Israel, Disagreement, and Self-Criticism: When to Withhold

There is little doubt in the mind of an Israeli patriot that two celebrated elements of Israeli society are its abilities to be self-critical and to promote freedom of expression. Expressing one's views, arguments and disagreements are Jewish specialties, as the cliché illustrates: where there are two Jews, there are three opinions. It is a cliché that is sometimes said cynically or negatively.

However, in certain circumstances, the cultural characteristic that is captured here is not always negative. It can be a very positive habit that reflects the diversity, intellectual vibrancy and continuous self-assessment that a culture can embody. In the right context, disagreements can be part of a dialectical process that enables us to learn and progress. 

Certainly, these are strong characteristics of The Jewish State. You do not need to do an extensive Google search to find dissenting opinions, videos and editorials on Israeli policy and culture—and to discover that a whole lot of this material is generated by Israelis or within Israel itself. Appreciating the complex political and social challenges that Israelis face is a value that we rightly deem to be good and ethical.  To risk the dullness of another cliche--and appealing to it's utility, it is good to acknowledge that life is not just black and white and that we live in shades of gray.

However, in certain circumstances, engaging in self-criticism and arguments is not always positive.  No?  At some point, we may have to choose a shade of gray and, in doing so, begin to discard the other shades.  There are times when being self-critical and argumentative can result in doing more harm than good.

This is a problem that we often ignore. Knowing when to simplify, and when to avoid a subtle approach to advocating for Israel is not easy. Arguably, it is difficult in part because being self-critical and embracing the freedom of expression are values that are deeply ingrained in our own culture. It can therefore be difficult to see the reason or rhyme behind suspending these values. The inability to simplify can be an even greater challenge for advocates who are highly knowledgeable and erudite about the issues confronting Israelis. When is citing a potentially enlightening footnote about Palestinian politics or attempting to qualify a statement like “Israel is the soul democracy in the Middle East” the wrong thing to do; especially when the alternative is readily construed as presenting half-truths, factoids, or even lying? When is it appropriate to forgo engaging in arguments and to withhold from being self-critical?

Three Brothers (continued)

Let's be clear. This spiral of violence is mirrored in a spiral of rhetoric. You and I disagree on facts. In spite of this, I will make three points in response to your post here. If you or anyone else feels that it is important in continuing this, please feel free to email me.

1) The late Professor Edward Saïd, after resigning from the Palestinian National Council for its participation in the Oslo Accords in 1991, made the unpopular observation that the unsuccessful, violent initiatives taken by the PLO in uniting, building, and declaring a functioning State, perpetuates the Palestinian struggle for autonomy. Noted Palestinians have left Palestine to combat the internal corruption of the Hamas regime, including Abu Toameh and Hassan Yousef. The fractured and conflicting Hamas and Fatah movements prevent internal peace, leaving the Palestinian populace to become champions of victim-hood. Hamas proclaims that they are held in this miserable state, of coarse, by Israel (the other brother). Failure is too easily attributed to Israel, hence your grotesque rape analogy, which is so incongruous with history its repulsive. But that's another point of argument...

2) In this context, the one you contribute to in your accusations, Israel is portrayed as a magical, convenient catalyst for violence and suffering. Yet you not only accuse Israel as being a "rapist" country, you also throw "ethnic cleansing" into your accusations. Real atrocities of ethnic cleansing are shifted from several Arab countries (who have murdered and abandoned their Palestinian brethren) onto Israel (I offer the shores of Kuwait, southern Lebanon, and Jordan as regions where Palestinians have been murdered en mass). Israel has (to my frustration) ignored these false charges while fostering Palestinian nationalism, offering the lands it captured in a defensive war for nothing but peace and a relief from daily rocket attacks. To paraphrase Abba Eban, the PA never misses an opportunity to miss an opportunity. Even historian William L. Cleveland (a Palestinian rights supporter) documents a clear history of Palestinian rejectionism as a root cause for prolonged Palestinian-Israeli suffering. Your rationale for rejection of land can always be, "because its on Israel's terms and not ours." The lives of Israel's citizens are spent, and her economy is drained in sustaining a government in whose founding 1988 charter calls for Israel's very annihilation. This conflict ultimately comes down to Israel's right to exist as a sovereign Jewish state. Take note: no other country in history provides money, infrastructure, and land to a government that refuses to acknowledge its right to exist. Again, you might retort and interpret this as, "cut me some slack for being bad." I ask you to sincerely think about your accusations and how you can easily apply them to everything that goes wrong in your personal life. If you applied your line of reasoning to your shortcomings (and I'm assuming you have some, forgive me), you would soon find that all of your problems are not your own fault. This is not to say that Israel is guilt-free, but if you do not acknowledge the internal conflict, violence, and moral corruption that has been displayed on behalf of the Palestinian people, then you have a fool's license for debating this issue in sincerity.

3) A major difference in mentality between the Israeli and Palestinian governments: In this struggle “for understanding and an end to the violence," Hamas supporters send their children into Israel, hiding in ambulances, their bodies strapped with explosives--to fight--to spill their blood for their country. Their parents cry before the camera, but they do not wish to see their children again. They know they will be reunited in heaven. The prevention of such attacks is a common occurrence but you only read about it in Israeli newspapers. Israelis, on the other hand, send their children into Gaza to root out terrorists and into the West Bank to train Palestinian police officers. While Hamas supporters celebrate the death of their children, Israeli parents want their children home. I want my family home. A Palestinian State can be successful in granting dignity and peace to our two peoples and I continue to support it despite the fact that we are constantly being portrayed as nefarious schemers of the Palestinian people's perpetuated suffering.  If the Palestinian regimes really wanted a State along side Israel, they would not indoctrinate their children--their future--with hate, and then throw them away in the name of "freedom" from oppression.

David's song "Three Brothers," ends with the demand, "Stand up you people of the one God" to bring good faith and peace on Jerusalem. This cliched desire does not have to be so illusive. The Palestinians should make for themselves a State and they have the ability to do it, though its not going to be easy. Its not going to be easy for Israel as well, since the people of Israel are not comfortable with giving away any more of the land they settled by international right (no matter how you attempt to interpret UN Res. 242). If you suspect my ideological aspirations for my other brother to be full of bull, then believe me for selfish reasons instead. Though I'm not an Israeli citizen yet, I represent a good part of the Israeli population that stands up against having their cousin blown up on a school-bus by a "freedom-fighter."


Very sincerely,
Jesse

PS. I'll gladly follow-up on any questions or responses you may have in addition to directing you to the sources I've used.