Joe: We set aside our usual dialog format and give the floor to Fern. I “identify” as a woman, a liberal and also as a Jew. Writing this now, there is such a deep sadness about the events of the last week. But I believe there is also a deep sickness in the leftist, ”progressive” movement where Israel’s very existence is a provocation.
Admittedly, as a born in the soil, white, American, Iowan, Christian, I am naïve to the problems of the rest of the world. But I sometimes find myself so confused by the feelings in the Middle East countries. It seems they are born filled with anger. Isn't it a terrorist group that they are all angry at rather than each other? I'm seriously asking this question, not pointing fingers. I'd like to understand this.
Oh Fern...I feel so similarly. I have been trying for days to write about what is going on and cannot find the words to explain it. It is as if we--as Jews, as Americans--are not allowed to have empathy for both the Palestinians and the Israelis at the same time. As if we are all supposed to forget entirely about the colonizers before--the English--who set up this scenario to fail in the first place. As if we are not to mention that both Palestinians and Jews are in this situation because both feel they have nowhere else to go.
Yes, there is certainly plenty of blame for Jews to take responsibility for and no good solutions for this terrible situation. But as with most things in life, people like to ignore the complexities in favor of simple explanations and to point fingers at who they have decided is the "immoral" one.
Every story I have ever covered that I thought I knew who was "right" and who was "wrong" before I started fell apart as soon as I looked into it. It is ALWAYS more complex than it seems, especially when you look into the history of what is happening.
Thank you for this column Fern (and Joe)
Admittedly, as a born in the soil, white, American, Iowan, Christian, I am naïve to the problems of the rest of the world. But I sometimes find myself so confused by the feelings in the Middle East countries. It seems they are born filled with anger. Isn't it a terrorist group that they are all angry at rather than each other? I'm seriously asking this question, not pointing fingers. I'd like to understand this.
Oh Fern...I feel so similarly. I have been trying for days to write about what is going on and cannot find the words to explain it. It is as if we--as Jews, as Americans--are not allowed to have empathy for both the Palestinians and the Israelis at the same time. As if we are all supposed to forget entirely about the colonizers before--the English--who set up this scenario to fail in the first place. As if we are not to mention that both Palestinians and Jews are in this situation because both feel they have nowhere else to go.
Yes, there is certainly plenty of blame for Jews to take responsibility for and no good solutions for this terrible situation. But as with most things in life, people like to ignore the complexities in favor of simple explanations and to point fingers at who they have decided is the "immoral" one.
Every story I have ever covered that I thought I knew who was "right" and who was "wrong" before I started fell apart as soon as I looked into it. It is ALWAYS more complex than it seems, especially when you look into the history of what is happening.