 |
 |
Dear all I would dearly love to sit down with all of you and talk through some of the issues that arise from the most recent outbreak of hostilities in Israel/Palestine. I recently had an unintentionally deep conversation with my brother who lives with his family in Jerusalem. I think we were both off-guard but I think that led to me getting a better idea of his perspective (liberal, Zionist) view than I have had in a long time. Is there any way do you think to express solidarity with the citizens of Gaza and make it clear to them that they are not forgotten or ignored without unintentionally contributing to a further retrenchment of the position of Israelis? Rockets are flying over from the West Bank and as far as the Jewish Israeli citizens are concerned, they are in fear of their lives. There was a cartoon in the Guardian showing an imaginary tennis match between a puny, bloodstained Palestinian fighter and a massive hulking bully of an Israeli soldier. I suspect that from the point of view of Jewish Israelis the picture is exactly reversed and they see themselves as beleaguered and outnumbered. We might well predict that history will not be on the Israelis side and acknowledge that those ranged against tomorrow’s "freedom fighters” often see themselves as victims. Nevertheless the prospect of being able to reflect from a future position where there is stability and peace in the region seems increasingly distant. The two communities now seem further apart than ever to a degree that perhaps was not even apparent in Northern Ireland or South Africa, where people from the different sides shared often intimate aspects of their lives (even if that was on grossly unequal terms). Is there anything we can contribute as critical and community psychologists that can address this fact? I do hope members of the list will respond generously to this rather confused post. I am certainly not saying that we should not post a letter of support and solidarity with citizens of Gaza and the West Bank and I’d be pleased to contribute my name to this. I’m just wondering if there might be additional strategies that would reflect the complexity of thinking that I know contributors to this list are capable of. Deborah On 15 Jul 2014, at 18:40, jacqui lovell <[log in to unmask]> wrote: > So just wanted to check if we are going to send a letter then? > I haven't seen any replies on this list so wasn't sure?! > > I have written to Mark directly re my support but wondered why people on the list are unusually quiet in response to this? > > Am I missing something here? > jacqui L > > > > ___________________________________ There is a twitter feed: http://twitter.com/CommPsychUK (to post contact Grant [log in to unmask] To unsubscribe or to change your details on this COMMUNITYPSYCHUK list, visit the website: http://www.jiscmail.ac.uk/cgi-bin/webadmin?A0=COMMUNITYPSYCHUK ___________________________________ There is a twitter feed: http://twitter.com/CommPsychUK (to post contact Grant [log in to unmask] To unsubscribe or to change your details on this COMMUNITYPSYCHUK list, visit the website: http://www.jiscmail.ac.uk/cgi-bin/webadmin?A0=COMMUNITYPSYCHUK