This was a journal entry I sent to my UNIV teachers and I just thought I'd post it for those of you who couldn't make it:
On Thursday night I went to an event called Combatants for Peace. Assuming neither of you are familiar, it was basically a presentation/speech by a former member of the Israeli Air Force and Palestinian political prisioner. The Israeli, Yonaton Shapira, described how after a couple of years in the Air Force as a pilot, he began asking questions about the Air Force's actions in the Gaza Strip. He described how to attempt to kill a leader of a group like Hamas, one ton of explosives would be dropped on his home. That ton would almost always kill more than the intended political leader. Shapira, who came from a family with a very strong military family, began talking more with his family about "the terrible things" that were going on in the occupied territories. He ultimately led a refusal by a group of Air Force pilots to refuse to drop bombs on Palestinian villages. He told us about his journey to uncovering the truth and the sort of brotherhood he formed with like-minded Israelis and later Palestinians too.
After he and the Palestinian spoke people in the audience asked questions. They were both bombarded with a lot of skepticism, but they anticipated it. Someone asked how it could be that such serious atrocities were occurring in the territories and average Israeli citizens had no idea. He smiled before comparing Israel to America or any other nation. Every nation teaches its own one-sided perspective of history to its citizens, producing a bias population. He explained that most are simply not presented with the truth, like many Americans too. He encouraged students who go for birthright trips to also use the opportunity to visit the occupied territories. What I liked the most was that he was not apologetic for his point of view, but instead inviting. He invited anyone in the audience to do some research. He claimed that all the answers he found are available to anyone, if they look closely. Another thing I liked was that he kept stressing his love for Israel. He said that he loves his country and that is why he does what he does, because he wants it to be a just state that truly reflects Jewish behavior. I've heard similar arguments: we criticize the state as a form of patriotism.
Someone also brought up the Israeli withdrawal from Gaza. He said that since Israel has withdrawn, the violence has only increased and this is a reflection that the Palestinians are not ready to have their own state. To this, the speakers responded that this "withdrawal" was more of a show and a decieving act than anything else. They replied that if you visit Gaza or the West Bank today, hundreds of thousands of Palestinians are dying daily, much more than before the "withdrawal". They reminded the audience that the killing does not only occur at the hands of explosives, but also because of hunger. Israel has imposed severe sanctions, refusing to allow trade between Palestine and themselves or other nations, making it difficult for them to get any foods or goods (similar to the British blockade of Germany during WWII, which resulted in huge amounts of deaths [in both situations, the governments fight a war against other governments, and the only people who really suffer are the civilians]). Another thing Shapira said which I really liked, was that he kept emphasizing, the Israeli government are not just killing machines; they just have a very intense enemy in Palestinian political forces and are killing thousands of civilians to attempt to stifle that enemy. This is not the first (or probably the last) time this has happened in history, but this marks the 43ed year of this struggle, which makes it intensely serious.
As depressing as it sounds, it was rather invigorating. I love intelligent people who can speak concisely. I wish there was more I could do to help.
Anyway, if you've read this far into this journal entry, I congratulate you, for it was a rather long one. I hope you both have excellent weekends.
Diamondback Article: http://www.diamondbackonline.com/media/storage/paper873/news/2006/10/27/News/Israeli.Soldiers.Urge.Peace-2407094.shtml?norewrite200610281413&sourcedomain=www.diamondbackonline.com
Combatants for Peace:
http://www.combatantsforpeace.org/
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