it is an ongoing dillema, how much i want to relate - in this blog - to political questions regarding the Israel/Palestine "situation" (as it is referred to, in Hebrew, in Arabic). It's not because i'm not there so I don't care. The main reason for my reluctance is that i want to avoid is to let politics - in the sense of what we hear about in the news, which is actually just a narrow slice of what is really going on - take over. I've seen it happen in other blogs and i don't like it much. the power of blogging is that everything comes from your little corner of the world, your desk, your perspective, your eyes. This is what gives it validity, this is what makes it interesting. once you start quoting and linking and arguing... well, you just get swept into discussions which force you to use other people's words. They frame your mind and it's a trap very difficult to free yourself from.
on the other hand, it's difficult not to say anything. like everybody from that place, I have strong views on the situation, I often find myself enraged, terrified, despaired. I feel i need to say something, i ought to say something. So I will give it a place here, but i'm not going to let it take over. pledge¬
maybe when i ever get to work on the design of this blog i will give it a seperate column box or whatever. it's mainly going to be links to other places: read for yourself and see what you're thinking.
anyway-^>
i read today that the israeli supreme court approved the uprooting of a grove, owned by an old palestinian woman, which happens to be very close to the house of the Israeli defence minister, Mofaz. The Israeli military say that the grove is a good hiding spot for possible attacks on his house. The israeli newspaper Haaretz published an article about this grove a few months ago (see here). There's absolutely nothing nice i can say about Mofaz, or about the place he lives in, an elitist sleep-village, the american suburban dream, which happens to be in israel. There's much nicer things i can say about orange, tangarine, and guava trees, and about a 72 year old woman who fights for them.
forestation used to be an important part of the zionist ethos of colonization. the green valleys on the israeli side of the 67' border were always compared to the barren hills of the West Bank, giving israelis a sense of superiority and moral justification. i wonder if this line was dropped after four years of systematic uprooting of citrus and olive groves. but i've said enough. read for yourselves.