--no matter what. Set aside history, set aside pride, set aside political or religious ideology and just stop. That's what it will take.

I know, I know--it's not so easy as all that. There are always rogue players involved who will try their damnedest to spoil any attempts at peace. But let them become the outcasts, reviled for their violent tactics, while the rest rise above and work toward something far more meaningful.

Then again, maybe things are just too far gone. Maybe there can never be a peaceful co-existence between Israeli and Palestinian, regardless of any new partition or independence. That would be, in my opinion, a great tragedy - and a hard lesson learned about what happens when outside forces move into a place and impose their will without any consideration for the native population, and when religious extremism on all sides becomes the rule of the day.

Extreme reactions breed extreme reactions.

The Mysterious Mr. Shoebat

Full disclosure: I'd never even heard of this guy until today when, during my pained perusal of various right-wing blogs, I came across several references to a one Mr. Walid Shoebat. A darling of the religious right and super pro-Israel organizations, Shoebat claims to be a former Palestinian Liberation Organization (PLO) "terrorist," having committed any number of violent acts against Jews and Israel, who has since seen the light, converted to Christianity, and now travels the country praising Israel and denouncing Islam. The University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee is hosting a talk by him on Dec. 4th, an event that the campus' Muslim Student Association is protesting against.

It's all a little confusing. There appears to be very little official documentation on the guy to help back up his claims of PLO pedigree (though I don't suppose the PLO keeps very precise records of its membership), and his extremist views about Islam, humorously opposite but still similar to his old views about Judaism, are certainly cause for alarm.

It has been pointing out that Shoebat, though claiming to have once beat an Israeli officer into a "bloody gore," among other offenses, doesn't seem to have ever been investigated by the US. Palestinians (and Muslims in general) with far lesser black marks on their report cards have been deported, but this man was allowed to become a naturalized citizen and to move freely about the country. That seems odd to me. He should absolutely be allowed to be here, to travel freely, to give talks, etc. What I'm suspicious about is the stark contrast between his treatment and the treatment of other men with similar (or allegedly similar) backgrounds.

See, the thing is, Shoebat's fundamentalist Christian faith holds that Jewish domination of Israel-Palestine will lead to Armageddon (the Rapture), a time when those people/countries who believe in Jesus Christ will be saved and everyone else gets to roast in hell for all eternity, including (ho! ho!), those poor Jews he now professes to love so much. How is that not antisemitic?

Charlie Sykes, Jessica McBride, and others of their ilk are up in arms that anyone would have a problem with this guy, tossing accusations of antisemitism and racism around like hot cakes. I don't necessarily agree with the MSA's contention that this man shouldn't be allowed to speak on campus. Fair is fair. But if someone takes issue with his message and his credentials, they have just as much right to criticize and call him on his shit as he does to get up and talk.

Walid Shoebat seems to simply have gone from one extremist point of view to another. This isn't growth, it's a lateral slide where nothing is really learned. Calling for an end to antisemitism is good, but following up that call by claiming that all Muslims are evil is wrong. It should be simple. Anything less is hypocrisy.

Some folks on the far-right like to act all surprised and hurt when "those nasty liberals" call foul on their favorite mouthpieces and figureheads. Oftentimes, the tactic employed to silence the critics is to accuse them of the same kind of bigotry and bias that they, the accusers, are guilty of. It's a tried and true method, but extremely detrimental to the quality of the greater debate and just downright shitty. Both sides need to rise above such petty mud slinging and get to the real issues: working to promote understanding and unbiased education for and between rival groups, dispelling stereotypes and myths, and helping the next generation achieve some kind of meaningful coexistence.

It would help if some of them stopped pushing so hard for the Rapture, too.

No one religion should get to keep Jerusalem all to themselves. The land belongs to no man, and the sooner we realize that, the sooner we can make with the peace. All sides--Jewish, Muslim, Christian, Atheist, whatever--need to ante up and do their part to make it happen. No one is completely without blame. No one bears the full brunt of responsibility. We all share it, and it will take us all to make things better.