Instead of waiting for Israeli or Palestinian leaders to find a solution to the ongoing conflict, some are trying to bridge the gap between the two peoples themselves:
"In the village of Dabouria in the lower Galilee, Hadas Lahav is visiting Mohamed Malsalha, a producer of olive oil who has nearly four acres of olive trees.
"Lahav, an exporter, discusses growing conditions with Malsalha in Hebrew and fluent Arabic. She takes several vials of the oil to run tests for acidity and peroxide. The results will determine whether she buys a ton of Malsalha's oil for export [sold in Australia, among many other nations.]
"Lahav is one of the founders of the Sindyanna of Galilee fair trade cooperative, a member of the International Federation of Alternative Trade, or IFAT, a global fair trade group.
"The group is comprised of women and stresses better wages and working conditions, Jewish-Arab business cooperation, high-quality and organic products and fair prices for farmers.
"'We began the Sindyanna project 10 years ago to work with the Arab [oil producing] population in Israel, and then expanded it to buy za'atar and soap from the West Bank,' Lahav explains. 'Peace is not just about ending the occupation, it also means giving Arabs in Israel the same rights and opportunities as Jews.'
"According to Lahav, many Arab olive growers in Israel do not have the same access to state-run irrigation as large Jewish kibbutzim and moshavim. With their resulting low yields, the Arab farmers are mostly ignored by the big producers, Lahav says."
Such stories are more common than the mainstream media reports. It is encouraging that despite years of violence on both sides (and new evidence of ever-expanding West Bank settlements) Israelis and Palestinians can recognise the rights of each other and work together. Not unlike the documentary series "Children of Abraham" - currently screening on ABC TV - years of occupation has led to some enlightened Palestinians and Israelis not succumbing to hate, but finding hope.
"In the village of Dabouria in the lower Galilee, Hadas Lahav is visiting Mohamed Malsalha, a producer of olive oil who has nearly four acres of olive trees.
"Lahav, an exporter, discusses growing conditions with Malsalha in Hebrew and fluent Arabic. She takes several vials of the oil to run tests for acidity and peroxide. The results will determine whether she buys a ton of Malsalha's oil for export [sold in Australia, among many other nations.]
"Lahav is one of the founders of the Sindyanna of Galilee fair trade cooperative, a member of the International Federation of Alternative Trade, or IFAT, a global fair trade group.
"The group is comprised of women and stresses better wages and working conditions, Jewish-Arab business cooperation, high-quality and organic products and fair prices for farmers.
"'We began the Sindyanna project 10 years ago to work with the Arab [oil producing] population in Israel, and then expanded it to buy za'atar and soap from the West Bank,' Lahav explains. 'Peace is not just about ending the occupation, it also means giving Arabs in Israel the same rights and opportunities as Jews.'
"According to Lahav, many Arab olive growers in Israel do not have the same access to state-run irrigation as large Jewish kibbutzim and moshavim. With their resulting low yields, the Arab farmers are mostly ignored by the big producers, Lahav says."
Such stories are more common than the mainstream media reports. It is encouraging that despite years of violence on both sides (and new evidence of ever-expanding West Bank settlements) Israelis and Palestinians can recognise the rights of each other and work together. Not unlike the documentary series "Children of Abraham" - currently screening on ABC TV - years of occupation has led to some enlightened Palestinians and Israelis not succumbing to hate, but finding hope.
13 Comments:
Thanks for the insights. So useful.
In fact, I thought most informed Zionists would see the ideology as meaning equality for all. Silly me.
Ah don't worry about it Edward it's just the standard harassment thing. I think it's something of a backhanded compliment actually. I mean think about it, some loser called 'Violet' who doesn't even have a blog has actually bothered to set up a user name just to post what is at best (stress 'at best') described as a really childish payout. Evidently school holidays are still on!
Why do the apologists always compare Israel's treatment with the treatment of other countries with poor standards of human rights? Anyway Israel is the product of intense Western investment - economic, military and cultural. I mean go to Dubai, the standard of living is pretty good there (unless you're a Filipino worker, say). Does that mean Dubai is better than Israel? Should they get the next Nobel Prize?
Well the answer is quite simple, these apologists have no interest in settling the conflict. Their only interest is to defend the avowed belief. In this instance it's Israel. But when Israel loses its geopolitical utility, and it will eventually, and the American subsidy dries out, where will they, where will we all stand? Safe, no doubt, behind the metal shells of Israel's nukes. And, perhaps, Iran's false bluster. Now excuse me while I go fill up my 4wd...
Will post the streaming link in the coming days.
It went ok. Will write more about it in the coming days. Suffice to say, if Zionists want to have an arrogant spokesperson, Austen Tayshus is your man. If you can't win by intellect, just bully your way through. A few less Zionists in Oz tonight, I'd say.
As a white bread settler who is reaping the benefits of the dispossession of the Aboriginal inhabitants of this continent, I think that you should apply to yourself as an Australian the same principles that you want to apply to Zionism.
Good to know Tayshus thinks Israel's treatment of Palestinians is comparable to the genocide of Aborigines tho'.
Hah-hah!
Look, A.L., here's some appropriate responses when someone pulls that "Oh you complain about X but what about Y" crap.
1) "Austen (and, for that matter, Jon), you're not asking me to complain about other human rights abuses / dispossessions more, you're asking me to complain about Israeli abuses less. You're asking me to give this particular nation state a free pass to misbehave - stop pretending this is a plea for consistency."
2) "I'm guessing you're implying I'm a hypocrite. Well, whatever... for the sake of saving airtime let's say I am and get back to the issue - unless you want to waste more of your breath on this irrelevant ad hominem shite."
I love people who think if they point at someone else's crimes that somehow magically makes Israel's disappear. And that's all Sandy was trying to do, God love 'im.
Point taken...and thanks.
I'll write more about the show in the coming days, once it's available via streaming.
The full interview was 25 minutes.
Read this post for a better overview:
http://antonyloewenstein.blogspot.com/2006/01/as-anti-zionist.html
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Rob - Great work! I'm sure you would have said those things too if you were Antony and Austen was kind enough to provide you with a script of everything he was going to say a few hours before the show starts so you could plan those responses perfectly!
For the record, I thought Austen Tayshus was a bit of a twat. Sorry, a lot of a twat. Coming out with all that irrelevant crap about Aboriginals - it's a pity they couldn't/wouldn't find a saner Israel advocate. Tayshus sounded like a total loon.
Come to think of it, so did that guy on beforehand who did time for beating up his psycho ex. They sounded like the perfect couple.
Nice to know that you always miss the point. Let's stop pretending that you know what you're babbling about.
The holocaust is not used as an excuse. It certainly may be used as a reason not to trust people like you, but not an excuse.
It may be used as a reason that jews feel that they can trust no one other than themselves in safeguarding their human rights. But not an excuse.
It may be used as a reason over and over again until you puke.
But nobody cares if you puke.
For a simian, he is funny. As a human, he leaves much to be desired.
"Reading the article I would have thought "wouldn't it be great if there were more Lahavs in the Israeli world""
There are. There are too few palestinians who feel the same. But you knew that.
Very simian of you. But you know no such thing. You merely parrot your masters.
I'm referring to his master.
About as cute as your picture. Why are you trying to ram your fist down your throat? Holding back the vomit you spew here?
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