I Was Thinking

Still reading Seth Freedman. His editorial, "Culture of Fear" gets my brain juices frothing. Like when you smell food and your saliva starts a-flowing. His ideas have the same effect on my brain.

Anyway. Culture of Fear. I always thought the US had a monopoly on this. Freedman writes:

Fear of extermination is the ace in the Jewish pack of emotions, and has been capitalised on in spades by the virulent strain of nationalism encapsulated in today's Zionism. Occupy an entire people and crush their hopes and dreams for 40 years? A necessary evil – if we don't then we're done for. Fly in the face of international law, basic morality, and even the central tenets of our own, ostensibly compassionate, religion? Sorry, but you have to understand that "they" all want us dead; it's us or them, from now until eternity.

It's true. This concept goes unquestioned by even the most liberal Israelis. Even Israelis who are against the occupation and against violence have no idea how else to combat the constant threat from the outside.

But those of us who are from the outside can see that this threat is not entirely accurate. Or if it is, it is caused by the fear itself, or the reactions to the fear. The chicken or egg question again.

If the majority of Israelis did not support the occupation or the oppression of Palestinians, it would not continue. But the Israeli public believes what their government and their media tells them.

In questioning what I should do next, what I should do with what I'm learning here, I thought about joining some Palestinian activist organization. But these NGOs are just buying time, and precious little. For real change to come, it has to come from inside Israel. There needs to be an alternative voice. And it needs to be in Hebrew.

The first time I encountered Zochrot I missed the point. Now I understand what they're doing. They are providing that alternative voice.

So...I guess I'm going to learn Hebrew and come back.

I guess I knew that already. But now I know it more.