Uri Avnery: The Gaza Hell Hole
20 December 2007
The following article by Uri Avnery is noteworthy, since many hawkish Israelis and Israel sympathizers point to Gaza as an illustration of why Israel can't leave the West Bank. 'Look', they say, 'we gave them back Gaza, and they show their gratitude by shooting rockets at us.' What most Israelis don't realize, according to Avnery, is that when Sharon left, he did so without preparations or negotiations and simply turned the place into a prison. Very little, in terms of people or goods, can get in or out. Not even soap is allowed in, and when hospital equipment breaks, the patients go without treatment. Holes in the roof cannot be fixed, since even cement is embargoed. Life is a living hell. It would drive you or me crazy, and we would resort to desperate measures. Since solving the Palestinian problem is central to bringing peace between Arabs and the West, we should at least know the truth. Instead, the hawks feed us lies, whether they be Jewish or Gentile. Hawks are bastards.
TO DIE WITH THE PHILISTINES
Uri Avnery, Antiwar, 18 December 2007
As will be remembered, Sharon dismantled the settlements and evacuated the Strip without a dialogue with the Palestinians and without turning the territory over to the Palestinian Authority. He did not leave the inhabitants of the Strip any possibility of leading a normal life, but turned the territory into a giant prison. All connections with the outside world were cut — the Israeli navy cut the sea lanes, the border with Egypt was effectively sealed, the airport remained destroyed, the building of a harbor was prevented by force. The promised 'safe passage' between the Strip and the West Bank was hermetically sealed, all crossings in and out of the Strip remained under total Israeli control, to be opened and closed arbitrarily. The employment of tens of thousands of Gazan workers in Israel, on which the livelihood of almost the entire Strip depended, was terminated.
The next chapter was inevitable: Hamas took military control over the Strip, without the helpless politicians in Ramallah being able to intervene. From the Strip, Qassam rockets and mortar shells were launched at the neighboring Israeli towns and villages, without the Israeli army being able to stop them. One of the most powerful armies in the world, with the most sophisticated weapons, is unable to counter one of the most primitive weapons on earth.
Thus a vicious circle was set up: the Israelis choke the people in the Strip, Gazan fighters bombard the Israeli town Sderot, the Israeli army reacts by killing Palestinian fighters and civilians, the people from Gaza launch mortars at the kibbutzim, the army carries out incursions and kills Palestinian fighters daily and nightly, Hamas brings in more effective antitank weapons — and no end in sight.
This reminds me of Barak's Generous Offer at Camp David in 2000, which would have given the Palestinian several disconnected Bantustans. The Palestinian refusal was portrayed in the West as yet another example of Palestinian intransigence. Endless occupation is destroying the Israeli soul, just as Empire is destroying ours.
Avnery has a long and distinguished life as a brave peace activist in Israel; you can access a biography from his blog. He is the founder of Gush Shalom, perhaps Israel's leading peace group. His writing is very intelligent and perceptive, and he knows Israel and the Middle East as well as anyone and reports on it more truthfully than most. (Or should I say, 'than anybody else'?)
The contentious issue of AIPAC's influence
UPDATE (25 Dec 07): Discussing Israel always raises the contentious issue of the power of the right-wing Jewish lobby (viz. AIPAC) over both political parties in America. This is a tricky question to get just right, but as of today, the articles below by Stephen Zunes seem fair and balanced to me (but read also the one by Rabbi Lerner).
Gush Shalom: Pamphlet on the Israel-Palestinian conflict (PDF)
Eric Alterman: Neocons are 'Bad for the Jews'
Stephen Zunes: The Israel Lobby: How Powerful is it Really?
Stephen Zunes: The Israel Lobby Revisited
Rabbi Lerner: The Israel Lobby and Congressman Moran
Ran HaCohen: Beware of Barak
Some frank discussion in Israel
UPDATE (02 Jan 08): Charlie Rose interviews Akiva Eldar, the diplomatic affairs analyst for Israel's prominent and liberal Ha'aretz newspaper. I always marvel at the frank discussion in Israel, as compared with our own seemingly muzzled press.
CHARLIE ROSE INTERVIEWS AKIVA ELDAR
The Charlie Rose Show, 31 December 2007
Eldar makes the point that the settlements have become a major stumbling block to peace. Without them, a two-state solution would be 'a piece of cake'. And the main reason the settlements are off limits is due to the Israel Lobby in America, in particular the evangelical Christian component! So, when discussing the Lobby, there are distinctions to be made: first, between the Lobby itself and the majority of American Jews, who remain liberal, and second, between the Jewish and Christian components of the Lobby! I am not hostile to religion per se, and I even believe that some kind of God exists, but I must admit that Richard Dawkins has a point that religious nuts of all stripes are behind much of the turmoil in the world.
Norman Finkelstein: The Lobby is starting to crack
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