Over the past few days the tension in the streets of Jerusalem has been high. We have encountered protests and battalions of armed forces on a daily basis. It reached a pick on Tuesday when clashes broke all over the West Bank and East Jerusalem. The situation is complex and hard to understand fully. However, one common element to everyone trapped in this dynamic is the fear factor, not a TV reality game show here!
In this environment, it is important to cultivate the fear of this Other. Some events in history, past and recent, partially explain where the fear comes from. But it certainly doesn’t justify the manipulation of the fear factor by both the authorities and the media. On the contrary, both have an ethical responsibility to fight stereotypes and hasty generalizations.
The same ethical responsibility falls on education too. If the educational system keeps sending strong messages of constant danger, how can kids feel secure? The best answer for Israeli school children is to be accompanied, wherever their class goes, by an armed security guard! Except for the Jewish quarter, schools are also forbidden by the Ministry of Education to visit the Old City which is deemed too dangerous for Israeli kids.
On Tuesday, after having witnessed the clashes between Palestinian kids and the Israeli police (trash set on fire, stones-throwing, sound grenades, arrests and blindfolding, etc.), I went to walk on the walls of the Old City. There I met several groups of Israelis school children. Each group was accompanied by 3 adults and the usual armed guard; and each group was carrying a big Israeli flag to go to the Western Wall. They were all around 6 years old. At one point, I passed a young girl who was talking to her classmate and asking her this wonderful question: “Why do you want to be scared of things?”
The question stayed with me. By asking this question, I want to believe that this little girl was questioning the fear factor instilled in her life by all the adults around her; I want to believe she understood that she had the choice to refuse fear… Am I naive? Was it really a critical question or was it simply a direct reference to the machine gun protecting her? I don't know, but the question will stay with me.
Chère Muriel, J'ai l'impression que vous vous trouvez actuellement au milieu depas mal de violences .Je le craignais un peu. Et là , vous êtes effectivement au milieu de toutes ces craintes des uns et des autres, de l'exaspération des jeunes palestiniens et de l'atmosphère de peur et d'incompréhension volontaire des Israèliens .Que le seigneur de paix des uns et des autre soit avec vous
ReplyDeleteToute mon amitié et mes pensées fidèles Jeannette
Greetings Muriel. Thanks so much for sending me your blog address. I have just finished reading your story and have wept. Your words and descriptions brought back memories of my visit to Israel in 1968, just after the Yom Kippur war. Israelis were feeling so much joy at having beaten back the unexpected attack. At that time I felt safe everywhere, even in the Golan Heights! Here we are, more than 40 years later with a joyless circumstance on both sides of the wall--where before there was no wall. Such a complex situation with thousands of years of history, and so little memory of when Zionist settlers and Palestinians lived side by side. Jews have a history of fear of being extinguished--not without substance. Palestinian fears of Jewish settlers goes back long before the State of Israel. Memories are so long and unforgiving. After all, it's people who keep these fears and memories alive.
ReplyDeleteI look forward to your safe return and the opportunity to share this journey with you. Fly back on the wings if hope dear friend.
Andrea
Thanks Andrea, for sharing a little piece of your history with this land. And thanks for reading my stories. I will see you soon indeed.
ReplyDeleteMuriel