Slavoj Žižek argues
in the New Statesman for a binational state in Israel & Palestine
- the "simplest and most obvious solution" to the conflict.
Highlighting some disturbing
instances of racism (and sexism) in Israeli society (such as the 2007 poll that
showed that over half of Israeli Jews believe intermarriage is akin to
"national treason"), Žižek makes the key point that:
What makes these campaigns so
depressing is that they are flourishing at a time of relative calm, at least in
the West Bank. Any party interested in peace should welcome the socialising of
Palestinian and Jewish youth.
He goes on to say:
Until recently, Israel was
often hit by terror attacks and liberal, peace-loving Jews repeated the mantra
that, while they recognised the injustice of the occupation of the West Bank,
the other side had to stop the bombings before proper negotiations could begin.
Now that the attacks have fallen greatly in number, the main form that terror
takes is continuous, low-level pressure on the West Bank (water poisonings,
crop burnings and arson attacks on mosques). Shall we conclude that, though
violence doesn't work, renouncing it works even less well?...
None of this implies sympathy
for terrorist acts. Rather it provides the only ground from which one can
com.
Visit the New
Statesman to read the full article.
For a critical overview of the
Israeli 'peace camp' liberals and their European supporters, see Yitzhak
Laor's The
Myths of Liberal Zionism.
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