Letters – Courrier
RE: Israel - A Question of Obsession, Issue 3, October 2006 1. Why is the Israel-Palestine/Middle Eastern crisis given so much attention by the Western media in comparison with other crises?(e.g. Chechnya, Tibet)? because it is such a long conflict. Because it has been international since its conception and continued to be ever since,. It shows man’s disability to learn from violence as well as his propensity towards it: we are fascinated by our own baseness. The shocking nature and sad amnesia of it, Israeli tactics and the growing threat of Islamic militantism. 2. Why are outsiders so vociferous about the subject despite not knowing all the basic socio-historical and political elements? Because of the seeming black /whiteness of it. One can think of South Africa. Those who don’t know the history have only the present to look at – and the present, despite 3000 years of context blah blah, is shocking and upsetting. 3. Why is it a subject that many people write into newspapers about and march through streets about in far away countries? Because it is an organised from of conflict that seems to sanctioned internationally, is complex and at times terribly upsetting. Again the root of it is a World War in many ways perhaps it came about form a lack of thought, a lack of debate, a blind eye , i.e. ‘the jewish question’ etc and so people have their opinions. Also people like to show how clever they are. 4. Why do many people consider it as the most influential conflict in the modern world? Because it stemmed from the most global, it is a postcolonial problem par excellence, because it is the fulcrum between the West and the East. Arabs and ‘civilisation’. For me it is because it shows how little we learn from what hurt is inflicted on us: we all seem to throw a punch back after we receive one.. 5. Why do more people have an opinion about the Middle East than about the state of the world’s environment, or world poverty or corruption or mental health? Not sure that they do, but probably for a lot of the reasons mentioned above. No state should be allowed to have an apparatus anymore for controlling the lives of other peoples, and if they do they should be debated internationally and questioned… 6. Are 3rd party peace keepers really that impartial? If not, what and whose interests are being served by the situation remaining unsolved in the eyes of the West? Everybody’s. humanity has to learn somehow. Not interested in partisan worries, even if they are real. Israelis and the Arabs should not be left on their own… 7. Do you know how much money private corporations send to help armies and militants purchase arms? No. but I know that around 3 billion us dollars about enters Israel per annum.. 8.Did you know that the area of Israel-Palestine is around the same size as the Island of Sicily? Yes. But that has changed considerably in the past, hasn’t it. 10.Have you ever seen a touring map of Israel-Palestine,and noticed how the occupied territories are not simply divided by one line? Not a ‘touring map’, but yes I knew. 11. Do you know why when the conflict began and why? That needs a very long answer. There had been jews returning to Israel, sorry, ‘palestine’ since the 1850s due to pogroms throughout Europe, they bought land from the arabs and made it livable and became farmers for the first time, many of them. Zionism was born due to a man witnessing Dreyfus saying his last words after court and a concerted organisation of immigration came about. The Brits fucked up and promised everyone everything. More Jews came. Then Hitler came to power and humanity’s bottom feel out, as did the British, as did any reason for saying no to the jews. (The camps on Malta show that the Brits continued to do so) They had a claim to the land form the Old Testament. It all came to a crunch. Brits passed over their mandate and Israel was just about created in New York in the UU Security Council in the autumn of 1948… 12. What is the present Western media emphasis on the situation revealing? At the moment, that the Palestinians are bankrupt and v v poor and fighting among themselves. Israelis likewise. The 2006 summer war… continuing stupidity a la Voegalin… 13. Did you know that there are many local groups who support and contribute to inter-community and inter-cultural projects to combat religious intolerance and racism in both Palestine and Israel? No I didn’t know that. 14. Did you know that without EU and United States financial aid, Israel or Palestine would probably be unable to survive economically? I would imagine so, yes… Israel came into existence thanks solely to outside funds, it seems that has always been how it kept its army alive… 16.Do you know the significance of the 2003 Geneva Accords? No. Did it recognise two states? 17.Are you aware of the local Peace effort and how you can support it? No and No.
21. Are you aware of how many languages are spoken in this region? No, not really. Hebrew, Arabic, English, French…? 23. Where do you place your own identity? Europe.
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