[Dialogue] Palestine/Israel conflict

[Jim Rippey]

Karen, good for you.  I’ve been struggling with the whole Israeli-Palestinian dilemma for years.  I was glad to see what you had written and I appreciate what the author you quoted is saying about the involvement of the “Rapture” Christians.  However, I consider them somewhat of a side show.  Most already are part of Bush’s base, so they have influence.  But the real impediment to progress for Israeli-Palestinian peace is the extremely powerful lobby, AIPAC, which has a virtual strangle hold on Congress and the Administration.  Every presidential hopeful who has said anything sympathetic about the Palestinian plight has been immediately jumped on by AIPAC’s extremely talented, well funded, ruthless opinion manipulators. 

 

Hillary was booed by AIPAC when she uttered sympathetic remarks about Palestinians, and it quieted her.  Pelosi said something sympathetic and she was so criticized it cowed her and she scurried back to Congress and gutted an appropriations bill that proposed refusing to fund any war against Iran unless Congress had voted approval.  The reason AIPAC has such power is that it is comprised of, or at least in bed with, hard line ultra conservative, very pro-Israel, rich sources of money which candidates feel they dare not alienate.  And when you hear Sen. Joe Liberman agitating for preemptive strikes against Iran, you are most likely hearing the voice of AIPAC and it’s hard liners.

 

The squelching of debate in this country is in radical contrast to what happens in Israel.  There is a very strong, vocal minority there  that speaks out often and strongly against what’s happening.  And they get covered in the press.  In the U.S., Tikkun’s Rabbi Lerner recently issued a comprehensive statement on the whole situation including AIPAC’s role.  He has gotten many death threats along the way. (I will send a copy of his remarks to anyone who asks.)  Jimmy Carter’s stress on the necessity for an Israeli-Palestinian settlement was on target and he got soundly trashed by supposedly knowledgeable people, with AIPAC help I’m sure. 

 

There are good books by American and Israeli Jews which deal forthrightly with the injustice of the present situation and offer constructive suggestions.  Also if you read in the book, Israel, a 50th-anniversary history by Martin Gilbert, Churchill's official biographer, you will find interesting facts.  Facts that are mostly ignored by U.S. main stream news and certainly by the current administration’s strong support of Israel.  Gilbert is obviously very pro Israel but he is too good an historian to hide important facts.  A careful reader will learn how often active Jewish militant groups killed innocent Arabs and others in what are now condemned as terrorist bombings when Arabs do it.  

 

 In September of 1948, the UN=s  mediator was killed in a targeted assassination in Jerusalem. That mediator was the Swedish Count Bernadotte, a man who had saved thousands of Jews from Hitler. He was killed because the terrorists objected violently to details in his mediation proposal.  All these attacks were carried out by members of the Jewish terrorists groups: the Irgun and Stern gangs.  The leader of Irgun was Menachem Begin. The Stern gang=s leaders included Yitzhak Shamir.  Neither man was ever put on trial.  Begin became Israel=s prime minister in 1977; Shamir became prime minister in 1983.  Israel has not always insisted that terrorists cannot be rewarded. (I can cite page numbers if anyone is interested.)

 

Currently, there are some 500 Israeli COMBAT veterans who are so appalled by how Palestinians are treated that they refuse to serve again in Occupied territory.  Some have gone to jail instead.  

 

My wife and I stretched our budget last year and gave more than was comfortable to help Democrats get elected.  THIS YEAR WE ARE BALKING.  No more, or very limited exceptions, as long as Democratic candidates cow tow to AIPAC.  There are reasons why stronger Democratic control of Congress could improve some situations.  But I am convinced we will soon be at war with Iran.  AND THEN IT WON’T MATTER WHO CONTROLS CONGRESS.  All efforts and all funds will go “to support our troops.”  I hope I am wrong.

 

Jim Rippey in Bellevue, NE.   A Dialogue fellow traveler and brother-in-law to the late Terrence Wright.

 

  _____  

From: dialogue-bounces at wedgeblade.net [mailto:dialogue-bounces at wedgeblade.net] On Behalf Of Don Hinkelman
Sent: Sunday, July 01, 2007 9:48 PM
To: Colleague Dialogue
Subject: Re: [Dialogue] Palestine/Israel conflict

 

If you have correctly identified the root contradiction--an imaginal story which links land ownership with faith, then is not one of the keys to change, to recontextualize faith as something apart from "Holy Lands".  How about... "Faith with holy lives, not holy lands."

 

Troubled and concerned,

Don Hinkelman

 





Jim Wiegel here.  I am in the west bank, near Bethlehem working on a project to combine ica methods and community development with 2 approaches to conflict transformation to work on an approach to use.  One of the participants brought up the deep, mutually antagonistic stories that the great religions here have about each other and who owns this land.  not easily dealt with.

KarenBueno at aol.com wrote: 

The Israel/Palestine Issue
by Karen Bueno
7-1-07

I picked up the April issue of "Response" magazine, a publication of United Methodist Women this morning.  Though it is June, I was behind in my reading.

This magazine issue dealt with Palestine and Israel, through stories of women and children who are living in the conflicted areas and through essays of what needs to happen to stop the violence.

One of the articles is entitled "Understanding Christian Zionism", a term that refers to the right wing United States churches which preach the second coming of Jesus.  According to the article, the right wing belief is that the second coming and the end of the world will happen when the temple is rebuilt in Jerusalem and the mosques are removed.  Therefore, those theologians, and the politicians they support, believe that United States’ financial support of Israel is justified.

Since the United States is supporting Israel, the rest of the Middle East Muslim countries are angry with the US, and this has led, at least in part, to the unrest and the terrorist movement.  The authors from the United Methodist Women are calling for financial divestment in Israel to bring pressure on the Israelites to stop the violence.  That kind of financial pressure helped to end apartheid in South Africa, and could help here.

I have greatly simplified the argument, I’m sure, but please respond with your opinions and facts regarding this peace and justice issue.

*******
Karen Bueno, formerly Karen Wright, spouse of Terrence Wright, served in Fifth City and other locations of the Ecumenical Institute from 1969 to 1973, then were affiliated with the Denver House.





 

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