Occupation 101

It’s really hard to convey all that I’ve learnt in Palestine but a few thoughts in the context of more violence and the talk of another initfada (Arabic for ‘shaking off’). And a video that I really ask you to watch – see below.

Firstly to say I’m a little overwhelmed by the reality of what is going on and that the world can stand by as the devastation continues in Palestine. There is so much about this that is so clearly wrong; against Israeli law, against international law, and against any sense of morality and yet Israel continues and we in the rest of the world allow it – led primarily by the USA.

Secondly, to convey strongly how much I have learnt about how Jews and Arabs in this region lived harmoniously up until the early 1900’s, and largely until 1947. This goes against this strongly promoted notion that the Jews and Arabs have been fighting for centuries and there are no answers; 

‘the Palestinian conflict remains as intractable as ever’ (BBC news – 30/3/2011) . . . this is really not the case.

There’s so much I’d like to describe and explain but I’m so full with emotions and thoughts that it’s hard to do it all justice. Instead for now, I’d ask you to watch at least the first part of this video called ‘Occupation 101’.

It’s an excellent production and gives a really solid and moving overview of what is going on and how it came to this. On youtube it’s been broken down into 8-minute segments – I’d really encourage you to watch the first 2 at least. By then you’ll know if you want to watch the rest – I hope you do.

             
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You may need to sign in using a gmail account or other, but it really will be a worthwhile 8 minutes – please do.

And feel free to post comments or ask questions – I’ll try and answer or give some pointers at least.