I've been reading a book lately called, A Wall in Palestine, by Rene Backmann. It is about the separation wall/barrier between Israel proper and a portion of the West Bank. It is really interesting (written by a French journalist), but if you are not open to anything that demonstrates improper conduct by Israel, stop reading now.
Here are some passages that have stuck out to me so far (unless otherwise noted, passages are by the book's author):
Vladimir Jabotinsky, the ideological father of Likud was quoted in a Nov 1923 article saying that he "dreamed of creating a Jewish State on the two banks of the Jordan, envisioned the erection of a 'wall of iron' as protection from the 'Arab insubordinates.' 'All autochthonic [indigenous] people, ' he wrote, 'struggle against foreigners who settle on their land, and there always remains for them the hope, however faint, that they can avert the dangers associated with settlement. Such is how the Arabs of Palestine will feel, as long as the spark of hope remains that they can prevent the transfiguration of the Arab Palestine into Eretz Israel, that is, a Jewish Palestine. . . . That is why those who hold that an accord with the Arabs is a sine qua non [essential condition] of the Zionist political stance must say to themselves from today on that it is definitively out of the question, and that there is nothing else to do but to give up the Zionist project. Our emigration to Palestine must continue without consideration of the Arab position, in a way that our settling can develop there under the protection of a power that is not dependent on the local population, under the shelter of a wall of iron that this population can never break down. This must be our political stance regarding the Arab question.'"
Menachem Klein (one of the architects of the informal accord signed on October 12, 2003) said, "'The problem for a lot of Israelis who were aligned with [Ariel] Sharon, including those from the "peace camp" is that they have never tried to put themselves in the shoes of the Palestinians. In the end, they are not ready to pay the price of peace, which is to say, to give up land. The Palestinians, on the other hand, have already paid this price with their blood.'
In other words, the Israelis are cloistered in a kind of moral superiority, living in a 'walled' society in which the 'aspirations of other peoples are cropped out of view, and in which they can live in peaceful denial of their role as oppressors."
(Picture to the left is of the wall in Jerusalem - Friends cannot be divided. I think that's a true and accurate statement) David Grossman, an Israeli author, said, "To be strong and to perceive oneself as weak is an enormous temptation. We have dozens of atomic bombs, tanks, and planes. We confront people possessing none of these arms, and yet, in our minds, we remain victims. This inability to perceive ourselves as we are in relation to others is our principle weakness.""Sharon finally accepted the barrier not only because it would contribute to Israeli security, but also because it annexed the vast majority of settlements in the West Bank, along with land rich in agricultural potential and water reserves vital to the future of Israel. It might even create an obstacle to the birth of a Palestinian state. It was a plan that disregarded international law and several UN Security Council resolutions, as well as previous accords between Israel and the Palestinians, and formal and informal commitments made to the US, the UN, the EU, and Russia as a part of the Roadmap for Peace."
Ron Nachman (Israeli politician, former Knesset member, and current mayor of Ariel-one of the largest Israeli settlements in the West Bank) said, "I came to a simple conclusion: Israelis wanted separation. They didn't want to be mixed with the Arabs. They didn't even want to see them. This may be seen as racist, but that's how it is."
I haven't finished reading it yet, but that is what has stuck out to me.
