Some thoughts about Israel and Palestine

I knoI know that I am going to get dissed by a lot of people because of this post, but I want to take a moment to explain. I am not opposed to the state of Israel, but I am against the government and what it has done to the country, the people and the IDF. As an American who moved to Israel in the early 1970s, after the Yom Kippur war, and served in the IDF in a combat infantry unit, I have a lot to say about what I did and what I saw. At that time, I was trained to fight against an army (primarily Syrian) and not civilians and when I did serve in the territories there were certain regulations about how we were supposed to treat the Palestinians. And although we tried to follow those regulations, I became very aware of how the lines were being crossed my us. They started out small, but grew. So much so that in March 1988, about 6 months after I was discharged (and 5 months after I returned to the USA), a group of veteran combat officers formed Peace Now in response to Sadat’s visit to Israel. They wrote a letter to Begin “calling upon the government to make sure this opportunity for peace was not lost. ” This was the Israel that I loved, and the army that I served in. There was a basic desire for peace. It was not all peaches and cream, or in Israel’s case milk and honey, but the people were tired of fighting. But things began to change in radical ways. In settlement movement began to expand under the eyes and support of successive governments and the nation began to change. Peace Now and other organizations continued (and continue) to exist, protest and speak out against the wars and military actions and against the activities in the occupied territories. But for reasons too complicated to go into right now, the nation slid to the right, eventually leading to the assassination of Rabin and the ascension of the right and especially bibi, his crew and the settlement enterprise. Since my discharge I had always aligned myself with organizations that promoted peace with our neighbors and especially with the Palestinians. I see it as not only the right thing to do but the only thing to do if we really want to live there, under our olive and fig trees. But since those days after my discharged I have discovered and learned about those who do not share my view, especially the American Jews, who have let me know their position by accusing me of being a traitor, anti-Israel, anti-Semitic, and all sort of other nasty things. This has never stopped. In fact, it has increased since the Gaza war began. It is so tiring to hear the fertilizer coming from these people’s mouths, especially since most ot them live in the US, and although they may visit Israel on a regular basis have never lived there, and have never served in the IDF. Many have retired to Israel, way past the draft age. Some have children that have served or do serve in the IDF, but it is a different kind of IDF that I know. And I am very sad about this, and disheartening for me to watch these changes happening. I moved to Israel long ago because of the beauty of the country and the spirit of the people, who sang about peace and an end to war. I left the country after my discharge because I did not want to serve in the reserves and fight any more. I have been back as a visitor and as an artist-in-residence where I led collaborative art workshops with Jews, Moslems and Christians in the north. I have friends from all three faiths, Israelis and Palestinians who manage to retain that spirit that originally brought me to Israel despite the difficulty in doing so and continue to work together for a land where they can live together mostly in peace (I am a realist, there will always be some conflict, but that will be between individuals and not nations). So to be sure, I am not a traitor, am not a coward, do not hate those who are of a different faith, or speak a different language. I am also happy to be a Jew and I see a different future from those who are like that and cannot see any future for any of us all unless we get our proverbial shit together and start concerning ourselves with what really matters, such as the blessings of sitting together with a coffee, a tea or a cup of arak under our olive and fig trees.w that I am going to get dissed by a lot of people because of this post, but I want to take a moment to explain. I am not opposed to the state of Israel, but I am against the government and what it has done to the country, the people and the IDF. As an American who moved to Israel in the early 1970s, after the Yom Kippur war, and served in the IDF in a combat infantry unit, I have a lot to say about what I did and what I saw. At that time, I was trained to fight against an army (primarily Syrian) and not civilians and when I did serve in the territories there were certain regulations about how we were supposed to treat the Palestinians. And although we tried to follow those regulations, I became very aware of how the lines were being crossed my us. They started out small, but grew. So much so that in March 1988, about 6 months after I was discharged (and 5 months after I returned to the USA), a group of veteran combat officers formed Peace Now in response to Sadat’s visit to Israel. They wrote a letter to Begin “calling upon the government to make sure this opportunity for peace was not lost. ” This was the Israel that I loved, and the army that I served in. There was a basic desire for peace. It was not all peaches and cream, or in Israel’s case milk and honey, but the people were tired of fighting. But things began to change in radical ways. In settlement movement began to expand under the eyes and support of successive governments and the nation began to change. Peace Now and other organizations continued (and continue) to exist, protest and speak out against the wars and military actions and against the activities in the occupied territories. But for reasons too complicated to go into right now, the nation slid to the right, eventually leading to the assassination of Rabin and the ascension of the right and especially bibi, his crew and the settlement enterprise. Since my discharge I had always aligned myself with organizations that promoted peace with our neighbors and especially with the Palestinians. I see it as not only the right thing to do but the only thing to do if we really want to live there, under our olive and fig trees. But since those days after my discharged I have discovered and learned about those who do not share my view, especially the American Jews, who have let me know their position by accusing me of being a traitor, anti-Israel, anti-Semitic, and all sort of other nasty things. This has never stopped. In fact, it has increased since the Gaza war began. It is so tiring to hear the fertilizer coming from these people’s mouths, especially since most ot them live in the US, and although they may visit Israel on a regular basis have never lived there, and have never served in the IDF. Many have retired to Israel, way past the draft age. Some have children that have served or do serve in the IDF, but it is a different kind of IDF that I know. And I am very sad about this, and disheartening for me to watch these changes happening. I moved to Israel long ago because of the beauty of the country and the spirit of the people, who sang about peace and an end to war. I left the country after my discharge because I did not want to serve in the reserves and fight any more. I have been back as a visitor and as an artist-in-residence where I led collaborative art workshops with Jews, Moslems and Christians in the north. I have friends from all three faiths, Israelis and Palestinians who manage to retain that spirit that originally brought me to Israel despite the difficulty in doing so and continue to work together for a land where they can live together mostly in peace (I am a realist, there will always be some conflict, but that will be between individuals and not nations). So to be sure, I am not a traitor, am not a coward, do not hate those who are of a different faith, or speak a different language. I am also happy to be a Jew and I see a different future from those who are like that and cannot see any future for any of us all unless we get our proverbial shit together and start concerning ourselves with what really matters, such as the blessings of sitting together with a coffee, a tea or a cup of arak under our olive and fig trees.