A Bazooka bubble-gum-type joke tells about a man who was searching for his car keys under a street lamp.
"Why are you searching under the lamp? Didn't you lose it in the garden?" asks his wife.
"This is the only place where there is light," answers the man.
I was thinking of this joke when I first heard of Ariel Sharon's "disengagement plan". Jews have been searching for a solution to the hostility towards Israel since the state's inception. During the years, the Jewish brain was able to find cures to world diseases and hi-tech problems. Jewish lawyers were able to resolve bitter disagreements outside courts and make money by teaching conflict resolution seminars.
So why is it that we were not able to solve our own problems at home?
We are simply looking under the lamp.
Let's begin with perception. Some of us have the perception that anti-Semitism has a cause, an explanation, or at least an excuse. Some Israeli politicians are convinced that anti-Semites are ignited by Jews' actions. Using that perception in trying to solve the problems in Israel leads us to the wrong, and consequently ineffective, solution. I do not blame them; after 2,000 years of persecution we, as a nation, developed a dependent personality disorder, which is very common among abused and battered women. The notion that "we have brought it upon ourselves" was hard to swallow at first, but became very plausible after senseless and continuous terror and suffering. Needless to say, this state of victimhood is very, very unhealthy.
Then we have the Israeli politicians who were routinely ignored at best, and criticized at worst, for defending their country's self-defense actions. On the other hand, once they joined the criticizers, they were treated with respect, were given podiums and their own private five minutes of fame.
Let's not forget the terminology; the repetitive media use of words like "militants", "freedom fighters" and "gunmen" when referring to terrorists can certainly alter one's perception the wrong way. When the media is being very descriptive about the age and amount of injuries on the Palestinian side, but the murder of a pregnant woman and her four little girls get a "five settlers dead" headline, some might conclude that the solution is indeed giving in to terror.
I admit it is much easier to dismantle a "settlement" then to fight terror. It might even appear a safer thing to do. But before doing so, one must stop and think of the consequences. Terrorists are especially prone to the reward system. Giving in to terror invites more terror. And just like with the Nazis, when we give in to "no Jew has a right to live here," we give in to "no Jew has a right to live, period."
As an Israeli, I do not speak only for myself when I say that Arab existence in Jaffa, Acre, Ashdod, Jerusalem and many other cities in Israel never seemed to bother me. I never looked at Arabs as "land occupiers" or "the enemy". I never thought of disguising myself as a pregnant woman to go and bomb Arab school buses. I do not see a reason for a young, healthy Palestinian woman to do so.
Two years ago, my husband and I were on our way to meet with the Israeli consul at the Israeli consulate building in Los Angeles. As we approached the building, we noticed a big pro-Palestinian demonstration taking place right in front of the building. A Jewish woman, carrying a big "Stop the Occupation" sign was shouting over her peaceful and calm co-demonstrators that "Sharon, the murderer," must resign.
I approached that woman and asked her: "Are you opposed to suicide bombing as well?"
"Absolutely!" she responded fervently.
"So why don't you shout that, instead?" I asked her back.
We hear all about the Palestinian oppression and suffering. The implied, and sometimes even explicit, "cause" of that is Israel. We are being told that it is the roadblocks that cause bombing and not the bombing that causes roadblocks. We are taught by racist thinkers that Palestinians' threshold for suffering is somehow lower then those of other races. That a Jew must tolerate seeing his baby being blown to pieces, but a Palestinian mother strapping explosives to her son's body is simply "angered" and is "reacting" to Israeli oppression.
At this crucial time, we must stand strong and stop looking under the lamp for excuses. Terror has to be fought, not appeased. The truth has to be told. Jews have the right to live, and live anywhere they want on earth.
Sharon's disengagement plan failed to gain Likud support because more and more people are realizing that looking under the lamp is hopeless. As difficult as it may be, we have to begin the process of realizing that the problem is not us, but rather the hatred of us. We must realize that anti-Semitism has a spiritual, not a physical, cause. The sooner we come to terms with that, the sooner we'll be able to come up with a solution.
"Why are you searching under the lamp? Didn't you lose it in the garden?" asks his wife.
"This is the only place where there is light," answers the man.
I was thinking of this joke when I first heard of Ariel Sharon's "disengagement plan". Jews have been searching for a solution to the hostility towards Israel since the state's inception. During the years, the Jewish brain was able to find cures to world diseases and hi-tech problems. Jewish lawyers were able to resolve bitter disagreements outside courts and make money by teaching conflict resolution seminars.
So why is it that we were not able to solve our own problems at home?
We are simply looking under the lamp.
Let's begin with perception. Some of us have the perception that anti-Semitism has a cause, an explanation, or at least an excuse. Some Israeli politicians are convinced that anti-Semites are ignited by Jews' actions. Using that perception in trying to solve the problems in Israel leads us to the wrong, and consequently ineffective, solution. I do not blame them; after 2,000 years of persecution we, as a nation, developed a dependent personality disorder, which is very common among abused and battered women. The notion that "we have brought it upon ourselves" was hard to swallow at first, but became very plausible after senseless and continuous terror and suffering. Needless to say, this state of victimhood is very, very unhealthy.
Then we have the Israeli politicians who were routinely ignored at best, and criticized at worst, for defending their country's self-defense actions. On the other hand, once they joined the criticizers, they were treated with respect, were given podiums and their own private five minutes of fame.
Let's not forget the terminology; the repetitive media use of words like "militants", "freedom fighters" and "gunmen" when referring to terrorists can certainly alter one's perception the wrong way. When the media is being very descriptive about the age and amount of injuries on the Palestinian side, but the murder of a pregnant woman and her four little girls get a "five settlers dead" headline, some might conclude that the solution is indeed giving in to terror.
I admit it is much easier to dismantle a "settlement" then to fight terror. It might even appear a safer thing to do. But before doing so, one must stop and think of the consequences. Terrorists are especially prone to the reward system. Giving in to terror invites more terror. And just like with the Nazis, when we give in to "no Jew has a right to live here," we give in to "no Jew has a right to live, period."
As an Israeli, I do not speak only for myself when I say that Arab existence in Jaffa, Acre, Ashdod, Jerusalem and many other cities in Israel never seemed to bother me. I never looked at Arabs as "land occupiers" or "the enemy". I never thought of disguising myself as a pregnant woman to go and bomb Arab school buses. I do not see a reason for a young, healthy Palestinian woman to do so.
Two years ago, my husband and I were on our way to meet with the Israeli consul at the Israeli consulate building in Los Angeles. As we approached the building, we noticed a big pro-Palestinian demonstration taking place right in front of the building. A Jewish woman, carrying a big "Stop the Occupation" sign was shouting over her peaceful and calm co-demonstrators that "Sharon, the murderer," must resign.
I approached that woman and asked her: "Are you opposed to suicide bombing as well?"
"Absolutely!" she responded fervently.
"So why don't you shout that, instead?" I asked her back.
We hear all about the Palestinian oppression and suffering. The implied, and sometimes even explicit, "cause" of that is Israel. We are being told that it is the roadblocks that cause bombing and not the bombing that causes roadblocks. We are taught by racist thinkers that Palestinians' threshold for suffering is somehow lower then those of other races. That a Jew must tolerate seeing his baby being blown to pieces, but a Palestinian mother strapping explosives to her son's body is simply "angered" and is "reacting" to Israeli oppression.
At this crucial time, we must stand strong and stop looking under the lamp for excuses. Terror has to be fought, not appeased. The truth has to be told. Jews have the right to live, and live anywhere they want on earth.
Sharon's disengagement plan failed to gain Likud support because more and more people are realizing that looking under the lamp is hopeless. As difficult as it may be, we have to begin the process of realizing that the problem is not us, but rather the hatred of us. We must realize that anti-Semitism has a spiritual, not a physical, cause. The sooner we come to terms with that, the sooner we'll be able to come up with a solution.