A good picture of the occupation

Haaretz patiently explains the problem with the picture:

Eden Aberjil doesn’t understand what all the fuss is about. The former soldier sees nothing wrong with posting photos on her Facebook profile showing her posing, grinning and amused, alongside blindfolded Palestinian detainees. “The pictures reflect the military experience,” she told Army Radio this week of her online photo album, entitled “The army: the best time of my life.”…

Aberjil’s “experience” is reflective of a culture that has taken root over the course of decades of occupation, one which perceives Palestinian prisoners as subhuman…

The humiliation of Palestinian detainees must not be remembered as the “best time” of any soldier’s army experience.

It’s a sad comment on Israeli society that the newspaper needed make this point.

Occupational hazards

In my opinion, the pictures were insensitive and it saddens me quite a bit that the young woman doesn’t understand why people are so angry at her. To me, the comments to the article are the really scary part.

The view from the Golan Heights

Earlier this week I spent a few days in the Golan Heights. Like the West Bank and Gaza, Israel captured the Golan in the 1967 Six Day war. Unlike the West Bank and Gaza, however, the local population (almost exclusively Syrian Druze) are not actively seeking to separate from Israel. In fact, Israelis and Druze get along in the Golan. For example, the small Israeli town where I stayed, Nimrod, is just a few kilometers away from the two largest Druze towns in the Golan, Majdal Shams and Masada. I spent time in both towns and saw Israelis and Druze interacting a lot. I also saw Druze in Nimrod. This is very different than what I experienced in the West Bank. I suspect one reason for this is because the Druze in the Golan face the prospect of being a religious minority in Syria or Israel. While they may not like either option, its reasonable to believe that they may be indifferent to Israeli or Syrian control. Its also conceivable that some may even prefer Israeli control.

Notes from Samaria

Last Sunday, I spent some time visiting Israeli settlements in the West Bank, specifically in Samaria, the northern half of the territory. I have travelled all over the West Bank in the past. What made this visit different was that we had an Israeli settler take us on a tour. The purpose of the tour was to allow the settlers to present their version of how Israelis and Palestinians could live in the area together. The most disturbing part of the visit for me was how the settlers I met basically air-brush the Palestinians out of the picture. They did not demonize Palestinians or claim that Jews have a stronger right to the land than anyone else or present detailed ideas for how the Israelis and the Palestinians could live together. Rather, they simply ignored them – as if the Palestinians did not exist. When I raised the issue I did get honest (and hair-raising) responses, but I had to bring up the issue. I am not sure if ignoring Palestinians was a strategic choice or accurately reflects realities in the area (i.e., Israelis and Palestinians live in different worlds). A bit of both, I suspect.

Keeping up appearances

Bibi and Obama were all smiles and handshakes yesterday, but there is lots of speculation that the tensions between the two administrations remain.