Gaza Thoughts

It does not do to be too sympathetic to Muslims. They fight among themselves, seldom help their co-religionists, and (like Americans) are often betrayed by their own leaders. They harbour strong elements of murderous jihad and abominable sharia.

Yet there are many millions of them, they occupy a large swath of the earth’s surface, and their tainted religion does encourage decent behaviour and peace among a lot of otherwise primitive people.

In normal times, they would be U.S. friendly (as they used to be) and happily sell us their oil, without bothering us much. But for more than a half century they have been the victims of serious injury by the U.S. establishment. In Palestine they have been invaded and occupied by foreigners, had their land ruthlessly stolen, been herded into camps, and become second-class inhabitants in a land that has been theirs for centuries. And the invader has harmed the ancient community of Palestinian Christians as badly as the Muslims.

“Terrorism,” though ugly war against the innocent, is a natural response of the weak facing overwhelming power. An overwhelming Israeli power massively subsidized by the U.S. state which for decades has provided Israel with more support than all other countries put together, including the best weapons.

In that circumstance, Hamas takes on the character of the resistance of an occupied people. Now, in response to a military attack, the Palestinians are being driven from their homes and subjected to a massacre of women and children. Is this war, or simply war used as an excuse for something long desired by the ruling power?

Can any decent American doubt that this an evil thing for which we ought to expect the wages of sin? Can any decent American fail to condemn the suffering on the innocent? A few lonely American voices who have questioned our position have been quickly silenced. Our establishment is callously, and sometimes in a celebratory mode, cheering on this evil. What ever happened to what so many thought of as our benevolent national character and sympathy for the underdog?

The Republicans are the worst of all. They complain about Palestinians protesting on our own soil, although they have abetted mass immigration for decades. The newly-elected Republican leader in the House of Representatives says that he is supporting Israel because he is a Christian. Intelligent people who want to can cause a lot of evil. But we should remember that stupid people are capable of terrible evil also without even knowing what they are doing.

Mr. Lovett has provided us with useful commentary on this site on the situation, including suggestions for reading. I can add that there in fact quite a few movies sympathetic to the occupied Palestinians, usually made by Europeans.

I’ll suggest two that have moved me. They came out around 2008 before the current troubles. Neither is the least shrill or militant. They are quiet and gentle in portraying the life of occupied Palestinians.

Laila’s Birthday might be called “A Day in the Life of a Palestinian.” A taxi driver, struggling for a living in an occupation well below his educational level, is trying to find a gift and a cake for his daughter’s birthday. In addition to the normal problems of daily life, he faces the normal abnormal realities of explosions, checkpoints, and routine humiliation. His experience is almost a classic odyssey.

The Lemon Tree, based on a real event, is a poignant account of the tribulations of a Palestinian woman. Her lemon tree, her only inheritance and living, is targeted for destruction by the Israeli army, who declare it a threat to “state security” because it blocks a short section of their view. The victimised lead character is a Palestinian lady. She has a maturely beautiful and subtly expressive face such as we associate with great actresses. No civilised human can fail to be moved.