Are 40 Years of Occupation ENOUGH ?

(or does it have to be 60?)
In 6 days of June 1967, Tzahal (the Hebrew abbreviation for the Israeli armed forces) defeated the Egyptian military on the first day; then, less spectacularly, the Jordanian and Syrian armies.The latter resulted in occupation of the Golan Heights from which the Syrians had a commanding view for shelling the kibbutzim and other villages in the Huleh Valley below, which they didn't mind doing. Those western parts of the heights are still occupied, and apparently will be at least as long as US government policy toward Syria remains unchanged. The Egyptian army, which President Gamal Abd el Nasser had just sent into the Sinai up to the Israeli border as part of a series of threatening moves, was driven out of the whole Sinai; as well as from the Gaza Strip they had taken over in 1948; and which has been under Israeli occupation since (if Sharon's "disengagement" ploy is discounted). Evidently under pressure to show solidarity with the Egytian army, King Hussein of Jordan, which included the West Bank as well as Transjordan since ~1948, had his Arab Legion attack Israeli West Jerusalem with furious shelling, at which Tzahal could counterattack and easily conquer the whole West Bank. The idiotic Israeli occupation has now lasted 40 years.

There had been a barrage of notices, articles and e-mails as the anniversary approached, of activities planned to mark the occasion; in the US, in Israel, in Canada and many places the world over. The main message / slogan was simple: ENOUGH !!

To me the analogy to the 40 year ordeal in the desert of the Sons ("children") of Israel before they reached their goal according to the biblical account in Exodus had looked significant, and it evidently also occurred to others, who published it.

Given that I am also still a US citizen, I had decided to make a contribution amounting to at least membership dues to several US Jewish anti-occupation outfits, without formally joining any, at least at this time. Each was also to be asked to provide an adequate (but preferably not too long) account of their message about the 40 year anniversary for inclusion in this blog.

I have not been ready to abandon my now quarter century long state of ex-Communication from "The Organized Jewish Community" (TOJC), to which the once fairly real community had been converted. I spent several years since in The Hague, where the formally excommunicated Spinoza spent the last years of his life, and where I often went to visit the courtyard of the "New Church" where he was buried 330 years ago (marked by a slab from "amkha"; "your people" in Hebrew; also denotes the common people in Yiddish). Like Spinoza's, my last work also involved novel lenses; but unlike his, mine didn't result in early death, just severe harassment.

The current action does amount to another tentative step toward participation in at least virtual (digital?) community that could be viewed as dissident, even though it may turn out to be the closest to representing the majority, if the terrorist intimidation and information control were removed. I would also consider joining one or two of the organizations, if that still makes sense in my octogenarian stage. I had already taken such a step when I joined the Canadian ACJC, which seems to manage to reasonably live up to its inclusive anti-occupation principles only by vigilance of some members.

Since most of the 40 years occasion activities couldn't amount to the expected, the organizations' statements to be included here could be on whatever each choses. My preference now would be on what feature(s) they view as especially distinguishing them compared to the others (who need not be demeaned) e.g. as far as I can tell, Brit Tzedek v'Shalom believes it can appeal to the widest constituency. Among the evident distractions from the activities was the fighting in Gaza and the armed suppression of Fatah there by Hamas forces. Comment on the resulting situation could be another alternative that may be easiest to provide.

Here in Vancouver several events were advertised. Most seemed almost routine; which tended to lend emphasis to the central event called by Canpalnet Dr. Naseer Aruri: 40 years of Occupation and the Prospects for Peace; June 6 at the Vancouver Public Library. I went and later watched the Community TV coverage also of the news conference earlier that day. Considering all the attention, I later had to wonder: Was I the only one to notice that Aruri is not among those of us who have had ENOUGH and want an end to 40 years of occupation now. He can wait apparently and try to end 60 years of occupation later. Since something else then came up, this warrants closer examination in the next posting.