Ieri è uscito questo articolo interessante sul Guardian:
In cui due tizie che si conoscono da un po’ di tempo, Orna (israeliana) e Christine (palestinese), discutono del conflitto israelo palestinese, delle loro sensazioni a proposito delle vicende, della loro storia etc. Notare che Orna, l’israeliana, esprime spesso simpatia per i palestinesi, critica il suo governo, a un certo punto dice che se fosse palestinese sarebbe parte della resistenza, quindi non è sicuramente una fan di Netanyahu. Ed è proprio per questo che alcune sue uscite sono un segno evidente di quanto il problema dentro la società israeliana sia sistemico, e non limitato a qualche estremista:
Christine: I love that you said share the land, because that’s exactly what I want to do.
Orna: But your idea of “sharing the land” is not exactly my idea of it. You’re imagining a shared land, and I’m saying I’d like us each to have our own.
Christine: But why? You said we’re neighbours, but you don’t actually want to be neighbours.
Orna: I want to be neighbours.
Christine: You want to be neighbours with borders between us.
Orna: I want certain borders between us. I want to share certain things, and I don’t want to be a minority in your country.
Christine: But it’s not my country. It’s our country.
Orna: I want a Jewish country.
Altri passaggi sparsi che ho trovato significativi:
Orna: Not to make me feel heard – to make this function as an honest discussion. Because as bad as Israelis are, they’re bombing the hospital, not because they feel like killing people in hospitals, but because they think Hamas is there. Look, I’m taking on whatever you want to call it – 99% of the horror of it. But there is still a piece that is Hamas’s actions. They decided to, as the Israelis love to use the phrase, use humans as their shield. I know you’re not identified one-to-one with Hamas. What I’m asking you is, as some of my Palestinian colleagues in Israel have done, do you turn some of your protest also against their methods? Against the method of ruthless, perverse violence as the method of resistance? And at the cost of their own people? How about Free Palestine and Free Israel from being governed by fanatic fundamentalists of all kinds?
Christine: OK, but first we need to Free Palestine From Israel. I guess when we talk about Hamas’s strategy in terms of attacking Israel, knowing that the cost of Israel’s overly violent response would be civilian lives … that bothers me. If I imagine myself in the shoes of Hamas trying to strategise how to weaken the Israeli war machine, this sacrifice feels over the top. Doing something bad enough to make Israel decimate Gaza to the point that it would force the international community to intervene – they succeeded in that. But at what cost? Witnessing all this death makes me feel sick. But Hamas isn’t killing people in Gaza, Israel is. And this is the furthest Palestinians have gotten in terms of getting the international community to look at the situation critically.
Orna: I think what I need from you is to also complicate your relationship to the Palestinian side of this. I can imagine a simple version according to which if Israel would stop being this monstrous occupier, everything would be fine. But that is not the entirety of my story. Everything has not been fine and will not be fine. When I witness the violence Israel is unleashing, and when I hear you talk about your experience, my grief and guilt shut me down. I have no words. And I can go along with the idea that we must be monsters. But it is not the full reality of my history. I have not lived among monsters. I have to find a way in our conversation, and within myself, to recover that and represent that too.
Christine: That makes sense. But I think what is difficult to ascertain is how the Palestinians would react if we were free, because ever since Israel was created, we’ve been subjugated by systems of oppression. I struggle with the question of trying to blame Palestinians. I do agree that if we had leadership that could unify the Palestinian people and come to some sort of negotiations that didn’t require unilateral concessions on the part of Palestinians who have already lost so much, of course, that would be wonderful. However, many of our best leaders have been imprisoned or assassinated by Israel. Israel has played a role in extinguishing any sort of unified political movement.
Orna: I know this both from being in the heat of an argument myself, and from my therapy work, that something about me asking you to take responsibility feels like I’m asking you to give up something essential. But I don’t feel like that’s what I’m requesting. I am not asking you to give up the idea that Israel is occupying Palestine unjustly and slaughtering people in a way that is unjustifiable. Yes, hold Israel responsible, and I will too. But please also hold your people responsible for the part that is played, which is suicide bombing, which is this crazy Hamas violence. Perverse violence that has caused damage for generations to come and seated such fear. Can you make room for that too?
Christine: I’m uncomfortable with what you’re saying, but I understand. In some ways, I am very appalled about what happened on 7 October. I can make space for your feelings. And I can also understand that you have been to funerals of your friends’ children, and I can imagine how horrible that grief is. I experience shame and guilt about it. But I also find myself asking: Palestinians have tried everything, what else are we supposed to do? Is violence the only choice that has been given to us? It’s a mixture of incredibly uncomfortable feelings.
