OD'ing on Politics and a little story

I have been spending way too much time lately on political boards and email groups... sigh, about to take a break, I think, or hope, before I seriously OD on it all.

It is soooo frustrating too. I feel like I'm this sort of bridge between people from both sides of the fence, and it's not a nice feeling, it sometimes includes feeling stepped over ;) I come back to IsraeliDad and other Israelis here, recounting things I hear on the boards from Arab fellow posters. I get bombarded with accusations to the other sides... I go to the boards, and get bombarded back with accusations about Israel... Here's the interesting bit, the people I talk to here, and the people I "talk" to online, are the pro-peace ones, on both sides. The moderates. Very upsetting, I mean, if we can't get the moderates to see eye to eye, then how on earth are we going to get to a stable agreement that will somehow put the extremists at bay?

As far as I can see, there is just so much mistrust on both sides. So many mis-perceptions, based on some fact and plenty of interpretations (derived from the initial mistrust). Here's a story I sometimes read to my kids here. The short, very short version of it, it is beautifully written in Hebrew by a well-known Israeli author here, Ephraim Sidon. The story is called "Uzo and Muzo from the village of Kakaruzo".

Uzo and Muzo were two loving brothers that grew up together in their peaceful village. One day they fight over some silly thing. First words, then some punches, and they solemnly declare they will never speak to each other again. What's more, they build a wall, right in the middle of the house. They no longer see each other ever since. When they bring their brides home, they are asked about the wall and reply saying a terribly person lives on the other side, and to never ever as much as look over the wall. Same tale is told to their sons, who in their turn tell it to their own sons and so on. As generations pass, the tale gets darker. The person is gradually transformed to a horrible man eating monster that lives on the other side of the wall. Nobody dare take a look, it's too risky.

Then one day, a young child from one of the sides gets really curious. His mom goes out for a while, and he can no longer resist temptation. He desperately wants to take just a quick look at the horrible monster. He pulls up a ladder and climbs up to take a look at the other side of the wall. Lo and behold! On the other side he sees a little girl! He calls out to her, anxious, telling her to hurry up, climb over back to the right side of the wall! The monster could come back and get her any minute! The little girl is just as shocked to see him, telling him to stop playing around and hurry down to her side - doesn't he know there's a terrible man eating monster on the side of the wall from where he just showed up?

After some frantic calls, they finally realize the amazing truth. There is no monster! On both sides there are only people! Amazed at the revelation, the little boy goes down on the girl's side and comes to visit her family. Her dad faints right into the soup when he learns the boy is "from the other side". Finally, they all head up towards the wall. Meantime, on the boy's side, his family are looking for him, realizing in terror that he has crossed over... The two families meet on top of the wall. Within days, after learning the truth, the wall is brought down and people on both sides are united. The little boy and girl end up marrying btw. And as the families sit together, they shake their heads in amazement at how stupid they were all these years, not to realize it's only people just like them on the other side of the wall.

Nice story, don't you think? I'll stop with that for now. Been meaning to post this one for a while. I think about it often when I keep crossing the wall in the virtual realms of the Internet, trying to convince people on both sides that there is no monster on the other side...

Recipe of the Day - A Palestinian State within 3 years

Following my last post... I thought I'd be a good mom and add a recipe! It's real simple and contains only two stages - but it has a cooking time of probably 2-3 years.

Here's a recipe for an independent Palestinian State within 3 years:
1. Halt any violent activity towards Israel - terror attacks, qassam rockets, stone throwing, anything.

2. Arrange mass peaceful demonstrations. Send children to the borders, holding flowers and olive branches. Get the media to cover that. Do that en mass, constantly, repeatedly. Hold rallies with speakers calling out for peace. Smother Israelis with love, and show that to the world.

Within weeks, if not days, you'll have Israel at the negotiations table. You'll have to keep this up for months, even years. The non-violent part needs to remain forever, of course. You'll have your own State, prosperous and peaceful - within a few years.

My Palestinian friends, keep shooting the rockets and you are shooting them at yourself. You will bring only more devastation to your people both in the short term and long term. The Palestinians have one way of "beating" Israel in this game and getting their Palestinian State. You could have have your own Independent State several years ago and they can have it within a short number of years even now. The only road towards that is non-violent struggle.

Parenting in Gaza

We were lying in bed last night, talking about this and that, about our kids mostly. A jet fighter came flying over hour house. Not unusual in Israel - jet fighters and helicopters fly over our house everyday, some days worse than others when they're running some exercise or whatever. Triggered some interesting conversation between IsraeliDad and myself.

Earlier that day we went to the gym together. We don't get to watch TV too much here at home. We only get one channel here (broke free from the cables about a year ago), and we don't have much time for it anyway. At the gym, they have screens in front of the treadmills, so this is our chance at catching some programs.

I think that the public TV channels are required by law to dedicate a certain number of hours a day for broadcasts in Arabic. These broadcasts are never on prime time though. I guess it could be argued that with the majority of viewers being Hebrew speakers, there's no point in placing these shows during prime time. Still, I think it creates a kind of a cultural ghetto, since no one really watches TV during the hours to which the Arabic programs have been relegated. Well, no one except us when we march on the treadmill! With my newly acquired political awareness, I am fascinated by these shows. I honestly do think that they should be moved to prime time. There are subtitles in Hebrew anyway, and it will do nobody no harm to listen to some Arabic, and more importantly, to listen to the point of view of Arab speakers.

These shows cover a variety of topics. Many discuss social and cultural issues, revealing aspects in the culture of what we usually call "Israeli Arabs", or as they call it "Israeli Palestinians". The politics is always there, and for a good reason too. Yesterday, we watched two very interesting shows (think of all the exercise accomplished!)

The first show was an interview by leading journalist Rafik Halabi (he's a Druze and you'll find a lot by him and about him if you Google his name). This is a series really, of which I have been fortunate enough to watch more than one episode. He was interviewing Salem Jubran, an Arab intellectual, author and poet. Wonderful interview. I'd vote for him as for Prime Minister. Such a wonderfully balanced view of the world, addressing the shades of gray in both Arab and Jewish societies in Israel. Very critical of the Israeli government and regime, yet so positive about the country as a whole, and about the chances of peace here. Not overly optimistic, just positive. I found a few pages with his writing, or interviews with him. Posting them here for now - I hope to refer to some topics presented there in future posts -
A pleasant flight - for Arabs too

A Bridge For Happiness

The second show was about the current situation in Gaza. The Arab presenter had a panel of four - two of them Palestinians (from East Jerusalem and the West Bank) and two Israelis. The show was all in Arabic. There was a surprising consensus reached and a sad one at that. They all agreed that it's up to the Palestinians at this point to get a hold of themselves, stop the fighting among themselves and work towards strengthening their elected leadership. No one was very optimistic there. The Israelis (a journalist and a scholar) explained how the way things are going, Israel is more than likely to be dragged into Gaza, maybe even sooner or later. He said how the IDF would have no choice but to finally march into Gaza and re-occupy the place.

The Palestinian journalist (it was the well known journalist and human rights activist Bassem Eid) replied saying how this would be a grave mistake. That an Israeli invasion would only cause harm and make Palestinians escalate the struggle on their end. Well, not that we don't know that. It's just that, like the Israeli journalist explained to him, in the end of the day the IDF is committed to protecting Israel, and simply can't avoid action in response to the rockets.

If I may elaborate on that point. The IDF is called the Israeli Defense Forces for a reason. When rockets are lobbed at Israel, it's in the IDF's calling to stop the rockets from being fired. No one is saying that the IDF is inactive btw, only that things may come to the point, not very far from now where the IDF will have on other means of fighting the rockets other than walking into Gaza and disarming the Palestinians, house by house if necessary. It will be an ugly bloodshed for both sides. Nobody is looking forward to that, and everyone knows this will come at a heavy price to both Palestinians and Israelis.

What would be the price? To the Palestinians this could be a terrible terrible blow in terms of both civilian and armed militia casualties, the first simply because there will be heavy fighting going on on their territory in a heavily populated area. To Israel, the cost is likely to be in casualties on the part of the IDF. The Israeli public is very intolerant of IDF casualties. People call the soldiers "our children", which they are after all, in a society where you still have compulsory military service at the age of 18. However, they are soldiers, and when the choice is between civilians being bombed in Sderot or IDF soldiers killed while defending them, at some point, the government will opt for the second. It is what the army is there for, as tragic as it is for the families of the soldiers.

Most likely, the heaviest price will be shared by Israelis and Palestinians alike: the ultimate blow to the peace process in the form of the IDF re-conquering Gaza. The lesson of that in Israeli eyes, government and citizens alike, is likely to be that the Palestinians cannot be trusted with their own sovereignty. They are still too fragmented and still operating as tribes and "Hamulas", unable to form national institutions of their own. Obviously, fingers will be pointed at Israel for somehow "not allowing" these institutions to form. I wonder how many Arabs will have the courage to lay at least part of the blame on the Palestinians themselves?

So much for yesterday's time of relaxation at the gym... and as you can see ID and myself spent a while discussing this.

Fast forward to our night time, lying in bed, listening to the jet fighters. We talked about how awful it must be to be lying in one's bed in Gaza tonight, not too far away from where we live, with your children sleeping, just like ours, listening to jet fighters flying over your head. How unbearable it must be for those Palestinians mothers and fathers to have to raise their children with that constant fear for their very lives, and how awful for the children. Every now and again we are shown Palestinians mothers on the news, saying the most horrible things, about how they wish their children would die as "Shaeeds" in the struggle against Israel. I refuse to believe that there are no sane Palestinians in Gaza who just want their children to grow up, healthy and happy, same as we do here.

My heart goes out to these families over there. And yes, also to the Jewish parents in Sderot, who right now raise their children under the constant thread of Qassam rockets. It's terrible on both sides. I know that there are many initiatives right now within Israel to help the families of Sderot, in essence evacuate the children out of the war zone at least temporarily. I wish there was something similar done for the children of Gaza. There is something terrible about taking children away from their families, but I think that it would still be the right thing to do, to get them out and find them hosting families for now. Naive, I know, and not about to be performed by any organization. What a shame....

Our Day in the Golan Heights

Almost sneaking out of the house in the morning for this one, we packed the kids in the car and drove to the demonstration in the Golan Heights. Of course, we can't really keep any secrets in the family, so we ended up telling my in-laws where we went later that evening. During the morning we still kept it hushed down though.

The kids were never told we're going to a demonstration, let alone about what. We feel they're too young for that, so to them this was just a day out.

We left earlier than needed, so on the way to the Golan Heights we made the mandatory stop at Golani Junction at their MacDonald's branch. Now, Golani junction isn't named after the Golan, but after one of the IDF's brigades. It's usually a place where soldiers gather, on the way back and from their deployments up in the North, and also families like ours traveling. It's also a local attraction for the region's locals, namely you see quite a few Druze and Arabs there as well. The staff is always mixed, as far as I can tell, with both Arabs and Jews serving in all positions.

We got a kiddie meal (with the toy!), and a bowl of the latest local dish served at the big M - a finely chopped, freshly prepared Mediterranean salad, seasoned with olive oil, lemon juice, mint and parsley - yummy and very healthy! The kids spent a while playing at the indoors playground there, while IsraeliDad and myself sat nearby reading the paper. So far, the day was proving to be a huge success ;)









We drove on northward, me looking at the view, thinking how sad this whole deal was. Such a beautiful place, populated by beautiful people, dreamers and visionaries that wanted to make a home for their family in a very special place. Unlike the West Bank (let alone Gaza), the Golan is sparsely populated and was so during 1967 as well.

At last, we reached the designated meeting point, at Ein Zivan junction. No less than six police cars and vans were waiting for us there, and seemed rather pleased to finally see someone looking for the demonstration. They weren't making a political statement, just bored, saying not too many other people had shown up. They told us the rally itself is held further along the road, in the tourist observation point located across the border from the Syrian town of Kuneitra.

The place itself is beautiful (as is the rest of the Golan Heights), with a great outlook on the views of Syria, right across from the UN camp in the demilitarized zone between the two countries. The weather was nice, and we spent a nice hour or so, listening to speeches. The two more prominent speakers were Israeli author Sami Michael and Israeli poet Roni Somek. Their heartfelt speeches addressed one simple point, which was the message of the rally: Let's respond to the Syrian signals and engage in a dialogue. At no point did anyone even mention the withdrawal from the Golan Heights directly. At most, there was a vague reference to the price of peace (mentioning that it was heavy, but not as heavy as the price of war).

I was slightly disappointed when one of the speakers tried some low scare tactics, saying that if we don't head towards peace with Syria now, we'll have war with Syria under a year. He went on to say that we won't be able to stand at that very place, because rockets will be falling on the Golan Heights. I thought this to be a very unlikely scenario... The point I would have made instead is that unless we enter negotiations with the Syrians, there is more than likely going to be another war with the Hezbulla.


As you can see from this picture, the demonstration wasn't exactly crowded. IsraeliDad is there, trying to get the boys to sit "in the shade" (there wasn't much of it, obviously). It was a very peaceful event - the bored policemen never even got close. There was quite a lot of press there, it almost looked like you had more journalists and photographers than actual participants. Then again, this demonstration wasn't advertised anywhere that we could see, and unless you happen to be on certain mailing lists, you wouldn't even know it took place. We are not actually ON those mailing lists either, but were forwarded a copy by friends. Funnily enough, the people on those lists were mostly the kind of people who won't come to such a demonstration because it's taking place "in occupied territory"...

We stayed there for about an hour, then headed south again as it was over. It felt strange, going past the Kibbutz where my brother-in-law lives, but we thought it would be way too awkward to visit under the circumstances. We never even told them we were going, as per the request of my parents-in-law. Sigh.

On the way back, we stopped for a nice lunch in a semi-famous Arab restaurant called "Yunes". We had a very good time there, with the hospitable staff generously talking us into buying less food, rather than more! Now, there's a refreshing approach in a restaurant!

The food itself was excellent. The parents kept to
Hummus and a selection of salads, while the kids had their all time favorite - meats on sticks aka Shish-kebab (aka locally as shishlik). They were taught a few Arab words by the kind waiter who really enjoyed them (and them him as well!) . All in all, we had a great time there, with a lovely "on the house" finale of black Arab coffee, sweet cakes, fresh apples and dates. As perfect as can be, and not very expensive either.


Sitting here typing and listening to the news... We focused on the north today, but Israel's hot front is down south today, with a constant barrage of rockets from Gaza into the town Sderot, along with constant IDF attacks into Gaza. Looks like things are escalating quickly. I did read today that Hammas is doing this intentionally, attempting to drag Israel into a direct conflict. I also read how Shimon Peres said this week that Israel will not have its policy dictated by the Hammas, meaning we won't attack just because they are provoking. Well, looks like attack we do, and I guess now it remains to see just how severely.

It seems pretty clear though, that unless the Palestinians come to their senses in Gaza, the government will have little choice but to increase the attack, maybe even going all the way with a ground attack, literally taking Gaza over again. It's a question of public opinion more than anything. People are too short sighted to see the outcome - they just want the government to do something - anything - to stop the rockets.

On a personal level, I am worried that IsraeliDad may be called in again, for who knows how long, in case things escalate on the Southern front. I sure hope things won't come to that... and not just for my own personal selfish motives either.

Peace Mongering Among "Pro-Israelis"

Thank for the term Peace Mongering Khaled! I sure felt like one these past few days lol. I get this urge to reach out, listen to others and debate things. I sometimes hope that the Internet may help bring people together, maybe help us listen, see other perspectives, get in touch with people with different points of view, learning from others. I still think that is possible, especially witn one-on-one encounters or on very well moderated boards. Otherwise, the other side of Internet discussions rises its ugly head.

I have experienced that only too well over the past 24 hours... I joined a board that declared itself to be "Pro-Israel" and "Pro-America". Now, some of the people posting there are good people, and there were a few posts in threads where I participated that were insightful and well written. I also got a nice PM from one of the moderators. That about ends the positive things I have to say about that board. It didn't take more than two or three members to make me physically ill at the extent of hatred. They reminded me of the fanatic Muslims on the Iranian boards. Calling out to make parking lots of Gaza and Lebanon... not much different than the Syrian poster on the Muslim board rejoicing over the mental image of a chemical attack on Tel Aviv.

The amazing thing is how extremists fail to see that they are mirror image of each other. A Jewish extremist is just like a Muslim one. The exact kind of distorted view of the world in black and white. The same de-humanization and demonization of the other side too. So similar and so blind to one another.

Similar style too, who would have guessed? Say something they disagree with and they go off a tangent right away, calling you every name in their book. I guess demonization becomes a habit after a while lol. It was actually quite funny to begin with. Check out this thread here. It struck me as funny, in the weird sense of the word, to have my support of Israel questioned, my contribution and willingness to "pay the cost" brought into this. Like I was some outsider looking into something that has nothing to do with it. Me, born and bred here, living here, serving this country in the military, raising my kids here...

There's a part of me that wants to move away from these kind of people (Jews or Arabs). Like IsraeliDad says, they're just nuts, so why deal with that? It's disgusting and not good for one's health. I keep telling him that we can't afford to ignore the extremists, because they are the ones who will end up dragging us all into more wars. In the end, it's us that pay the price, not just them (them as well, sometimes, but looks like they don't mind killing and dying like we do). I can and did put a couple of members there on "Ignore" - I'm just not sure we can all afford to do that irl.

Sigh, very frustrating indeed. And just in case there's anyone from "over there" reading this blog here... I doubt that I'll be back often. From time to time, maybe, but not too often. Too easy to get sucked in into that dark hole. Anyway, I wanted to say that my post here does not refer to everyone who posted there in threads where I participated. There are some sane people posting on that board as well... just too many psychos that are allowed to go on preaching their hatred. I can only stomach so much of that in any given period of time ;)

Finally, the Right Statement from Olmert

Olmert says he's ready to talk peace with Arab World

When I was growing up, seeking peace was supposed to be the standard Israeli policy, or so we were told. Common wisdom was that Israel was always reaching out to its enemies and calling for peace. Sadat is immensely popular in Israel to this day, for being the first Arab leader to finally "accept" our offers and show up to talk peace.

I'm not sure when the change took place. How come our government is so peace-shy these days that it takes a special declaration by the Prime Minister to just say that we are "willing" to talk? I expect my government to make clear at all times that Israel is not just "willing" to discuss peace, but is actively seeking peace. Of course, they do actually have to actively seek peace, not just by declarations but by initiating meetings, talks and confidence building measures. We can't afford to "be willing" (let alone to be unwilling!) - peace is in Israel's best interest, first and foremost. If we don't push towards peace, we'll be pushed into war. I know which I prefer.

Entering Dialogues Again

I have been browsing around yesterday and came across an Iranian board in English. The board is geared pretty much towards Iran's defense/military issues. Having read through a few threads, I couldn't help myself and had to sign up and join in the discussions. Well, as can be expected, I think I have close to 20 posts under my wings in under 24 hours :p

An interesting mix of people on that board, and an interesting mix of views. One thing that I found fascinating is something I already noted about before. Reading through people's perceptions of their country's perspective security issues, we are all so self-focused in the end. Looks like everyone feels they are surrounded by enemies - well and maybe they are. Everyone in this region seems to fear their neighbors.

Growing up in "Zionist" Israel the motto for us was "Israel is a small land surrounded by enemies". No one really discussed how these "enemies" see the world around them, but we had just always assumed that these enemies were all united, since they apparently had a common goal (destroying us, of course!) It is rather surprising to see that our "enemies" are far from being united. Not only do they have their own quarrels among themselves, it does seem to be like destroying us isn't always their top priority after all!

Thoughts Following Khaled's Visit

It's been a bit of a weird day here so far. I got back into bed after sending the kids off to kindergarten. Woke up more or less on time to go pick them up. They're resting in their bedroom now (ok, ok, watching a DVD, sue me... it does mean they're in bed!) and I finally have a few minutes for coffee and reflections.

We stayed up late last night here, sitting around the table with Khaled, my dear father-in-law, our friends Arnon and Deb, and IsraeliDad and myself. We just talked and talked and talked, until it was time for Khaled to go catch his train and go to the airport. At some points, we reflected on the visit, at others, we discussed possible solutions for the future, and there were times (quite a few) where we dragged ourselves back to one of the historic debates that were so common along the visit.

I learned a lot during this visit. I have learned a lot from Khaled before the visit as well (as he put is so eloquently, "I have been exposed to his poison before..." ;)), but somehow going through the debates again along with others helped me see some things more clearly. The one thing that stuck on my mind the most relates to the historical aspects of the conflict but is very significant for understanding the current situation and coming up with solutions as well. It is the huge difference between the respective narratives of each side. There we are, facing an ocean of historical facts (and those are more than enough btw, no need to come up with tales and fantasies on top of that..), and each side seems to pick up their own pieces of the colorful rubble and create their own narrative from that. Every point of the conflict, as far back as we went, we discovered that we mostly agree on the facts, yet come up with different interpretations to them. A different story, or history, is created by each side.

What's more, these being such emotional issues at core, it is all too easy to get upset, shake your head in disbelief at the other's "fantastic and ludicrous tale", and give up on it. In many ways, it is so much easier to hold on to your familiar comfy fortress of views and just disregard the other side's perspective. Of course, by sticking to your own narrative, the only way to explain the other side's behavior is by saying that they are either stupid, cruel, out go get you/your land, or all of the above together. Any settlement you achieve within this mindset is going to be extremely fragile, obviously.

Well, I think we can be proud of not going that route during Khaled's visit. There was genuine interest in each other's perspectives and narratives. We spent hours talking and simply explaining the logic's behind each side's actions. When you're on that side, what you do seems only too clear. You know why you're doing it, and you assume that the other side (the stupid and evil side) understands your thinking as well. They only respond the way they do because, well, they are evil and stupid, duh. Explaining intentions and thoughts behind each side's actions went a long long way with us. Be it the Six-Day-War, the Wye Plantation Talks, the Intifada, the way the IDF treats Palestinians, the boycott on the peace with Israel by the Egyptian elites... the list goes on and on and on. Every topic we touched, I think we managed to cover some ground in dispelling the notions of "stupid and evil" and going on to actually understanding each side better. I hope Khaled feels something like that about Israel and its policies, I know we have made great progress when it comes to understanding the Arab positions on so many topics. The reason we were able to do that? because we became friends, I think. We shared meals, chit-chat, road trips. There was zero hostility, and it enabled us to move forward with this loaded dialogue and actually listen.

So... where do we take it from here? Is there something to be gained from this visit, other than a great friendship formed across borders? I believe so. It may take a while for things to sink between us. We need to ferment now, then we'll see, maybe. I am not delusional enough to think that the small circle here is going to break new grounds - we will probably not be the one to bring everlasting peace to the planet... There are many people around these parts making more serious efforts in that direction too (read Khaled's blog to find out more about them).

For me, the visit motivated me even further to reach out, learn more about our neighbors, talk to people, and maybe get active again with the concept of getting people from both sides to get to know each other. As human beings first, forming online friendships even, and then as representatives of a different narrative. One that can co-exist with ours, perhaps without the need to settle things through an armed conflict.

Politics and Family

So often family issues come in the way of any form of political activism. We were talking about it here, IsraeliDad and myself, wondering whether we should get more active and actually "do something". When we were younger we used to participate in left-wing demonstrations every now and again. The last one we went to, we already had one baby and carried him along with is. It seems like there are fewer large demonstrations being held nowadays. I guess part of it is a reflection on the morale of the Israeli left wing. There was a wave of euphoria when Barak went to Washington and offered what was seen as a very progressive offer by Israel. By the same token, hopes were crashed when Arafat failed to respond to that offer. I realize that this is a game of perception. I won't even go into that argument here (I have discussed this in
detail with Khaled on his site here).

Bottom line, is that the Israeli moderate left-wing has taken a major blow and I'm not sure it's on the recovery just yet. I don't recall any huge demonstrations in the past few years. We finally got an email this week, inviting us for a demonstration calling our Prime Minister to move forward and initiate official negotiations with Syria, regardless of what the Americans will say. It's meant to be a journey up to the Golan Heights, where families will drive up to the border carrying posters calling for peace with Syria. We really wanted to go to that one, but unfortunately we have a Bar Mitzva on the same day... So, there you go. Family engagements come in the way again. It's pretty much an emblem of my life in general. Any political awareness is usually pushed aside by the mundane tasks of raising a family. And on this note I have to leave now, my son needs a change of clothes here.

Recovering from a mild cold...

Too much talking politics probably, I came down with a cold yesterday. I'm better today, but not a lot to post on really. Khaled left yesterday morning, on his way to Jerusalem and then the West Bank. I feel a bit OD'ed on politics atm, so no long post here today. Don't get me wrong, it's a fascinating visit so far, and we're enjoying every minute. We've tried to get quite a few of our family members/friends to meet Khaled and the one word they keep coming up with after meeting him is "fascinating". It's good, I guess. Good for us to see things from a totally different perspective. We don't argue a lot over facts (well, ok, a little), but it's interesting to see how two different narratives have evolved around the same facts. Each side chooses to emphasize some aspects and ignore others.

The bottom line for me so far? (or is it too Israeli to be looking for a bottom line? ;)) Well, Khaled and ourselves, despite our different opinions on some things, could easily reach peace in the Middle East. A warm kind of peace too, with friendships forming across borders. We could live in a confederation even. Unfortunately, I still think that Khaled is in the minority in the Arab world. Here in Israel, people like here may not be in the majority either (about 50/50 at this point, I think). It is encouraging for us to see that likeminded people do exist in the countries around us. Would we be enough to reach not only peace, but a viable Middle East, liberal, advanced, progressive, where human and civil rights are adhered to? Will the Middle East be the next European Union? or did this visit make us delusional?

Anyway, read on on Khaled's blog. I know I do!

http://without-a-roadmap.blogspot.com/

Zionism 101 - Day 2 of the Visit

If there's one theme that keeps coming up in our conversations during Khaled's visit it's the different versions to history out there. Don't get the wrong impression, we don't actually spent too much time arguing about facts - for one thing we do mostly agree on the facts, for another thing, when we disagree we usually agree that it's not that important. All the same, it's fascinating for me to see how the same facts can be construed into such essentially different historical narratives. It sometimes takes someone who looks at the same facts from a totally different angle to help you see that, I guess.

Yesterday's visit to the museum of the Palmach was prime example. I have been to this museum several times before. As I warned Khaled prior to his visit, this place gives you a hardcore Zionist experience, telling the tale of the war of 1948 from the Zionist perspective. All the same, it never fails to move me and my family when we visit there. Granted, the exhibition is well thought out and planned to pull at the heart strings. We can see as much by ourselves. The story is told through the eyes of a group of Palmach members, and you can't help but like these young men and women, with their very human feelings of love, fear, humor. When several of them get killed during the war, it's heartbreaking. Like a good soap opera, if you like. Still, as I said, it's effective...

When Dovale (one of the characters) talks about how he saved his little sister from the concentration camp in the end of the war and brought her into the country aboard the Exodus, and how painful it was for her to be sent out to another fenced camp after having walked on the soil of the Land of Israel for only 20 meters, it breaks my heart, Sorry. The fact that we were visiting there during the Eve of the Memorial Day only added to this. I had to reign in the tears, not wanting to make a fool of myself in front of the group of young tank guides (all women) which we were assigned to go the tour with. If those teenaged girls managed to keep a stiff upper lip, I figured I should as well. There was only so much I could do though, by the end I was crying. Sue me.

So, we're walking out of the museum, and asking our guest how he found the museum. To our great disappointment, Khaled showed no inclination to join the IDF and fight for the cause alongside our wonderful people. He actually, ummmm, found the exhibition to be well carried out but quite biased and one-sided, or as he put it, "propaganda". So, there you have it, I have seen this several times, and it never actually occurred to me that the Arab side isn't really represented in the exhibition. In fact, there isn't too much animosity or hostility towards Arabs there. The Arabs, other than in their role as the military forces against which we've had to fight, simply aren't there. Through out the years prior to 1947, the storyline relates to the Nazis and the British, and to internal fights within the Jewish settlers. Arabs? What Arabs?

I digress into an analysis of the exhibition here, but I'm using it as an illustration of something that I am seeing through out the visit so far. It's a positive thing, it's what I had hoped for, in a way. A fresh perspective for us, a well as a way to show our perspective to Khaled. Some things we seem to be taking for granted here, and it's always good to have someone rattle your ideological cage and make you think.

So... back to the descriptive account of our day. We came back from Tel Aviv and went through shopping center to get some groceries for dinner, then headed back home. The kids were being looked after by my dear mother-in-law and were all excited to see us. It took longer than expected to get dinner going, but we managed to do that eventually. The fact that IsraeliDad here decided to join his father in another hot air balloon escapade wasn't very helpful either... They didn't fly aboard one, but they flew a small one up the air. It flew further than expected, sending ID running after it through town. We still don't know where it landed, but apparently no huge fire registered in the vicinity.