This account would not be complete without sharing one more unexpected surprise, a conversation that confirmed how far afield my own inclinations to stereotype can take me. As some of you know, my return flight was through Frankfurt, Germany where a stopped off for a couple days to spend time with dear friends in Manheim, Germany. (Some may have met this lovely lady recently at Shannon’s Bat Mitzvah in November.) T. and I became good friends (more like “twins” separated at birth) when we first met years ago at the Jewish Renewal Kallah in the Chicago area. Not only was that her first trip to the US but also her first major experience of Jewish Renewal. She jokingly referred to herself as a “professional” Jew because she holds a Masters in Jewish Studies from Heidelberg University. Her Jewish practice is modern Orthodox, consistent with most present-day German Jewish religious communities. Like so many of us, she comes from a deeply wounded family who narrowly escaped Hitler’s master plan by fleeing to the region then known as Palestine. This journey was highly traumatizing and her parents eventually returned to Germany, where they lived out lives in frightening and dysfunctional isolation in her father’s original homeland. Perhaps she and I are an unlikely pair, but this woman is one of the most genuine and delightful educators I have ever had the pleasure to meet; she loves nothing better then to wrestle with religious and spiritual questions at every level and to bring those of us lucky enough to be present along for the ride.
Despite our abiding friendship, I felt apprehensive about sharing the details of my Walk the Green Line experience with her. I assumed I knew her “position” (without ever really asking), and was nervous that our different perspectives might jeopardize our close friendship. After chiding myself for cowardice, I decided I needed to let her speak for herself. I took out my trusty recorder and asked her to tell me what she thought were the best prospects for peace. Was I in for a surprise?
Eventually, in my powerpoint, I will have her “speak for herself” by using excerpts of our recorded conversation, but for now I’d like to paraphrase a few of her comments. First of all she was unequivocal in her belief that there needed to be a firm boundary established between a sovereign and secure state of Israel and a sovereign and secure state of Palestine (sounds a lot like a two state solution to me….). She felt a complete separation was necessary to give both sides ample time (maybe even as long as a generation???) to heal.
Being somewhat encouraged by hearing this perspective, I gently snuck up on the issue of settlements, thinking this would be the major point of departure in our viewpoints. This was even a greater surprise! She told me in no uncertain terms that if there were people who felt for one reason or another they needed to remain on the “Palestinian” side, say by virtue of the fact that they paid for the land, bought their homes, etc. that they should not be prevented from staying, but that they would have to remain there as citizens of the state of Palestine. (Wait a minute? What did she say?) Yes, they should have Palestinian citizenship just as Arabs on the Israeli side have Israeli citizenship. Okay, now I’m thinking there is really something wrong with my hearing. But, my religious, orthodox Jewish friend went even further. She explained to me that many of the ultra orthodox did not have the best interests of Israel or the Jewish people at heart, that they were serving their own agendas and egos. I don’t know that I can paraphrase her rationale with the degree of accuracy that she offered, but I’ll try.
Apparently, according to Jewish law (Halachah), a Jew must not relinquish (give back) land originally ordained by Torah for the Jewish people. HOWEVER (and this is a biggie!!), she went on to explain that thousands of years ago Jewish sages emphatically established that ANY Jewish law can and MUST be broken in order to observe the highest of all laws, which is to PRESERVE LIFE, any life! What really riled up my Orthodox Jewish friend was that the fanatical settlers, in preaching their own “entitlement” to land, were oblivious to this critical legal precedent to which religious Jews are obligated. She thought this indicated a woeful ignorance of the Jewish religion and centuries of tradition.
Finally, completely unsolicited, she noted that as far as she could tell a large majority of the “fanatics” immigrated from the US within the last few decades, and were retaining US citizenship as a “fail safe.” I think she based this idea on the fact that the vast majority spoke Hebrew with an American accent (…something I could neither prove nor deny…) In a joking fashion, she quipped that if Obama was really serious about stopping development expansion, he could simply threaten to revoke their US passports. (Hey this was her idea, not mine; but it gave me pause….)
Consider this a “preview of coming attractions” because for the past two weeks at every turn in the road I encountered the unexpected. And my goal is for you to be as surprised and, perhaps, as chastened as I am.
