Because I admittedly don't know as much about it as I should, and because it's such a polarizing topic, I typically avoid any mention of Israel both in this blog and in my daily life. And that's just irresponsible. Knowing that my non-Jewish friends take a pretty anti-Israel stance, and that I usually agree with them in political matters, I've adopted an ignorance is bliss attitude. I don't want to fight! Can't we all just get along? Clearly, we can't.
So I want to read a book. Or two books, even. It seems there aren't any out there that take an objective stance, perhaps because objectivity is impossible. So instead I will read the highly recommended (if a teensy bit outdated) graphic novel Palestine by Joe Sacco. Any recommendations for an engaging pro-Israel book?
Here's to forming educated opinions!
Oh, and the reason this is coming up now is because there was recently an article in the New York Times about how Noam Chomsky and his daughter were denied entry to the Palestinian territories in Israel for a speaking engagement. It raised interesting questions about free speech in a democracy - Is there a difference between speaking one's mind and being "hostile" to the government? Um, yes. The article also connects Mr. Chomsky's border problems to a string of others involving characters from a Spanish performer to an American journalist working for a Palestinian news agency to a UN human rights investigator.
I want to know more! Maybe you do, too?
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ReplyDeleteI'm sure you'll have many good suggestions for Isralie histories. For a good Palastinian side of the issue, try Edward Said. He was born in Palastine, and was an advocate for Palestinian rights. He's especially interesting, because he's one of the most well know post-colonialists, and the israeli-palestinian conflict starts because Britain created the state of Israel by decree, since they controlled the Palestinian territory.
ReplyDeleteLet me know if you find anything objective, it would be a breath of fresh air.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the suggestion, Laura. Edward Said wrote the preface to Palestine (the graphic novel), but maybe I can find a compelling book written entirely by him. And Ilan and I can read together. Ilan? :-)
ReplyDeleteVery similarly to you, I tend to avoid the Israel topic altogether and am pathetically (and blissfully) uniformed on the ins and outs. One thing I believe for sure is that my identity as an American Jew would be entirely different was it not for the existence of the state of Israel. I'm not sure I can explain it much more than that though. A book that has been highly recommended to me (a pro-Israel response) and that I have flipped through at various times but not read all of is Myths and Facts: A Guide to the Arab-Israeli Conflict by Mitchell G. Bard. Let me know what you come up with!
ReplyDeleteThanks, Genessa - I'll look into the Bard book for the pro-Israel perspective. And then I will write an amazing blog post that will succintly, but effectively, summarize the conflict. . . No, that's unlikely. But I WILL do the reading!
ReplyDeleteI'd love to know more about how Israel affects your identity as a Jew. And how you think it might affect different Jews depending on shade of orthodoxy?