Soon after I finished a note on the propaganda war, and pushed the send button, I went into the living room to watch a weekly program that provides a look at what others are saying about us.
On the screen was a lengthy segment from 60 minutes, with Bob Simon showing the ugliness of IDF operations in the West Bank. He portrayed harassment at roadblocks, and interviewed a Palestinian physician who asserted that the vast majority of roadblocks had no justification for security, but were only meant to keep Palestinians from traveling within Palestine and to frustrate the development of a Palestinian state. There were aerial shots of Jewish settlements and roads (for Jews only) that were said to cut up the West Bank in order to make that state an impossibility.
The ugliest segments showed occupations of a large family home in Nablus, which the IDF used for observing the surroundings. The homeowner complained of being locked in his house, his wife and children kept in a side room when soldiers came repeatedly, always unannounced and uninvited, and took over the rest of the house.
Daniela Weiss, a political leader of settlers, spoke at length about God providing all that Jews needed by way of authority to occupy all the Land of Israel. She said time and again that any effort of the Israeli government to remove settlers would be met by a mutiny of army officers and soldiers. Meron Benvenisti has been criticizing settlement policy since the 1970s. He said what he has written countless times: settlements reflect Israeli machinations to control the land and to frustrate Palestinian aspirations. There was a snippet of Tzipi Livni saying that she would remove settlements for the sake of peace, and that law abiding Israelis would implement what the government decided.
For those who think that American Jews dominate the media and use it to reinforce Israel's actions, the program proved that "with friends like that we do not need enemies."
What was missing was a balanced discussion of Israeli actions.
The physician said that he was denied access to Jerusalem, despite applying for an entry permit more than 20 times and never receiving an explanation for the rejection of his applications. What the program did not report was that he has been arrested several times in Jerusalem for entering the city illegally. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mustafa_Barghouti That may not be the only reason for denying him a permit, but it is the kind of reason that bureaucracies consider sufficient.
Daniela Weiss and Meron Benvenisti are caricatures of the extreme right and left. The program offered no mention of the violent Palestinian response to withdrawing settlements from Gaza, the historical context in which Palestinians and other Arabs refused to negotiate with Israel for some years after 1967, the periodic outbursts of violence since then, and the assertion, repeatedly made, that only Israelis have to make concessions. These points should figure in reasonable explanation for settlements that do not rest on God or scheming Israelis. The segment of the roads built for Jews only did not mention drive-by shootings and ambushes of Jews on roads in the West Bank available to both Jews and Palestinians.
Tzipi Livni came through as a caricature of a left wing politician, intent on withdrawing settlements, and confident that as prime minister she will have to the power to enforce her wish against all opposition.
That portrait of Livni, in her own words, could lose her votes in next week's election. But it is not the whole picture of Livni. In other presentations, not edited to show an unnuanced picture of Israelis, she emphasizes the need to negotiate in good faith, willing to make sacrifices like withdrawing settlements, but also waiting for movement in the Palestinian position. She is not the martinet portrayed on 60 minutes.
Reasonable people disagree about Israeli policy, as well as particular actions in the West Bank. There are decent Palestinians who want opportunities to travel for purposes of business, family visits, medical care, or religious ceremonies, and who aspire to create a state of their own. Not every Israeli soldier is a saint. Long hours on guard duty may limit sensitivities in dealing with those who wish to pass. But some who wish to pass are intent on evil. Suspicion results from female suicide bombers dressed as if they are pregnant, men and women who attack soldiers with knives, and ambulances used to transport fighters and weapons.
What Israelis face when they ponder the West Bank is a complex story composed of Palestinian violence, as well as Palestinian aspirations that are admirable. Israeli citizens, politicians, and military personnel ponder the difficulties, and argue about actions proposed as well as those already taken. An earlier program on the same channel was a lengthy interview with a recently retired member of the IDF General Staff. He talked about conflicting religious norms, and other issues that made him ambivalent about the use of force. His ruminations provide an insight as to why it may take so long for Israelis to respond to Palestinian violence. He is not a pacifist. He also showed that once convinced, he and his colleagues, could order the kind of response we have seen in Gaza.
Compared to him, Bob Simon's presentation was as shallow as a single sheet of paper.
I welcome comments sent to my e-mail address below.
Ira Sharkansky (Emeritus)
Dept of Political Science
The Hebrew University of Jerusalem
msira@mscc.huji.ac.il
Tel: +972-2-532-2725
Fax: +972-2-582-9144