Attempting Israel
Nothing too exciting is happening to me yet in Israel. This is good, I think. Very good. Yesterday Michal, my second cousin once-removed (or something like that) took me to this Arab falafel and hummus place where I had the best falafel balls dipped in hummus I've had in my life. For those of you who know me well, you realize how much this means to me. I dream falafel and hummus.
Most interesting so far have been the conversations I've been having with Michal about Israeli-Palestinian politics. Michal works as the (press?) secretary for a representative in the Knesset, so is always listenning to all sorts of news and always has an opinion. I'm trying to understand just a bit how my generation views the situation here, and yesterday I got to listen to her interact with her best friend about the upcoming elections. It seems that the generational split between Michal and her more conservative Russian parents is similar to the one that separates my (and my brother's) views from those of my parents. Michal's father speaks of the "Israeli democracy" in quotation marks, explaining that they are just too easy on agressors, "Arabs" and criminals. Michal's views are appreciably left of center for Israel, though I wouldn't say so on the American spectrum. She sympathizes with the Palestinians, but at the same time has problems with them being designated as a "nation" per se, and though her and her friend agreed that settlement in the territories was illegal and wrong, they don't actually believe that it is plausible (or right) to de-settle all the areas on the other side of the green line (pre-1967 borders).
Something I hadn't really thought about was America's influence on Israeli policy. I know that Israel would not exist without US monetary aid, and that we practically fund their military, but I just (I guess quite nievely) didn't realize the extent to which this money is contingent on what Israel does. Now that I think about it, it makes sense that Israelis are less willing to do things like withdraw from the territories, and that America puts pressure on them to do so. This is just the most obvious example that Michal gave me. Interestingly, when I suggested that Israel was wrong in invading and settling land, something that the international community strongly disagrees with, they right away mentioned not only the US in Iraq, but US commercial influence abroad and globalization as equivalent to settlement. So, it's clear that America right now is being viewed as hypocritical.
Most importantly, Michal and her friend were extremely open to dialogue and very intersted in what Americans felt. They also seemed to think that dialogue between Palestinians and Israelis has recently become more of an option. This, at least, is promising.
Most interesting so far have been the conversations I've been having with Michal about Israeli-Palestinian politics. Michal works as the (press?) secretary for a representative in the Knesset, so is always listenning to all sorts of news and always has an opinion. I'm trying to understand just a bit how my generation views the situation here, and yesterday I got to listen to her interact with her best friend about the upcoming elections. It seems that the generational split between Michal and her more conservative Russian parents is similar to the one that separates my (and my brother's) views from those of my parents. Michal's father speaks of the "Israeli democracy" in quotation marks, explaining that they are just too easy on agressors, "Arabs" and criminals. Michal's views are appreciably left of center for Israel, though I wouldn't say so on the American spectrum. She sympathizes with the Palestinians, but at the same time has problems with them being designated as a "nation" per se, and though her and her friend agreed that settlement in the territories was illegal and wrong, they don't actually believe that it is plausible (or right) to de-settle all the areas on the other side of the green line (pre-1967 borders).
Something I hadn't really thought about was America's influence on Israeli policy. I know that Israel would not exist without US monetary aid, and that we practically fund their military, but I just (I guess quite nievely) didn't realize the extent to which this money is contingent on what Israel does. Now that I think about it, it makes sense that Israelis are less willing to do things like withdraw from the territories, and that America puts pressure on them to do so. This is just the most obvious example that Michal gave me. Interestingly, when I suggested that Israel was wrong in invading and settling land, something that the international community strongly disagrees with, they right away mentioned not only the US in Iraq, but US commercial influence abroad and globalization as equivalent to settlement. So, it's clear that America right now is being viewed as hypocritical.
Most importantly, Michal and her friend were extremely open to dialogue and very intersted in what Americans felt. They also seemed to think that dialogue between Palestinians and Israelis has recently become more of an option. This, at least, is promising.
posted by duckie at 12:23 PM
1 Comments:
Robin,
Boris gave me your blog a while ago and I had been meaning to post a comment and kept forgetting. Finally today I was all set to and I see he beat me to it. Dammit. Anyway, I just wanted to say that I am so excited for your adventures! Be safe and be well--it's hard for me to imagine you out and doing this all by yourself (I still think of you as the kid sister), but I am wholly impressed by your moxie. Keep writing and I shall keep reading.
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