http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YHKaqz1R5_w
This clip is from a movie called "To Die in Jerusalem". It was actually a documentary that I watched about 7 months ago and it keeps coming to mind as I read "The Lemon Tree". This clip is the last 6 minutes of the movie when the mothers finally come together over via satelite and have a discussion about the actions of the Palestinian mother's daughter who was a suicide bomber and the feelings of the Israeli mother whose daughter was killed.
I see the thoughts and feelings of Bashir and Dalia in the two mothers from opposing sides. I begin to see how history affects people more than they could imagine. I see how hard it is to move past the horrible pieces of the past in Israel/Palestine, especially since the solutions that have been proposed and executed have not been solutions at all. The wall that is being built ideally has good intentions, but what does a wall really do? It divides. It separates. It creates more difference, more misunderstanding, more unfamiliarity. The two sides of this conflict will continue to always be at war if they cannot move beyond the past and the mistakes within it. Peace doesn't mean that the two sides have to become one, it just means that have to work to understand, become more familiar, and accept the differences.
The young people in this area of the Middle West ( I'm kind of getting to the point that I am unsure to call it Israel or Palestine) may have a fighting chance to turn that current state around. Unfortunately the history of this area is two completely different histories, with each side only knowing one side... and they are made to believe this is the only truth. This "one truth" along with the present day events taking place (bombings, military occupation, massive wall etc), why would they not believe what they are told? Looking from the outside in I see both sides, I understand the feeling of fighting for your nation, being that I am an enlisted member of the U.S. military, but I also understand that our mission, intentions, and actions are not completely right 100% of the time. But no matter what my allegiance overrides the understanding of the opposing side... I suppose this is how the Israelis and the Palestinians both feel.
ok it's Iraq but it's interesting
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Here is a link to a blog put up by Morgan on a different Blog. There are a
number of entries that tie more to your topic than theirs. Enjoy.
16 years ago
The realities that both Israelis and Palestinians live with prompts understanding between the two peoples, like it is shown the video. The people could have understood each other if political and economic ambitions were absent. We often are bombarded by the media with the terms "extremists" "hardliners" and the like terms intended toward the Palestinians. These biased media outlets lack to understand or turn a blind eye to is the other side of of Israeli extremists that support physical hatred barriers such as the wall. If extremists are to be removed to wage peace in the middle, let us tackle all extremists including "state extremists."
ReplyDeleteI watched your video and thought that this would be interesting for people to watch. It is so sad that these are the realities of lives of people involved in this conflict. Although both sides are in pursuit of their own goals, it is such a tragedy that so many innocent people die. This video is difficult to watch, but really brings to life what we are reading about in The Lemon Tree.
ReplyDeletehttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l0aEo59c7zU