The Middle East: End of History, or Beginning of a New Era (pt.2)

Yesterday I wrote about Dr. Carlo Sprenger’s theory (pt. 1)on how to bring about peace between the Israelis and the Palestinians.

Dr. Carlo Strenger

The good professor advocates what he calls “therapeutic diplomacy”, which would presumably put the two “patients” on a “couch”; they’d confess all of their past mistakes. Then they’d come to their senses, reach a consensus individually on what transgressions they may have committed in the past and then hug one another and get on with their lives.

Easier said than done.

We’ve seen how The United Nations has failed to resolve the issues between the two parties.

We’ve seen the two parties themselves come tantalizingly close to a resolution, when Yasser Arafat and Israeli Prime Minister Yitzakh Rabin were at the threshold of a peace agreement; hopes were shattered by the assassination of the Prime Minister, murdered…not by a Palestinian…but by an Israeli Jewish religious student from an extremist group.

We’ve seen the failed efforts of one U.S. President after another.

The Big Powers put together what they called “The Quartet” : Russia, America, the European Union and the United Nations. That group tried half-heartedly to open the way to peace but as history shows, it was a doomed project.

Now we have a somewhat weary, discouraged former U.S. Senator, George Mitchell, as Barrack Obama’s Middle  East Envoy – trying very hard to do his bit.

George Mitchell

Remember him?

He was the man who brought peace to Northern Ireland. It was that bit of dogged diplomatic enterprise, which Professor Strenger looks to as his model. (Nobody ever thought that the Catholics and Protestants could live together in peace). So Mitchell might have a chance, but he can’t do this one alone.

Strenger says that the two sides must both undergo some sort of “quasi- psychiatric analysis”, in order to find the common ground that is the precursor to a half-decent working relationship. The professor calls for this “therapy”, because up to now, peace-making efforts have been based on the misguided belief that there is some degree of rationality on both sides.

Rationality would presuppose the ability of the two sides to be honest and truthful about their own shortcomings, mistakes and more importantly, their ability to come to terms with their own history.

Rationality also demands that both sides make a sincere effort to behave responsibly, in the interest of the general well-being of their respective peoples. Time and again they have both shown that they are incapable of doing so. (We’ve been feeling the repercussions around here).

• Where logic is required, they offer what amounts to insane actions.

• Where peace is wanted, they offer violence.

• Where sensitivity is needed, they offer provocative nonsense and empty, angry rhetoric, punctuated by bombing and destruction.

Since the parties themselves are apparently not rational, they really do need help. And while “diplomatic therapy” is also needed, it must be accompanied by tangible, credible and real moral support.

And that begs the questions: “What kind of help”? and “Where can this help be found”?

Clearly the international community of nations has failed miserably. The mainstream media are interested only in readers and viewers and so they fan the flames of fear and dread.

So the help and the answers and the solution and the support will have to come from somewhere else.

So Here’s the deal.

An objective look at the situation tells us that both sides have suffered persecution and deprivation and both sides have people living in what we call a “diaspora”.

While some Jews have claimed the term as their own, the word itself means simply “the movement, migration, or scattering of a people away from an established or ancestral homeland”.

Israel Established 1948

Following the establishment of the State of Israel in 1947/48, by the United Nations, a Palestinian diaspora was simultaneously established.

Israelis call the events – their war of independence – fought against Arab armies.

Palestinian dispersal

Palestinians call it the naqba (catastrophe). Hundreds of thousands were scattered – some to the Gaza Strip and many others to what we call The West Bank; still others went to Egypt, Iraq, Lebanon, Syria, Jordan and many ended up as far away as Europe and North America. Some were able to remain, when an armistice was declared. They are the so-called Israeli Arabs. This ” scattering” naturally bred resentment and anger and we have witnessed and experienced some of the effects.

Now, more than 60 years later, there is still a Jewish diaspora, but there is also now – this younger, angrier Palestinian one. Both contain many hundreds of thousands, perhaps millions of people who still feel a connection to those ancestral lands, but who have settled more or less comfortably in their new, adopted nations around the world.

Neither hardline Jews, nor hardline Palestinians like my line…which is…if peace is to descend upon the “Holy Land”, the impetus will have to come from those who now live comfortably in other lands.

There are some hopeful signs and those who are interested, can read those signs, interpret them and if they are really interested, they can do something to help. We are all human beings, living on a small and beautiful, but troubled planet. Let’s really try not to screw things up even more.

As a race, we are interdependent and growing more-so by the moment. We know that our humanity is capable of compassion – we have seen that countless times throughout history. Our many challenges could bind us together not as one race pitted against another but as a Human Race.

• Nevertheless our self-interest and our pride often overcome our inherent good sense.
• There are those who speak of another war.
• Those who would like to bomb Iran back into the Biblical ages.
• There are those who refuse to believe that perhaps there are two or more sides to every issue.

But here and there we catch glimpses of light that shine through the cracks in the walls of bigotry and hatred we have slowly built up, quite often not even knowing why we built such walls in the first place.

So wouldn’t be a good start if Jews and Palestinians in “exile” around the world, could somehow come together – in the peaceful surroundings of Canada, the United States, Europe and so many other parts of the world – and talk with one another, find some common ground in their own human race souls and work together for peace? Wouldn’t that be good?

We might even call on Dr. Strenger of Tel Aviv University to help out and perhaps come up with a real plan for some real international diplomatic therapy aimed at bringing about world peace.

Here are some of those cracks of light that I referred to and that our friend Leonard Cohen sings about.

Jews and Palestinians for Peace

J-Street. A Group of American Jews Dedicated To Peace

Interfaith Peacebuilders – people of all religions dedicated to Peace

Jews and Muslims for Peace.

Catholics Muslims Jews for Peace

Christians Jews and Muslims for Peace

Those are a few places to look. I’m sure you can find many many thousands of others if you wish.

Perhaps you’re one of those who will help find a way.

Salaam Shalom Peace