Knowledge is power

Dear All,

I've recently promissed you to write an article on kibbutzim, the bygone socialist Israeli utopia, but  I'm afraid I'm going to let you down on this one. The kibbutz communities are fascinating indeed. However, given the current situation in the Middle East, getting all excited about books and lectures as if nothing was happening just wouldn't feel right. The situation is getting more and more serious and cannot be left without a commentary.

I don't feel in a position to present you with summaries, analysis nor opinions - I don't want to stuff you with some second-hand, subjective mash of 'events in a pill'. I would like to encourage you all to  get some in-depth knowledge about the issue and (re?)shape your very own point of view. The Internet is literally crammed with biased news, fierce arguments and thoughtless statements. Not only that people quarrel about their opinions, they also tend to disagree about the reality. Which is why... please, do not rely on one single source of information. Read as much as you can, search for the facts, understand the position of both sides. I don't know how it is in your countries, but in Poland the media tend to simplify things a lot, omitting many seemingly inconsequential details that are an essential part of the whole picture. My advice is to read either the Middle Eastern newspapers (they will give you firsthand, immediate information but may be quite biased, accordingly to their country of origin and political stance) or the Western ones that focus exclusively on the international affairs.

Here's a couple of useful links:

Haaretz - the oldest Israeli newspaper, left-winged and critical about the Israeli policy

Israel National News - quite the opposite 

Israel Herald - somemwhere in the middle, criticizing aggression towards civilians

Palestine News Network and Palesstine Chronicle - the most popular Palestinian media available online in English

Ma'an News Agency - a Palestinian News Agency, slightly more moderate, provides with detailed news from every district of the PA

Middle East Monitor - seems to have a non-sensational, research approach (*correction: as I started to follow it on daily basis, it turned out to be strongly pro-Palestinian)

Foreign Policy - my favorite global affairs news agency with a decent Mideast Brief daily newsletter

These are just a few suggestions how to get access to news of various, contrasted perspectives. Of course, in the online media world, there is much more: BBC, CNN, Al-Jazeera, etc. I wholeheartedly recommend you to use some of them and get deeper into this ongoing conflict. Sure, it takes a lot of time and effort and you will probably start to take it all personally, getting very irritated, terrified or touched. But at least you will form your own, independent opinion and get a little bit closer to the tricky truth. I believe it is worth a lot. 

(*)

The situation in Israel is getting hotter and hotter.

The recent reconciliation of Fatah (the ruling AP party) and Hamas (a radical Islamic organization) infuriated Israel and their allies, which led to suspending the peace talks. On the 12 June, three yeshiva teenage students: Gil-Ad Shaer, Eyal Yifrahand and Naftali Fraenkel were abducted by unknown terrorists. The one that was immediately held responsible was obviously Hamas. IDF and Shin Bet conducted an intense search for the boys all around the country.

The whole Jewish world united in social campaigns and prayers for their safe return home. Personally, I was deeply moved by the authenticity and emotionality of the widespread Bring Back Our Boys action. Today, everybody went through a huge shock, as IDF soldiers found dead bodies of the three kidnapped teens buried under a pile of rocks near the Hebron settlements.

Israeli politicians, from left to right, expressed their compassion for the boys’ families,  strongly condemned the brutal murder and declared to do all in their power to punish the terrorists. What does that mean in practice? Searching over 2000 households in the West Bank, arresting about 550 Palestinians, causing approximately 100 injuries and 6 deaths, bombing the houses of the men accused of the abduction, tripling the number of soldiers in the West Bank, airstrikes of the Gaza Strip, shutting down Hamas-related radio and television, tightening the grip over the Arab areas of Jerusalem… In other words, doing everything to crush Hamas and prove and to the whole world how powerful, proud and protective towards its citizens the State of Israel is.

The spiral of violence and mutual hateful declarations starts to spin. Rockets hit homes and factories on both sides of the wall. Politicians spread apocalyptic visions of bringing hell to their enemies. In the neighboring Middle Eastern countries, unrest continues. Syria is torn by the more and more chaotic, pointless war;  ISIS and ISIL newly-declared Iraqi caliphates are fought with the support of American troops; Egypt and Lebanon suffer from terrorist attacks by various militant groups, Iran’s stance at denuclearization remains firm, etc, etc.

 Meanwhile, the innocent, vulnerable children keep dying. Some get their names printed in newspapers all around the world and a Prime Minister’s speech at their funeral. Most don’t. 

Dara Barnat - South to Be'er Sheva

I stare through the window of
the train, until we reach

the desert. Then I have to turn
away, because who knew

how bright sand could be? The soldier
next to me has fallen asleep

with a gun in his lap. Who knows
what he’s seen today?

Dusk falls, so I turn my face
to the window again. Who knew

that train tracks were built so close
to houses? In the desert

there are houses for people
who believe they are graves

for the living. I’m wondering which
came first, the houses or

the train tracks? I’m thinking
the sand will outlive everyone.

Religion and high tech at the JCC

I finished my Days of Israel experience this Friday by attending two magnificent lectures held at the JCC as a part of the ‘A Kaleidoscope of Israeli Cultures’ international expert panel. To start with: shame on you all who were too lazy to come! Sitting there, I kept wondering what’s the mysterious reason for all these free chairs around. Fascinating topics, renowned scholars and a great place – an opportunity not  to miss.  Now, as you guys are sobbing with regret, let me comfort you with an entertaining summary of the lectures.

The first one "Religions and Religiousness in Israel: A Coat of Many Colors" was delivered by dr Annamaria Orla-Bukowska from the UJ Institute of Sociology. She was describing the vibrant Israeli multireligousness in such a joyful, calm way that I couldn’t help smiling. What I loved in particular was her absolutely open-minded, respectful attitude towards every single denomination she would talk about. Perhaps it was this approach of a wise social anthropologist: no judging, just constant, curious observation. At the end, she said one brilliant sentence that seems to perfectly characterize the extreme intensity of Israel: “Our human nature tends to fit everything into these little boxes. Whereas in Israel, nothing fits into any box! Everything overflows”.

Dr Orla-Bukowska’s speech was followed by a presentation by Rabbi Avi Baumol “The Start-up Nation: How Talmud Shapes Modern Day Israeli Capitalism”. This one had what I enjoy most in lectures and books - completely new information and a fresh point of view. I am not very much into technology and economy so I wouldn’t rather get another opportunity to learn all these things. But to tell you the truth, it turned out to be far more interesting that I’d ever guess. Israel is known as a high tech world leader. But have you known how many genius devices come from this country? From flash drives through drop irrigation system up to endoscopic pills, our world is filled with tiny yet brilliant Israeli inventions. The authors of the cited book ‘The startup nation‘ believe that that this phenomena must be linked not only to the government policy or foreign grants but also to certain psychological aspects. The optimistic Israeli ambition and self-confidence close to arrogance (see:http://israelidreamin.blogspot.com/2014/05/israeli-movies-rule.html) make perfect businessmen, leaders and innovators. But these traits cannot come out of nowhere. 
The authors derive them mainly from the compulsory military service and constant immigration. The latter one is rather obvious. People abandoning their past homeland are always the risk-takers. They tend to treat the aliyah as a chance to fulfill their dreams and hopes – that applies to launching a business as well. Moreover, as Israelis are raised in a multicultural society, they naturally develop an open-minded, creative attitude. The latter one- military service - came as a bit of a shock to me. As a pacifist, I’ve always considered the army as something that kills all the personal qualities, transforming young people into thoughtless fighting machines. However, the Israeli Defence Forces appear to work quite differently. They actually encourage the soldiers to think and work independently, acquire leadership skills and question the authorities.
According to Rabbi Baumol, the last skill is not anything new for the Jews. Conversely, it is deeply rooted in the Jewish mentality thanks to… the Talmud. This was the shock number two. I’ve always associated Orthodox Judaism with a strict obedience to the 613 commandments. And here comes an orthodox rabbi, proving that the foundation of his religion is challenging the authority of God! The Old Testament and Talmud are plenty of stories in which the least significant ones argue with the Almighty himself. Mind-blowing. What’s more, the old Jewish tradition has its unique approach to intellectual development. The Talmud knowledge is all deep-rooted in logic, critical thinking and reality, it forms a culture of discussion, arguments and doubts.

If you ever wondered ‘Why are Jews so smart?”, that seems to be a fair answer.

Walz with Bashir

Before this film was released, six years ago, an ‘animated documentary’ was considered an oxymoron. Whereas animation was associated mostly with little children or underground artists, documentaries were something dead-serious. How is it possible, people would ask skeptically, to combine such different genres?

With his film, Ari Folman proves it is not only possible but also ground-breaking. The director couldn’t think of a better way of expression. It forces the viewer to step out of his schematic ways of comparing and labeling. Waltz with Bashir simply can’t be watched as just-another-movie-for-a-Friday-night. Folman has an important story to tell.

The plot is relatively simple. A veteran of the Lebaneon War can’t recall anything of his traumatic experience. All he can remember is one hazy post-massacre vision. Driven by a strong desire to discover what really happened in the Palestinian refugee camp, he decides to regain his memory. He visits and interviews all his ex-brothers in arms, step by step reconstructing the truth. The way he does it takes war to the most personal, intimate level. Political events are just a background for psychological dramas and moral dilemmas. This attitude is far from judging: you don’t get to see two opposite sides of the conflict, clearly divided by the “good guys/bad guys” mark. All that Walz with Bashir is about is the human tragedy. But as you know, having watched zillions of war movies, people tend to become desensitized to sufferings. And this is why animation plays a key role here. The subtle, stencil-like drawings transform the ruthless reality into something more of a nightmare. The whole movie seems somewhat surreal, smoothly blending brutal images with dream-like scenes. The viewer - encouraged by the strikingly calm voices of the interviewed - steps into the head of a soldier, taking over his fears and desires. One can always ignore the dates, names and death toll but it is way harder to escape the feelings.

What is also worth noting is that Ari Folman's approach to the war is quite unusual for the Israelis. They really pride themselves on the efficiency and mightiness of IDF (Isreal Defence Forces) that have a great authority over there. Remember that serving the Israeli army is compulsory, three years for men and two for women. However, as far as I noticed, most of the young people consider it a fun and useful experience rather then a tough duty. As Israel's relations with all the neighboring states are constantly tense, IDF are treated by the society as real life-savers. Now you can imagine that Folman, making a movie about all the fear and pain related to the 'heroic act of protecting Israel's security', was quite a taboo-breaker in his homeland.