While the Holy Land’s troubles are no joking matter, sometimes a little humor can help defuse the tension. I couldn’t help but chuckle at this joke: An Israeli diplomat, when filling out the customs form upon entry in the USA, misunderstood one of the questions, Where it said “Occupation?”, he wrote, “No, just visiting.”
Israel needs to protect itself. That’s obvious and understandable. And there’s a terrible history of terrorists, desperate extremists who will die to kill, and countries that swear they will not rest until Israel is pushed into the sea.
At the same time, one thing that virtually all visitors to Israel and Palestine eventually grapple with is the irony of Jewish people who were so cruelly treated through history — and especially during the horror of the Holocaust — now playing the strongman.
As observers from a distance, we can’t really get an honest picture of the reality here. I might see a news clip of Palestinians destroying a synagogue. It looks so hateful. And then I learn that during a land swap, Israel agreed to give back land upon which they had built a luxurious modern settlement. And, before retreating, they destroyed every building in the settlement except the synagogue. When hardscrabble Palestinians, so poor and needy, walked into their land, they saw only rubble except for one building — and they got mad and destroyed it. It’s ugly both ways.
Today, I sense a commitment among Palestinians to grow beyond violence. (They really have no choice.) In fact, the main job of Palestinian security forces is to support the Israeli forces in keeping angry, pent-up teenagers calm and out of Israeli prisons.
On the other side, among Israelis I met in Palestine (mostly security forces), I noticed a kind of occupier’s vengeance. It’s something most Israelis would not condone, but it’s done in their name nevertheless.
Israelis believe Palestinian children are taught in school to hate Jews. And Palestinians believe Jewish children are taught to hate them. I asked a Palestinian if schoolbooks teach children to hate Jews. He said, “As a parent raising my family under Jewish occupation, it’s my challenge to teach our children not to hate Jews.” I hadn’t considered that angle. But just being a tourist here for a week, I can understand the toll it must take on any “love thy neighbor” person to live in a land where they say, “Mere existence is resistance.”
I’ll continue this Holy Land series until November 21st. Then, to celebrate my homecoming, I’ll give a live, free slideshow lecture on Thursday, November 21st at 7 p.m. P.S.T. in Edmonds, Washington. You can attend in person (registration required)…or watch the live webcast from anywhere in the world (no registration required). Learn more at Rick Steves – Holy Land: Israel and Palestine Today.
The insights into what is really going on over there is very educational. The angle that these people are engrained with the thinking and behavior they have towards each other is from years of living in the turmoil, and it becomes a way of life is a real eye-opener. Somewhere somehow maybe the cycle could start in the direction of thinkg and acting in terms of problem solving for a more constructive route for future compromise. Truly interesting! Thanks for a real glimpse into this part of the world.
Rick,
Occupation joke – Israelis are “now playing the strongman” after the Holocaust – When Israel left Gaza we watched every Israeli home, farm, shop, green house and industrial building leveled by Hamas (I don’t believe those who told you the synagogue story for one minute. Israel is not stupid. There is no logical benefit to destroying buildings on the way out of Dodge.) – So is Palestine the only place in the Islamic world where violence against Gentiles is encouraged? Imams in many Mosques (not all of course) preach this hatred around the world, not in schools necessarily. Your errors of omission (where the teaching takes place) and occupation are truly glaring. Your Palestinian friends need to encourage Imams to call for a worldwide reformation fatwah to at least start the ball rolling in the right direction.
There are no “internationally recognized” borders between the Palestinians and Israelis. In fact, Palestinian schools teach their children not to recognize Israel at all. I recently saw a photo of a school sign with a map of “Palestine” that includes all of Israel. That’s the real source of the Palestinians’ problem.
Bob Dylan got it right:
Well, the neighborhood bully, he’s just one man
His enemies say he’s on their land
They got him outnumbered about a million to one
He got no place to escape to, no place to run
He’s the neighborhood bully
The neighborhood bully just lives to survive
He’s criticized and condemned for being alive
He’s not supposed to fight back, he’s supposed to have thick skin
He’s supposed to lay down and die when his door is kicked in
He’s the neighborhood bully
Rick,
I’ve been a big fan of yours for many years. I appreciate your social justice work dedicated to building understanding of peoples and cultures in many places where most Americans would never go. I visited Israel and Palestine on a church mission trip in 2008. It was a life-changing event. I eagerly listened to your web cast and over the last couple of days I’ve caught up on your blog about Israel and Palestine. I really appreciate your blog and your openness to learning and change. The picture of the girl frisking the soldier is priceless, as are many works on the wall. My favorite was the dove of peace in a bulletproof vest.
I must say that I’ve had some concern about what I’ve seen on the blog, especially your treatment of the bedouins without mention of the Prawer Plan. I know you want to present an even-handed approach that treats everyone fairly and doesn’t lead PBS to pull your plug. But I ask just one favor, please don’t tell us that the power dynamics at work in this place are just too complicated to understand and that Israeli security is the big issue. The Arabic meaning of the word “intifada” is “shaking off.” In other words, the intifada was a response to the occupation—terrorism on a big budget that’s still going on and has cost many Palestinians their lives.
As with most social justice issues this one involves an abuse of power, and an enabler. Americans should ask themselves how we support the occupation of Palestine, and why this goes unquestioned. The answers might surprise them.