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ronnniiiiiiiiiiiiie · 14/05/2008, 20h38

We owe the Palestinians a state

By Bradley Burston

I was walking the dog in Jaffa early the morning after Independence Day when, contrary to all seasonal expectation, it began to rain. We took cover by the old Turkish government building, the Sarai. Beautiful as it surely is, though, it is barely skin deep. The Sarai is a freshly reconstructed false front.

The facade is framed by two plaques, eloquent precisely for what they do not say. On the right, a somber, weathered howitzer-bronze tablet states that the building - less than 30 steps from Jaffa's landmark Clock Tower - once served as a headquarters for "Arab rioters" and an Iraqi army expeditionary force. It adds with evident pride that on January 4, 1948, the Lehi Jewish underground drove a truck laden with explosives to the structure, and demolished it.

The plaque says nothing about what happened next."Dozens killed and wounded in explosion in Jaffa," read Haaretz' front-page headline the next day. The blast was such that it also destroyed part of the adjacent Barclay's bank and a number of homes and stores in the area.

In 2004, the Tourism Ministry and the Tel Aviv municipality put up a second plaque to the left of the first, this one done in cheerful colors, celebrating the building's rehabilitation. But the restoration leaves most of the building to the imagination. Monumental columns hold up a non-existent roof. A locked door guards the entrance to a non-existent building.

This curious remnant of colonial rule was, in retrospect, just the place to seek shelter during this period, the modern Days of Repentance from Independence Day last week, to the Friday observance of Palestinian Naqba Day.

It was a day to look anew at the past. It was a day to consider the tragic success that is Israel at 60. It was a day to consider that many of the strengths that made Israel a success, also mandated that our lives would be indelibly marked by tragedy.

It was, all in all, a day to consider what we owe the Palestinians.

Before all else, we owe the Palestinians our respect. They could have rolled over long ago, packed up and headed for Australia, given up. They know that their leaders are execrable, their institutions corrupt and impotent, their ideology self-destructive, their economy in ruin, their international prestige at a nadir.

Still, they are here. Still, they are our occupiers. After 60 years, powerless, in disarray, they occupy our imagination and our politics and our nightmares.

We owe the Palestinians for keeping us honest. We owe the Palestinians for reminding us that we were never alone in this place. We owe the Palestinians what we expect from them: the recognition that they deserve, as a real people.

We owe the Palestinians a state.

It is all too easy for us to decide that we owe them nothing, for us to see them as foreigners here, brutal aliens, usurpers. As easy as it is for them to see us exactly the same way. The last thing we want to believe is the truth: that we resemble each other too much to be able to agree.

Like any people which has suffered tragedy, displacement, injustice, oppression, we want more than we can realistically expect. So do they.

Do they lie to us? Of course they do. Just as they lie to themselves. Just as we lie to ourselves. Are they the hostages of their own extremists? Of course they are. Just as we are the hostages of our extremists, the settlers who threaten to make our lives hell if we try to move them.

We believe that we have a right to more than we can realistically expect, because we know ourselves to be morally superior. So do they. We know ourselves to be morally superior because we see our armed actions as self-defense.

So do they.

We know our claim to the land to be incontestable, owing to who we are, our ancient history, the bitterness of our recent past, our willingness to sacrifice for this soil, and the stubbornness of our refusal to part with it. So do they.

We will never be able to give them their fair share of this land, nor will they ever be able to give us ours. In the end, the extremists on both sides are right: we do deserve everything, the Mediterranean to the Jordan, the Lebanon border to the Red Sea, and all of Jerusalem in between. We can claim all of it. And so can they.

Or, alternatively, we can find a way to live here. To look at our past with honesty, and our present also. To renounce our extremists and their fantasies, in which our unwanted enemy simply gives up, caves in, clears out. We will not give the Palestinians back Jaffa, nor Acre, just as they will not give us back Hebron, nor Shechem.

After 60 years, it is time for us to start acting contrary to all ingrained expectation. It is time for us to stop being remnants of colonial rule. After 60 years, it is time to stop seeking shelter in facades.

14/05/2008, 20h38	#23 (permalink)
ronnniiiiiiiiiiiiie Membre d’élite Date d'inscription: novembre 2006 Localisation: somewhere Messages: 1 583	un article qui merite une lecture We owe the Palestinians a state By Bradley Burston I was walking the dog in Jaffa early the morning after Independence Day when, contrary to all seasonal expectation, it began to rain. We took cover by the old Turkish government building, the Sarai. Beautiful as it surely is, though, it is barely skin deep. The Sarai is a freshly reconstructed false front. The facade is framed by two plaques, eloquent precisely for what they do not say. On the right, a somber, weathered howitzer-bronze tablet states that the building - less than 30 steps from Jaffa's landmark Clock Tower - once served as a headquarters for "Arab rioters" and an Iraqi army expeditionary force. It adds with evident pride that on January 4, 1948, the Lehi Jewish underground drove a truck laden with explosives to the structure, and demolished it. The plaque says nothing about what happened next."Dozens killed and wounded in explosion in Jaffa," read Haaretz' front-page headline the next day. The blast was such that it also destroyed part of the adjacent Barclay's bank and a number of homes and stores in the area. In 2004, the Tourism Ministry and the Tel Aviv municipality put up a second plaque to the left of the first, this one done in cheerful colors, celebrating the building's rehabilitation. But the restoration leaves most of the building to the imagination. Monumental columns hold up a non-existent roof. A locked door guards the entrance to a non-existent building. This curious remnant of colonial rule was, in retrospect, just the place to seek shelter during this period, the modern Days of Repentance from Independence Day last week, to the Friday observance of Palestinian Naqba Day. It was a day to look anew at the past. It was a day to consider the tragic success that is Israel at 60. It was a day to consider that many of the strengths that made Israel a success, also mandated that our lives would be indelibly marked by tragedy. It was, all in all, a day to consider what we owe the Palestinians. Before all else, we owe the Palestinians our respect. They could have rolled over long ago, packed up and headed for Australia, given up. They know that their leaders are execrable, their institutions corrupt and impotent, their ideology self-destructive, their economy in ruin, their international prestige at a nadir. Still, they are here. Still, they are our occupiers. After 60 years, powerless, in disarray, they occupy our imagination and our politics and our nightmares. We owe the Palestinians for keeping us honest. We owe the Palestinians for reminding us that we were never alone in this place. We owe the Palestinians what we expect from them: the recognition that they deserve, as a real people. We owe the Palestinians a state. It is all too easy for us to decide that we owe them nothing, for us to see them as foreigners here, brutal aliens, usurpers. As easy as it is for them to see us exactly the same way. The last thing we want to believe is the truth: that we resemble each other too much to be able to agree. Like any people which has suffered tragedy, displacement, injustice, oppression, we want more than we can realistically expect. So do they. Do they lie to us? Of course they do. Just as they lie to themselves. Just as we lie to ourselves. Are they the hostages of their own extremists? Of course they are. Just as we are the hostages of our extremists, the settlers who threaten to make our lives hell if we try to move them. We believe that we have a right to more than we can realistically expect, because we know ourselves to be morally superior. So do they. We know ourselves to be morally superior because we see our armed actions as self-defense. So do they. We know our claim to the land to be incontestable, owing to who we are, our ancient history, the bitterness of our recent past, our willingness to sacrifice for this soil, and the stubbornness of our refusal to part with it. So do they. We will never be able to give them their fair share of this land, nor will they ever be able to give us ours. In the end, the extremists on both sides are right: we do deserve everything, the Mediterranean to the Jordan, the Lebanon border to the Red Sea, and all of Jerusalem in between. We can claim all of it. And so can they. Or, alternatively, we can find a way to live here. To look at our past with honesty, and our present also. To renounce our extremists and their fantasies, in which our unwanted enemy simply gives up, caves in, clears out. We will not give the Palestinians back Jaffa, nor Acre, just as they will not give us back Hebron, nor Shechem. After 60 years, it is time for us to start acting contrary to all ingrained expectation. It is time for us to stop being remnants of colonial rule. After 60 years, it is time to stop seeking shelter in facades. __________________ - Vous prendrez bien un verre de Whisky ? - Euh, non, juste un doigt. - Vous préférez pas un verre d'abord ?...