(Community Matters) A friend just returned from Israel and sent the note below. It’s biased, it speaks mostly from the Palestinian perspective – an important perspective but just one-half:
“In Galilee, it’s clear that the politics of water is top of the list. The lake (sea of Galilee) is low and getting lower, Israel occupies the Golan Heights because that’s where the sources of water are for the Jordan River, which in some places is a trickle and the levels of the Dead Sea are dropping dramatically as well. All around there are irrigated fields of fruit trees and bananas, much of it exported. and the arab villages are dry and getting dryer. In Jerusalem, there seems to be a truce of sorts–everyone practicing their religions on top of and right next to each other. Some coexistence, fragile as it is. The West Bank is a disaster, with human beings caged in behind fences and illegal Israeli settlements cropping up and growing. Private roads for Israelis and humiliating checkpoints for Arab Christians and Muslims. in Ramallah, where I had lunch with a Palestinian friend and two of my traveling companions, vibrancy and life. and joy.”
“The reality of Israel and Palestine may be the reality for us all: shortages of water and food, permanent underclasses of people separated from the wealthy and powerful by fences and walls built in the name of security but used for humiliation and intimidation, and ethnic and religious intolerance that gets us all blown to hell. And yet, it’s also the land of the prophets, apostles and martyrs (Jewish, Muslim and Christian) who have always yearned for and prayed for the peace of Jerusalem. And many, many people–Israeli, Palestinian, Jewish, Muslim, Christian–all fed up with peace talks that go nowhere. Grassroots resentment on all sides toward political leaders and great hope for the new American president.”
Community Matters 