Sunday, February 13, 2005

The Illusion of "balance" in the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict

In this scathing essay from Sunday's Haaretz (also posted as a comment to this blog entry), journalist Gideon Levy castigates the Zionist Israeli left for four years during which it has remained shockingly silent. The Israeli left failed, he opines, to oppose Israeli military brutality towards the Palestinians even when the evidence of large-scale misconduct was plainly obvious to the rest of the world (with the exception of most American leaders, apparently). What's worse, in tepid statements that have begun to emanate from the liberal Israeli left, the question of responsibility for the last four years of violence remains a tender topic. As checkpoints became the face of Israeli occupation, as olive trees were uprooted, homes bulldozed, an apartheid wall and Jewish-only roads built, overwhelming lethal force used in open confrontations and extra-judicial assassinations carried out routinely, Levy wonders how the Zionist left can hold up its head and meekly exclaim that it's time for both sides "to change consciousness and feelings."

The issue of seeking "balance" has long been the bogeyman of peace-making efforts. In my view, it is absolutely necessary to condemn violent and illegal actions carried out by both sides: neither the rampant deaths of civilians ("collatoral damage") in military actions nor in suicide bombings can be excused, much less justified. Both Palestinians and Israelis have a collective accounting -- in Hebrew, "heshbon nefesh" -- to do in the wake of such acts, and both parties have grave responsibilities to undertake in settling the conflict. At the same time, Levy points out a salient feature of this conflict that cannot be brushed aside, as much as Israeli and American leaders feel it convenient to do so: there has never been anything like a parity of power in this conflict. One side has always had tremendously superior force at its disposal, and has continued to oppress the other side in the most profound and egregious ways. Palestinians have not been living anything approaching "normal lives" during these last four years. They have been under intense, unremitting and devastating economic, psychological and military pressure. The depth of their suffering is unimaginable to most Israelis (who have continued to lead nearly normal lives), or to anyone else, for that matter. Many Palestinian children and adults will likely suffer post-traumatic disorders for years to come. As their land has been expropriated, their humiliations increased, their access to medical care, schools, and even basic necessities sharply constricted, and their lives made unbearable in thousands of ways large and small, the outside world, like the liberal Israeli left, has effectively thrown up its hands.

There has never been any "balance" in the way that this conflict has afflicted the two sides. There is no ''balance'' in responsibility for the misery: those with the most power always have the greatest ability to change the material reality. Nor is there any "balance" in what must be done to relieve the suffering and achieve a just resolution. The occupation must end. It is that simple. And it is this simple but obvious idea that all too often gets shunted aside while the next round of high-profile diplomacy receives the obsequious attentions of the press and politicians. To extend Levy's commentary: when we (Israelis, Americans, Europeans, Arabs, Jews, and citizens of the world) all take our power and responsibilities seriously, we begin to glimpse the still-distant outlines of justice and peace. --Lincoln