The Parent Circle and Peace

A week ago we had the opportunity to have two members of the Parent Circle come speak to us about their personal stories and the organization. The organization is for family members of victims killed in the Israel-Palestine conflict that have come together for accomplishing peace. The male who spoke to us about his son’s murder was a Jewish Israeli, while the female who spoke about her husband’s murder was a Muslim Israeli. The story that they promoted was that both groups, Israelis and Palestinians were victims in the conflict. Moreover, we must recognize the troubles from both groups in order to have peace. The clear victims in the conflict are the Palestinians because of occupation but the male member of the parent circle also painted a picture that Israel is terrorizing its own people. In fact, he called the IDF a terrorist organization and recalled the time that he begged his son not to join it once he was 18 years old. Although some contend that this was a radical statement; I do not think that it is radical. Some people may believe forcing all of its population to fight a controversial cause creates terror within the society and individual soldiers for those not believing in the cause itself.

I believe that we need to move forward towards peace but not forgot the history of the conflict. As Amos Oz contends in “Between Right and Right,” neither Israel nor the Palestinians are the good guys. In fact, he argues that the British and past historical factors should be blamed for the conflict; as both groups are now victims because of them. I agree that we need to move forward, and learn for the past. I think it is counterproductive to dwell in the past including the past injustices suffered by both parties. We should learn from history so we do not repeat it, but paying compensation for settlement displacements from 60 years ago or offering apologies for “X” event that happened 30 years ago is not going to give us peace. Peace will only come if each group recognizes each other and the importance of the issues, along with having a prosperous relationship between Israel and Palestine, once a Palestinian state is established. The current peace talks offer a glimmer of hope for the future, and hopefully the next time I come back to Israel, Israelis will no longer have to live in fear (assuming Hamas is forced out of Gaza and Gaza joins the Palestinian state under the Palestinian Authority).  

Living in a Bubble

Last summer I participated in Taglit Birthright and spent 10 days being shown around the entire country of Israel.  With almost no free or down time, it was clear Taglit keeps its participants in a bubble.  Taglit kids enter this bubble before they even leave their home country, where they first meet up with their group leaders.  The bubble entails a certain discourse, specific stories, sights, and experiences to fulfill an agenda.

This summer, we had over four weeks to experience a lot of different things, see and learn about cool places, and do a lot more exploring on our own.  However to some extent I think we also had a certain bubble.  While we did have more free time to explore our own things, our stay in the Student Village and the ban on the West Bank limited the scope of what we were able to see.  Do I personally want to go to the West Bank? Not particularly.  Do I understand why it’s logical and reasonable to have the rule? Completely.  Do I acknowledge that, despite the rationale, it is still a limitation on our ability to hear from both sides of the conflict? Definitely.

The reason the Student Village is nice is it’s proximity to campus, the kitchens, the facilities are nice, and it has a cheap bar, laundromat, and a supermarket.  The distance from the center of town is one thing, but I think the biggest way this formed a bubble was that it was more difficult to meet Israelis.  I was lucky to have friends already in Jerusalem and Tel Aviv, but I think the dates of the program make the Student Village a less ideal place to live.  What I’ve learned from my conversations with Israelis has been tremendously helpful and eye-opening.  We can study our lives away on the issues here in Israel without ever hearing what the average joe thinks.  In my last posts I’ve mentioned something about the outlandish statements I’ve heard.  But these ridiculous ideas in the heads of lay people do have importance.  They inform (correctly or incorrectly) public opinion, and can sway votes, which has VERY big impacts on the way the government acts and responds to things.

I do not want to come across as ungrateful for our experience this summer, but the biggest lesson I’ve learned this summer was not about the conflict, but about learning.  I talk about this bubble because it is important to acknowledge it in order to see past it.  The academic perspective has a lot to offer, but it is not the only one.  As Kobi Marom said, for many Israelis, the conflict and regional politics are not academic issues, but rather the lives of those living here.

Reflection V

This study abroad has been a really eye-opening experience for me.  I felt like I was constantly learning new things, and in turn, becoming more and more perplexed.

I felt very perplexed by the presentations delivered by the two speakers Professor Moshe Maoz and Nimrod Goren.  Both discussed the Arab Spring, and both argued that the Israeli reaction to the revolutions were too negative.  In fact, the Arab Spring is a positive sign of a changing Middle East, and Israel should get involved to promote democracy and provide humanitarian aid.  Both lecturers made the claim that the Muslim Brotherhood is a mostly moderate organization which will put aside some of its claims for the sake of pragmatism.  The Sunni Muslims are the more moderate, and Israel should ally itself with the Sunnis against the Shia Crescent of Iran and parts of Iraq and Saudi Arabia.  Iran’s influence is the biggest threat to Israel today, they argued, and the only way to combat it is to ally with Iran’s rivals.  They accused Israel of ignoring attempts to reach out by their Middle East neighbors, such as the Arab Peace Initiative of 2002.

                While I do see the Arab Peace Initiative as a missed opportunity, I was surprised to see how Professor Avram Sela’s views on the Arab Spring were so vastly different and more pessimistic.  After all, they both work at the Truman Institute for Peace.  Yet Sela believed that the Arab Spring was causing chaos to erupt, providing the possibility for extremists to take over, and was pessimistic about the probability that the Muslim Brotherhood would promote genuine democracy or pragmatism toward Israel.  He did not see the Muslim Brotherhood as a very moderate group.  The readings also seemed to imply that the Arab Spring really was a more complicated season.  Rubin’s article, on Israel and the Palestinians, took a more pessimistic view about the possibility of change in the Palestinian Leadership and Hamas.  The article by Lesch was more optimistic about the opportunities for change on the part of the Palestinian leadership.

                This left me very torn on the issue.  On the one hand, I think that Israel is in the Middle East and it is in the country’s best interest to ally itself with surrounding countries, especially if they are trying to democratize.  The Arab Peace Initiative’s does prove that the surrounding countries are willing to make some compromises, especially when it comes to helping the Palestinians.  The evidence provided in Shelef’s book provides proof for the possibility of ideological change, even among “extremists”, under certain circumstances. That said, I don’t think that the lack of Middle East alliances is completely Israel’s fault.  A lot of the states involved are extremely hostile toward the country on purely ideological grounds, and I don’t think that with the Arab Spring, the demonization of Israel will end.  I also question whether or not Shia Muslim countries are inherently more extremist, because Israel was once allied with Iran.  I see Iran as a big threat, to be taken seriously.  I would like to be optimistic and believe that if Israel just reaches out and thinks positive, they will become friends with the Middle East.  Unfortunately, I don’t think that the reality is that simple.  The reality seems to be somewhere in between the three lecturers—pretty grim, but with some definite glimmers of possibility.

Some Culture, Some Conversations

One aspect I like about Israeli culture is how open and direct people are.  I have enjoyed the fact that I can ask anyone and everyone how they voted in the last election and nobody thinks that I’m being nosy or rude, or views what Americans might consider nosy to be caring and interested-perspective matters!  I also like how people will give you unsolicited information, like the Orthodox man who, when he overheard Dylan telling me that we were currently standing in a part of Jerusalem that would be part of Palestine after a peace agreement, confidently told us that we were crazy and no such agreement would take place in our lifetimes.  It keeps the average day interesting.

I’m also still miffed about the man in the antique shop who shook Travis’ hand but not mine.  Sure, I understand that your Rabbi says you can’t shake women’s hands because it will cause the downfall of religious men everywhere and distract you from thinking about God. But, seriously, dude, I’M YOUR EQUAL. If I was Israeli I would have told him exactly what I thought about that. Instead I’m telling the blog because I’m a guest in this country and my American sensibilities tell me that would have been rude.

I think those aspects of Israeli culture have increased our exposure to a multitude of viewpoints.  We read a lot about and listed to many lectures on cleavages within Israeli society, but we actually saw most of the different people that we learned about in the classroom.  We saw them on the streets doing their shopping, bought juice from them, rode in taxis with them, and learned from all of them.  The diversity in this tiny country is fascinating. I think our class simulation on Israeli elections was so interesting and engaging because we have all been eating, sleeping, and breathing Israeli politics for a month. That’s the beauty of a study abroad.

The Decline of Democracy in Israel

After reading about the Supreme Court and their decisions, I thought that Israel was moving in the direction of more democracy in the Jewish State. This thought, while still in my head, was challenged when we went to the Israeli Democracy Institute (IDI) a few weeks ago.  While there we learned about the Boycott Law passed by the Knesset and other non-democratic bills. The Boycott Law was passed in 2011 and it made boycotts against a person or entity, including those in the territories, a civil wrong.  Moreover, the Minister of Finance could change the status of an organization if they took part in a boycott. The IDI claimed that this bill is highly undemocratic and I agree.  It limits the freedom of speech, association, and assembly. This bill reminds me of the Alien and Sedition Acts that made any criticism of the government illegal in the US. But the Boycott Law is much worse because not only does it limit criticism of the government but also any criticism that causes economic harm to anyone and any organization. Furthermore, other more radical bills were insane and luckily they did not pass. These included bills that would require film makers to make an oath/pledge to the State of Israel.

In the Kremnitzer and Krebs article (in the course pack), which argued that Israel is moving towards an “intolerant democracy,” they mentioned the Nakba law passed in 2011. Unlike the Boycott Law, where everyone is to be shielded from discrimination, this law is extremely discriminatory towards Palestinians. The law allows government funding to be reduced to groups that recognize the Nakba, also known as Independence Day in Israel. The authors rightly contend that “this law blatantly undermines democratic culture by delegitmating the expression of opinions and emotions” (page 6). Yakobson, who wrote a competing viewed article that promoted the idea that democracy was still alive in Israel, contends that the Nakabah law will be overturned in the Supreme Court. First, the Supreme Court has yet to do such a thing. The second issue is that the law is inherently undemocratic. It is great that Israel has a body that recognizes its democratic values, but it sheds light on the fact that the Knesset is becoming less and less democratic in order to strive for a more Jewish than democratic state.

Throughout the class we have seen that the Supreme Court holds liberal democracy to the highest regard. Luckily, even if the Knesset passes undemocratic laws, then the Court will be able to reverse the law. But from the time that a democratic law is passed until it is reversed, the Israeli public is subjected to a non-democratic regime and eventually the society will stop appealing the democratic laws and then tyranny of the majority will ensue. We can only hope that the Knesset learns from the Justices in the Supreme Court and make the parliamentary body once again democratic. 

Chofetz Chashud

            Coming back from Tivon brought yet another classic Israeli experience for Julia and myself. Chofetz chashud. Or, suspicious object. We had just gotten off the bus from Tivon to Jerusalem and were standing outside the Central Bus Station trying to get a cab when a security guard came up next to us and asked if the roller suitcase next to us belonged to either of us. Julia and I, both of us still half asleep, stare at it for a few seconds before responding in the negative. He then quickly and calmly asked us to back away to about 40 yards and got on the radio to call in back up. Within ten minutes there were five or six squad cars surrounding the area and the entire block had been shut down, no buses through, the light rail cancelled, everything. Julia and I stood there for close to an hour and a half waiting for them to open the road again, originally assuming it wouldn’t take very long and curious about the procedure.

Eventually, we grew tired of the scene and searched for a detour around the blockade, as we found this route and started down it we heard a massive bang behind nothing and then us. We were both relatively certain that was caused by whatever the robot does to the chofetz chashud, but hurried back anyway, just in case. Luckily, we were right and it was just standard procedure. Nobody is really sure what the robot does to the objects, but it sounds like it shoots the bag with a .50 caliber rifle of some sort. Obviously, they’re not actually shooting the bag as it doesn’t make any sense to shoot a bomb, but who knows.

While this event was out of the ordinary for us, it was a completely regular occurrence for all of the Israelis around us. It’s a very common occurrence and just an accepted fact of life here in Israel. Every time someone leaves a bag sitting around, there is the very real possibility there is a bomb in that bag. A bomb intended to maim and kill as many civilians around as possible. This is not an irrational fear, either, this is an attitude they learned the hard way during the Second Intifada. I can’t even imagine living under these circumstances day in, day out, and remaining entirely sane. The resilience of both the Israelis, for living under the constant fear of terror, and the Palestinians, for living under constant occupation, is phenomenal. And, yet, both peoples have persevered. A person’s, or nation’s, true character isn’t revealed until it meets significant hardship. Israel and Palestine have both suffered enough to have their characters revealed. Now, let the suffering end. Allow their true characters to shine.

Daniel Katz's 5th: What I Have Gained from Being in Israel

My time in Israel has come to an end and I cannot believe how fast the time has gone by. However, I feel like I have gained a better understanding of politics and societies in general.

If anything, Israel goes to show how even small societies can be demographically complex and diverse. With various ethnic and religious groups such as Ashkenazim, Mizrahim, Haredim, Russians, Arab Muslims, and Druze, there is a plethora of different cultures and lifestyles in Israel. These groups can be seen in the political landscape as well with parties like Shas, Likud-Beteinu Yisrael, UAL, and Labor. It is truly astonishing because in Israel the diversity of the populace is seen in the political system too, to a much greater extent than in the US I would argue. If anything, Israel shows that one can have an ethnically heterogonous society and be relatively tolerant and have a diversity of political groups.

Also in regards to the political, it was unique seeing how different the parliamentary system is as opposed to the US political system. With a low electoral threshold for parties and more emphasis on representation, I have come to believe that the parliamentary system is more democratic. This can be seen when you have a diversity of parties in the Knesset, ranging from secular Arab Socialist parties like Hadash, to heavily theocratic parties like United Torah Judaism. Such representation guarantees that most major political factions and views in a society are given representation. Also, unlike in the US system, where the president is giving executive power over both domestic and foreign affairs, the power is divided into the offices of the prime and foreign ministers. I believe that such is highly beneficial because it means that you do not have power vested in a single person, which could possibly contribute to the rise of an all-powerful “imperial presidency”. However, that is not to say that the system is perfect. There is always the threat of a coalition collapse and political instability if a coalition cannot be formed in the Knesset. This is not to mention the many, unnecessary ministerial positions that pay up to 111 million sheqalim per position. However, in my opinion, it is better (and more fascinating) to have many parties with different interests than merely two parties, which differ on only a few, key issues.

Because of what I have taken away from this study abroad program, I am thankful for my time in Israel. I am also thankful for Professor Aronoff, who gave us many great opportunities to learn about Israel, listen to distinguished people speak to us, as well as some of the amazing sites this country has to offer. I hope to visit this country again sometime in the future.