Again, I am brought to the Israeli and Palestinian Issue. This is not my first rant about Israel’s inability to see Palestinian people as having a legitimate gripe. (See Here) This time I have been given a glimmer of hope.
While we sit here with good ol’ Dubya saying stupid things like:
“There could be a peace between Israel and Palestine before I leave office”
Really, Mr. President…You think so. I guess you and Condi are gonna be able to work that out by setting a wonderful example of how we handle foreign policy? I suppose this means we can expect Israel to start bombing the hell out of the Palestinians until they are maimed into submission or is that just something we do. Ooops, I forgot they are already doing that, maybe you are just going to teach them better aim. I’m just curious. After all, we have achieved so much for peace in the Middle East with your current policy.
Even a layperson like myself knows that without constant, aggressive peace talks and serious concessions from both the US and Israel the Palestinians will not agree to a second-class citizenship in their own home. To suggest Bush’s biased tactics will result in a true and lasting peace is a fairytale of Disney proportions. However, we live in America and if there is one thing, I have learned it is that as a nation we have no true worldview or vision. We cannot see past Britney’s shaved head.
Therefore, it is with great respect I post about Daniel Barenboim. Mr. Barenboim, an accomplished concert pianist, has petitioned for and been granted Palestinian citizenship. To his way of thinking the best way to achieve a lasting peace is to show the Palestinians that they are in this together and that there has to be a mutual respect in order for a lasting peace to be accomplished.
Understanding that the Palestinians have every right to feel as if Israel has its foot on their neck has been a force in bridging the gap through music. He teaches both Israeli and Palestinian children tolerance through teamwork and humanity through music. His step towards unifying the area, though small, is a huge positive step towards showing the world how true peace is achieved.
I am not big on claiming heroes, but if I were, Mr. Barenboim has catapulted himself to the top of my list. He shows us that in order to effect real change we first must change how we look at the world!
L’Chaim!
