Blasphemy
20th December 2002, 15:39
a lecturer from Betselem, The Israeli Information Centre For Human Rights in the Palestinian Territories, came to our school to lecture. this was done because of the human rights week, and there were other lectures as well, and you could choose whichever one you want.
well, this guy really opened my eyes to a lot of stuff that i didn't know about, simply because the patriotic media in israel just doensn't publish it. arbitary arrests, extra judicial executions, road blocking and other actions taken by israel which infringe upon human rights in the most coarse way.
the lecture could have been much better if a part of the rightist minority in my school didn't come just to interrupt. they kept yelling and cursing at the poor guy, and at me, because i was backing him up. so anyway, during the lecture some stupid idiot says that parents of suicide bombers should be killed, because they are responsible for the deaths of the israelis killed in the attack their sons perpetrated. i told him that no person deserves to die, and got some really offensive reactions. some people even kindly suggested to slaughter me, but i had to gently reject their friendly offer.
so the point is this: death in israel became too much of a regularity. people don't have any problem killing other people, including innocent people, to solve political conflicts. murder has become an instrument the government should use in order to promote its goals. i think it's quite sad, because we have stopped thinking about all the other people, surrounding the person we wish to kill. we stopped thinking about the friends and brothers and sisters and parents and children of these people. not only palestinians, but also israelis. i always said that attacking soldiers in the territories is legitimate, but when you really think about it, it isn't. killing another person is never legitimate. when people are surrounded by death, they are filled with hatred towards the people who are responsible for the death, but mosly people who had nothing to do with it. i mean, people hate the palestinians/israelis as a whole, and fail to distinguish between those who take part in the killing, and those who don't.
but then again, is it really okay to hate those who do take part in the killing? once we start hating, we translate out hate to actions, violent actions, in order to satisfy out destructive feelings of hatred. but these actions don't hurt only the one your hatred is directed against. ultimately, you hurt yourself, because you actions bred hate at the heart of someone close to the person you killed, and you become the target. and about the soldiers. when people hear that palestinians killed israeli soldiers in the territories, they don't say to themselves "that's okay, because they are in the territories, and it is actually a legitimate way to fight an occupying force". they think to themselves "fucking palestinians, let's bomb them with f-15s." so eventually, for every person killed, soldier or civilian, the hatred is fueled more and more.
now, the majority of the israeli left, including the head of the labour party, Amram Mitzna, say that negotiations should start, but we should fight terrorism like there are no negotiations, and have negotiations like there's no terrorism. so, they support the use of force in order to fight terrorism, although all of us here knows that the "war on terror" is an illusion. the use of violence, will fuel the hatred that already exists, and the negotiations will be pointless, because people will have no desire to make peace.
my conclusion is this: violence is never a solution. it can't be a solution, even as a part of diplomatic negotiations, because violence is part of the problem, but mainly the hatred, which is fueled by the violence. with every tank that rolls into jenin, and every terrorist shooting at civilians in tel aviv, the chance of a normal life drifts farther and farther away.
this lecture, altough the lecturer did not state any political opinion, only made me more sure of my pacifism. that's all folks, and thanks for listening.
well, this guy really opened my eyes to a lot of stuff that i didn't know about, simply because the patriotic media in israel just doensn't publish it. arbitary arrests, extra judicial executions, road blocking and other actions taken by israel which infringe upon human rights in the most coarse way.
the lecture could have been much better if a part of the rightist minority in my school didn't come just to interrupt. they kept yelling and cursing at the poor guy, and at me, because i was backing him up. so anyway, during the lecture some stupid idiot says that parents of suicide bombers should be killed, because they are responsible for the deaths of the israelis killed in the attack their sons perpetrated. i told him that no person deserves to die, and got some really offensive reactions. some people even kindly suggested to slaughter me, but i had to gently reject their friendly offer.
so the point is this: death in israel became too much of a regularity. people don't have any problem killing other people, including innocent people, to solve political conflicts. murder has become an instrument the government should use in order to promote its goals. i think it's quite sad, because we have stopped thinking about all the other people, surrounding the person we wish to kill. we stopped thinking about the friends and brothers and sisters and parents and children of these people. not only palestinians, but also israelis. i always said that attacking soldiers in the territories is legitimate, but when you really think about it, it isn't. killing another person is never legitimate. when people are surrounded by death, they are filled with hatred towards the people who are responsible for the death, but mosly people who had nothing to do with it. i mean, people hate the palestinians/israelis as a whole, and fail to distinguish between those who take part in the killing, and those who don't.
but then again, is it really okay to hate those who do take part in the killing? once we start hating, we translate out hate to actions, violent actions, in order to satisfy out destructive feelings of hatred. but these actions don't hurt only the one your hatred is directed against. ultimately, you hurt yourself, because you actions bred hate at the heart of someone close to the person you killed, and you become the target. and about the soldiers. when people hear that palestinians killed israeli soldiers in the territories, they don't say to themselves "that's okay, because they are in the territories, and it is actually a legitimate way to fight an occupying force". they think to themselves "fucking palestinians, let's bomb them with f-15s." so eventually, for every person killed, soldier or civilian, the hatred is fueled more and more.
now, the majority of the israeli left, including the head of the labour party, Amram Mitzna, say that negotiations should start, but we should fight terrorism like there are no negotiations, and have negotiations like there's no terrorism. so, they support the use of force in order to fight terrorism, although all of us here knows that the "war on terror" is an illusion. the use of violence, will fuel the hatred that already exists, and the negotiations will be pointless, because people will have no desire to make peace.
my conclusion is this: violence is never a solution. it can't be a solution, even as a part of diplomatic negotiations, because violence is part of the problem, but mainly the hatred, which is fueled by the violence. with every tank that rolls into jenin, and every terrorist shooting at civilians in tel aviv, the chance of a normal life drifts farther and farther away.
this lecture, altough the lecturer did not state any political opinion, only made me more sure of my pacifism. that's all folks, and thanks for listening.