Comments on: Nation Building and Dispossession

By: l s

l s — Sat, 30 Aug 2008 00:14:47 +0000

yet another way exists – the one taken by the u.s.: genocide. in fact, a genocide so extreme that not only were entire peoples massacred, and their cultures destroyed, and their languages disappeared; even the memory of their names has been eradicated. all residents, no matter when our ancestors – or we – arrived, benefit from that genocide and live here as occupiers.

at last year’s open mike (a yom kippur tradition when congregants can speak briefly about any subject close to their hearts), one person spoke about the powerfully deleterious effects of unprocessed trauma. as a society – and a matter of public policy – we have never dealt with the trauma at the heart of our country’s existence. (bernard-henri levi traveled through the u.s. in the steps of de tocqueville a few years ago, and concluded that this trauma exerts enormous unspoken influence. he suggested building a national holocaust of the native americans museum.)

I wonder how much more productively we could assist others in managing their conflicts over territory and identity if we could speak from a position of maturity regarding our own. what awareness – of the perpetrator role as well as of the victim – we could bring. how well we could honor the complexity of the situation, not to be silenced or paralyzed by it, but to engage with it. what possibilities might result.

to say nothing of the plight of the few survivors’ descendants.

By: larry rosen

larry rosen — Fri, 01 Aug 2008 22:41:26 +0000

Again a belated welcome home.

A third way would be what is now being explored after 60 years: a two state solution.

I pray for the negotiators for the benefit of all involved.

LMR

By: Shirley Gould

Shirley Gould — Fri, 01 Aug 2008 19:45:10 +0000

It seems to me ths “third way” you seek is evident in the efforts being made to form friendships/accommodations between the two main groups. It may not reach fruition in my lifetime, but unless we can all accept that we are humans, there is little hope. Both “sides” need to recognize one another and figure out how to live together. Maybe it’s a pipe dream, but it’s all we have.

By: Edmund

Edmund — Fri, 01 Aug 2008 17:29:41 +0000

The third way is to create a democratic state that represents all people regardless of their ethnicity or religious affiliation. Peoples affiliations to nation change with the wind.