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BEING
PEACE
Barack Obama has now been President of the United States for
more than a year. In that short time, he has said and done
some remarkable things. His being awarded the Nobel Peace
Prize on the strength of the change in tone from the Bush
administration rather than on the strength of specific concrete
accomplishments recognizes the intangible but very real changes
for which he has been responsible.
However, the forces of reaction, the angry-old-white-men cohort
(the regular audience of Fox News) is doing everything it
can to destroy (their word) his presidency, the authority
of the leader of their own nation. Clearly he needs and wants
all the support he can get for his goals: the rejuvenation
of the American economy, the abolition of nuclear weapons,
the passing of a comprehensive health-care bill, and the resolution
of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
Now that he has managed to get the health-care bill through
the US Congress, and has finalized a nuclear-arms treaty with
Russia, he has experienced an enormous boost to his political
capital. Domestically, of course, he will have to expend this
in job-creation and other measures to stabilize the economy.
Most recently, he has been diverted from his larger intentions
by the need to pay attention to the suffering caused by the
dreadful oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico (the oil is still
flowing as I write this on June 4).
Among his larger intentions, of course, the Israeli-Palestinian
conflict continues to occupy a critical place. The totally
unnecessary violence of the response of the Israel Defence
Force on May 31 to the arrival of the flotilla bringing supplies
to blockaded Gaza resulted in a massive outpouring of concern
for Gaza and criticism of Israel from the international community.
Once again, Israel has acted against its own best interests.
It is not extreme to wonder whether Israel as a nation is
not paranoid, or at the very least, suffering from PTSD (Post-Traumatic
Stress Disorder); certainly an individual who behaved as Israel
behaves would be considered so—and at least as regards
PTSD, the same can be said of the Palestinians. However, one
lopsided attitude is no better than another lopsided attitude.
Peace in the Middle East will only come when Israel is secure;
and Israel will only be secure when justice has been done
for the Palestinians.
On another front, it is encouraging to see that an increasing
number of North American Jews are saying, loudly and clearly,
“Not in my name.” Such organizations as J Street
in the US and Independent Jewish Voices in Canada are providing
vehicles for Jews who wish to counter the paranoia of the
Israeli government and of the mainstream Jewish organizations
that support it uncritically and fearfully, and which is losing
support for Israel day by day. This shift in American Jewish
opinion, together with the new situation created by the arrival
at Gaza of the flotilla and the Israeli response, gives President
Obama much more freedom to act more decisively than he has
done heretofore; and since only the United States has the
clout to lean on Israel in the expectation of change, this
is a (somewhat!) hopeful time for resolution of this wretched
conflict.
To keep yourself up to date on the situation, I suggest that
you ask to be placed on the mailing list of CJPME—Canadians
for Justice and Peace in the Middle East (cjpme.org).
Shalom and salaam!
THINGS YOU CAN DO
"Become the change you want to see in the world."
Mahatma Gandhi
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