Truth, Liberation Then Peace

Last week, I attended an event at the UC Berkeley School of Law (watch on YouTube), presenting expatriate Israeli historian and political scientist, Ilan Pappé. His lecture titled, “Crisis in Zionism, Opportunity for Palestine?” was sobering, poignant and at times, felt hopeful that truth would be able to rise for the liberation of a colonized people.

 

Ilan Pappé has received plenty of criticism and even threats on his life because of the spectrum of history and viewpoint that he shares. Even when I google him, one of the first sites to come up offers an Israeli historian that refers to his assertions as the “sloppiest” and “most dishonest.” I’ve come to understand how someone who doesn’t wish to have a part of the story or history shared, would work hard to discredit or erase it. And, I’ve also come to understand how either side of a story could design a narrative that works in their favor. It seems aligned with our survival mechanism to secure safety and solidify our convictions by any means needed. It shows up as kids when we’ve told our parents our version of how a vase was broken to politicians vying for our vote.  Erasure or reconfiguration of a story has happened repeatedly in history. Certainly, in context of our own American history which is more recently gaining acceptance, and for that, I’m open to hear the story that is trying to be made quiet or is said to be an outright lie. Because of the wars in Afghanistan, Iraq and Vietnam which come to mind right away and have been recognized as “mistakes” by many, I’m ready to dive in deeper to educate myself. Time Magazine, wrote “We will continue to repeat those mistakes unless we have open, vigorous, and continuing debates about what we are fighting for and why it matters.”

 

…I’m open to hear the story that is trying to be made quiet or is said to be an outright lie.

 

 

The very saddest part is that innocent lives are at the expense of often frustrated, power-hungry, self-serving men who are given the most expensive option of waging war which is essentially a mental construct to them. I will admit that I have not been as engaged with the stories of war until now. Even the history of WW2 with the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, then Japanese Internment camps (history.com) from 1942-1945, and the fatal dropping of atom bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki that came near the end of WW2 in 1945 – it was far away history that my heart couldn’t reach. Various reports suggest somewhere between 100,000 to 225,000 lives were lost from the atomic bombs and 1,800 lives lost during the internment camps. As often happens in history, a revisit in 1982 of historical events presented a new narrative offering the statement that the incarceration and governmental policies were reactions of “race prejudice, war hysteria, and a failure of political leadership.” (smithsonianmag.com) And likely because I didn’t grow up with a close relationship with my Japanese father who arrived from Japan to the US in the early 1950’s, this part of my history and these significant crimes against humanity weren’t much more real to me than any other horrible news of this world.

 

…it was far away history that my heart couldn’t reach.

 

 

But this current war in Gaza and Israel – it’s happening right now, it’s painfully very real, and it hits home more than any other time as I’ve come to be more aware of a history that was omitted and even fluffed out of my Jewish education in favor of those telling it. Our Jewish history is a painful one as it is. The need for relief from deep hatred and ongoing trauma feels required for our people to heal and stand strong. I actually understand the efforts to secure a favorable narrative for my people amidst the insults endured over and over again since our passage out of enslavement from Egypt. And, it also hurts deeply that I didn’t understand nor have empathy for Palestinians or recognize the land of Palestine as actually being a historical reality before 1948. I was taught that there is only Israel and Jewish Israelis, and anyone who didn’t see that was antisemitic and unsympathetic to the holocaust. When I visited Israel in 2012, I learned how integrated Jews and Palestinians were in the parts of Israel that I visited, namely Tel-Aviv and Jerusalem. It was wild to see how much everyone looked like brothers and sisters versus what I nearly had in my mind as being angels and demons. It was also wild how much I felt a part of this place, how much I felt related everyone around me even though some would say I looked like an outsider. It was a quiet moment of learning and I knew that what was in my mind, what had been taught, didn’t completely fit with what I was experiencing. Since then, I feel like I’ve been on a quest for the education that I didn’t get. I feel lighter by having a first-hand experience and now knowing the history that includes Palestine and Palestinians. Lies add weight to our hearts whereas truth frees our minds.

 

 

I was taught that there is only Israel and Jewish Israelis, and anyone who didn’t see that was antisemitic and unsympathetic to the holocaust.

 

 

I’m grateful to have a close, Palestinian friend who has been sharing her experience. My last partner is of Lebanese descent and he helped demystify more of the Middle East since I had such a learned bias against it both from my upbringing, but also thanks to our country’s lack of Arab-American inclusivity and awareness.  One example, there is still no race check-box for Arabs (learn about MENA that’s in the works for the 2030 census from PBS.org). Over these last weeks, I’ve been welcoming news from both sides of the conversation which isn’t typically how I do it but how I now know is the best way to learn.  As a Jewish person who believes in a free Palestine, I’ve come to understand I need a new approach to listening and learning. Usually, I just lean into the side that I’m already leaning into, and the other side is just wrong. One might say I’m simply being convinced of the story from the other side and who’s to say who has the real version of truth? What I feel we are witnessing in real time though, is that the mainstream news and comments from President Biden about a 2-state solution as well as the attacks in the West Bank, are clear signs that show the counter-attack on Hamas is only representative of a larger intent on Zionist Israel that signal colonialism and attempts at genocide. Could that be true or is that a false narrative?

 

 

As a Jewish person who believes in a free Palestine, it requires a different approach to listening and learning.

 

 

What I can say as one of my closest friends who is Israeli has said to me, is that you know when you know that you know. Beyond all other linear thinking and references to point you in a direction, something in us, maybe our gut, our intuition, something in us just knows. My eyes see the intent of Zionist Israel to commit the genocide on Palestinian people. And if there’s any parallel to Hitler’s holocaust, it’s not that we are witnessing anything comparable to the killing of millions of Jews here, it’s the dehumanizing of a people, the Palestinians in order to convince acts of torture and death to be acceptable – the same narrative that Hitler created against the Jews. We are seeing a group of people working to convince us not to care what happens to another group of people. Sadly, we have a long list (genocideeducation.org) from countries around the world who have committed genocide and we are closer to it happening over and over again more than seeing it become a disastrously inhumane and grossly approved way to create “peace.”

 

We are seeing a group of people working to convince us not to care what happens to another group of people.

 

 

In many hours of the day, I am struck with a deep grief.  I wonder how anyone can go about their everyday life or post things on social media about how wonderful their life is. But then, I remember that not everyone is connecting with the horrors across the globe in a way that hits home to them. I know that not everyone sees what’s going on in the same way, in fact some are celebrating what’s happening. I know that we must remind each other of life’s beauty and capacity for love so that we aren’t completely gutted by the darkness and shadows of human patterns. I remind myself of the many times that I have been detached from the wars and news of the many crimes against humanity happening every single day of the year. We would all stop what we were doing and not be able to function as we do if we could truly see, feel and know the ongoing human crises our fellow brothers and sisters of this planet are enduring. We would reconsider our actions if we were able to see, feel and know the impact our actions have on all the creatures of this planet and the planet itself.

 

 

I know that we must remind each other of life’s beauty and capacity for love so that we aren’t completely gutted by the darkness and shadows of human patterns.

 

 

We might understand why people become activists and less materialists, why people cry out for justice versus falling aside with disinterest. I remind myself of my commitment to living a vegan/plant-based life that is my form of conscious activism that allows me to protest everyday when I choose not to accept the torture of animals for the sake of neatly packaged items that offer the illusion of good nutrition or trendy fashion. Quick note – my mission isn’t to say what someone should choose to eat or wear, but to advocate for humane and sustainable ways that foods make their way to our plates and clothes on our body. I know how successfully entranced many of us have come under the service of greater marketing that we would simply call a way of life. But who’s way of life are we actually serving? What ripple does that choice have in the world to the point that we are involved in the horrors that we wish we didn’t have to even know about? Who’s pocketbook are we actually racing to fill by making these purchases? Are we getting any closer to the life that we know is possible on this magnificent, resourceful planet?

 

 

We might understand why people become activists and less materialists, why people cry out for justice versus falling aside with disinterest.

 

 

There are many benefits on the path and daily practice of Yoga. Integral Yoga offers a prayer that I continue to share at the end of my classes: “May the light of truth overcome all ignorance.”  Truth is the outcome of deep investigation within the self and after clean discernment. From this, we recognize the imperative for all beings to be free. Yoga is the path of liberation. Through liberation, one can find true peace. If we simply want our opposition to sit quietly in their cage, that can seem like peace.  If we only want to see and hear what we want to see and hear, that can become our world. But it’s merely the illusion of peace and the ongoing sequel of ignorance, dominance and/or misuse of divine power.  It’s that neatly packaged item that’s disconnected from it’s real time story. Once we recognize the pure right of innocent beings to exist, especially women and children who are caught in the crossfire of corruption, then we will start to truly advance as a human race. This is the spiritual path.  This is the work that will benefit our own heart and soul and ripple across the universe.  As Fannie Lou Hamar – one of the most powerful voices of the civil and voting rights movements said, “Until I am free, you are not free either.”

 

 

“May the light of truth overcome all ignorance.”

 

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TO TAKE ACTION:

Gain better awareness and educate with resources from Jewish Voices for Peace.

Expand your news resources with Arabic news reporting from Al Jezeera.

Sign this FORM by Tikkun and the Network of Spiritual Progressives for Palestinian-Jewish Solidarity

Reach out to your representatives:

Jewish Voices for Peace www.jewishvoiceforpeace.org/take-action/ call on House Members via emails and phone calls.

Friends Committee on National Legislation www.fcnl.org/ allows you to email both your Representative and Senators.

Humanitarian Support: Here are ways to support humanitarian efforts in Gaza and Israel.

Rebuilding Alliance

Middle East Children’s Alliance

New Israel Fund

Let’s stay connected,

Marc