Israel and Palestine

There is a phenomenon known as underground fire, where a fire burns below the surface of the ground. Such fires can burn for years, with no definite end, evidently having gotten into a virtually inexhaustible supply of fuel. Such fires can erupt at the surface and destroy whatever is there. It may then retreat back underground for a while, where it continues to simmer.

The Holy Land has a metaphorically similar fire. It has been burning since before the common era. It caused the initial Jewish diaspora, which resulted over many years in the scattering of Jews throughout Europe and elsewhere around the world. Jews became integrated, in a manner of speaking, in many other areas and cultures. But this "integration" was always a bit uneasy. In many places it resulted in open hostility, as tribalism is inclined to do.

The open hostility toward Jews reached a pinnacle in Germany after World War I. This had a wide-ranging effect throughout Europe, where antisemitism had, for a time, an unstoppable ally. It can't be surprising that the destruction of Jewish culture throughout Europe would cause a reverse diaspora.

But there was a problem. The historic land of Israel to which many Jews felt forced to return was mixed up with the historic land of Palestine. This historic land was fought over for many years by Jews, Romans, Arabs and Christian crusaders.

Of course, the British got involved as did the League of Nations and later the UN, supposedly to ensure the rights of the Jews and the Palestinians.

Ah, but wait a minute, the Palestinians? Who are they? They are Arabs, mostly Muslims, mostly Sunni, who were native to the area called Palestine, and who like the Jews went through a diaspora with many Palestinians including a significant percentage of refugees were scattered to other areas. A very large number of Palestinians are in Jordan.

Before 1948, the Palestinians protested the British effort to establish a Jewish state on top of Palestine. The Palestinians, like the Jews, had never before enjoyed sovereignty of their own. In 1948 Jordan and Egypt grabbed bits of Palestine, Israel grabbed other bits, prompting a significant Palestinian exodus. In 1967 Israel grabbed the bits that Jordan and Egypt had grabbed, prompting an even more significant Palestinian exodus.

It may serve no purpose other than to muddy the waters further, but I also wonder about another issue that is not talked about much in the mainstream media. The Palestinians are Arabs, but they have traditionally been less than welcome in other Arab communities. And some Palestinians consider themselves more civilized than other Arabs. And then some Palestinians consider themselves more civilized than other Palestinians. This micro-tribalism may help to explain why Fatah and Hamas are always crossing swords. It does not bode well for a Palestinian state.

But to my mind, I see the situation as based on a fundamental tenet. The modern state of Israel has been established and it is counterproductive at best to question this. By the same standard, the modern state of Palestine must be established as soon as possible and it is equally counterproductive to question this. Stopping the violence seems intractable, but everyone must keep their eyes on the prize, the prize being that there can be and there must be the sovereign nations of Israel and Palestine, neighbors at peace.

Cold Redux

It's a bit chilly out there, cold up there in them these here hills. Dry snow covers the landscape, or perhaps in these here hills, the cityscape. This is indeed a city, albeit a small one, and a tortured one, having had its glory days around 100 years before now. And back to now, this small city on the river struggles to find new meaning, new life, new vibrancy.

So what does this city do? Treats the public library as a cash cow that can be slowly slaughtered in a desperate attempt to balance the budget. And because of some (excuse me) imbecilic requirements, now that it is 2009 and the library can only open for three days a week, it is now de-certified, meaning it has been ostracized, cast out of the library network, so all that exquisite inter-library service is now no more than a mashed polecat smeared across the cold, hard pavement. Way to go, in these times of trouble and desperation, when demand for and dependence on the precious resource of the public library is greater than ever, lay off most of the staff and lock the doors most of the time. Let all those books, CDs, videos, magazines, newspapers, just gather dust in the dark for four days in a row. Let the only truly free internet access be mostly off limits to the poorest job-seekers. Give those with no place to go even one less place to go. Here's to the city you've torn out the heart of, Fitchburg you better find another country to be part of.