Today I had a pretty long talk about Israel in the Toolik cafeteria. I think I'm in denial about how much I care about Israel and Judaism, or at least how much they define me currently. I get paranoid about being seen and heard talking about those subjects, and I feel like I talk about them a lot. I feel that on this blog I can't, or shouldn't, but depending on parameters those could be the same thing, say what I think about Israel.
The long discussion occurred when I found out that the two ladies sitting across from me at the dining table had both worked on kibbutzim in Israel. The silver-haired, blue-eyed, and remarkably alert seventy year old lady said it was the place that allowed her to become vegetarian, and the stocky, excited fifty year old lady described it as part of her evolution away from Judaism. She said it was a nice place, where she worked, a kibbutz up north near Lebanon and bet she'an. The attitude of the people there, however, convinced her that Israel would eventually fade away. A loose quote: "the attitude just wasn't sustainable- I mean, anyone Arab was like a second class citizen, almost sub-human. The size of the divide between the populations, both in terms of socioeconomic position and demographic growth, mean that there'll just be too many Israeli Arabs eventually. And it's such as small country among larger antagonists, and living off outside support just isn't sustainable. I think it won't be there, it's just a matter of time." She said that she had once identified with Judaism and Israel more, but had realized some time ago that she is spiritually budhist with some cultural connections to Judaism. All the while the silver-haired sevent year old said nothing. I don't think she spoke for the rest of the conversation after relating her culinary experience on Kibbutz. Maybe she agreed more with my slightly more supportive views of Israel given her positive reviews of the Israeli tradition of salad and dairy for breakfast, contrasted by the Buddhist lady's strong aversion to that meal format. She said she favored even the European custom of cold cuts for breakfast.
I will now skirt the argument. Giving a description of how I responded to the "dissenter" and what I think of Israel is not something I'm ready to do, not something that I'm sure it would be wise to do. For one, I have some criticisms but often they come from a mindset that assumes a lot of points of praise that I can't articulate in one go, maybe not at all. One thing I can say is that although her point of view has merit I had to point out the small size and extreme nature of her sample population. Bet She'an is not the most populated or Arab-friendly area, and her kibbutz was probably an embattled hamlet up north. Maybe there doesn't have to be a solution to the Arab Israeli conflict, to any conflict. Maybe it's more valuable to realize that the budhist lady has a point of view that should be respected and that I might gain from trying to understand. Hopefully she'll do the same for mine. I think that looking for a solution is different from addressing individual situations in a pragmatic matter. Maybe within Israel's borders Arabs are Israelis, Israelis are Arabs, and it's largely the names that are causing problems. I'm still thinking about it, although now I'm going to move on to other parts of my day. Talking about Israel and Judaism feels different up here. I think it might be easier to form my own opinions when I'm separated from the very Jewish atmosphere I've been in for the past three years. Don't quote me on that.
best,
jonathan