Iron and Gold - Part One: Five Years After the Hague's Anti-Separation Barrier Ruling

Jul 09, 2009 23:47

I've been saying for weeks that I'll get to writing a post about my feelings towards Israel/Palestine these days. ( The First Installment )

israel impressions

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Comments 7

hemlock_sholes July 10 2009, 11:01:17 UTC
I suppose interpretation is in the eyes of the beholder :)

The ad could equally be saying that if the IDF were to lighten up (and not act/react violently), then the Palestinians would be nice to them.

Cell phone providers, in general, make me nauseous even without ads!

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mao4269 July 10 2009, 13:09:42 UTC
The two interpretations send the same fundamentally problematic message. If the ad is saying that if the IDF were to not (re)act violently then the Palestinians would be nice to them, it's devaluing any understanding that the reason Palestinians in Bilin aren't behaving "nicely" is because the IDF is helping rob them, not because the IDF occasionally kills people demonstrating against that robbery. A message that says, "Everyone should lighten up and have fun", by ignoring that, normalizes the underlying inequality.

Cell phone providers, in general, make me nauseous even without ads!
I feel you - there's a reason I didn't get a cell phone until coming to Israel.

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lobster_bandito July 11 2009, 00:49:17 UTC
"I'm thinking it's going to be a seven part series of which this is one part, one part will be about my (changed) feelings towards people from outside Israel/Palestine talking about the situation here, and the final part will focus on positives."

Oooh! While I'm interested in reading the whole series, I definitely would like to hear about this. (I'm guessing your feelings, either before or now, included: "Outsiders, STFU KTHANXBAI.")

Thanks for writing these.

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mao4269 July 15 2009, 13:26:10 UTC
Honestly I'm mostly writing them to help process my time here, but I'm glad someone actually enjoys reading the rantiness (yes, it's a word now, shaddup :P).

I'm guessing your feelings, either before or now, included: "Outsiders, STFU KTHANXBAI."
LOL, pretty much. (Actually, the short answer is that my feelings are mixed - intellectually I think outsider intervention is critical, but emotionally most of the "outsiders" I see commenting irritate me. A lot. And then I realize that people who were raised in any portion of Israel/Palestine probably feel the same way about me, so..Yeah. It's complicated.)

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lobster_bandito July 16 2009, 02:27:18 UTC
Layers within layers of outsiderness. *nod*

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anonymous July 19 2009, 13:56:01 UTC
Great post, and I'm definitely looking forward to learning more about this. And remind me to introduce you to a friend of mine who actually spent time in Jerusalem (don't remember for how long) because I think the two of you would have a GREAT conversation (as both 'insiders'. hehe.) Shalom and salem!

-Ethan

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mao4269 July 19 2009, 16:18:38 UTC
Thanks!
Is this a "great" conversation in that you want me to school this person in not being an assholic-ideologue, or a great conversation in that you think we'd both enjoy it? If the latter, I'd appreciate you making the connection :).

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