Interesting story, from a Jew who lived in a settlement in the Occupied Territory. Family was still in Israel.

No More Knee Jerk Solidarity
To the Savannah Morning News, Nov. 9, 2000 (as published).

Although I did not attend the Solidarity with Israel rally on Oct. 13, I, like many at the rally, was brought up and educated to love and defend Israel. Like many, I, too, am in pain at recent developments in Israel and the occupied territories.

My Zionist education culminated in my moving to Israel at age 18. During the eight years I spent living in the country, I lived on kibbutzim, both religious and secular. I volunteered and served in the army, seeing active duty both in Lebanon and in the occupied territories.

I lived on a Jewish settlement in the occupied territories and finally worked for two years on Arab-Jewish relations, which included one year living in an Israeli Arab village. As I write this, my parents and two sisters still live in Israel.

It therefore pains me to say this but it is my opinion, based on my experiences, that Israel is a deeply racist and unjust society and that Zionism, at least in its current form, degrades and demeans much of what is beautiful in Jewish culture.

My time in the army included the ongoing humiliation and oppression of the Palestinian population of the occupied territories. This was achieved by an endless list of roadblocks, document checks, public humiliations, curfews and violent suppressions of free speech.

One particularly painful memory for me is the night when I, together with my unit, was ordered to break into the houses of elderly Palestinians, overturn their belongings, desecrate their peace and peace of mind for no other reason than to let them know who was boss.

As part of an invading force in Lebanon, I saw firsthand the evils of collective punishment. I saw whole communities destroyed because of the action of one individual. I saw a beautiful country destroyed by the megalomaniac desires of Ariel Sharon, whose already bloodstained hands are visible again in these latest troubles.

Living on a West Bank settlement I was appalled to learn that Saturday night activities there often consisted of breaking windows, overturning vehicles and generally causing havoc in the local Arab village. This unfortunately is the reality of Israel— not the dreams of an enlightened Jewish homeland that I was sold at my Zionist Youth Group and Jewish community.

In an attempt to work against these negative forces, in an attempt to construct the Israel of my dreams, I worked for two years as a community worker in Arab-Jewish relations within Israel. That experience, though not as horrific as what had gone on before, again pointed to a deeply discriminatory society.

Arab Israelis, taxpayers, voters were living in conditions far below those of Jewish citizens. Many villages lacked basic amenities. There were open sewers running through the streets, schools were overcrowded with few facilities and fewer books. The list goes on and on and on.

So while I understand the longing of the Jewish community to show solidarity with Israel, and I understand its need to help in some way, I cannot help but balk at the statements of Israeli Vice Consul Ilan Segev, when he says that “Israel just wants peace,” or of Moise Paz, when he insinuates that helicopter gunships and live ammunition are an apt response to a crowd of teenage stone-throwers.

Yes, we must show solidarity, but not with forces and ideologies that perpetuate and encourage violence and discrimination. Instead of this knee jerk solidarity, let us search out and support those groups and institutions, both Arab and Jewish, that are working for a fair and equitable solution to the problems in Israel.

Let us support those groups that wish to put an end to over 30 years of brutal Israeli occupation, and let us support the human rights of all the citizens of this region.

If the local Jewish community, as your headline states, wants the violence to end in Israel, these are the steps that we must take.

Alan Schechner, Savannah, GA

Arf