For those of you who are still struggling with the "facts on the ground," the ethnic cleansing, the apartheid state or whether the Palestinians are simply feeding us "propaganda," while I understand your pain, I invite you to read the following article:
http://www.tikkun.org/tikkundaily/2010/01/11/gaza-one-year-later/
This cannot continue.
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Mimi,
ReplyDeleteWith your return to the US, will you continue to blog? Your compelling accounts of the people you met, the things you've witnessed and your reactions compound into a story that should be told.
The violation of human rights is contrary to the values we espouse. I cannot imagine where the US would be without the civil rights legislation of the last 50 years. We see discrimination here against so many "groups of people," and it appalls us. Many of us do so much to raise awareness and teach others using concepts such as B'zelem Elohim--that we are created in the Divine Image. It is the human struggle for basic human rights--to be recognized and valued--that drives so much of the advocacy work that has been so successful in this country. That being said--the struggle still continues. I have a difficult time reconciling my beliefs about justice and fairness and the right to live, love, work, play, learn and connect with others while thinking that the one nation on earth that understands this better than anyone seems to override these tenets. Why? I really want to know. And, has the question been fully vetted? I believe in peaceful existence. War, whether official or unofficial, has created an industry that violates the right to life of those who have nothing to do with it, but suffer because of the power of the few.
Dear God, for all those on earth who need to be heard, understood and empowered, for those who become victims by virtue of their freedom to move about, and for those who become victims in a lifelong prison created by the ideologies of government and power, let us pray and work toward Shalom-Salaam-peace and wholeness of the human spirit and humanity.
I cannot say this any clearer. No matter what one's affinity or passion on human rights, good intentions alone are without value. It is our actions that give life to those intentions.
(a paraphrase of Yehudi Hakadosh, a Chassidic Master).
B'shalom.