Jew Do You Think You Are

My evening last night was rather uneventful (mind you I still ended up going out for several hours, but nothing terribly important occurred - beside my friend hooking up with a guy who identified himself as an 'international model'. Gotta love New York.

Instead I'd like to mention my first experience with a New York political protest, and who would expectantly be involved: the Jews.

Two days ago along the major thoroughfare of Broadway and about 44th Street, several hundred Jews held up traffic and frosted everything that would hold still with strips of orange cloth to signify what they see as the struggle of Israeli settlers being unfairly forced out of their homes in Gaza in approximately one month.

I was innocently enough looking for a Washington Mutual (because who wants to pay $1.75 for an ATM) when my luck led me into the foray.

While many know me for my political and activist inclinations I must admit the first instinct that emerged was 'hell yeah, hot Jews!’ (Pray my grandmother never sees this - but then again I did send her Everything is Illuminated for Chanukah last year - or maybe it was Passover - no, I sent her an egg and some salt water for that) and if you've ever seen Jonathan Safran Foer (which now you have) you'll understand completely.

Of course, me, lacking all tact, accidentally made this statement out loud, a little too loudly in fact, and received an appalled and admonishing response from a Hasidic man nearby.

I wanted so badly to just pull his curls and make a hee-hee noise, but I refrained, and beside, he might have razor blades in there like those old-school Latina women who fight in the streets of Mejico Ciudad...you never know what they're hiding under those yarmulkes - actually you do, it's almost always a bald spot.

I can't resist, however, this brief political commentary (consider that a warning...):

The efforts by this radicalized segment of Judaism and Israelis to keep the Gaza pullout from occurring is blatantly misdirected and antagonistic. In order to proceed in developing peace, concessions need to be made. If these fringe Israelis considers themselves so morally superior to the crude and depraved actions of Palestinian suicide bombers (which justifiably is contemptible) then they should be willing to take a higher road in attempting a peace process.

There is no high morality in base retribution.

By offering such a concession as a pullout in Gaza and all the political turmoil it has caused the Sharon and his coalition in the Knesset, it places onus on the Palestinians to take the next step toward peace.


Of course, many Palestinian radicals want to construe this withdrawal from Gaza as their success in forcing Israel out, but I don’t believe Palestinians are that ignorant.

While Palestinians hold a good deal of contempt and suspicion for the actions of Israel, at the same time surveys and polls taken after the death of Arafat showed most Palestinians felt the current antagonistic methods of militant groups were counter-productive, and saw and hoped for an opportunity to overcome the conflict through greater cooperation.

Instead of lining up in Gaza to force the Israeli government from allowing the Gaza pullout, these Israelis should support pressure on the international community and Israel in particular (which at $3 billion annually is the greatest recipient of U.S. foreign aid) in training and supporting the security forces of the Palestinian Authority.

Another development supporting my point here is that fighting from the militant Hamas and Islamic Jihad factions in Palestine has turned increasingly away from Israel and focused increasingly against the PA.

This is the battle we should be focusing on. We must, as an international community, ensure that the PA succeeds in overpowering these groups and potentially offers some outlet for the less bellicose in these organizations to come into the folds of traditional government.

The strength of the Palestinian security forces are the greatest weapon against these militant groups with PA leader Abbas becoming more curt and aggressive in his denouncing of the actions of these groups.














Some funding has successfully moved into development. Israel recently requested an additional $2.2 billion from the U.S., but for the purpose of relocating military resources currently located in Gaza. The Group of Eight, however, in their recent meeting in Scotland also proposed a global fund to provide Palestine with $3 billion annually for three years to promote the state’s development.

That money needs to come quickly to provide the security that is crucial to promoting peace. Abbas has repeatedly displayed the will to confront and control these militant groups, but at this point he does not have the resources, and antagonistic actions by radical Israelis weaken his well-intentioned efforts.

Hatred on both sides directed at the wrong efforts will only propagate increased retribution that time has shown offers no resolution or respite.

Ok, that wasn't brief at all. Oh, well.