The world is bleeding. Life force is leaking from a thousand wounds, and maybe the most serious hemorrhage is that issuing forth from Gaza. The wound of Gaza festers with hate, despair, and cruelty, leaching those poisons through the body of the world. Hate infects nearly every conversation about what is happening there; hate, and the dehumanization of the Other, whether that “other” is the Palestinians or the Jews or simply the people who hold a different opinion. The savagery one sees in online comments mirrors the savagery that Hamas dealt on October 7
I agree. In reading this post from Charles, I feel this is missing and the need for deeper emotional and somatic processing feels dismissed in a way - especially in the lines about needing to basically 'move on' and letting both sides still believe that they are right. There can be no genuine trust building in the future IMO if there isn't acknowledgement of and responsibility taken for what has been done and how the dehumanization and violence, while committed on 'both sides,' has been extremely lop-sided.
From what I see and read from Charles, he seems to have an opinion that needing to be 'proven right' is strictly an egoic thing that we need to put aside in order to come to peace. On the contrary, what I've learned from my own personal experience (both as a 'victim' and 'oppressor') is that the acknowledgement and validation of what someone has done and the impact it had is a vital component of true repair work. Otherwise, I feel we risk moving into premature 'forgiveness' that may feel spiritually correct but bypasses and keeps buried in our bodies (to come rising back up and out again, whether we want it to or not) the truth of how we feel.
Thich Nhat Hanh quoting from Buddhist texts (translated):
"Hatred will not cease by hatred, but by love alone. This is the ancient law." This is how Southeast Asians chose peace as more precious than justice, and were able heal after horrors.
Yes indeed. I had the labels 'jewish' and 'israeli' placed on me at birth and I also view that as key.
IMHO the path forward out of this horror is not strictly in political arrangemnts (that's also important, but secondary) but rather it lies in the heart of people, in the ability/capacity to see the humanity and divine spark of another before viewing them as a label (palestinian, israeli, muslim, jew), and also it lies in coming to terms with and sincerely acknowledging (beyond just mere words, but truly meaning it) the IMMENSE AND PROFOUND TRAUMA that each "side" has caused the other and in finding ways to heal together (through visibly shared grief and through the profound trauma-healing and reconciliation work that would have to be done)
(And before I proceed I'd just like to say that unlike most israelis & jews, I'm fully aware and acknowledge that the trauma that the inconsiderate newcomer supremacist zionist ideology (and its implementation) has caused the local people over the last century - in its brutal ruthless cruel project to disposses, throw out, take over, dehumanize, torture and erase of the local people in Palestine - is many many orders of magnitude greater than the trauma caused to the zionist newcomers by the resistence of the local people to being dispossesed, massacred, abused and driven out of their home. If anyone wants resources to learn more about this, I can provide it later..
This capacity mentioned above, to step out of one's bubble and hear/see the humanity of another before seeing a label (and the stories attached to the label), requires having CONTACT between the "sides" so that they may hear each other's stories and each other's pain, but this contact is prevented and denied becasue of the incredible dominance of the right-wing sectarian nationalist divisive ideology in both sides.
IMHO, what allows this ongoing horror to happen (not only today but for more than a century now) is that there is such a total SEPARATION AND DISCONNECTION between the "sides" (this is one of the greatest successes of nationalism driven by the ultra-wealthy ruling class, to divide and tribalistically pit against each other those who for centuries lived together, before the introduction of the divisive nationalist mind virus to the region) SEPARATION AND DISCONNECTION so that people from both "sides" have no full understanding of the life experience & trauma experience of those on the "other side".
From what I see, this total DISCONNECTION is exactly what allows people to cheer when "our hero fighters" (whom the other side calls invaders/dispossesors or terrorists) murder, torture, oppress, abuse, slaughter and bomb "them", because each side says "they are evil people who only want to harm us, take our land and kill us/kick us out", and each side has countless examples of actions by the other side that are supposed to "prove" the supposed rightness of their claim.
Each "side" is enclosed and contained within its own SECTARIAN BUBBLE and tells itself its own story, about its trauma and difficulties, and is completely unaware of the life experience and trauma of the "other side".
And so, when the other side reacts (in what it calls self-defense) then the first side interprets it as an attack (becasue of its DISCONNECTION from the stories and sense-making of the other side) and tells a story that "those people on the other side" are evil monsters who only want to harm us for no reason.
It's quite amazing how similar the story that each side tells itself to the story that the other side tells itself, it is practically the SAME STORY - we are the victims here who are only protecting ourselves from the aggression of those evil people over there who only want to harm us and hate us for no reason. We have no one to talk to and negotiate with, they are not human beings, they are sons of Satan who hate us from birth, who only want to destroy us and take our land and kick us out - each side speaks the exact same stories!!
And all this lack of understanding happens simply because there is NO CONTACT between the "sides". This is the tremendous success of nationalism/tribalism, there is a complete disconnection, so that I don't hear the story that the other side tells itself and how they make sense of things, I don't experience their life experience, I don't know anything about their pain, I don't realize how much the story they tell themselves is the same as the story I tell myself, and therefore there is no possibility of experiencing the HUMANITY (the fear, the search for security) that motivates the other, just as it motivates me, and therefore also indifference to the trauma that the other goes through at the hands of "our heroic fighters"
It seems to me that the main engine that drives all of this is that people in the region (and especially Israelis) undergo a very deep conditioning/indoctrination from a very young age into a separative and SECTARIAN RELIGIOUS-NATIONALIST IDENTITY and learn to believe (contrary to what reality shows) that this separate and divisive identity is what will provide them with protection and security, even though it does THE EXACT OPPOSITE!!
This indoctrination into the separative exclucivist religious-nationalist identity is much more than just mental brainwashing, but it is mainly the conditioning the of the nervous system and emotional system into IDENTIFICATION with a nationalist-religious label, which causes the emotions and the body to react very strongly to anything that they teach me is at odds with this identity.
Strong reaction that comes from the fact that the body/brain/nervous system has been conditioned to learn - through constant repetition in the first years of life (when the personality is formed), again and again and again, and without questioning - this is who I am, that I am this national-religious identity. And once this IDENTIFICATION happens, then anything that doesn't recognize the supposed "supreme importance" of this sectarian identity is immediately perceived as a threat to my very existence (becasue my nervous system has been conditioned to equate my existence with this label)
It seems to me that those who have fallen into the abyss of sectarianism/tribalism/nationalism (and especially those whose tribalism also involves divisive, excluding, supremacist and God-denying sectarian religious beliefs) have been conditioned to believe that their saftey & security will be found through group separation and exclusion and a sense of uniqueness from the rest of humanity (a feeling that is so deeply imprinted in those who believe that the label of "Jewish" is who they actually are), that security will be found through an attempt to ensure the safety of ONLY one group of people, ONLY those who were born into the "correct" religious-national label (and anyone who was not born into the correct national-religious label can go to hell. She matters a little but not nearly as much as the Chosen People, the most valuable and important people in the universe). It sounds ridiculous, but this is a VERY common & mainstream worldview in the extremely nationalist, ethnocentric, fascistic & exclucivist Israeli society, and it plays a huge part in what brought about this conflict in the first place, since the very early days of sectarian supremacist zionist nationalism, and its arrival in the middle east from (mostly) eastern Europe.
To me, this is precisely the blindness of the sectarian nationalist-religious identity: trying to create security ONLY for one group, ONLY for a part of the whole (through division, exclusion, separation from the whole and working to secure the narrow interests of only one nationalist-religious identity), such an attempt - of trying to create security ONLY for the part and ignore what this does to the whole - such an attempt can NEVER ever lead to real security but exactly the opposite - this is the number one factor that creates constant antagonism, conflict and INSECURITY!!!
TRYING TO CREATE SECTARIAN SECURITY (SECURITY ONLY FOR THE PART AND NOT THE WHOLE, ONLY FOR ME AND MY GROUP, AT THE EXPENSE OF OTHERS) IS THE VERY CAUSE OF INSECURITY!!!
In my understanding, tribalism/nationalism and sectarian divisive exoteric religion (which is the POLAR OPPOSITE of what God/Consciousness actually is) is the great disease and blindness of humanity. Is the most destructive and deadly invention that humans have ever invented (not because we are bad, but because we have not psychologically matured yet, and are still blind, and in our innocent blindness we believed that this is how we will find safety & security, without understanding what we are doing, without realizing that we are actually creating constant INSECURITY when we search for security through the sectarian divisive nationalist-religious identity, when we seek security ONLY for the carriers of this specific identity, ONLY for the part and not for the whole).
To me it is absolutely clear that it is the number one cause of human division, separation, antagonism, hatred, conflict, violence, murder and war.
IMHO, the bloodshed can never stop and there will never be security for anyone unless we have the courage to step out of our sectarian bubble and actually listen and truly understand the profound trauma we inflict (this is true for both sides but especially so for Israelis who are incredibly brainwashed and ignorant of the UNSPEAKABLE HORROR CRUELTY INHUMANITY AND TRAUMA that supremacist right-wing zionist newcomers/colonizers inflicted and inflict on the local people.
Without feeling the pain endured and understanding what palestinians are actually reacting to, indoctrinated supremacist zionists will just continue with the murder, abuse, dispossession, cruelty, throwing-out, massacre and erasure of the local people, and keep telling themselves the story that 'they are hostile to us for no reason whatsoever, simply becasue they are evil antisemite monsters by nature..'
I agree too. The therapist Nitsan Joy Gordon is establishing An Army Of Healers In The Middle East, creating Safe Havens To Feel, Heal And Promote Change. As Richard Rohr said, " Pain that is not transformed is transmitted". It’s important to remember that extreme trauma not only reshapes the lives of those who actually live through overwhelming events. It is a train that rumbles through history, depositing its load into the lives of new generations as well.” Nitsan Joy Gordon wrote the book: Together Beyond Words, Women on a Quest for Peace in the Middle East
I share your concern however acknowledgement of all the pain inflicted will only encourage continued vengeful responses. All parties must work towards the universal sacrifice of accepting what has been done must be forgotten. That was then, this is now.
So agree! Healing trauma and facing grief is the number one task to be addressed in all areas of our world from wars to environmental destruction... Pain is only ever inflicted by those who are themselves in pain. While people are hurting they cannot holistically hold the realities of the world - hurt people look though tainted glasses that only reflects back their own pain. Pain/trauma is passed down and amplified at each generation while capacity to grieve is being depleted at every generation...
The genocide in Gaza is a tip of a massive iceberg. Some deeper layers include a general colonial approach to non-western regions of the globe, which asserts itself not just through land grab and coups and military occupation, but advertisements, economical models, educational models, culture theft... if we address the tip of the iceberg as if the rest of it doesn't exist, we might be breeding more tips with an illusion of peace making.
To avoid vengeance should not mean to stay open to be exploited in many subtle ways. One example of the general existence of Israel in our region, their intelligence service in alignment with it's western allies have been investing in breaking down the muslim countries in the region into "manageable" pieces. It is already executed for Iraq and Syria, and Iran and Turkey have been in line. This happens through supporting internal groups who are basically fashists (extremists) in thought and weakening the moderate and wise unifying voices.
When you call for a peace plan, as beautiful and comprehensive as this, shouldn't that at least address one layer below the tip of the iceberg, which is a sectarian way of deep manipulation of US and its colonial allies to stop?
One more example, RFK Jr. in an interview called Israeli state "the blooming of democracy in a desert of values"
Until such a view of the middle east exists, where a colonial ethno-state which has been the cause of a lot of chaos in the region is seen as a blooming, and a region which is rich in culture and values (of course not aligned with the western materialistic value system) is seen as a desert void of value, how many deep manipulations can sprout from that fertile ground when it has a grip on the most powerful state in the world?
It is interesting that one intelligent man, with an intention towards empathy and understanding, can research this seemingly intractable problem for a few months and come up with basically sane suggestions that (in my opinion) cut to the chase of the whole thing. Another very bright individual, Tom Atlee, asked ChatGPT the same problem and got an amazingly similar answer when pressed to be it's most creative. See: https://www.tomatleeblog.com/archives/175328936
Thank you for sharing this Alan, it is creative in a way. The inquiry and the article as a whole is based on reducing an important, and maybe the most important element of the context to a level that it exists only cosmetically, and that is the settler colonial nature of the political entity as we know as Israel today. As Daniel Mate puts it "an extremely powerful being, systematically and uninterrupted for 75 years, forcing itself upon an indigenous people with minimum power (political, military, economical) who simply want to keep their homes, lands and dignity." If that is not maintained as an important element of the context, the rest can become merely play with words to consciously or unconsciously justify that imbalance.
As neutral and impartial this text aims to be, it is not!
E.g.:
"Amnesty in exchange for disarmament"
Disarment of both sides? Just the Palestinian side?
"Regional powers (Qatar, Egypt, Iran, Saudi Arabia, etc.) agree to stop arming Hamas and other militant organizations, a commitment enforced by international monitors."
Good, but What about the military aid of the USA to Israel? What about Israel.giving away nukes?
Right to return?
It's implicit that both sides are not deemed equally. And that in that envisioned peace oppression and unbalance still takes place.
Maybe I was expecting too much from someone who supports RFK, someone who actively supports the ongoing genocide
I think that you misunderstand Charles' approach and core attitude here. He does not claim (nor should he) that he is impartial or neutral. Who is impartial here? Who judges impartiality? And 'neutral'? If he was neutral he would not have been aching about the situation and writing this essay.
A lot of his suggestions are, fair and reasonable but far from being implementable, at this stage. But they are not _impossible_ as his outlook integrates idealism and pragmatism.
Importantly, he prioritises stability, peace and reconciliation over justice. Your demands or expectations, on the other hand, are anchored in your view of justice/fairness and are far from being practical (eg., the US will not stop militarily supporting Israel anytime soon and, likewise, nor will it stop supporting Egypt and Saudi Arabia). Insisting on them may make one feel righteous but at the cost of thousands more victims, mostly Palestinians.
Why would anyone surrender there arms if the other side gets to keep them? That’s suicidal. No one would do that, last the militia of a people that has been stolen their land and since then mistreated and oppressed in their own homeland by an intruder supported by the US’ economic and military power.
It’s exactly the type of rhetoric that encourages the conflict to continue. And it is why it is crucial that the same people who suffer from the conflict, on all sides, decide to end it because all kind of ideologists sitting in their home far away from the frontlines are not going to help them do so. Nice of you to condemn the Palestinians to another 50 years of suffering.
Charles writes in the article 'Israel will not stop the war on its own, nor reverse the oppressive policies that stoked it. The world must stop allowing it. The United States in particular must stop providing the weapons that allow its continuation. A total offensive weapons embargo to all parties to the conflict is enforceable if regional and global powers are serious about it. With the addition of other sanctions, the world can force those whose hearts are closed to agree to halt the war, temporarily.'
"I have given up on changing Kennedy’s mind on this issue, but I have faith in the goodness of his heart and its power to orient him toward peace."
I am sorry, I do not believe in the basic goodness of the heart of someone who can see thousands and thousands of dead children, and declare -- while this slaughter is ongoing -- that Gazans are "the most pampered people on Earth." These are people who, for years, have been held to a barely-over starvation diet by Israel.
RFK's constant parroting of ancient, barely credible talking points, along with frankly hateful rhetoric like the "pampered" statement above, is a sign of a person who has closed himself off to reality. In exchange, he has opened himself up to a whole lot of billionaire cash from people like from the Adelsons, which is what is making his whole campaign possible.
A person who can be bought off on one issue can easily be bought off on another.
I was enthusiastic about RFK's campaign when it began, not least because people of known integrity like Dennis Kucinich were working on it. Well, Kucinich walked away, and has started an independent campaign that deserves people's support and might actually make a difference.
I've strongly disagreed with RFK's support for Zionism since last June when he repudiated Roger Waters. However, I don't believe that RFK has been "bought off." Tragically, I believe that RFK is actually a true believer in Zionism. I think of it as religious belief or if your daughter was "in love" with the tattooed biker dude.
You can't "reason" people out of such a belief. Charles has tried. RFK's former campaign manager Dennis Kucinich has said that "there is no greater friend of Israel" than RFK. I wish that he had the capacity on this issue to follow his own rejoinder on the vaccine issue "Show me where I'm wrong." What a tragic waste. It appears that RFK may have sacrificed his campaign on the altar of Zionism. I would argue a case of misplaced integrity.
This is not "misplaced integrity," at least not in my opinion. I can't see into someone's soul, but I remember seeing a particular video of RFK early in the campaign. He had tweeted out something indicating his support of Roger Waters -- Waters was, I believe, saying something about avoiding an escalation in Ukraine. RFK then took down the tweet, saying that he didn't want to associate himself with Waters' support of Palestine. The video is here, near the beginning, if you want to watch it: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xut9J3OzwV8
When RFK was speaking, I had a pretty strong intuition: "This man is lying, and he knows he is lying." You can decide for yourself whether you feel the same thing. Many politicians have no soul at all, and will lie with no sense of discomfort, and sometimes seem to believe their lies. But RFK still has a soul (or at least did, back at the beginning of the campaign), so it made him uneasy and embarrassed to say these things, especially since his support for Israel is in COMPLETE contradiction to his supposed desire to keep America out of its endless foreign entanglements. Watch the video and tell me afterwards whether you still think this is "misplaced integrity" -- or in fact a lack of integrity that is making him take these positions.
Either RFK is a bonafide zionist or he has been reminded of what happened to his father and uncle. Look up e.g. @KevinBarrett here on Substack for details.
Last June, Waters got called a "antisemite" for showing a picture of Anne Frank at a concert in Berlin. I believe RFK tweeted in support because back in January '22, RFK got called an "antisemite" for mentioning Ann Frank during his speech at the "Defeat the Mandates" rally in DC. I think that RFK lied when he claimed that he didn't know about Waters pro-Palestine history (he also claimed that Waters showed a picture of RFK at the concert (!!) and that was why he tweeted). Like any politician, or lawyer, RFK can lie when he feels it necessary, although I think he is generally truthful.
I wrote "misplaced integrity" because I think RFK actually believes Israel's hasbara on the Gaza Genocide; he probably believes he is taking a courageous stand despite it costing him support and voters. We can agree to disagree. I understand, since it took me many months to come to the conclusion that RFK actually believes the BS. I just couldn't believe it.
Ashkay, in the beginning of RFK Jrs public revelations on the Middle East policy I was confused and felt betrayed, as many did. Did you ever see the movie "Eastern Promises"? Viggo Mortenson's character successfully infiltrated the Russian mob in London, no easy task! But not even his closest friends could know. I wondered. I dreamed. But then I woke up from that dream. He seems to not be the peace candidate we need after all.
Akshay - I actually had to do a double take reading this as I couldn't recall writing it because it's everythng I've said and felt! Thank God we're not neighbors or we'd be outside talking politics all night or day long! You nailed it!
Kennedys stance on Gaza is a bit shocking to say the least. And supposedly he's Catholic. Keep in mind he's one of ELEVEN children and how many grandchildren are in the Kennedy clan? How could he possibly stand idly by and do nothing? Or worse, basically insinuate they deserve it. Wwwwwwhat a total asshole. Most pampered people in the world and they have no right to defend themselves. Whoever gave him that advise, obviously is controlled opposition.
I too was a staunch supporter during Covid. He was articulate and certainly knew his facts and his history. Words used to describe his were genuine, honest and smart. Had he remained true to his feelings and chosen Kucinich as his VP - he would've been the next POTUS hands down.
Instead he went all doolally tap.
Look, I completely understand the mere threat of the Israel Lobby and how they'll deliberately support your opposition instead if you dare go against them. But that's exactly what everyone's craving. All it'll take is ONE person to say eff off and that'll finally be the end. Right now 90% of the entire world supports Palestine and therefore there is no better time than this very moment in history to stand up to these bastards.
If Trump can net 60 million dollars in donations by being "convicted" think of the money Bobby could've raised if he stood up to the Israel Lobby? Wasn't his entire campaign message based on eradicating corruption? He had a real "in" with the college kids and younger generation. He should've gotten his ass out there and stood with them. Stein was proudly arrested for doing so and I believe Susan Sarandon was black listed for also appearing at a pro-Palestinians march back in November.
The problem with Bobby is that he's weak and insecure. The worst traits you could possibly posses as POTUS. Most severe addicts are, insecure. Why Dubya surrounded himself with strong woman. But, Kennedy's also extremely uxorious. His wife is behind everythng - it reeks of Hollywood. That was also his downfall in addition to having his daughter in law running his campaign. The shirtless workout video was a disaster of epic proportion. Just who exactly were they pandering to? His sartorial choices are even worse. This is all about her saying, look at my hot husband!! Seriously? The world is on fire and THIS is what she focuses on? His attire? What's next, his baby blue eyes?
Everythng just went straight to his head. I truly believe he never had even the slightest inkling to run for POTUS until his interviews during Covid (gave and received) really began resonating with everyone. I don't vote, never did nor will. I am neither Republican nor Democrat and for the first time ever I actually had hope someone could possibly save what little is left of this Country.
I thought Kucinich's line during Bobby's announcement was the best. Bobby can't be bought or bullied. WELL . . . . that certainly didn't pan out well now didn't it? He could've easily started a grass roots campaign and he would've easily pulled in more money than all the rest. All he need to do is stand up against Israel. Ironically his support is even worse than Biden and Trump combined.
Akshay, that "pampered" statement has often been taken out of context. He said “The Palestinian people are arguably the most pampered people by international aid organizations.” And he went on to say that Hamas' leadership got rich by stealing that aid money. People can debate whether that statement is true or false, but to correct the record, that is what he actually said.
A person of minimal integrity who wants to opine on these issues might want to read the long history of Israel's destruction of the capacity of Palestinians to feed and care for themselves -- from bombing chicken factories and greenhouses, to preventing boats from going too far past the shoreline, to preventing the importation of materials to support the production of agricultural goods, to poisoning Palestinian wells with pathogenic bacteria during "Operation Cast Thy Bread" in 1947-48. There is a massive human rights literature on these subjects, amply documented by people like Sara Roy at Harvard.
Only a psychopath would lock someone up in a room, carefully monitor and screen the entrance and exit of every item, and then yell at their prisoner, "You're so spoiled! Why don't you take care of yourself!"
International aid is necessary because Israel has made it necessary -- the alternative is starving all of Gaza, which seems to be fine with many people in Israel, but most decent human beings have a problem with it.
Pampered, indeed. Please don't try to defend an indefensible remark.
My heart breaks for the Palestinian people and it breaks for humanity. People are so divided that the hate and need to be right is more important than protecting the children of the world. It blows my mind that even your follower are heartless to the brutality and trauma unfolding daily on the innocent children of Palestine. I ask those who are in blind support of Israel revenge slaughter, what would you and your men do if you yourselves had been locked in to a small area of land for decades, with your lives controlled by the neighbouring people that despise you and want you gone. What would you and your men do if you underwent daily humiliation and had no hope for freedom in your life. I know that all men, of any place on this planet would fight for freedom. Freedom is an inherent right for every single human. No people should have the right to hold others captive.
I wonder, Is empathy and putting ones self in the others shoes not possible for some? I wonder why some people can not see both sides of the story.
Your plan is a good one but, I'm afraid that the peaceful empathetic people of the world will need to figure out a way to peacefully overpower the heartless. How do we do this? Do we start armies of peace? How does an army of peace not just get plowed down by the war machine? I know there are more of us. But how does peace and love overpower hate and violence in the physical.
When will we wake up to truth that we are all one and the harm we inflict on the other, comes right back to ourselves.
I pray these days, way more than I ever have. Prayer feels too small but I know I'm putting my energy in the right direction. It feels hopeless but my heart knows that humans are in this trial for their own evolution. Will we triumph and move beyond this world of war, fear and competition we have be creating. Can we change the trajectory of humanity when we spend more energy on creating love, unity and peace. I believe we can. I can see a peaceful future. If enough of us can see it, we can create it. May we learn to live in the way that our heart, informs our minds.
Unfortunately the only way this ends is through war! All the experts agree, the war mongering USA is in it's final throws, thank God! How many millions upon millions of people have we killed and displaced? Does anyone believe there would be such a catastrophic illegal immigrant problems throughout the entire world if it were NOT for the actions of the USA - the largest terrorist organization? How many Countries have we now destroyed? Do you really think these people wouldn't prefer to remain in there OWN Country which we either destroyed and/or simply destabilized. Finally people are waking up to the lie that the USA Is the greatest Country in the world. Our military is now at it's lowest point since the end of WWII. We have a 70% obesity rate - IN THE MILITARY! Is there any wonder why they are so desperate they now let trans people enlist?
Listen to Putin's speeches and how he advocates for peace throughout the world. This is just one of the myriad reasons why they hate him. It's been written those who're truly in charge in Washington fear him the very most. He's preaching for multipolarity and peace in the middle east. And they know he's capable of accomplishing it. So let the games begin.
I believe this will be a very quick war. The USA and NATO have been depleted of everything. I believe it was also a brilliant chess move on Putin's part to deliberately lure them in to Ukraine. While everyone else was depleting their military cache's, Putin was building his up. He already has the best and most sophisticated armaments and has 2 million trained soldiers ready to go, most of which, wanted to join. China has done the same as has Turkey and Iran. You're looking at close to 8 million troops standing by with some of the most sophisticated technology, versus what? The USA and NATO.? And no one in their right mind (or not) is going to use nuclear weapons. That's just a scare tactic.
Furthermore I also believe they deliberately sold us out to China. There is no other reasonable explanation how the greatest cities in the world in the USA - were destroyed in such a short time period. They certainly had no problem arresting all the anti-war college students but when it came to stopping the massive crime spree in NYC, San Francisco, Chicago, Los Angeles, and now even Tennessee, they did nothing and intentionally let it deteriorate. It's just so blindingly obvious.
each of us on this planet has to seek love and peace in ourselves and in each other. we are One. i recall , many years ago, when bush senior started the Gulf war. i was watching it unfold on tv. at that time, i was at odds with my husband. and i realized that how can there be peace on earth if i am not able to have peace in my home. it begins with each and every soul on this planet. as we awaken in Love, that love will extend out and heal the world. morphic resonance. the 100 monkwy. less time is needed critiquing one another , more time is needed observing what motivates us. love or fear. our very thoughts , words and action. we are the One we have been waiting for. we are responsible for what we create.
Sadly, as I acknowledge that you are well-intended in your efforts, I fear you are extremely deluded in your proposals. You propose Hamas give up its weapons, but not Israel. You make no mention of the 750,00 Palestinians forced to flee their land in 1948 without the right to return. You fail to acknowledge that most of the settlers on the land that became and now is Israel were not fleeing Nazi genocide nor other potential harm. You insanely treat the Israelis and Palestinians as equals who can forgive, if not forget, and move on. And, in my opinion, the most egregious statement you make is that we ignore history. Historical facts must be learned and learned from, including the colonial genocide of the indigenous "savages" in the Americas as well as the colonial genocide of the indigenous Palestinians first under British and then under Israeli. occupation.
Agree. While the Palestinians and neighbouring Arab states made many stupid and too extreme decisions since 1948, Israel (and the Western allies plus Germany) is the thief here. One that got away with it and as such took and takes ever more.
Its ignorance of UN resolutions demanding that they give back some of the land was wrong but understandable for a long time in light of the too extreme unrealistic demands and existential threats of too many Arabs up until Oslo.
Its settlement policy in the West Bank was always wrong and it is the real roadblock to any solution now.
That one also shows that it wasn't sincere about Oslo at all, and when it provoked its demise via Sharon's visit on the temple mountain it destroyed any humanistic persons sympathy for Israel and its credibility.
But in the real world, we all know about all the many interests, drivers and beneficiaries of this mess and that it is really not supposed to end, or only with a total eradication of Palestinians from all of Greater Israel.
That mindset has firmly been instilled into our and Israeli leaders since and thanks to WW2 and its arguably successful redrawings of the maps and/thanks to its forced mass displacements followed by a winner's terms peace in Europe.
The only real question left is whether the economically strengthened and ever more populous neighbouring Arab world will unite and try to prevent this from happening via force and declaring war on Israel and as such on its Western customers and arms suppliers then, or at some later point after the facts have been created but it itself been become more independent via the BRICS shift, and whether that will then result in WW3 or 4 or not and who will 'win' it.
Charles I am with you 100%! This is what needs to happen.
I am so skeptical that Hamas and all the powers that be (in Israel too by the way- where I live) will accept this in my lifetime. I say this with sorrow.
Humans have apparently not evolved yet to that point of forgiveness.
Thank you Charles. I had the labels 'jewish' and 'israeli' placed on me at birth. These are all excellent suggestions, but i think it might be missing a key point that will derail any such attempts, and that is that the majority of israelis have been deeply conditioned to NOT view the local people as equal human beings, conditioned to view those who carry a specific religious-nationalist label as more valuable than others. IMHO, that is a fundamental mentality that derails every non-genocidal attempt at ending the conflict (becasue its "logic" provides only one path for supposed "security" - elimination of the "evil other").
IMHO the path forward out of this horror is not strictly in political arrangemnts but rather it lies in the heart of people, in the ability/capacity to see the humanity of another before viewing them as a label (palestinian, israeli, muslim, jew), as well as it lies in coming to terms with and acknowledging the IMMENSE AND PROFOUND TRAUMA that each "side" has caused the other and in finding ways to heal together (through visibly shared grief and profound trauma-healing and reconciliation work that would have to be done)
(And before I proceed I'd just like to say that unlike most Jews, I'm fully aware that the trauma that the new-comer supremacist zionist ideology & movement has caused the local people over the last century - in its brutal ruthless cruel project to disposses, throw out, take over, annihilate, dehumanize and erase of the local people in Palestine - is many many orders of magnitude greater than the trauma caused to the zionist immigrants by the resistence of the local people to being dispossesed, massacred, abused and driven out of their home). If people want resources to learn about this, I can provide it later..
This capacity mentioned above, to step out of one's bubble and hear/see the humanity of another before seeing a label (and the stories attached to the label), requires having CONTACT between the "sides" so that they may hear each other's stories and each other's pain, but this contact is prevented and denied becasue of the incredible dominance of the sectarian nationalist divisive ideology in both sides.
I notice that what allows this ongoing horror to happen (not only today but for more than a century now) is that there is such a total SEPARATION AND DISCONNECTION between the "sides" (this is one of the greatest successes of nationalism driven by the ultra-wealthy ruling class, to divide and tribalistically pit against each other those who for centuries lived together, before the introduction of the divisive nationalist mind virus to the region) SEPARATION AND DISCONNECTION so that people from both "sides" have no full understanding of the life experience & trauma experience of those on the "other side".
From what I see, this total DISCONNECTION is exactly what allows people to cheer when "our hero fighters" (whom the other side calls invaders/dispossesors or terrorists) murder, torture, oppress, abuse, slaughter and bomb "them", because each side says "they are evil people who only want to harm us, take our land and kill us/kick us out", and each side has countless examples of actions by the other side that are supposed to "prove" the supposed rightness of their claim.
Each "side" is enclosed and contained within its own SECTARIAN BUBBLE and tells itself its own story, about its trauma and difficulties, and is completely unaware of the life experience and trauma of the "other side".
And so, when the other side reacts (in what it calls self-defense) then the first side interprets it as an attack (becasue of its DISCONNECTION from the stories and sense-making of the other side) and tells a story that "those people on the other side" are evil monsters who only want to harm us for no reason.
It's quite amazing how similar the story that each side tells itself to the story that the other side tells itself, it is practically the SAME STORY - we are the victims here who are only protecting ourselves from the aggression of those evil people over there who only want to harm us and hate us for no reason. We have no one to talk to and negotiate with, they are not human beings, they are sons of Satan who hate us from birth, who only want to destroy us and take our land and kick us out - each side speaks the exact same stories!!
And all this lack of understanding happens simply because there is NO CONTACT between the "sides". This is the tremendous success of nationalism/tribalism, there is a complete disconnection, so that I don't hear the story that the other side tells itself and how they make sense of things, I don't experience their life experience, I don't know anything about their pain, I don't realize how much the story they tell themselves is the same as the story I tell myself, and therefore there is no possibility of experiencing the HUMANITY (the fear, the search for security) that motivates the other, just as it motivates me, and therefore also indifference to the trauma that the other goes through at the hands of "our heroic fighters"
It seems to me that the main engine that drives all of this is that people in the region (and especially Israelis) undergo a very deep conditioning/indoctrination from a very young age into a separative and SECTARIAN RELIGIOUS-NATIONALIST IDENTITY and learn to believe (contrary to what reality shows) that this separate and divisive identity is what will provide them with protection and security, even though it does THE EXACT OPPOSITE!!
This indoctrination into the separative exclucivist religious-nationalist identity is much more than just mental brainwashing, but it is mainly the conditioning the of the nervous system and emotional system into IDENTIFICATION with a nationalist-religious label which causes the emotions and the body to react very strongly to anything that they teach me is at odds with this identity.
Strong reaction that comes from the fact that the body/brain/nervous system has been conditioned to learn - through constant repetition in the first years of life (when the personality is formed), again and again and again, and without questioning - this is who I am, that I am this national-religious identity.
It seems to me that those who have fallen into the abyss of sectarianism/tribalism/nationalism (and especially those whose tribalism also involves divisive, excluding, supremacist and God-denying sectarian religious beliefs) have been conditioned to believe that their saftey & security will be found through group separation and exclusion and a sense of uniqueness from the rest of humanity (a feeling that is so deeply imprinted in those who believe that the label of "Jewish" is who they actually are), that security will be found through an attempt to ensure the safety of ONLY one group of people, only those who were born into the "correct" religious-national label (and anyone who was not born into the correct national-religious label can go to hell. She matters a little but not nearly as much as the Chosen People, the most valuable and important people in the universe). It sounds ridiculous, but this is a VERY common & mainstream worldview in the extremely nationalist, ethnocentric, fascistic & exclucivist Israeli society, and it plays a huge part in what brought about this conflict in the first place, since the very early days of sectarian exclucivist zionist nationalism, and its arrival in the middle east from (mostly) eastern Europe.
To me, this is precisely the blindness of the sectarian nationalist-religious identity: trying to create security ONLY for one group, only for a part of the whole (through division, exclusion, separation from the whole and working to secure the narrow interests of only one nationalist-religious identity), such an attempt - of trying to create security ONLY for the part and ignore what this does to the whole - such an attempt can NEVER ever lead to real security but exactly the opposite - this is the number one factor that creates constant conflict and INSECURITY!!!
TRYING TO CREATE SECTARIAN SECURITY (SECURITY ONLY FOR THE PART AND NOT THE WHOLE, ONLY FOR ME AND MY GROUP) IS THE VERY CAUSE OF INSECURITY!!!
In my understanding, tribalism/nationalism and sectarian divisive exoteric religion (which is the POLAR OPPOSITE of what God/Consciousness actually is) is the great disease and blindness of humanity. Is the most destructive and deadly invention that humans have ever invented (not because we are bad, but because we have not psychologically matured yet, and are still blind, and in our inmocent blindness we believed that this is how we will find safety & security, without understanding what we are doing, without realizing that we are actually creating constant INSECURITY when we search for security through the sectarian divisive nationalist-religious identity, when we seek security ONLY for the part and not for the whole).
To me it is absolutely clear that it is the number one cause of division, separation, antagonism, hatred, conflict, violence, murder and war..
IMHO, the bloodshed can never stop and there will never be security for anyone unless we have the courage to step out of our sectarian bubble and actually listen and truly understand the profound trauma we inflict (this is true for both sides but especially so for Israelis who are incredibly brainwashed and ignorant of the UNSPEAKABLE HORROR CRUELTY INHUMANITY AND TRAUMA that supremacist right-wing zionist immigrants/colonizers inflicted and inflict on the local people.
Without feeling the pain endured and understanding what palestinians are actually reacting to, indoctrinated supremacist zionists will just continue with the murder, abuse, dispossession, cruelty, throwing-out, massacre and erasure of the local people, and keep telling themselves the story that 'they are hostile to us for no reason, simply becasue they are evil antisemite monsters by nature..'
Humans are addicted to blaming their problems on the “enemy”, instead of looking in the mirror. Your vision of peace is as attainable as sobriety for addicts. It will take a true hitting bottom for us to give up our hate. I hope we can attain that vision someday but at this point in time we are headed to the bottom.
The mirroring effect is a tricky thing to use here. Of course life has a mirroring effect, in a spiritual sense, yet for the same reason it should be used with proper context. Just for simple example, if person A intentionally (for a gain) harms a loved one of person B, it would be one of the most insensitive and in many ways misleading thing to say to person B to consider how the situation is mirroring her / him... if you go to judge when someone steals your car you wouldn't expect to hear: so what is the thief mirroring for you?!
If someone steals my car, I don’t consider stealing a car from him or someone who looks like him as revenge. One crime does not offset another crime. It doesn’t justify the second crime. I don’t think the victim is responsible for the crime, but ask them to look at their response to the crime. We can choose how to respond.
Not everyone can afford insurance but drive to work anyway to feed their families. And let's hope the police are not corrupted thugs. I agree with you in spirit but there are a lot of variables.
Two things are going to turn this all around. The USA getting attacked and/or the Earthquake along the Cascadia Subduction Zone, which will kill millions and take out a large swath of the West Coast. Although I read about this years ago in the NYer magazine it's getting a lot of attention as of late:
I applaud your effort and your intention, and I of course applaud your honesty and integrity in trying to dialogue with Bobby on these issues. I still don't understand why he's so bizarrely incongruent in his views on Israel/Palestine vs. his stated views elsewhere about US empire and imperialism and peace.
As for your essay's contents, there's a lot I could say but I'll confine it to a couple of things. You suggest that the conflict in Sudan highlights a kind of asymmetry in the attention that the Gaza/Israel conflict receives. You don't mention the key fact that it is your tax dollars and mine funding genocide directly in Gaza -- that's a rather key difference. The Sudan conflict in its current form is also quite new and is only now starting to come to light how serious it is (yes, earlier phases were quite serious but the new phase only began last year as a local conflict in Khartoum engulfed the country).
It's also the fact that the Israel/Palestine conflict has been for many decades now a huge stain in the fabric of int'l law that puts the lie, year after year, to Western states' professed desire for adherence to int'l law. The US has of course been breaking int'l law when it pleases more generally, Iraq and Libya and Syria, etc., and Russia more recently followed suit with its invasion of Ukraine, but Israel is the only non-P5 nation that gets a "free pass" b/c of the diplomatic umbrella provided by the US decade after decade. Which prompts the question, why?
Why does Israel get a free pass? Well, it's a complex answer but foremost among the explanations is our pay to play system of politics and this is highlighted rather dramatically by recent info showing that not only is AIPAC the biggest funder of GOP candidates in Congress this year -- AIPAC is ten times bigger than the next donor. That should shock everyone.
AIPAC works directly to further the interests of a foreign nation, not the US or our citizens. The Israel Lobby is truly all-pervasive in Congress and the White House and this needs to be known as a first step toward rectifying the situation. Thomas Massie recently revealed to Tucker Carlson that every GOP congressperson has an "AIPAC buddy" that they consult on apparently anything to do with Israel or foreign policy. This is insane.
Until we first recognize and then remedy the massively distorting AIPAC and other Israel Lobby money we will not find any solution for the Palestine conflict b/c every politician, left and right, in Israel knows that the Israel Lobby essentially controls Congress, and has for decades now.
A very simple event somehow changed everything for me. I was sitting outside by the lake with my old lady friends having a drink and waiting for the sun to go down. One of us was ragging on a common friend and, as so often happens, others began to chime in. The woman next to me quietly said to herself and I overheard - ‘I just love everybody.’
This message has returned to my mind repeatedly and has helped me understand that I feel the same way. It sounds so small and trivial when said aloud but it opened my eyes. It was a blessing to hear that and know its truth. It’s not what you do it’s that you are.
s a privileged white person who grew up during the tragedy of apartheid in South Africa, I witnessed the dismantling of this horrific system and the successes and failures of Desmond Tutu's Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC). This essay acknowledges the brokenness of reality, inspires the hope that is desperately needed, and yet brings its own biases and preferences. In South Africa, change did not come because we saw the light but because we felt the heat. It is clear that no political or military solution can end the violence. The war may pause, but it will inevitably break out again unless a different approach is found.
This essay proposes that the solution cannot be found through military means or judicial processes, but rather in the choice to lay down weapons, to forgo the right to hold offenders accountable, and to focus on how to coexist for the sake of posterity, for the sake of getting on with the business of living, for the sake of a future that is secure, peaceful, and prosperous. South Africa found a champion in Nelson Mandela, and the apartheid government recognized this as the only viable way forward. The South African model promised a violence-free transition to equality and peaceful co-existence. The TRC allowed grievances to be heard, forgiveness to be granted, and freedoms to be established. Though it was not perfect in its implementation or effects, it provided South Africa with a pathway to a peaceful transition by giving up the right to reparation for the sake of peace.
I pray for the peace of Israel. I pray for the peace of Palestine. I pray for strong leaders to rise up and forge a way forward based not on justice or military solutions but on forgiveness and peaceful co-existence.
I was going to propose a resolution based on the TRC but now finally finding your heartfelt post, (after reading so many other comments), I am certain that this is the only course of action that will eventually succeed in bring peace to this torn and wounded land. What is required to start with is finding a modern day Nelson Mandela.
I plan to look into it further, and I know that plenty of people including South Africans are under the impression that it was only, or mainly, the Truth and Reconciliation Commission that was the biggest key to ending apartheid in South Africa. I am not sure that is true. There were other actions and sanctioning, and UN actions. I know violence is NOT the answer. But foregoing accountability seems to have exacerbated the plight of the Palestinians, currently, as well as thru the years, with Israel given free rein for more and more human rights abuses and war crimes, escalating towards total ethnic cleansing. I don't mean to offend you, or your sense of what you know, but being there doesn't ALWAYS equate to knowing. There were people AT the Twin Towers or right down the street, at 9/11 that STILL don't know what happened, and may never.
I commend your good intentions, but your proposal is highly biased and flawed. From your sincerity, perhaps that's unintentional, as racism is ingrained in most of us from a young age and requires much deprogramming. Unintentional, but true nonetheless.
Why do I say this?
You call for the disarming of the indigenous people fighting for their homeland, but not the disarming of the colonial settlers, who have taken the land by force. Even calling for both sides or neither side to be disarmed equally, would be biased in favor of Israel.
Furthermore, to call for amnesty for the war criminals in Israel at this point is not far off of calling for amnesty for Nazis. They have knowingly and intentionally murdered tens of thousands of civilians and destroyed an entire area, making life there impossible. As per their plan. To suggest waiving justice for that is ridiculous and inhumane. "Neutrality" in the face of injustice is bias, and cowardice.
Furthermore, to not call for the removal of settlers from *at least* the west bank, is to give a blanket approval of the settlements, which are against international law, violently founded, and blatantly unethical.
Furthermore, you call for outside forces to stop arming native Palestinian militant groups, but you do not call for outside forces to stop arming colonial Israeli militant groups, even though the latter has perpetrated immeasurably more violence and brutality than the former. Truly off the charts.
Your ideals are lofty but your actual proposal is a moral and practical failure.
Phoenix, excellent points. The imbalance and bias you point out is astonishing. CE's proposal seems cobbled together, lacking any foundation in racism, oppression, imperialism, international law, accountability, and trauma. And he arrogantly puts this out as a cure, lol
You may remember my name from the NAAS community (I have started the Right Livelihood monthly meeting a couple years ago). We share multiple similarities in our views and values, while also having different life experiences. Although I have had a good familiarity with the history of the conflict, Oct 7 massacre and the consequent war in Gaza motivated me too to dive deeper and broader into more history literature (in that regard, I can recommend Hillel Cohen, an excellent historian, whose works I discovered this year).
I like most of what you suggested and argued for and the core of your approach corresponds to my approach to the conflict, which is based on the integration of my liberal/humanist values with Buddhist-based universalist morality. My issue is not with the direction and aspiration but with the need to push forward while, at the same time, acknowledging in more specific way than you did, the immediate obstacles: not to deflate the wheels of the cart but in order to anticipate road-blocks as to be able to better deal with them.
Thus writing that "The idea is simple, though its execution might need to proceed in phases" is, certainly, an understatement. Of course there will have to be phases and the main element that is missing from the essay and the plan is: what are the possible next 2-3 steps. I don't expect you to come up with such steps; you are not one of the negotiations team members (I wish you were!) and not a political analyst. I am just pointing out that, before getting to the stage of starting to build trust, there is a phase of lowering the distrust, which would likely require strong intervention of large powers, including US, EU and China as well as influence on regional players like Qatar.
Finally, have you ever heard of the FB group called Israelis & Palestinians for Peace (IP4P)? I know you aren't FB fan... It's the largest group of its kind, having 6,700 members of multiple countries, religions, and ethnic backgrounds. There are heated debates on it, often way too tribal but also some decent discussions taking place. Most Israelis in the group range politically between left-of-centre to far-left of centre (in Israeli terms).
I would like to share your piece there, if you don't mind and give your blog some promo, while at it. Also, they hold occasional zoom meetings with people who are of interest for the various Pro-Palestinians, Pro-Israeli, pro-both folks there and i think that you would make a very different and interesting zoom guest there, if you are interested.
The author is a utopian, creating equivalencies between the oppressed and the oppressor; a “both sides are right / both sides are wrong “ notion which, to qualify as true and sincere, he must also apply to World War II Nazis and Jews.
In his essay I would ask him to substitute Nazi for Israeli and Jew for Palestinian and let’s see whether he will continue to uphold his blurring of distinctions between oppressor and the oppressed.
The gospel peace that Jesus grants begins with an acknowledgement of the overwhelming evil of the Pharisees. These proto-Talmudists were targets of severe invective Jesus employed contra no other group. Whereas for the Roman centurion He reserved among the highest words of praise He ever uttered, “greater faith than this I have not found in all Israel.”
Charles Eisenstein’s equation of the robbed and massacred Palestinians with the homicidal institutionalized racism of war Zionists, as they have weaponized the Talmud Bavli in seeking the extrusion and extermination of the indigenous people of Palestine, is the pipe dream of a naive and seriously uninformed observer who appears to be a man of good heart and spirit.
Lastly, I will take under advisement his supposition that Robert F Kennedy Jr.’s unconscionable support for the genocide in Gaza is due not to venal political and monetary motives, but a deluded misreading of history and current events. But I doubt it.
I want add also that part of the process should be deep grief work and an acknowledgment of all the pain that has been inflicted.
I agree. In reading this post from Charles, I feel this is missing and the need for deeper emotional and somatic processing feels dismissed in a way - especially in the lines about needing to basically 'move on' and letting both sides still believe that they are right. There can be no genuine trust building in the future IMO if there isn't acknowledgement of and responsibility taken for what has been done and how the dehumanization and violence, while committed on 'both sides,' has been extremely lop-sided.
From what I see and read from Charles, he seems to have an opinion that needing to be 'proven right' is strictly an egoic thing that we need to put aside in order to come to peace. On the contrary, what I've learned from my own personal experience (both as a 'victim' and 'oppressor') is that the acknowledgement and validation of what someone has done and the impact it had is a vital component of true repair work. Otherwise, I feel we risk moving into premature 'forgiveness' that may feel spiritually correct but bypasses and keeps buried in our bodies (to come rising back up and out again, whether we want it to or not) the truth of how we feel.
In other words: no justice, no peace.
Rumi:
Out Beyond Ideas of Wrongdoing and Rightdoing
Out beyond ideas of wrongdoing and rightdoing,
There is a field. I'll meet you there.
When the soul lies down in that grass,
The world is too full to talk about.
Ideas, language, even the phrase each other
Doesn't make any sense.
Thich Nhat Hanh quoting from Buddhist texts (translated):
"Hatred will not cease by hatred, but by love alone. This is the ancient law." This is how Southeast Asians chose peace as more precious than justice, and were able heal after horrors.
Think on these.
100% taking responsibilty...
Yes indeed. I had the labels 'jewish' and 'israeli' placed on me at birth and I also view that as key.
IMHO the path forward out of this horror is not strictly in political arrangemnts (that's also important, but secondary) but rather it lies in the heart of people, in the ability/capacity to see the humanity and divine spark of another before viewing them as a label (palestinian, israeli, muslim, jew), and also it lies in coming to terms with and sincerely acknowledging (beyond just mere words, but truly meaning it) the IMMENSE AND PROFOUND TRAUMA that each "side" has caused the other and in finding ways to heal together (through visibly shared grief and through the profound trauma-healing and reconciliation work that would have to be done)
(And before I proceed I'd just like to say that unlike most israelis & jews, I'm fully aware and acknowledge that the trauma that the inconsiderate newcomer supremacist zionist ideology (and its implementation) has caused the local people over the last century - in its brutal ruthless cruel project to disposses, throw out, take over, dehumanize, torture and erase of the local people in Palestine - is many many orders of magnitude greater than the trauma caused to the zionist newcomers by the resistence of the local people to being dispossesed, massacred, abused and driven out of their home. If anyone wants resources to learn more about this, I can provide it later..
This capacity mentioned above, to step out of one's bubble and hear/see the humanity of another before seeing a label (and the stories attached to the label), requires having CONTACT between the "sides" so that they may hear each other's stories and each other's pain, but this contact is prevented and denied becasue of the incredible dominance of the right-wing sectarian nationalist divisive ideology in both sides.
IMHO, what allows this ongoing horror to happen (not only today but for more than a century now) is that there is such a total SEPARATION AND DISCONNECTION between the "sides" (this is one of the greatest successes of nationalism driven by the ultra-wealthy ruling class, to divide and tribalistically pit against each other those who for centuries lived together, before the introduction of the divisive nationalist mind virus to the region) SEPARATION AND DISCONNECTION so that people from both "sides" have no full understanding of the life experience & trauma experience of those on the "other side".
From what I see, this total DISCONNECTION is exactly what allows people to cheer when "our hero fighters" (whom the other side calls invaders/dispossesors or terrorists) murder, torture, oppress, abuse, slaughter and bomb "them", because each side says "they are evil people who only want to harm us, take our land and kill us/kick us out", and each side has countless examples of actions by the other side that are supposed to "prove" the supposed rightness of their claim.
Each "side" is enclosed and contained within its own SECTARIAN BUBBLE and tells itself its own story, about its trauma and difficulties, and is completely unaware of the life experience and trauma of the "other side".
And so, when the other side reacts (in what it calls self-defense) then the first side interprets it as an attack (becasue of its DISCONNECTION from the stories and sense-making of the other side) and tells a story that "those people on the other side" are evil monsters who only want to harm us for no reason.
It's quite amazing how similar the story that each side tells itself to the story that the other side tells itself, it is practically the SAME STORY - we are the victims here who are only protecting ourselves from the aggression of those evil people over there who only want to harm us and hate us for no reason. We have no one to talk to and negotiate with, they are not human beings, they are sons of Satan who hate us from birth, who only want to destroy us and take our land and kick us out - each side speaks the exact same stories!!
And all this lack of understanding happens simply because there is NO CONTACT between the "sides". This is the tremendous success of nationalism/tribalism, there is a complete disconnection, so that I don't hear the story that the other side tells itself and how they make sense of things, I don't experience their life experience, I don't know anything about their pain, I don't realize how much the story they tell themselves is the same as the story I tell myself, and therefore there is no possibility of experiencing the HUMANITY (the fear, the search for security) that motivates the other, just as it motivates me, and therefore also indifference to the trauma that the other goes through at the hands of "our heroic fighters"
It seems to me that the main engine that drives all of this is that people in the region (and especially Israelis) undergo a very deep conditioning/indoctrination from a very young age into a separative and SECTARIAN RELIGIOUS-NATIONALIST IDENTITY and learn to believe (contrary to what reality shows) that this separate and divisive identity is what will provide them with protection and security, even though it does THE EXACT OPPOSITE!!
This indoctrination into the separative exclucivist religious-nationalist identity is much more than just mental brainwashing, but it is mainly the conditioning the of the nervous system and emotional system into IDENTIFICATION with a nationalist-religious label, which causes the emotions and the body to react very strongly to anything that they teach me is at odds with this identity.
Strong reaction that comes from the fact that the body/brain/nervous system has been conditioned to learn - through constant repetition in the first years of life (when the personality is formed), again and again and again, and without questioning - this is who I am, that I am this national-religious identity. And once this IDENTIFICATION happens, then anything that doesn't recognize the supposed "supreme importance" of this sectarian identity is immediately perceived as a threat to my very existence (becasue my nervous system has been conditioned to equate my existence with this label)
It seems to me that those who have fallen into the abyss of sectarianism/tribalism/nationalism (and especially those whose tribalism also involves divisive, excluding, supremacist and God-denying sectarian religious beliefs) have been conditioned to believe that their saftey & security will be found through group separation and exclusion and a sense of uniqueness from the rest of humanity (a feeling that is so deeply imprinted in those who believe that the label of "Jewish" is who they actually are), that security will be found through an attempt to ensure the safety of ONLY one group of people, ONLY those who were born into the "correct" religious-national label (and anyone who was not born into the correct national-religious label can go to hell. She matters a little but not nearly as much as the Chosen People, the most valuable and important people in the universe). It sounds ridiculous, but this is a VERY common & mainstream worldview in the extremely nationalist, ethnocentric, fascistic & exclucivist Israeli society, and it plays a huge part in what brought about this conflict in the first place, since the very early days of sectarian supremacist zionist nationalism, and its arrival in the middle east from (mostly) eastern Europe.
To me, this is precisely the blindness of the sectarian nationalist-religious identity: trying to create security ONLY for one group, ONLY for a part of the whole (through division, exclusion, separation from the whole and working to secure the narrow interests of only one nationalist-religious identity), such an attempt - of trying to create security ONLY for the part and ignore what this does to the whole - such an attempt can NEVER ever lead to real security but exactly the opposite - this is the number one factor that creates constant antagonism, conflict and INSECURITY!!!
TRYING TO CREATE SECTARIAN SECURITY (SECURITY ONLY FOR THE PART AND NOT THE WHOLE, ONLY FOR ME AND MY GROUP, AT THE EXPENSE OF OTHERS) IS THE VERY CAUSE OF INSECURITY!!!
In my understanding, tribalism/nationalism and sectarian divisive exoteric religion (which is the POLAR OPPOSITE of what God/Consciousness actually is) is the great disease and blindness of humanity. Is the most destructive and deadly invention that humans have ever invented (not because we are bad, but because we have not psychologically matured yet, and are still blind, and in our innocent blindness we believed that this is how we will find safety & security, without understanding what we are doing, without realizing that we are actually creating constant INSECURITY when we search for security through the sectarian divisive nationalist-religious identity, when we seek security ONLY for the carriers of this specific identity, ONLY for the part and not for the whole).
To me it is absolutely clear that it is the number one cause of human division, separation, antagonism, hatred, conflict, violence, murder and war.
IMHO, the bloodshed can never stop and there will never be security for anyone unless we have the courage to step out of our sectarian bubble and actually listen and truly understand the profound trauma we inflict (this is true for both sides but especially so for Israelis who are incredibly brainwashed and ignorant of the UNSPEAKABLE HORROR CRUELTY INHUMANITY AND TRAUMA that supremacist right-wing zionist newcomers/colonizers inflicted and inflict on the local people.
Without feeling the pain endured and understanding what palestinians are actually reacting to, indoctrinated supremacist zionists will just continue with the murder, abuse, dispossession, cruelty, throwing-out, massacre and erasure of the local people, and keep telling themselves the story that 'they are hostile to us for no reason whatsoever, simply becasue they are evil antisemite monsters by nature..'
I agree too. The therapist Nitsan Joy Gordon is establishing An Army Of Healers In The Middle East, creating Safe Havens To Feel, Heal And Promote Change. As Richard Rohr said, " Pain that is not transformed is transmitted". It’s important to remember that extreme trauma not only reshapes the lives of those who actually live through overwhelming events. It is a train that rumbles through history, depositing its load into the lives of new generations as well.” Nitsan Joy Gordon wrote the book: Together Beyond Words, Women on a Quest for Peace in the Middle East
https://leseditionsdunona.com/en/together-beyond-words-eng/
Thanks for this I will look her up! I would rather not call it an Army though...the connotations are obvious. Thanks
I share your concern however acknowledgement of all the pain inflicted will only encourage continued vengeful responses. All parties must work towards the universal sacrifice of accepting what has been done must be forgotten. That was then, this is now.
I have a good friend in the West Bank who believes too that history should stay in the past where it belongs..
Yes, we need to speak of the terrible trauma people on both sides have endured and see to those wounds before we can ever speak of peace.
So agree! Healing trauma and facing grief is the number one task to be addressed in all areas of our world from wars to environmental destruction... Pain is only ever inflicted by those who are themselves in pain. While people are hurting they cannot holistically hold the realities of the world - hurt people look though tainted glasses that only reflects back their own pain. Pain/trauma is passed down and amplified at each generation while capacity to grieve is being depleted at every generation...
agreed!
Hi Charles,
The genocide in Gaza is a tip of a massive iceberg. Some deeper layers include a general colonial approach to non-western regions of the globe, which asserts itself not just through land grab and coups and military occupation, but advertisements, economical models, educational models, culture theft... if we address the tip of the iceberg as if the rest of it doesn't exist, we might be breeding more tips with an illusion of peace making.
To avoid vengeance should not mean to stay open to be exploited in many subtle ways. One example of the general existence of Israel in our region, their intelligence service in alignment with it's western allies have been investing in breaking down the muslim countries in the region into "manageable" pieces. It is already executed for Iraq and Syria, and Iran and Turkey have been in line. This happens through supporting internal groups who are basically fashists (extremists) in thought and weakening the moderate and wise unifying voices.
When you call for a peace plan, as beautiful and comprehensive as this, shouldn't that at least address one layer below the tip of the iceberg, which is a sectarian way of deep manipulation of US and its colonial allies to stop?
One more example, RFK Jr. in an interview called Israeli state "the blooming of democracy in a desert of values"
Until such a view of the middle east exists, where a colonial ethno-state which has been the cause of a lot of chaos in the region is seen as a blooming, and a region which is rich in culture and values (of course not aligned with the western materialistic value system) is seen as a desert void of value, how many deep manipulations can sprout from that fertile ground when it has a grip on the most powerful state in the world?
It is interesting that one intelligent man, with an intention towards empathy and understanding, can research this seemingly intractable problem for a few months and come up with basically sane suggestions that (in my opinion) cut to the chase of the whole thing. Another very bright individual, Tom Atlee, asked ChatGPT the same problem and got an amazingly similar answer when pressed to be it's most creative. See: https://www.tomatleeblog.com/archives/175328936
Thank you for sharing this Alan, it is creative in a way. The inquiry and the article as a whole is based on reducing an important, and maybe the most important element of the context to a level that it exists only cosmetically, and that is the settler colonial nature of the political entity as we know as Israel today. As Daniel Mate puts it "an extremely powerful being, systematically and uninterrupted for 75 years, forcing itself upon an indigenous people with minimum power (political, military, economical) who simply want to keep their homes, lands and dignity." If that is not maintained as an important element of the context, the rest can become merely play with words to consciously or unconsciously justify that imbalance.
I hear you. Check out what the AI response is in the Atlee link.
I appreciate this additional perspective. Quite on point.
As neutral and impartial this text aims to be, it is not!
E.g.:
"Amnesty in exchange for disarmament"
Disarment of both sides? Just the Palestinian side?
"Regional powers (Qatar, Egypt, Iran, Saudi Arabia, etc.) agree to stop arming Hamas and other militant organizations, a commitment enforced by international monitors."
Good, but What about the military aid of the USA to Israel? What about Israel.giving away nukes?
Right to return?
It's implicit that both sides are not deemed equally. And that in that envisioned peace oppression and unbalance still takes place.
Maybe I was expecting too much from someone who supports RFK, someone who actively supports the ongoing genocide
I think that you misunderstand Charles' approach and core attitude here. He does not claim (nor should he) that he is impartial or neutral. Who is impartial here? Who judges impartiality? And 'neutral'? If he was neutral he would not have been aching about the situation and writing this essay.
A lot of his suggestions are, fair and reasonable but far from being implementable, at this stage. But they are not _impossible_ as his outlook integrates idealism and pragmatism.
Importantly, he prioritises stability, peace and reconciliation over justice. Your demands or expectations, on the other hand, are anchored in your view of justice/fairness and are far from being practical (eg., the US will not stop militarily supporting Israel anytime soon and, likewise, nor will it stop supporting Egypt and Saudi Arabia). Insisting on them may make one feel righteous but at the cost of thousands more victims, mostly Palestinians.
Why would anyone surrender there arms if the other side gets to keep them? That’s suicidal. No one would do that, last the militia of a people that has been stolen their land and since then mistreated and oppressed in their own homeland by an intruder supported by the US’ economic and military power.
It’s exactly the type of rhetoric that encourages the conflict to continue. And it is why it is crucial that the same people who suffer from the conflict, on all sides, decide to end it because all kind of ideologists sitting in their home far away from the frontlines are not going to help them do so. Nice of you to condemn the Palestinians to another 50 years of suffering.
He mentions those things, perhaps you didn’t read the entire thing.
Hmm maybe I missed them. Can you point the .etion to the right of return, nukes or USA's aid?
I really can't find them.
Charles writes in the article 'Israel will not stop the war on its own, nor reverse the oppressive policies that stoked it. The world must stop allowing it. The United States in particular must stop providing the weapons that allow its continuation. A total offensive weapons embargo to all parties to the conflict is enforceable if regional and global powers are serious about it. With the addition of other sanctions, the world can force those whose hearts are closed to agree to halt the war, temporarily.'
But mention of US aid to Israel is way down...not part of the bulleted peace plan.
i agree with those points and they stood out for me, immediately. obviously an intentional omission.
"I have given up on changing Kennedy’s mind on this issue, but I have faith in the goodness of his heart and its power to orient him toward peace."
I am sorry, I do not believe in the basic goodness of the heart of someone who can see thousands and thousands of dead children, and declare -- while this slaughter is ongoing -- that Gazans are "the most pampered people on Earth." These are people who, for years, have been held to a barely-over starvation diet by Israel.
RFK's constant parroting of ancient, barely credible talking points, along with frankly hateful rhetoric like the "pampered" statement above, is a sign of a person who has closed himself off to reality. In exchange, he has opened himself up to a whole lot of billionaire cash from people like from the Adelsons, which is what is making his whole campaign possible.
A person who can be bought off on one issue can easily be bought off on another.
I was enthusiastic about RFK's campaign when it began, not least because people of known integrity like Dennis Kucinich were working on it. Well, Kucinich walked away, and has started an independent campaign that deserves people's support and might actually make a difference.
I've strongly disagreed with RFK's support for Zionism since last June when he repudiated Roger Waters. However, I don't believe that RFK has been "bought off." Tragically, I believe that RFK is actually a true believer in Zionism. I think of it as religious belief or if your daughter was "in love" with the tattooed biker dude.
You can't "reason" people out of such a belief. Charles has tried. RFK's former campaign manager Dennis Kucinich has said that "there is no greater friend of Israel" than RFK. I wish that he had the capacity on this issue to follow his own rejoinder on the vaccine issue "Show me where I'm wrong." What a tragic waste. It appears that RFK may have sacrificed his campaign on the altar of Zionism. I would argue a case of misplaced integrity.
This is not "misplaced integrity," at least not in my opinion. I can't see into someone's soul, but I remember seeing a particular video of RFK early in the campaign. He had tweeted out something indicating his support of Roger Waters -- Waters was, I believe, saying something about avoiding an escalation in Ukraine. RFK then took down the tweet, saying that he didn't want to associate himself with Waters' support of Palestine. The video is here, near the beginning, if you want to watch it: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xut9J3OzwV8
When RFK was speaking, I had a pretty strong intuition: "This man is lying, and he knows he is lying." You can decide for yourself whether you feel the same thing. Many politicians have no soul at all, and will lie with no sense of discomfort, and sometimes seem to believe their lies. But RFK still has a soul (or at least did, back at the beginning of the campaign), so it made him uneasy and embarrassed to say these things, especially since his support for Israel is in COMPLETE contradiction to his supposed desire to keep America out of its endless foreign entanglements. Watch the video and tell me afterwards whether you still think this is "misplaced integrity" -- or in fact a lack of integrity that is making him take these positions.
Either RFK is a bonafide zionist or he has been reminded of what happened to his father and uncle. Look up e.g. @KevinBarrett here on Substack for details.
Last June, Waters got called a "antisemite" for showing a picture of Anne Frank at a concert in Berlin. I believe RFK tweeted in support because back in January '22, RFK got called an "antisemite" for mentioning Ann Frank during his speech at the "Defeat the Mandates" rally in DC. I think that RFK lied when he claimed that he didn't know about Waters pro-Palestine history (he also claimed that Waters showed a picture of RFK at the concert (!!) and that was why he tweeted). Like any politician, or lawyer, RFK can lie when he feels it necessary, although I think he is generally truthful.
I wrote "misplaced integrity" because I think RFK actually believes Israel's hasbara on the Gaza Genocide; he probably believes he is taking a courageous stand despite it costing him support and voters. We can agree to disagree. I understand, since it took me many months to come to the conclusion that RFK actually believes the BS. I just couldn't believe it.
Ashkay, in the beginning of RFK Jrs public revelations on the Middle East policy I was confused and felt betrayed, as many did. Did you ever see the movie "Eastern Promises"? Viggo Mortenson's character successfully infiltrated the Russian mob in London, no easy task! But not even his closest friends could know. I wondered. I dreamed. But then I woke up from that dream. He seems to not be the peace candidate we need after all.
Akshay - I actually had to do a double take reading this as I couldn't recall writing it because it's everythng I've said and felt! Thank God we're not neighbors or we'd be outside talking politics all night or day long! You nailed it!
Kennedys stance on Gaza is a bit shocking to say the least. And supposedly he's Catholic. Keep in mind he's one of ELEVEN children and how many grandchildren are in the Kennedy clan? How could he possibly stand idly by and do nothing? Or worse, basically insinuate they deserve it. Wwwwwwhat a total asshole. Most pampered people in the world and they have no right to defend themselves. Whoever gave him that advise, obviously is controlled opposition.
I too was a staunch supporter during Covid. He was articulate and certainly knew his facts and his history. Words used to describe his were genuine, honest and smart. Had he remained true to his feelings and chosen Kucinich as his VP - he would've been the next POTUS hands down.
Instead he went all doolally tap.
Look, I completely understand the mere threat of the Israel Lobby and how they'll deliberately support your opposition instead if you dare go against them. But that's exactly what everyone's craving. All it'll take is ONE person to say eff off and that'll finally be the end. Right now 90% of the entire world supports Palestine and therefore there is no better time than this very moment in history to stand up to these bastards.
If Trump can net 60 million dollars in donations by being "convicted" think of the money Bobby could've raised if he stood up to the Israel Lobby? Wasn't his entire campaign message based on eradicating corruption? He had a real "in" with the college kids and younger generation. He should've gotten his ass out there and stood with them. Stein was proudly arrested for doing so and I believe Susan Sarandon was black listed for also appearing at a pro-Palestinians march back in November.
The problem with Bobby is that he's weak and insecure. The worst traits you could possibly posses as POTUS. Most severe addicts are, insecure. Why Dubya surrounded himself with strong woman. But, Kennedy's also extremely uxorious. His wife is behind everythng - it reeks of Hollywood. That was also his downfall in addition to having his daughter in law running his campaign. The shirtless workout video was a disaster of epic proportion. Just who exactly were they pandering to? His sartorial choices are even worse. This is all about her saying, look at my hot husband!! Seriously? The world is on fire and THIS is what she focuses on? His attire? What's next, his baby blue eyes?
Everythng just went straight to his head. I truly believe he never had even the slightest inkling to run for POTUS until his interviews during Covid (gave and received) really began resonating with everyone. I don't vote, never did nor will. I am neither Republican nor Democrat and for the first time ever I actually had hope someone could possibly save what little is left of this Country.
I thought Kucinich's line during Bobby's announcement was the best. Bobby can't be bought or bullied. WELL . . . . that certainly didn't pan out well now didn't it? He could've easily started a grass roots campaign and he would've easily pulled in more money than all the rest. All he need to do is stand up against Israel. Ironically his support is even worse than Biden and Trump combined.
Akshay, that "pampered" statement has often been taken out of context. He said “The Palestinian people are arguably the most pampered people by international aid organizations.” And he went on to say that Hamas' leadership got rich by stealing that aid money. People can debate whether that statement is true or false, but to correct the record, that is what he actually said.
A person of minimal integrity who wants to opine on these issues might want to read the long history of Israel's destruction of the capacity of Palestinians to feed and care for themselves -- from bombing chicken factories and greenhouses, to preventing boats from going too far past the shoreline, to preventing the importation of materials to support the production of agricultural goods, to poisoning Palestinian wells with pathogenic bacteria during "Operation Cast Thy Bread" in 1947-48. There is a massive human rights literature on these subjects, amply documented by people like Sara Roy at Harvard.
Only a psychopath would lock someone up in a room, carefully monitor and screen the entrance and exit of every item, and then yell at their prisoner, "You're so spoiled! Why don't you take care of yourself!"
International aid is necessary because Israel has made it necessary -- the alternative is starving all of Gaza, which seems to be fine with many people in Israel, but most decent human beings have a problem with it.
Pampered, indeed. Please don't try to defend an indefensible remark.
I agree, but even in context "pampered" wasn't the best word to use!
In interviews, RFK has repeatedly claimed that Hamas leaders have stolen money meant for Gaza and are now billionaires and that "Forbes" magazine backs up his Hamas billionaires claim. But ... that is a forged cover by Israel's Foreign Ministry https://misbar.com/en/editorial/2023/11/10/fabricated-forbes-cover-by-israeli-ministry-lists-khaled-mashal-at-5-billion
Also, if you want to get into the weeds:
"jillcicle" provides two useful links @ https://www.reddit.com/r/IsraelPalestine/comments/17jwnms/verifiable_information_on_hamas_leaders_net_worths/
https://skeptics.stackexchange.com/questions/51835/are-some-of-hamas-current-and-former-leaders-billionaires
https://www.reuters.com/world/middle-east/hamas-cash-to-crypto-global-finance-maze-israels-sights-2023-10-16/
RFK has lost a lot of credibility and votes because of his repeating easily debunked lies.
i'd have to say yes, this is a point of contention for many of us. Thanks for voicing it.
My heart breaks for the Palestinian people and it breaks for humanity. People are so divided that the hate and need to be right is more important than protecting the children of the world. It blows my mind that even your follower are heartless to the brutality and trauma unfolding daily on the innocent children of Palestine. I ask those who are in blind support of Israel revenge slaughter, what would you and your men do if you yourselves had been locked in to a small area of land for decades, with your lives controlled by the neighbouring people that despise you and want you gone. What would you and your men do if you underwent daily humiliation and had no hope for freedom in your life. I know that all men, of any place on this planet would fight for freedom. Freedom is an inherent right for every single human. No people should have the right to hold others captive.
I wonder, Is empathy and putting ones self in the others shoes not possible for some? I wonder why some people can not see both sides of the story.
Your plan is a good one but, I'm afraid that the peaceful empathetic people of the world will need to figure out a way to peacefully overpower the heartless. How do we do this? Do we start armies of peace? How does an army of peace not just get plowed down by the war machine? I know there are more of us. But how does peace and love overpower hate and violence in the physical.
When will we wake up to truth that we are all one and the harm we inflict on the other, comes right back to ourselves.
I pray these days, way more than I ever have. Prayer feels too small but I know I'm putting my energy in the right direction. It feels hopeless but my heart knows that humans are in this trial for their own evolution. Will we triumph and move beyond this world of war, fear and competition we have be creating. Can we change the trajectory of humanity when we spend more energy on creating love, unity and peace. I believe we can. I can see a peaceful future. If enough of us can see it, we can create it. May we learn to live in the way that our heart, informs our minds.
Brilliantly spoken Andi!
Unfortunately the only way this ends is through war! All the experts agree, the war mongering USA is in it's final throws, thank God! How many millions upon millions of people have we killed and displaced? Does anyone believe there would be such a catastrophic illegal immigrant problems throughout the entire world if it were NOT for the actions of the USA - the largest terrorist organization? How many Countries have we now destroyed? Do you really think these people wouldn't prefer to remain in there OWN Country which we either destroyed and/or simply destabilized. Finally people are waking up to the lie that the USA Is the greatest Country in the world. Our military is now at it's lowest point since the end of WWII. We have a 70% obesity rate - IN THE MILITARY! Is there any wonder why they are so desperate they now let trans people enlist?
Listen to Putin's speeches and how he advocates for peace throughout the world. This is just one of the myriad reasons why they hate him. It's been written those who're truly in charge in Washington fear him the very most. He's preaching for multipolarity and peace in the middle east. And they know he's capable of accomplishing it. So let the games begin.
I believe this will be a very quick war. The USA and NATO have been depleted of everything. I believe it was also a brilliant chess move on Putin's part to deliberately lure them in to Ukraine. While everyone else was depleting their military cache's, Putin was building his up. He already has the best and most sophisticated armaments and has 2 million trained soldiers ready to go, most of which, wanted to join. China has done the same as has Turkey and Iran. You're looking at close to 8 million troops standing by with some of the most sophisticated technology, versus what? The USA and NATO.? And no one in their right mind (or not) is going to use nuclear weapons. That's just a scare tactic.
Furthermore I also believe they deliberately sold us out to China. There is no other reasonable explanation how the greatest cities in the world in the USA - were destroyed in such a short time period. They certainly had no problem arresting all the anti-war college students but when it came to stopping the massive crime spree in NYC, San Francisco, Chicago, Los Angeles, and now even Tennessee, they did nothing and intentionally let it deteriorate. It's just so blindingly obvious.
each of us on this planet has to seek love and peace in ourselves and in each other. we are One. i recall , many years ago, when bush senior started the Gulf war. i was watching it unfold on tv. at that time, i was at odds with my husband. and i realized that how can there be peace on earth if i am not able to have peace in my home. it begins with each and every soul on this planet. as we awaken in Love, that love will extend out and heal the world. morphic resonance. the 100 monkwy. less time is needed critiquing one another , more time is needed observing what motivates us. love or fear. our very thoughts , words and action. we are the One we have been waiting for. we are responsible for what we create.
Sadly, as I acknowledge that you are well-intended in your efforts, I fear you are extremely deluded in your proposals. You propose Hamas give up its weapons, but not Israel. You make no mention of the 750,00 Palestinians forced to flee their land in 1948 without the right to return. You fail to acknowledge that most of the settlers on the land that became and now is Israel were not fleeing Nazi genocide nor other potential harm. You insanely treat the Israelis and Palestinians as equals who can forgive, if not forget, and move on. And, in my opinion, the most egregious statement you make is that we ignore history. Historical facts must be learned and learned from, including the colonial genocide of the indigenous "savages" in the Americas as well as the colonial genocide of the indigenous Palestinians first under British and then under Israeli. occupation.
Agree. While the Palestinians and neighbouring Arab states made many stupid and too extreme decisions since 1948, Israel (and the Western allies plus Germany) is the thief here. One that got away with it and as such took and takes ever more.
Its ignorance of UN resolutions demanding that they give back some of the land was wrong but understandable for a long time in light of the too extreme unrealistic demands and existential threats of too many Arabs up until Oslo.
Its settlement policy in the West Bank was always wrong and it is the real roadblock to any solution now.
That one also shows that it wasn't sincere about Oslo at all, and when it provoked its demise via Sharon's visit on the temple mountain it destroyed any humanistic persons sympathy for Israel and its credibility.
But in the real world, we all know about all the many interests, drivers and beneficiaries of this mess and that it is really not supposed to end, or only with a total eradication of Palestinians from all of Greater Israel.
That mindset has firmly been instilled into our and Israeli leaders since and thanks to WW2 and its arguably successful redrawings of the maps and/thanks to its forced mass displacements followed by a winner's terms peace in Europe.
The only real question left is whether the economically strengthened and ever more populous neighbouring Arab world will unite and try to prevent this from happening via force and declaring war on Israel and as such on its Western customers and arms suppliers then, or at some later point after the facts have been created but it itself been become more independent via the BRICS shift, and whether that will then result in WW3 or 4 or not and who will 'win' it.
Charles I am with you 100%! This is what needs to happen.
I am so skeptical that Hamas and all the powers that be (in Israel too by the way- where I live) will accept this in my lifetime. I say this with sorrow.
Humans have apparently not evolved yet to that point of forgiveness.
I hold faith in my heart that peace is possible
A Canadian Grandma
Thank you Charles. I had the labels 'jewish' and 'israeli' placed on me at birth. These are all excellent suggestions, but i think it might be missing a key point that will derail any such attempts, and that is that the majority of israelis have been deeply conditioned to NOT view the local people as equal human beings, conditioned to view those who carry a specific religious-nationalist label as more valuable than others. IMHO, that is a fundamental mentality that derails every non-genocidal attempt at ending the conflict (becasue its "logic" provides only one path for supposed "security" - elimination of the "evil other").
IMHO the path forward out of this horror is not strictly in political arrangemnts but rather it lies in the heart of people, in the ability/capacity to see the humanity of another before viewing them as a label (palestinian, israeli, muslim, jew), as well as it lies in coming to terms with and acknowledging the IMMENSE AND PROFOUND TRAUMA that each "side" has caused the other and in finding ways to heal together (through visibly shared grief and profound trauma-healing and reconciliation work that would have to be done)
(And before I proceed I'd just like to say that unlike most Jews, I'm fully aware that the trauma that the new-comer supremacist zionist ideology & movement has caused the local people over the last century - in its brutal ruthless cruel project to disposses, throw out, take over, annihilate, dehumanize and erase of the local people in Palestine - is many many orders of magnitude greater than the trauma caused to the zionist immigrants by the resistence of the local people to being dispossesed, massacred, abused and driven out of their home). If people want resources to learn about this, I can provide it later..
This capacity mentioned above, to step out of one's bubble and hear/see the humanity of another before seeing a label (and the stories attached to the label), requires having CONTACT between the "sides" so that they may hear each other's stories and each other's pain, but this contact is prevented and denied becasue of the incredible dominance of the sectarian nationalist divisive ideology in both sides.
I notice that what allows this ongoing horror to happen (not only today but for more than a century now) is that there is such a total SEPARATION AND DISCONNECTION between the "sides" (this is one of the greatest successes of nationalism driven by the ultra-wealthy ruling class, to divide and tribalistically pit against each other those who for centuries lived together, before the introduction of the divisive nationalist mind virus to the region) SEPARATION AND DISCONNECTION so that people from both "sides" have no full understanding of the life experience & trauma experience of those on the "other side".
From what I see, this total DISCONNECTION is exactly what allows people to cheer when "our hero fighters" (whom the other side calls invaders/dispossesors or terrorists) murder, torture, oppress, abuse, slaughter and bomb "them", because each side says "they are evil people who only want to harm us, take our land and kill us/kick us out", and each side has countless examples of actions by the other side that are supposed to "prove" the supposed rightness of their claim.
Each "side" is enclosed and contained within its own SECTARIAN BUBBLE and tells itself its own story, about its trauma and difficulties, and is completely unaware of the life experience and trauma of the "other side".
And so, when the other side reacts (in what it calls self-defense) then the first side interprets it as an attack (becasue of its DISCONNECTION from the stories and sense-making of the other side) and tells a story that "those people on the other side" are evil monsters who only want to harm us for no reason.
It's quite amazing how similar the story that each side tells itself to the story that the other side tells itself, it is practically the SAME STORY - we are the victims here who are only protecting ourselves from the aggression of those evil people over there who only want to harm us and hate us for no reason. We have no one to talk to and negotiate with, they are not human beings, they are sons of Satan who hate us from birth, who only want to destroy us and take our land and kick us out - each side speaks the exact same stories!!
And all this lack of understanding happens simply because there is NO CONTACT between the "sides". This is the tremendous success of nationalism/tribalism, there is a complete disconnection, so that I don't hear the story that the other side tells itself and how they make sense of things, I don't experience their life experience, I don't know anything about their pain, I don't realize how much the story they tell themselves is the same as the story I tell myself, and therefore there is no possibility of experiencing the HUMANITY (the fear, the search for security) that motivates the other, just as it motivates me, and therefore also indifference to the trauma that the other goes through at the hands of "our heroic fighters"
It seems to me that the main engine that drives all of this is that people in the region (and especially Israelis) undergo a very deep conditioning/indoctrination from a very young age into a separative and SECTARIAN RELIGIOUS-NATIONALIST IDENTITY and learn to believe (contrary to what reality shows) that this separate and divisive identity is what will provide them with protection and security, even though it does THE EXACT OPPOSITE!!
This indoctrination into the separative exclucivist religious-nationalist identity is much more than just mental brainwashing, but it is mainly the conditioning the of the nervous system and emotional system into IDENTIFICATION with a nationalist-religious label which causes the emotions and the body to react very strongly to anything that they teach me is at odds with this identity.
Strong reaction that comes from the fact that the body/brain/nervous system has been conditioned to learn - through constant repetition in the first years of life (when the personality is formed), again and again and again, and without questioning - this is who I am, that I am this national-religious identity.
It seems to me that those who have fallen into the abyss of sectarianism/tribalism/nationalism (and especially those whose tribalism also involves divisive, excluding, supremacist and God-denying sectarian religious beliefs) have been conditioned to believe that their saftey & security will be found through group separation and exclusion and a sense of uniqueness from the rest of humanity (a feeling that is so deeply imprinted in those who believe that the label of "Jewish" is who they actually are), that security will be found through an attempt to ensure the safety of ONLY one group of people, only those who were born into the "correct" religious-national label (and anyone who was not born into the correct national-religious label can go to hell. She matters a little but not nearly as much as the Chosen People, the most valuable and important people in the universe). It sounds ridiculous, but this is a VERY common & mainstream worldview in the extremely nationalist, ethnocentric, fascistic & exclucivist Israeli society, and it plays a huge part in what brought about this conflict in the first place, since the very early days of sectarian exclucivist zionist nationalism, and its arrival in the middle east from (mostly) eastern Europe.
To me, this is precisely the blindness of the sectarian nationalist-religious identity: trying to create security ONLY for one group, only for a part of the whole (through division, exclusion, separation from the whole and working to secure the narrow interests of only one nationalist-religious identity), such an attempt - of trying to create security ONLY for the part and ignore what this does to the whole - such an attempt can NEVER ever lead to real security but exactly the opposite - this is the number one factor that creates constant conflict and INSECURITY!!!
TRYING TO CREATE SECTARIAN SECURITY (SECURITY ONLY FOR THE PART AND NOT THE WHOLE, ONLY FOR ME AND MY GROUP) IS THE VERY CAUSE OF INSECURITY!!!
In my understanding, tribalism/nationalism and sectarian divisive exoteric religion (which is the POLAR OPPOSITE of what God/Consciousness actually is) is the great disease and blindness of humanity. Is the most destructive and deadly invention that humans have ever invented (not because we are bad, but because we have not psychologically matured yet, and are still blind, and in our inmocent blindness we believed that this is how we will find safety & security, without understanding what we are doing, without realizing that we are actually creating constant INSECURITY when we search for security through the sectarian divisive nationalist-religious identity, when we seek security ONLY for the part and not for the whole).
To me it is absolutely clear that it is the number one cause of division, separation, antagonism, hatred, conflict, violence, murder and war..
IMHO, the bloodshed can never stop and there will never be security for anyone unless we have the courage to step out of our sectarian bubble and actually listen and truly understand the profound trauma we inflict (this is true for both sides but especially so for Israelis who are incredibly brainwashed and ignorant of the UNSPEAKABLE HORROR CRUELTY INHUMANITY AND TRAUMA that supremacist right-wing zionist immigrants/colonizers inflicted and inflict on the local people.
Without feeling the pain endured and understanding what palestinians are actually reacting to, indoctrinated supremacist zionists will just continue with the murder, abuse, dispossession, cruelty, throwing-out, massacre and erasure of the local people, and keep telling themselves the story that 'they are hostile to us for no reason, simply becasue they are evil antisemite monsters by nature..'
Humans are addicted to blaming their problems on the “enemy”, instead of looking in the mirror. Your vision of peace is as attainable as sobriety for addicts. It will take a true hitting bottom for us to give up our hate. I hope we can attain that vision someday but at this point in time we are headed to the bottom.
I agree Carolyn. Hitting bottom is probably in the cards for the human species. But not inevitable. We can pray for peace in our own hearts.
A Canadian Grandma
The mirroring effect is a tricky thing to use here. Of course life has a mirroring effect, in a spiritual sense, yet for the same reason it should be used with proper context. Just for simple example, if person A intentionally (for a gain) harms a loved one of person B, it would be one of the most insensitive and in many ways misleading thing to say to person B to consider how the situation is mirroring her / him... if you go to judge when someone steals your car you wouldn't expect to hear: so what is the thief mirroring for you?!
If someone steals my car, I don’t consider stealing a car from him or someone who looks like him as revenge. One crime does not offset another crime. It doesn’t justify the second crime. I don’t think the victim is responsible for the crime, but ask them to look at their response to the crime. We can choose how to respond.
What would you do if someone steals your car?
File a report with the police and file an insurance claim.
Not everyone can afford insurance but drive to work anyway to feed their families. And let's hope the police are not corrupted thugs. I agree with you in spirit but there are a lot of variables.
I might do the same!
Thank you for your response Carolyn
Two things are going to turn this all around. The USA getting attacked and/or the Earthquake along the Cascadia Subduction Zone, which will kill millions and take out a large swath of the West Coast. Although I read about this years ago in the NYer magazine it's getting a lot of attention as of late:
https://michaeltsnyder.substack.com/p/scientists-warn-that-a-90-earthquake
I applaud your effort and your intention, and I of course applaud your honesty and integrity in trying to dialogue with Bobby on these issues. I still don't understand why he's so bizarrely incongruent in his views on Israel/Palestine vs. his stated views elsewhere about US empire and imperialism and peace.
As for your essay's contents, there's a lot I could say but I'll confine it to a couple of things. You suggest that the conflict in Sudan highlights a kind of asymmetry in the attention that the Gaza/Israel conflict receives. You don't mention the key fact that it is your tax dollars and mine funding genocide directly in Gaza -- that's a rather key difference. The Sudan conflict in its current form is also quite new and is only now starting to come to light how serious it is (yes, earlier phases were quite serious but the new phase only began last year as a local conflict in Khartoum engulfed the country).
It's also the fact that the Israel/Palestine conflict has been for many decades now a huge stain in the fabric of int'l law that puts the lie, year after year, to Western states' professed desire for adherence to int'l law. The US has of course been breaking int'l law when it pleases more generally, Iraq and Libya and Syria, etc., and Russia more recently followed suit with its invasion of Ukraine, but Israel is the only non-P5 nation that gets a "free pass" b/c of the diplomatic umbrella provided by the US decade after decade. Which prompts the question, why?
Why does Israel get a free pass? Well, it's a complex answer but foremost among the explanations is our pay to play system of politics and this is highlighted rather dramatically by recent info showing that not only is AIPAC the biggest funder of GOP candidates in Congress this year -- AIPAC is ten times bigger than the next donor. That should shock everyone.
AIPAC works directly to further the interests of a foreign nation, not the US or our citizens. The Israel Lobby is truly all-pervasive in Congress and the White House and this needs to be known as a first step toward rectifying the situation. Thomas Massie recently revealed to Tucker Carlson that every GOP congressperson has an "AIPAC buddy" that they consult on apparently anything to do with Israel or foreign policy. This is insane.
Until we first recognize and then remedy the massively distorting AIPAC and other Israel Lobby money we will not find any solution for the Palestine conflict b/c every politician, left and right, in Israel knows that the Israel Lobby essentially controls Congress, and has for decades now.
https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/politics/israel-owns-the-usa-thomas-massies-claim-every-republican-member-of-congress-has-aipac-babysitter-stuns-internet/ar-BB1nR6El
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hir03BkDZOc
https://inthesetimes.com/article/squad-aipac-israel-corporate-dark-money
A very simple event somehow changed everything for me. I was sitting outside by the lake with my old lady friends having a drink and waiting for the sun to go down. One of us was ragging on a common friend and, as so often happens, others began to chime in. The woman next to me quietly said to herself and I overheard - ‘I just love everybody.’
This message has returned to my mind repeatedly and has helped me understand that I feel the same way. It sounds so small and trivial when said aloud but it opened my eyes. It was a blessing to hear that and know its truth. It’s not what you do it’s that you are.
Please don't discount the possibility that Oct 7 was a false flag orchestrated by Mossad agents embedded in Hamas.
s a privileged white person who grew up during the tragedy of apartheid in South Africa, I witnessed the dismantling of this horrific system and the successes and failures of Desmond Tutu's Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC). This essay acknowledges the brokenness of reality, inspires the hope that is desperately needed, and yet brings its own biases and preferences. In South Africa, change did not come because we saw the light but because we felt the heat. It is clear that no political or military solution can end the violence. The war may pause, but it will inevitably break out again unless a different approach is found.
This essay proposes that the solution cannot be found through military means or judicial processes, but rather in the choice to lay down weapons, to forgo the right to hold offenders accountable, and to focus on how to coexist for the sake of posterity, for the sake of getting on with the business of living, for the sake of a future that is secure, peaceful, and prosperous. South Africa found a champion in Nelson Mandela, and the apartheid government recognized this as the only viable way forward. The South African model promised a violence-free transition to equality and peaceful co-existence. The TRC allowed grievances to be heard, forgiveness to be granted, and freedoms to be established. Though it was not perfect in its implementation or effects, it provided South Africa with a pathway to a peaceful transition by giving up the right to reparation for the sake of peace.
I pray for the peace of Israel. I pray for the peace of Palestine. I pray for strong leaders to rise up and forge a way forward based not on justice or military solutions but on forgiveness and peaceful co-existence.
I was going to propose a resolution based on the TRC but now finally finding your heartfelt post, (after reading so many other comments), I am certain that this is the only course of action that will eventually succeed in bring peace to this torn and wounded land. What is required to start with is finding a modern day Nelson Mandela.
I plan to look into it further, and I know that plenty of people including South Africans are under the impression that it was only, or mainly, the Truth and Reconciliation Commission that was the biggest key to ending apartheid in South Africa. I am not sure that is true. There were other actions and sanctioning, and UN actions. I know violence is NOT the answer. But foregoing accountability seems to have exacerbated the plight of the Palestinians, currently, as well as thru the years, with Israel given free rein for more and more human rights abuses and war crimes, escalating towards total ethnic cleansing. I don't mean to offend you, or your sense of what you know, but being there doesn't ALWAYS equate to knowing. There were people AT the Twin Towers or right down the street, at 9/11 that STILL don't know what happened, and may never.
I commend your good intentions, but your proposal is highly biased and flawed. From your sincerity, perhaps that's unintentional, as racism is ingrained in most of us from a young age and requires much deprogramming. Unintentional, but true nonetheless.
Why do I say this?
You call for the disarming of the indigenous people fighting for their homeland, but not the disarming of the colonial settlers, who have taken the land by force. Even calling for both sides or neither side to be disarmed equally, would be biased in favor of Israel.
Furthermore, to call for amnesty for the war criminals in Israel at this point is not far off of calling for amnesty for Nazis. They have knowingly and intentionally murdered tens of thousands of civilians and destroyed an entire area, making life there impossible. As per their plan. To suggest waiving justice for that is ridiculous and inhumane. "Neutrality" in the face of injustice is bias, and cowardice.
Furthermore, to not call for the removal of settlers from *at least* the west bank, is to give a blanket approval of the settlements, which are against international law, violently founded, and blatantly unethical.
Furthermore, you call for outside forces to stop arming native Palestinian militant groups, but you do not call for outside forces to stop arming colonial Israeli militant groups, even though the latter has perpetrated immeasurably more violence and brutality than the former. Truly off the charts.
Your ideals are lofty but your actual proposal is a moral and practical failure.
Try again, Charles.
Phoenix, excellent points. The imbalance and bias you point out is astonishing. CE's proposal seems cobbled together, lacking any foundation in racism, oppression, imperialism, international law, accountability, and trauma. And he arrogantly puts this out as a cure, lol
Hi Charles,
You may remember my name from the NAAS community (I have started the Right Livelihood monthly meeting a couple years ago). We share multiple similarities in our views and values, while also having different life experiences. Although I have had a good familiarity with the history of the conflict, Oct 7 massacre and the consequent war in Gaza motivated me too to dive deeper and broader into more history literature (in that regard, I can recommend Hillel Cohen, an excellent historian, whose works I discovered this year).
I like most of what you suggested and argued for and the core of your approach corresponds to my approach to the conflict, which is based on the integration of my liberal/humanist values with Buddhist-based universalist morality. My issue is not with the direction and aspiration but with the need to push forward while, at the same time, acknowledging in more specific way than you did, the immediate obstacles: not to deflate the wheels of the cart but in order to anticipate road-blocks as to be able to better deal with them.
Thus writing that "The idea is simple, though its execution might need to proceed in phases" is, certainly, an understatement. Of course there will have to be phases and the main element that is missing from the essay and the plan is: what are the possible next 2-3 steps. I don't expect you to come up with such steps; you are not one of the negotiations team members (I wish you were!) and not a political analyst. I am just pointing out that, before getting to the stage of starting to build trust, there is a phase of lowering the distrust, which would likely require strong intervention of large powers, including US, EU and China as well as influence on regional players like Qatar.
Finally, have you ever heard of the FB group called Israelis & Palestinians for Peace (IP4P)? I know you aren't FB fan... It's the largest group of its kind, having 6,700 members of multiple countries, religions, and ethnic backgrounds. There are heated debates on it, often way too tribal but also some decent discussions taking place. Most Israelis in the group range politically between left-of-centre to far-left of centre (in Israeli terms).
I would like to share your piece there, if you don't mind and give your blog some promo, while at it. Also, they hold occasional zoom meetings with people who are of interest for the various Pro-Palestinians, Pro-Israeli, pro-both folks there and i think that you would make a very different and interesting zoom guest there, if you are interested.
The author is a utopian, creating equivalencies between the oppressed and the oppressor; a “both sides are right / both sides are wrong “ notion which, to qualify as true and sincere, he must also apply to World War II Nazis and Jews.
In his essay I would ask him to substitute Nazi for Israeli and Jew for Palestinian and let’s see whether he will continue to uphold his blurring of distinctions between oppressor and the oppressed.
The gospel peace that Jesus grants begins with an acknowledgement of the overwhelming evil of the Pharisees. These proto-Talmudists were targets of severe invective Jesus employed contra no other group. Whereas for the Roman centurion He reserved among the highest words of praise He ever uttered, “greater faith than this I have not found in all Israel.”
Charles Eisenstein’s equation of the robbed and massacred Palestinians with the homicidal institutionalized racism of war Zionists, as they have weaponized the Talmud Bavli in seeking the extrusion and extermination of the indigenous people of Palestine, is the pipe dream of a naive and seriously uninformed observer who appears to be a man of good heart and spirit.
Lastly, I will take under advisement his supposition that Robert F Kennedy Jr.’s unconscionable support for the genocide in Gaza is due not to venal political and monetary motives, but a deluded misreading of history and current events. But I doubt it.
Michael Hoffman