Why Israel Feels  So Threatened In a powerful Op-Ed piece in the NYT Benny Morris, does a wonderful job of describing the vulnerability and fear that Israelis feel in their 60 year old state.   Morris’s article helped me to own up to my arrogance in the blog I wrote about Israel’s victimization. I Was Arrogant  Toward Israel In My Last Blog I indulged in talking down to the state of Israel.  In truth, I am yearning desperately for the killing on both sides to stop.   I directed my remarks to Israel, rather than to Hamas, because I see Israelis as having more capacity to effect change in this situation. These opponents are not evenly matched.  The majority of Palestinians in Gaza are starving.  Perhaps I underestimate the power of Hamas to make rational choices in the current circumstances.  I-P Conflict is About Human Needs and Feelings The key word in Morris’s column is feels.  Israel has the 5th largest Army in the world.  Two peoples are fighting over feelings and perceptions. These needs are so important to Jews and Palestinians they are willing to die for them, and yet they are so passionate they are unable to communicate the depth of their importance to the other side with any coherence.                                                                                                     Stories About Meaning of Trauma Fuel Violence Both peoples hold themselves as victims.  Both were hurt by traumas in the past. Those hurts are held in several ways: physical wounds, emotional experiences, but most importantly, in interpretations (i.e.

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Passionate Cry From the Heart In a passionate cri de coeur in the Huffington Post, Eve Ensler and Stephen Lewis have drawn our attention to rampant use of rape in the escalation of the ongoing conflict in the DRC (Congo).   We have heard about the hundreds of thousands (mostly women) fleeing the fighting  there.  We have not heard, until now, the reason so many are running-to escape rape. The level of sexual violence there is so extreme that Ensler and Lewis  are calling it femicide.                                                                                                                                                                               Rape as War Strategy There’s nothing new about rape in war which has been  going on since the beginning of time. What is different now is the use of rape as strategy, it’s deliberate employment, along with the use of guns and by armed men, to achieve their goals in warfare.  Consider the impulse to attack, to hurt other people or to make them pay for perceived injustices. How can one  inflict injury?             Physical assault             Knives/spears/swords             Burning/fires             Rape/sexual violence/enslavement             Guns/grenades/rocket launchers             Bombs/landmines/nuclear bombs             Verbal violence Rape Is Easy and Convenient A lot of these methods require that you take a huge risk to your own safety or they may require great skill in their use.

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Political Divisiveness in a Time of Financial Crisis I woke from a dream this morning that John McCain and Barack Obama had met and declared a moratorium on attacks on each other and had made a commitment to bring the American people together in this time of crisis.                               There is something deeply disturbing about the divisiveness and rancor that is going on politically. When our financial system is in a state of total breakdown this is not helpful.  Continued verbal attacks are dangerous, might lead to physical violence,  and certainly will drive Americans  further apart.  A mark of true leadership would be to start working now to bring us together. Powerlessness Underneath Sarah Palin’s Attacks For the past two weeks I have been very disturbed by the conduct and words of Sarah Palin.  I was obsessed with her and was not at peace.  I had to inquire into this or I could not live with myself.  After much soul searching here’s what I found:  behind her folksy demeanor, Ms. Palin is a very angry woman. Life has taught me that underneath anger there is always an emotion that human beings are desperate not to feel-powerlessness.

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 Why Israel Feels Threatened In a powerful Op-Ed piece in the NYT, Benny Morris does a wonderful job of describing the vulnerability and fear that Israelis feel in their 60 year old state.   Morris’s article helped me to own up to my arrogance in the blog I wrote about Israel’s victimization. Recognizing My Own Arrogance Towards Israel I indulged in talking down to the state of Israel like a child.  In truth, I am yearning desperately for the killing on both sides to stop.   I directed my remarks to Israel, rather than to Hamas, because I see Israelis as having more capacity to effect change in this situation. These opponents are not evenly matched.  The majority of Palestinians in Gaza are starving!  Perhaps I underestimate the power of Hamas to make rational choices in the current circumstances.  A Fight Over Human Feelings and Needs The key word in Morris’s column is feels.  Israel has the 5th largest Army in the world.  Two peoples are fighting over feelings and perceptions. These needs are so important to Jews and Palestinians they are willing to die for them, and yet they are so passionate they are unable to communicate the depth of their importance to the other side with any coherence.                                                                                                                                                                                                              Interpretations of What the Trauma Meant Fuels Violence Both peoples hold themselves as victims.  Both were hurt by traumas in the past. Those hurts are held in several ways: physical wounds, emotional experiences, but most importantly, in interpretations (i.e.

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In long-term intractable conflicts I often hear a complaint from people who experience themselves as victimized or wounded in the apparently never-ending violence and hatred that they or they group is caught up in. It is a conversation that is directed toward well meaning people like me, who suggest that listening and dialogue might be helpful. “I am so tired of listening. I don’t want to talk. Talk doesn’t change anything. What we need is action!

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The other night I ran into a woman I hadn’t seen in a long time and was surprised to discover that she has become a passionate, and incredibly busy peace activist. This woman, who has always been a fierce, proud and strong woman, is now more fiery than ever. Her sons are teenagers and she is doing everything she can to keep them out of the hands of military recruiters. I understood, as she spoke about this, how deep her love for her sons is, and that she is absolutely committed that her sons not be killed in a senseless war she completely disagrees with. She has also become convinced that 9-11 was an inside job, and is totally certain a conspiracy took down the Twin Towers–a conspiracy of the US government. What is it that spurs her on in her quest to enlighten others about this conspiracy theory?

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As US planes head off into Operation Swarmer with Iraqi forces to carry an offensive against a pocket of insurgents, I find myself wondering about power. President Bush said today that first strikes or the ability to wage pre-emptive war remains one of our most important weapons in the War on Terror. You hurt us or you even threaten to hurt us and we’ll hurt you so bad you won’t even know what hit you. You know, the old shock and awe idea. If your enemy is dead they can’t threaten you anymore. Sadly, we have found out in the years since 9/11 that this idea doesn’t seem to work in reality.

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