Listener Reflections

This is your place to publicly comment on the topics and issues addressed in Speaking of Faith programs. React in a personal way, and put into words what this program meant to you.

Submit Your Reflection about "Two Narratives, Reflections on the Israeli-Palestinian Present (part 2)."

How Truly Difficult (March 26, 2006)
The interview with Sami Adwan illustrated to me, more clearly than ever, why the problems in the Middle East are so difficult to resolve. He is an intellectual, with a firm grasp of the history of the region, yet he can't keep his thoughts going in what my Western mind sees as a straight direction. He has a forgiving and tolerant attitude, but can't resist leaving the Israeli provocations on the table, unexplored. If his approach is faith oriented, I can only imagine how much less logical diplomatic talks must be between the two sides.

Don Gillman
Los Angeles, CA (KPCC, 89.3 FM)

Questioning the Legitimacy of Zionism (March 25, 2006)
I know you have addressed the Palestinian-Israeli conflict on your program. But there is an issue that you haven't addressed and you didn't question your guests when it was mentioned by them. There is much blood on Jewish hands today. This blood has been shed because Jews believe that the land of Greater Israel was given to them by God in perpetuity. They believe that all other people who have lived on that land are interlopers. Golda Meier, a former Israeli prime minister, went so far as to assert that there are no Palestinian people. She believed that the Palestinians possess no national identity and are undeserving of any regard by the international community.

For this faith, Jews are willing to literally slaughter, or corral in the equivalent of Bantustans, all the Palestinians in the West Bank and Gaza, as well as those living in Israel as second-class citizens. Your Israeli guest asserted that he expects the Arabs and Muslims generally to welcome the Israelis home to their place of origin. The Palestinians, and all other Muslims, regard the Israelis as Western colonial occupiers of Arab land.

At all traditional Seders I have attended, each ended with everyone raising their glass and saying in unison, "Next year in Jerusalem." I don't know if anyone who asserted that dream ever thought about the price it would cost to attempt to make that dream reality. But this illusion (Zionism) is the central issue over which much blood is being shed, and more will be shed in the future. I assume you've read, or at least heard of the paper "The Israel Lobby and U.S. Foreign Policy," published online last week by two leading political scientists, John Mearsheimer and Stephen Walt, that questions how the state of Israel has managed to capture American Middle East foreign policy and sacrifice the security of America for the benefit of Israel.

They also don't discuss the question of the legitimacy of Zionism and its megalomaniacal pursuit of the existence and legitimacy of the state of Israel. But I think this is a question that needs to be addressed. It is a question of faith, and how far people of faith are willing to go to assert their faith. Much blood has been shed in the Middle East, most of it caused by Christians in their delusional pursuit of the Jewish theology. Now it is the Jews who are shedding blood in pursuit of the same delusion.

Hugh McGuire
New York, NY (WNYC, 93.9 FM)

Just a Beginning (March 20, 2006)
I discovered and listened to both the programs back-to-back and enjoyed them both greatly and hope that we can hear many more programs like these. As Americans, we have such a thin perspective on the ongoing conflict that it is hard, if not impossible to develop anything which could be considered an accurate or even a balanced perspective. I was somewhat saddened to hear the Zionist influx and influence being relegated to a mere sentence or two when so much of Israel's becoming and ongoing "stability" and/or strife is tied directly into that particular strain of Judaism.

The wisest thing for both Muslims and Jews alike who refuse to see each other has flesh and blood is to acknowledge each others right to exist. First, as a people and second, as religion. How much pride would that give the Palestinians and how much strength would they gain from having more countries recognize them as legitimate and not pinning them against a wall because they seemingly can't control or quell what must be several generations of anger and rage further frustrated by the slow grind of a daily life of checkpoints and so on? How much release of tension would these people feel if Israel were to say, "You are people. We wronged you with this blatant apartheid. Walk with us and help us see more clearly for we have erred and our thinking was cloudy for the better part of 50 years." What will it take for this great realization to occur?

Matthew Hotz
Chicago, IL (Listens to SOF Podcast)

A Helpful Question (March 19, 2006)
Thanks for the recent segment "Two Narratives" on the Israeli and Palestinian conflict. I especially appreciate the question to Abu-Nimer on how Americans could think of the conflict in a more helpful manner.

Eric Tsai
St. Paul, MN (KNOW, 91.1 FM)

The Israeli/Palestinian Standoff (March 19, 2006)
It is unfortunate that in your introduction to the two-part series you went by the 1948 Israeli "war of independence" in a single sentence and focused on the two intifadas as major manifestations of Israeli/Palestinian hostility. U.N. Resolution 181 in 1947 established a Jewish and a Palestinian state side by side in the British Mandated Territory of Palestine, with Jerusalem as a special shared area — just what is being sought today, after 50 years of warfare between the parties. The people of what is now Israel accepted this resolution, but the Palestinians and their Arab neighbors refused to accept it and attacked Israel, intending to eliminate the state the U.N. had formed. To their astonishment and mortification, they lost that war, and the Israeli state survived. But all the mutual antagonisms and harsh Israeli defensive measures were determined by those 1947-1948 attacks on Israel and the Arabs' refusal to accept U.N. Resolution 181.

Moreover, the situation was exacerbated prior to the 1967 war, when Arab occupiers of East Jerusalem denied Jews access to their holy sites. I experienced that denial personally on a visit to Israel in 1961. More attention to this history in your introductory discussion would have given a different cast to the Palestinians' complaints about the harsh Israeli measures enforcing their borders, over and above the more recent reasons given by the Intifadas. It is too late to go back to the resolution of 1947, but explicit recognition by the Palestinians of the consequences of the Arab refusal to accept it, and their consequent shared responsibility for today's oppressive occupation of what would have been their state, would change today's atmosphere in trying to establish a modus vivendi between the two peoples. It's too bad you missed bringing this out in the discussion you arranged, interesting though that was.

Seymour Deitchman
Chevy Chase, MD (WETA, 90.9 FM)

Definition of Insurgency (March 19, 2006)
I caught part of your program this morning, and one of the interviewees said that the dictionary defines an insurgency as a civil war, so there's no real point in trying to make a distinction. I checked my dictionary, Merriam-Webster's College Dictionary, 11th edition, and it disagrees with this. It says that an insurgency is a "revolt against an organized government that is less than an organized revolution and that is not recognized as a belligerency," while the definition under "belligerency" says, essentially, that this is a state of war. Under these definitions, the interviewees comments don't seem to hold up, and in my opinion the word "insurgency" seems more appropriate than "civil war," although events seem to be progressing.

Anthony J.F. Biagioli
Naperville, IL (WBEZ, 91.5 FM)

Peaceful Coexistence (March 19, 2006)
I understand why your history of the Palestinian/Israeli conflict began with the creation of the state of Israel. However, I want to point out that prior to 1948, Sephardic Jews were co-existing with Arabs in that region — peacefully. Secondly, moderate Arabs (Christian and Muslim) I met while visiting Israel in 1998 and 1999 referred to their country as Palestine. This was more than semantics and reflected their wish for a Palestinian state. Finally, having Palestinian Christian friends, I appreciated that your program included their perspective. Their voices aren't heard enough.

Christine Lehmann
St. Paul, MN (KNOW, 91.1 FM)

The Notion of Truth (March 19, 2006)
Your program is wonderful. At a Quaker meeting last week, there was offered a message about the notion of "the truth" and its importance. And it struck me that, having listened to your earlier Mideast-themed show, that we have a world of different folks and faiths all of which are convinced that they know "the truth." And that knowing has given rise to an incredible hatred and killing and strife. In fact, once "the truth" is known and defined, we become responsible for defending "the truth" — ever more strife. The more the faith, the more the horror. Can a religion — a faith — have the guts to acknowledge that "the truth" is never really knowable? That there are likely to be many different truths? That the faithful life is one of constant searching?

Wesley Horner
Coatesville, PA (WHYY, 91.0 FM)

Outstanding Journalism (March 19, 2006)
What an outstanding program! Just when I was losing faith in the one-sided press coverage, this show presented sane, rational religious people who care about the people rather than the rhetoric and prophecy. I also appreciate that the broadcasts are downloadable for free. Please continue your excellent work.

Rubina Inamdar
Jackson, MS (WMPN, 91.3 FM)

Hearing the Restrained Frustration (March 19, 2006)
Today, as many times in the past, I listened to Speaking of Faith and Krista Tippett's interviews with Palestinian academics. How wonderfully enlightening to me as an American to hear the restrained frustration of these Palestinians in pursuing an elusive peace with the Israelis. I feel empathy from the standpoint of my own frustration with our American leadership, which I believe is in a spiral descent to failure in their misguided Iraqi war "on terrorism." Life is full of these frustrations as we watch those in power make flawed decisions which impact the lives of so many. Krista is such a gifted interviewer. She maintains objectivity and yet asks the probing questions of one in search of rationality in an irrational world. For her talent alone, I feel blessed to be a subscriber to public radio/. Thank you.

Doug Leatham
Marion, MA (WCAI, 90.1 FM)

Melting Away My Despair (March 19, 2006)
Thank you so much for this morning's program. As an American liberal and fairly quiet peace activist, it enabled me to melt my internal despair and self criticism over not understanding the complexities of lands and people so far away. I have been embarrassed by the fact that the names of leaders, clergy, journalists, scholars, activists, and "terrorists" all sound the same to me, and in my 55-year-old white middle class American brain, I cannot seem to find a thread of knowing how I can possibly make a difference when I cannot even retain a person's name for ten seconds, let alone begin to fathom the subtleties of faith traditions as they emerge in millions of individual lives.

Today, a piece of these self-inflated worries and self criticism began to unwind from my heart, and I was able to hear where I can make a difference. And that is, to continue facing my own compassionate challenge, my own narrative and dedicate that tough and insistent edge to those who are suffering way beyond that which I have ever faced in my life, both in the Middle East, but also in Africa, Southeast Asia, and two miles from my own home. I can create a connection with them and imagine that they would want to know that I rigorously study and challenge my faith and daily practice and resolve to be the best I can be in living the teachings I believe. That because I am an American, I will at least be thought of as someone who cares, who listens, and if I could physically be present at the wall, would weep to know the real names and stories of those whose lives are so deeply altered by the thinking behind, and actions leading to, its construction. I am a different human being out of listening to your show today.

Jan Cook
Rochester, NY (WXXI, 1370 AM)

Need Better Background (March 19, 2006)
Thank you for your effort to air the Israeli and Palestinian narratives for us largely ignorant or misinformed citizens. Yet I have this criticism: Since you don't (can't?) really provide an adequate characterization of the facts on the ground (especially the scope of continued building of settlements) in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, nor the history of violence leading to the second Intifada, your listeners continue in the common U.S. view that the cause of violence and obstacle of peace and justice is Islamist, largely Hamas-sponsored, terrorism. It's a view that pictures the Israelis only responding to protect their people — even if sometimes with excessive force. To cite only one example: you mention the beginning of the Palestinian suicide bombings in 1994 in Afula. But you don't mention that the real flashpoint occurred only about 40 days earlier with the slaughter of 29 worshipers in a Hebron mosque (and the wounding of at least 125 more) by Dr. Baruch Goldstein, an IDF medical officer and Kiryat Arba settler, using an assault rifle. I appreciate your primary intent to focus on the religious dimension of this conflict. But I think you needed to select a few historical and factual points that would tend to upset the common view and provoke us to listen and look for more information, such as you do or could provide on your Web site.

Jerry Moyar
Naperville, IL (WBEZ, 91.5 FM)

An Excuse (March 19, 2006)
The statement you made of your recent program that the Second Intifada started as a reaction to a visit of Ariel Sharon to the mosque in Jerusalem is wrong. This visit was used as an excuse for the Palestinian attacks, which were planned well in advance. This was later admitted to by Arafat himself.

Orit Reuben
Minneapolis, MN (KNOW, 91.1 FM)

How to Stop It All (March 18, 2006)
I have just returned from Israel. Jewish friends have taken me to see the wall that is going up. My Israel friends also lament the sight of checkpoints. But can anyone answer the question: how can the government of Israel guard against infiltrators seeking entry into the country to do harm? Terrorists are discovered or stopped in their tracks almost daily.

Miriam Chaikin
New York, NY (WNYC, 93.9 FM)

Taking Responsibility (March 18, 2006)
Your Palestinian guest continues to commit the same fatal flaw: blaming Israel for all the Palestinian's problems. The Palestinians never take responsibility for their own shortcomings. Instead, it's the same old argument: if only the Israelis will do this or do that, then the Palestinians will make peace. Now they're blaming the security barrier, not acknowledging that it was erected in response to the Palestinian violence. If there were no violence, there'd be no wall. Bottom line: the Palestinians need to stop the violence and get on with improving their own lives.

Joshua Mendes
New York, NY (WNYC, 93.9 FM)

Two Narratives Should Be Three (March 17, 2006)
I am enjoying the Speaking of Faith newsletter and listening to the streaming audio of the interviews recently about the Palestine. These two "voices" provide a wonderful overview of the "experiences and perceptions that divide Israelis and Palestinians, even as they share a land they both consider holy." As a Christian church in Vienna, Virginia that recently began a sister church relationship with a Christian church in Ramallah, West Bank, I am struck by the absence of a third voice — Palestinian Christians.

Our sister church, the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Hope, is caught in a difficult cross-fire involving faith, politics, and basic survival. Albeit a small part of the spiritual landscape, the 3 percent of Palestinians who are Christian find themselves the focus of both Israeli "reprisals" and Muslim "response." Understanding a "third way" of looking at a "two-way-conflict" can often yield a new, and unimagined, perspective. I wish we could have heard from this third perspective in your excellent series.

Chris Bowman
Vienna, VA (Listens to SOF OnDemand)

Palestinian Christian Voices (March 17, 2006)
I enjoy all of your programs and marvel at the way you present spokespersons of such robust and substantial spirituality. I finished listening to each week's Speaking of Faith in our church's parking lot, from which I enter into worship prepared to meet God with a renewed sense of hope. With regard to your current excellent program, "Two Narratives," I would recommend yet another narrative, that of Palestinian Christians.

Since 1947 the Christian presence of Palestine has gone from some 12 percent to the current 1-2 percent. Despite — and perhaps because of — the Occupation, those Christians have an important spiritual voice that needs to be heard. A spokesperson for those voices is Rev. Naim Ateek, the founder and director of Sabeel. Sabeel is an ecumenical grassroots liberation theology movement among Palestinian Christians. Its goal is to bring unity to the various Palestinian Christian voices and represent that voice to the world. Given the long history of Christians in Palestine, I don't think the circle can be closed until their voice is heard.

Tony Medwid
Wallingford, PA (WHYY, 91.0 FM)