Gaza

Last Sunday’s NY Times has an interesting article analyzing Israel’s withdrawal from Gaza by Ethan Bronner. There are a few things rather refreshing about it. It brings to light some things mainstream U.S. press has been ignoring or denying. For example, the failure of much of the Zionist ambition, namely the recovery of the biblical Israel, is not all because of any conspiracy but the lack of true support from the world Jewish population. More than money, Zionism needs Jews to immigrate to Israel. Not enough has gone and now there is too much land and not enough Jews. It must be hard for the Jewish population outside of Israel; they have supported Israel with their money and political prowess, but now they may have to admit that they may have failed Israel by deny it their physical presence. The mainstream media, which have for too long been working on the assumption that Zionism has the full support of the U.S. Jewish population, may now have to reassess the degree to which most Jews support Zionism. This is not an easy adjustment, as it requires a more complex view of the whole relationship.

What is truly disturbing is to face up to the possible success of terrorism. It has come to be the mantra that terrorism has no positive value: it just kills innocent people and accomplishes nothing by venting misguided anger. It is therefore often called “senseless violence.” Bronner suggests that suicide bombers proved to the Israelis that their expectation of Palestinians just giving up and going away is wrong. Sustained terrorism proved that Palestinians are dogged fighters willing to give up their lives for their nation. While no one really want to admit it, this has to earn some suppressed respect. It does make it harder to make the statement that “there is no such thing as a Palestinian.” What is most disturbing is that, if terrorism can achieve the same national/political ends as formal military actions with a far smaller death toll, can we comfortable dismiss terrorism as crime and nihilism? Can we deny their leaders as negotiating partner? Maybe Israel’s withdrawal from Gaza can bring a more workable situation in the region and better our understanding of the problems. One can only hope.