Sad, Very Sad

March 29, 2009

Israel experiences too many of the kind of excruciating situations described in today’s Jerusalem Post and a February 20th story from Haaretz.

The Daily Alert news feed reported that “Palestinian authorities disbanded a youth orchestra from Jenin in the West Bank after it played for a group of Holocaust survivors in Israel. Local official Adnan Hindi on Sunday called the Holocaust a "political issue" and accused conductor Wafa Younis, an Israeli Arab woman who helped organize the event, of dragging the children into a political dispute. The concert was held last week at the Holocaust Survivors' Center in Holon as part of "Good Deeds Day," an annual event. Ramzi Fayad, a spokesman for various political factions in Jenin, also condemned the participation of the teenagers in the Holocaust event, saying all the groups were strongly opposed to any form of normalization with Israel.” (Khaled Abu Toameh for the Jerusalem Post)

Another example was reported in Haaretz on February 20 (unfortunately, there does not appear to be an accessible link). Prof. Ali Dogramaci, a member of one of Turkey’s wealthiest and prestigious families, offered $850 million to build a medical campus—children’s hospital, outpatient clinic, a hotel to accommodate Palestinian families, and housing and shops for Jewish, Palestinian and foreign professionals who would staff the facilities—on the Israeli side of the Green Line at the Jalameh crossing. After two years of discussions, including the Prime Minister, senior officials, and ambassadors, the plan has apparently been nixed by the IDF over security concerns.

At some profound, core level, there must be shared interests that go deeper than political appearances and ostensible and admittedly palpable security concerns. If allowed to go forward, these activities—concerts by children, shared medical campus—might actually allow people in this troubled region to realize that what they have in common may be more rewarding and fulfilling than the hatreds that tear them apart.