An Internet hub with domestic and international news, analysis, original reporting, and popular features from the left, center, indies, centrists, moderates, and right
The Unavoidable Horizon
How narrative unavoidably constrains and perverts our perception of reality (as applied to the Israeli/Palestinian conflict).
opinions powered by SendLove.to
6 Responses to “The Unavoidable Horizon”
Great, great article.
David – I agree with your premise of each side having different narratives which motivate their activities. However, the ability of the respective sides to show some empathy is what is currently missing in the Israel/Palestinian situation. I have dozens of relatives living in Israel, most of them in the settlements and I have made several dozen trips to Israel since 1966.
Even after the 1967 war, there was considerable interaction between Israelis’ and Palestinians. There were hundreds of thousands of arabs working at Jewish businesses. In Haifa where my sister’s family was at the time ( they moved to Ariel later) it seemed like every Jewish family had arab nannies etc. This kind of interaction led to a lot more empathy and understanding of each side’s “narrative”.
However, since the settler movement began interaction between the sides began to erode and the erosion seemed to be in direct proportion to the number of settlers. We now have a situation where there is literally no interaction, so understanding is nominal at best.
In the early days (1966 to 1987) most of the arabs I knew and met understood how the Holocaust impacted Jewish families and were sympathetic to a large degree. However, I never really saw much of the reverse, probably because most of these arabs were still in Israel proper and citizens – not really part of Nabka.
David, as a Jew you should understand the importance of land. In many ways it is more important than life itself. What has always driven the Palestinians is the land. Those Palestinians who are said to want Israel to be driven into the sea are the same types who see the Israelis driving the Palestinians away by far more subtle means – ie “facts on the ground, settlements”. The Palestinians realize that until Israel is FORCED, they will never get back to their 67 land. Camp David was rejected out of hand because Ariel and Ma’ale Adumim along with some smaller Jerusalem settlemnts would remain and the Jordan Valley would be under Israeli control.
Until each side can have a better understanding of the other’s narrative there will be no peace agreement. If I were President, I would kidnap the Israeli and Palestinian cabinets take them to a deserted island and not let them off until they had talked themselves into a peace agreement.
Wow! Now this is a great story, adding some desperately needed perspective to the Israel vs. Palestine discussions. Congratulations, David, a great job!
“David, as a Jew you should understand the importance of land. In many ways it is more important than life itself. What has always driven the Palestinians is the land. Those Palestinians who are said to want Israel to be driven into the sea are the same types who see the Israelis driving the Palestinians away by far more subtle means – ie “facts on the ground, settlementsâ€?.”
Indeed, an important point, jd. A field of uprooted olive trees, some acres of property confiscated or simply taken over , may have the same impact on radicalizing palestinians as a youth shot at the border. If politicians would be more aware of this, many unnecessary incidents that result in putting oil into the flames could be avoided. Sadly, jd, many reports say the residents of the settlements are hardly innocent in the worsening of ‘The Situation’.
That’s more of a myth than a narrative. It’s on par with thinking that the U.S. government’s military adventures have all been noble.
“That’s more of a myth than a narrative.”
Don’t confuse things, Chris. This is about perception. I think Jews really believe they are against unnecessary cruelty and for harmony, not recognizing that their actions lead to the exact opposite.