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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Nightmare Portends the Future? Two days after Election Day I awoke from a terrible nightmare.  A torturer had just cut off my legs and was forcing me to walk on the stubs of my legs. I woke up screaming.  Who was my torturer? Why this dream? Why now? In August 2001 I experienced repeated waves of doom that something dreadful was coming.

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 Summer Inquiry  As the days of the Bush presidency wane and as we in the US prepare to elect a new President, I have been thinking about what lies ahead for the world.  I have been looking at my own failures of committed action over the past eight years when I saw the present administration act in ways  I knew were bound for disaster.  Will the next administration repeat the same errors and wreak more havoc on the globe? Why Were We So Ineffective? Reports now coming out reveal the sheer cruelty which the present administration became committed to in its response to 9/11. Why did we let this happen? How did it come to pass that the US  is now practicing torture? Why did the US Senate and House of Representatives vote for the Iraq War despite the fact that so many Americans were opposed to it?

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The Long Hunt Is Over                                                                                                                                                                Radovan Karadzic, one of the most wanted war criminals in the world, was arrested Monday in Serbia, ending a 13 year manhunt. He will be transferred soon to the Hague for trial at the International Criminal Court. I hope that Ratko Mladic, the third chieftain of evil in the Bosnian wars, will also be arrested soon. All societies create agreements for people to live together. When someone breaks one of those agreements he or she is “called to account” by the community. He must satisfy the group that he will be safe for everyone to live with.

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 Lonely in the City I asked my neighbor Gerald to go to a July 4th Barbecue. I was alone for the weekend. Gerald, an elderly man in his seventies, also lives alone. He was surprised by my invitation and it surprised me as well. It occurred to me that since I moved into this condominium six months ago, I’ve only gotten to know two of my neighbors. Consider this: We are the most connected society the world has ever known.

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                                                         Can’t We All Just Get Along?  Why can’t we just get along? I have spent my life studying why people hurt each other. The little wars we wage against each other are sometimes as vicious as the larger wars which nations conduct. The suffering and pain in human relationships as we gossip, complain and disrespect one another is intense. We don’t often realize the hurtful effect we have on people we care about and get defensive if someone observes that we are less than kind.

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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 5^th largest Army in the world.  Two peoples are fighting over feelings and perceptions.

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