Communicating Arts - Main Web SiteI am only a beginner at everything.
Bi-directional compassion, empathy, and obligation are all that's wanting for peace and prosperity between Israel and it's still dependent and hostile protectorate and neighbor that will one day be a more independent, better functioning, more responsible, and productive Palestine.
That vision may not be well understood for hatred of the Jews and the perpetuation of hateful speech in education and politics sustained yet in the camps of Lebanon, Syria, Egypt, and Jordan, and in the societies of Gaza and the West Bank. Those who most wish for peace face a pervasive education, information, and language challenge as regards separating the "fiery" talk of some clerics, some leaders (like Nasrallah), and some "reporters" like Yvonne Ridley, and venues like the "electronic intifada" from the true immediate practical and spiritual needs of people who yearn for an improved quality in every aspect of living.
This is not about throwing facts back and forth -- and you look too young yet for worry about legacy, :) -- but it is in substantial part about ideation that for expression seems inseperable from language acquisition, expressive behavior, and our understanding of language, psychology, and spirituality.
I've improved it a little bit while posting it here with a dollop of judicious clarification.
Here is another in the cast of characters.
Source: YouTube poster "RedMistFilms". "Palestine demo, London 2009." YouTube, February 12, 2010: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aO1C5rxV6iM
It's understood that combatants, whether with words or weapons, have their constituents and fans, some of whom, perhaps most, I don't know, become or remain blindly loyal, enthralled with an ideological or rhetorical line of thought, and beyond reason.
So who is beyond reason?
One may take this from Wikipedia:
The history of Jerusalem goes back to the 4th millennium BCE, making it one of the oldest cities in the world.[5] Jerusalem is the holiest city in Judaism and has been the spiritual center of the Jewish people since c. 1000 BCE, when David the King of Israel first established it as the capital of the united Kingdom of Israel, and his son Solomon commissioned the building of the First Temple in the city.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jerusalem
Who has destroyed whom?
Who has stolen from whom?
Here is a note from a piece on a recent Israeli Defense Force transfer or shipment of goods xxx
According to the statement, the shipments consisted of hundreds of thousands of liters of fuel; 21 truckloads of milk formula and baby food; 897 tons of cooking gas, 66 truckloads of fruits and vegetables; 51 truckloads of wheat, 27 truckloads of meat, poultry and fish; 40 truckloads of dairy products; 117 truckloads of animal food; 37 truckloads of hygiene products; 22 truckloads of sugar; and 38 truckloads of clothing and shoes.
Source: http://www.jpost.com/Israel/Article.aspx?id=175858 (May 18, 2010).
Still, partisan grandstanders insist on breaking a blockade of some kind:
Source:A 'Freedom Flotilla', consisting of nine ships, is currently assembling in the Mediterranean Sea prior to attempting to break the Israeli blockade of Gaza in the final week of May. Among the ships heading towards Gaza is the 1,200 tonne Irish cargo ship, the MV Rachel Corrie, which is owned by the Free Gaza Movement.
http://www.swp.ie/index.php?page=900&dept=News&title='Freedom+++Flotilla'++sails+to+break+Israeli+blockade+of+Gaza (May 25, 2010).
Who is buying whose bill of goods?
Whatever one may think -- more importantly, however one may think, i.e., with what manner of thinking passes for thinking -- all will be able to watch this drama unfold in the press.
Here is another juxtaposition:
On board the ships are 10,000 tonnes of cargo and about 700-800 activists and politicians from more than 40 countries. The cargo includes building materials, medical supplies and paper for schools. One boat is carrying a complete dental surgery including drills. Crayons and chocolate are also on board for Gazan children. The cargo has been paid for by donations.
Source: http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2010/may/25/gaza-flotilla-aid-attempt
It was difficult to get an accurate read of all of the possible intersections between the tunnel economy and Hamas. While direct extortion by local Hamas elements appears to be very rare, it has become good business practice to invite a Hamas cadre into the operation as a silent partner, thus providing a degree of political protection. Hamas sometimes requires the commercial tunnel operators to carry through special shipments-not weapons or cadres, but usually cement or construction materials. Indeed, I was told that the one commodity that most commercial tunnel operators dare not import these days is weapons: Hamas has tried to assert a monopoly over these, and views any entrepreneurial weapons smuggling as possibly benefiting its Fatah enemies. Hamas operates its own tunnels for this purpose, bringing in guns, ammunition, personnel, and money. These are deeper, longer, much more covert, and better built and equipped.
Source: http://mideast.foreignpolicy.com/posts/2010/03/16/gazas_tragically_peculiar_economy (published March 16, 2010).
Life in Israel, no less than in Gaza, the West Bank, and in the neighborhood generally, remains life in a war zone, but a peculiar one in which a comparative handful of actors -- Hamas and Hezbollah militants working to build up their war making resources and vocal partisans around the world -- commandeer the lives and override the voices of other interests in situ, and to the extent that the old counterculture signal in the term "solidarity" permits within the mentality no media or otherwise voiced breach of unspoken compacts.
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