WRL Homepage • WRL Programs • WRL Literature • WRL Actions • WRL Employment • About WRL
|
Homepages: | ||
Appalled Although I did not agree with much of the content of the letter written by Stephen and Marilyn Mohr because I know that WRL and the Nonviolent Activist condemn all bombings, including those in Israel, I was appalled at the last line of the editors response to the letter where you stated: “We wrote ‘We do not condone those or any bombings,’ referring to the recent attacks highlighted in the editorial. Which part did you not understand?” I understand correcting the misperception of the letter writers which you did in the first sentence, but why was it necessary to add, “Which part did you not understand?” Since this is a rhetorical question it can only be interpreted as mean spirited. Perhaps the letter writers genuinely missed those eight words, or felt that there needed to be further amplification of that thought. Although something may be obvious to you it is cruel to imply that someone is stupid for not understanding something in the same way that you do. I love the letters section of the Nonviolent Activist and would hate for people to stop writing letters because they are afraid the editors may resort to put downs in making their points. —Ann Wrixon We apologize if our response seemed mean-spirited. It was a weary reply to a familiar and misplaced charge of anti-Semitism and “bigotry.” The editorial under discussion appeared in our July-August issue, which commemorated the 60th anniversary of the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, and was addressed to world leaders who have dealt in what we called “megadeaths” since 1945, hence the omission of Palestinian (and other) suicide bombers. The Mohrs’ letter referred to the “cultures of violence that breed terrorism.” Here at the War Resisters League, we believe that “cultures of violence” do indeed “breed terrorism.” But apparently we and the Mohrs seem to hold opposing views as to which cultures of violence are doing the breeding. We believe that the trillion-dollar culture of empire is the biggest purveyor and breeder of terror worldwide. —Editors Re: your snide, snotty response to the letter from the Mohrs: the problem is not what they didn’t understand about your editorial, but what you refuse to understand about their letter. Your anti-Israeli position has been consistent for several years with your insistence on holding Israel to a higher standard than others and your irrational embrace of absolute moral equivalence between terrorist violence against innocent civilians and self-defensive action against those who perpetrate and perpetuate such violence. You don’t have to approve all the policies of successive Israeli administrations (I certainly don’t) to recognize the validity of a moral higher ground rather than advocating for equal leveling of all combatants in the dust of pernicious warfare. —Neil
D. Isaacs Naive Ascribing the purest of motives to Ora Wise and Mohammed Abed in their campaign for divestment, I conclude that they are historically incorrect and incredibly naive. I understand that naiveté because I have myself been a victim of it. It distorts our view of the world as it is, encouraging us to seek ideal solutions when, in fact, such solutions are not merely unlikely, but impossible, and thus to some degree a terrible waste of effort. To begin with, I should note that I am not now and never have been a Zionist and have decried the Israeli occupation of Gaza and the West Bank and the concomitant building of settlements. On the other hand, the Holocaust has taught me that there needs to be a Jewish state as a refuge, a place where Jews are guaranteed acceptance, because anti-Semitism still exists widely among both Christian and Muslim peoples and could at any time burgeon once again into death camps. Under certain conditions, it could happen here in the U.S.A. Wise and Abed do not believe that there should be a state where Jews can find refuge. They argue for the “right of return” which, if implemented, would eventually make Israel another Arab state. Ideally, displaced Arab families should be allowed to come back to their ancestral homes. Realistically, this will not happen, and should not happen for reasons I have already given. I find it disheartening that the WRL’s premier publication should give such prominence to an article that has so little substance and is, it seems, mainly an exhortation for a cause that I, as a member of the WRL for more than 50 years, never voted for and find, in any case, unjustified. —Eugene Vasilew It is shocking how many supposedly well-educated, “progressive” people unabashedly assert that Palestinian refugees haven’t the right to return to their homeland based on the assumption that Jews need or have more of a right to that land. It is completely unacceptable for the rights of one people to be subordinated to the perceived needs of another. Are you really claiming that Jews have the basic right to maintain a “pure” ethnic state? Doesn’t this kind of logic sound frighteningly familiar? You have implied that our support for Palestinian refugees’ right to return to their homeland means we don’t believe Jews deserve safety. Yet we view implementing the right of the return as an important step on this path. Not only is it possible to redistribute land and resources equitably and peacefully, it is imperative that we do so if we are committed to ending the vicious cycle of violence in Israel/Palestine and building the kind of democratic, pluralistic society that most Jews claim to value. We are concerned about everyone’s right to be safe and have self-determination, including Jews. We just don’t believe that these things can be provided by an extremely militarized, ethno-national state for either Israeli- Jews or Palestinians. If you dismiss these ideas as utopian, we must ask: Aren’t restorative justice and coexistence core principles of the War Resisters League? Don’t you believe that these principles should be operative in the resolution of all conflicts? You ask, “How can we implement the right of return and maintain Jewish security?” while we are asking: “How can we ever create a safe and peaceful environment in Israel/ Palestine without implementing the right of return and reconfiguring a segregated and unequal society?” —Ora Wise and Mohammed Abed |
WRL Homepage • WRL Programs • WRL Literature • WRL Actions • WRL Employment • About WRL
