DRAFT (to be edited for links)
I can't sit idly while others scapegoat people with autism. It's been done lately in the media.
Beyond the issue of gun control, the murders in Newtown, CT, demonstrate the tragedy of somehow stigmatizing those who benefit or could benefit from special education or individualized education plans. People on the autism spectrum should not be excluded or feared for being different.
Autism is not a mental illness. It's a difference in the brain's wiring which often means a disability in social communication.
When the reports first started coming out about the murderer, some reporters were quick to say that he was on the autism spectrum or had Aspergers and that he was reportedly home-schooled at some point. Undoubtedly, there was something wrong in the young man's life that he chose to act in such a heinous manner, but that's not autism. Perhaps he was also diagnosed with an actual mental illness. We may never know.
A few years ago we lived not far from Newton. As young parents we moved from New York City to the Bronx, then up to Tarrytwon in Westchester County; in the economic tumult of the early 2000s we moved three more times (twice out-of-state) before moving back to Westchester County. Upon our return we lived closer to Danbury, CT, than to White Plains, NY.
For two years we rented an old farm house in an idyllic setting in the North Salem school district. When we were looking for a home to rent, my focus was on the schools and their approach to teaching kids on the autism spectrum since our third grade son had been diagnosed with Aspergers and ADHD.
I looked for school systems that proactively addressed the issue of bullying and found them scattered throughout Westchester and Putnam Counties. On more than one occasion I was urged to forget the idea of moving to Connecticut; unfortunately, that state's public schools did not have the reputation of supporting kids with special needs as well as the New York schools.
This was a few years ago and Connecticut may have made strides in offering needed services to kids with special needs. Teachers and staff of Sandy Hook clearly had a strong connection to all their students, some of who most likely were children with special needs.
In our case we chose a school in a system that had a strong inclusion (mainstream) philosophy, a strong anti-bullying program, and a sense that we had allies in the throughout the community in valuing the gifts of each child and having strong supports in place for those most vulnerable.
Our son was placed into a team-taught classroom where the two teachers (one with a special education degree) could've passed as sisters. I wondered if it was their plan to share the same distinctive hairstyle, but they worked seamlessly with the students who sometimes understandably mixed up their names.
I had the good fortune of seeing this approach first as a parent and then as a substitute teacher. I had taught high schoolers years before but enjoyed working at the elementary level as well.
In the team-taught classroom about half of the children had IEPs (individualized education plans for various reasons.) Of the other students I noticed a willingness to help, be patient with, share and thrive side-by-side their classmates with hidden differences or disabilities.
Perhaps these kids lived with special needs siblings or demonstrated certain sensitivities and compassion; at the tender age of 9 these students were easily welcoming to others and this non-judgmental, non-competitive atmosphere really worked.
Sometimes I subbed in the class across the hall and noticed a stark difference in the room. For whatever reason in that class students often bickered and competed needlessly over things that didn't really matter...like who was first to turn in their worksheet.
At the end of the school year it was wonderful to witness the team-taught class winning the tug-of-war field-day competition. Theirs wasn't the loudest group during the bouts as they pulled as a group, but they worked steadfastly together. They calmly encouraged each other and persevered. At the end of the rounds a joyous celebration ensued. I was sure that an outsider would not be able to identify who among the students had IEPs. That was a successful, wonderful class for all. A true blessing.
My belief is that we all have strengths and challenges, some unseen. We have gifts to contribute and lessons to learn. How much better isit to be in a community that acknowledges that and welcomes kids who might be otherwise stigmatized than accepted for who they are.
In other school districts where we lived I once contemplated homeschooling our son. I was gently encouraged not to and I'm forever grateful for knowing we had allies. The teachers and administrators made us feel welcome at school. They had a plan of success and encouraged our input. Our once a year meeting in a conference room demonstrated a concert red approach by professionals...from the classroom teachers to the specialists. Everyone had positive things to praise in our son while acknowledging areas in which he'd need support, like social interactions.
Soon after learning we would be moving out of state yet again, our son developed an extreme phobia to bees, he was accompanied by an aide at recess. She helped him to cope. His classroom teacher and others were made aware of his panic; even the school custodian helped in one situation. Compassion and respect buoyed this institution.
I'd like to think that all school districts in all states have this sound approach and always have or at least did 15 years ago when a young Adam Lanza entered school.
In no way do I want to criticize the educators and administrators at Sandy Hook Elementary. They did their best to protect all their children, some of whom no doubt had special needs. Several died doing the right thing and I hope I'd be as brave.
The tragedy began long before; who could know the thought process of one who would target little kids. It's something out of a bizarre movie or worse. So many questions are left unanswered. But if the bits of information we have are true, my gut tells me it's about a little one who fell through the cracks.
When did sociopathology enter the narrative? Did his parents compare him with his older brother (who hadn't seen his younger brother in how many years)? Why the falling out with his father? Was the son welcome in his father's new home? Did the mother have the skills to cope? What were her supports if any? Was she in denial? Did she have a gun safe? If not, why not? Did she drink to escape/escape to drink? Was her son completely isolated? Had he been evaluated for other diagnoses? The compounding tragedy is in not knowing.
What I do know to be true is that we must speak out against ignorance and bigotry toward those with differences. No one should be scapegoated or labeled with someone's ignorance of the facts.
Friday, January 4, 2013
Friday, December 14, 2012
Betraying Michigan
My state is being hi-jacked by extremists, and I'm not going to stand for it. I'm a
sixth-generation Michigander and recall many stories of past political turmoil; nothing, however comes close to what's happening in Lansing this week.
Governor Rick Snyder (R-Ann Arbor) fell in many a citizen's esteem with his rush to sign anti-worker's rights legislation this week. The drumbeat to make him a "One Term Nerd" is being heard.
As the coup was happening, Brandon Dillon (D-Kent Co.) challenged the state house Republicans to bring the matter of "Right to Work" for less before a committee instead of rushing the bill through without public input. He was right to call out that party's hypocrisy in filling the public area with staffers so that fewer Michiganders could hear the Republican-led assembly despite its promise for transparency.
Meanwhile the out-of-state influence of the Koch brother's Americans for Posterity is insidious. And that mother of invention, necessity, has inspired a boycott app just in time for the holidays.
I am thankful that we have vocal leadership in our local congressman, Jeff Irwin (D-Ann Arbor), who defended women's reproductive rights and accused Republicans of limiting access to birth control and abortion services.
In the wee hours of the morning Jeff posted about yet another bill being rammed through:
Governor Rick Snyder claims that he is working to bring jobs to Michigan; however, he is merely caving to the union-busting push by the far right corporatists who want more of their workers without paying them a decent wage.
Snyder has betrayed the people of Michigan by propping up a phony class system. Wealthy individuals should be honored to pay their fair share in taxes. Dick DeVos and others like him don't need more handouts. Yet by making it harder for working families to get good-paying jobs, accessing reproductive services and excellent public education, the corporatists are pushing the state and its natural resources toward cataclysm.
We are all Michiganders. The land, its bounty of fresh water__the largest in the world__and the wilderness deserve better stewardship, not auctioning them off to cronies without a care for the common good.
And legislating by cover of darkness and 3 a.m. sessions is no way for the light of transparency to shine. Pure Michigan? Pure betrayal.
sixth-generation Michigander and recall many stories of past political turmoil; nothing, however comes close to what's happening in Lansing this week.
Governor Rick Snyder (R-Ann Arbor) fell in many a citizen's esteem with his rush to sign anti-worker's rights legislation this week. The drumbeat to make him a "One Term Nerd" is being heard.
As the coup was happening, Brandon Dillon (D-Kent Co.) challenged the state house Republicans to bring the matter of "Right to Work" for less before a committee instead of rushing the bill through without public input. He was right to call out that party's hypocrisy in filling the public area with staffers so that fewer Michiganders could hear the Republican-led assembly despite its promise for transparency.
Meanwhile the out-of-state influence of the Koch brother's Americans for Posterity is insidious. And that mother of invention, necessity, has inspired a boycott app just in time for the holidays.
I am thankful that we have vocal leadership in our local congressman, Jeff Irwin (D-Ann Arbor), who defended women's reproductive rights and accused Republicans of limiting access to birth control and abortion services.
In the wee hours of the morning Jeff posted about yet another bill being rammed through:
Now, at 3:30 am we're voting on a package of bills that reduce taxes on mining companies. (HB 6007, 6008, 6010-12). Of course, these mining operations are located in the most pristine and wonderful wilderness east of the Mississippi. If you haven't been to the Yellow Dog Plains along the shores of Lake Superior, you might want to go now.
Governor Rick Snyder claims that he is working to bring jobs to Michigan; however, he is merely caving to the union-busting push by the far right corporatists who want more of their workers without paying them a decent wage.
Snyder has betrayed the people of Michigan by propping up a phony class system. Wealthy individuals should be honored to pay their fair share in taxes. Dick DeVos and others like him don't need more handouts. Yet by making it harder for working families to get good-paying jobs, accessing reproductive services and excellent public education, the corporatists are pushing the state and its natural resources toward cataclysm.
We are all Michiganders. The land, its bounty of fresh water__the largest in the world__and the wilderness deserve better stewardship, not auctioning them off to cronies without a care for the common good.
And legislating by cover of darkness and 3 a.m. sessions is no way for the light of transparency to shine. Pure Michigan? Pure betrayal.
Thursday, September 27, 2012
The Bully Brown
When Massachusetts senator Scott Brown immediately attacked Elizabeth Warren in a recent debate because she didn't "look" Native American, his campaign struck a new low in politics. Then a few days later members of his staff actively engaged in racist baiting while on the campaign trail. He didn't respond to the despicable actions of his staff until days later and only after a Cherokee leader denounced the behavior.
In this day and age why is it acceptable for people to openly behave in such manner during a national campaign. Do we really want a senator who encourages or ignores his STAFFERS from acting like racist ignoramuses?
How quickly would he or we as Americans react if someone's campaign staff started calling out racist slurs or anti-Semitic chants? It wouldn't be tolerated. Speaking as a person with both Jewish and Native American heritage I find the current campaign against Warren unacceptable.
Would it be okay if someone told Brown that he didn't "look" Jewish and therefore was fraudulent in claiming that his grandmother or great-grandfather was a Jew? Or...Scott Brown doesn't look Italian; how dare he say there's a great-grandmother who was from Sicily! Would it be okay for his opposition's staffers to chant racist or anti-Semitic slogans in broad daylight?
So why is it acceptable or encouraged by some people to actively denigrate the heritage of Native Americans? Is it important for Brown and his ilk to distinguish the individual tribes and nations among the First Peoples or is the "tomahawk chop" shorthand for all of those people.
Racism is wrong. What goes around comes around. Brown is erroneous if he thinks all Americans of pilgrim ancestry approve of him and his staff. He brings shame on his own heritage, which is far more diverse than he promotes.
Here's hoping that the citizens of Massachusetts throw out race-baiting and embrace the person who is proud of all her heritage.
In this day and age why is it acceptable for people to openly behave in such manner during a national campaign. Do we really want a senator who encourages or ignores his STAFFERS from acting like racist ignoramuses?
How quickly would he or we as Americans react if someone's campaign staff started calling out racist slurs or anti-Semitic chants? It wouldn't be tolerated. Speaking as a person with both Jewish and Native American heritage I find the current campaign against Warren unacceptable.
Would it be okay if someone told Brown that he didn't "look" Jewish and therefore was fraudulent in claiming that his grandmother or great-grandfather was a Jew? Or...Scott Brown doesn't look Italian; how dare he say there's a great-grandmother who was from Sicily! Would it be okay for his opposition's staffers to chant racist or anti-Semitic slogans in broad daylight?
So why is it acceptable or encouraged by some people to actively denigrate the heritage of Native Americans? Is it important for Brown and his ilk to distinguish the individual tribes and nations among the First Peoples or is the "tomahawk chop" shorthand for all of those people.
Racism is wrong. What goes around comes around. Brown is erroneous if he thinks all Americans of pilgrim ancestry approve of him and his staff. He brings shame on his own heritage, which is far more diverse than he promotes.
Here's hoping that the citizens of Massachusetts throw out race-baiting and embrace the person who is proud of all her heritage.
Tuesday, September 25, 2012
Being American
I've been meaning to speak out on Scott Brown's taking to task Elizabeth Warren because she's claimed to have Native American ancestry. That she never did it to gain special consideration doesn't matter to him. Because she doesn't "look" like what he thinks a native person should look like, he thinks she's to blame for something. That's outrageous. He doesn't "look" like what I'd imagine a jerk to look like but that doesn't mean he's not one.
Brown's rude tactic appeals to those content with racism in America. How easy it is for Teabaggers to devolve into hatchet chops and "war whoops." Is this how civil society conducts its business?
What Brown may not appreciate is the fact that many American families have some native heritage. They may not be "registered" or even know which tribe their ancestor(s) hailed from, but family stories and DNA testing carry weight. It is something to be appreciated not kept in a closet of shame.
Depending on when his family arrived on this continent, he may have a more diverse background as well. Then again it may not be easy for someone whose American roots go back only a couple generations to understand. As a substitute teacher in Northern Westchester County, New York, a while ago I witnessed a third grader from a family of means gleefully proclaim that "we killed all the Indians." Where did he learn such unabashed racism? His own European grandparents came to this country mid-20th century. I explained to him that all Indians had indeed not been killed, that in fact many still lived in the New England area.
I then segued into teaching the origin of his school's name meaning "high on a hill" in the local Native tongue, that I had native ancestry and didn't appreciate disparaging comments in class. Talk about a teaching moment.
As a kid I felt an affinity for Native American culture. I read voraciously in school libraries and consumed the books from my grandfather's bookshelves. When I was older I heard my grandfather speak of my grandmother's family having some Indian heritage, although as it turned out to be from a very distant time.
My agnostic grandfather, with Puritan Massachusetts Bay Colony roots, orated Wordsworth by heart and lectured anyone within earshot on man's craven inhumanity to man in the name of religion. Racist genocide against Native Americans was a very real shame; he was no fan of George Armstrong Custer's mindset.
My grandmother couldn't confirm whether she had Native roots, but her freethinker father claimed that she did. Half of her flock of children had blond hair, the other dark...a typical American family.When I learned of this aspect of our family history I was already in college. Whenever filling out a form which asked for my race, I'd either check Caucasian (since that's the dominant group) or leave it blank.
It wasn't until I was a twenty-something auditioning for acting jobs in New York that I took offense for being asked to label myself from one distinct group. I am a part of the whole world, not just one subset. I may look white__and there's nothing wrong with being white__but I see the labeling as limiting. I appreciate it when I'm "allowed" to check more than one box or just write "human." Then again, how many people that like neat and tidy designations actually know whether they are of just one heritage?
In attacking Warren Brown is insinuating that she has misled people. I think that is an uncharitable view. It's offensive to say that she must not acknowledge her family's roots because someone might consider her trying to take advantage of what exactly? Should Brown cover up his own family's roots because he might have a heritage that isn't of all one background? I think not.
I admire Warren, not for her racial make up but for her guts in speaking truth to power; she stands up for ALL Americans. Is she perfect? Hardly, but do we want leaders who represent only the few and disparage families for being who they are...American?
Brown's rude tactic appeals to those content with racism in America. How easy it is for Teabaggers to devolve into hatchet chops and "war whoops." Is this how civil society conducts its business?
What Brown may not appreciate is the fact that many American families have some native heritage. They may not be "registered" or even know which tribe their ancestor(s) hailed from, but family stories and DNA testing carry weight. It is something to be appreciated not kept in a closet of shame.
Depending on when his family arrived on this continent, he may have a more diverse background as well. Then again it may not be easy for someone whose American roots go back only a couple generations to understand. As a substitute teacher in Northern Westchester County, New York, a while ago I witnessed a third grader from a family of means gleefully proclaim that "we killed all the Indians." Where did he learn such unabashed racism? His own European grandparents came to this country mid-20th century. I explained to him that all Indians had indeed not been killed, that in fact many still lived in the New England area.
I then segued into teaching the origin of his school's name meaning "high on a hill" in the local Native tongue, that I had native ancestry and didn't appreciate disparaging comments in class. Talk about a teaching moment.
As a kid I felt an affinity for Native American culture. I read voraciously in school libraries and consumed the books from my grandfather's bookshelves. When I was older I heard my grandfather speak of my grandmother's family having some Indian heritage, although as it turned out to be from a very distant time.
My agnostic grandfather, with Puritan Massachusetts Bay Colony roots, orated Wordsworth by heart and lectured anyone within earshot on man's craven inhumanity to man in the name of religion. Racist genocide against Native Americans was a very real shame; he was no fan of George Armstrong Custer's mindset.
My grandmother couldn't confirm whether she had Native roots, but her freethinker father claimed that she did. Half of her flock of children had blond hair, the other dark...a typical American family.When I learned of this aspect of our family history I was already in college. Whenever filling out a form which asked for my race, I'd either check Caucasian (since that's the dominant group) or leave it blank.
It wasn't until I was a twenty-something auditioning for acting jobs in New York that I took offense for being asked to label myself from one distinct group. I am a part of the whole world, not just one subset. I may look white__and there's nothing wrong with being white__but I see the labeling as limiting. I appreciate it when I'm "allowed" to check more than one box or just write "human." Then again, how many people that like neat and tidy designations actually know whether they are of just one heritage?
In attacking Warren Brown is insinuating that she has misled people. I think that is an uncharitable view. It's offensive to say that she must not acknowledge her family's roots because someone might consider her trying to take advantage of what exactly? Should Brown cover up his own family's roots because he might have a heritage that isn't of all one background? I think not.
I admire Warren, not for her racial make up but for her guts in speaking truth to power; she stands up for ALL Americans. Is she perfect? Hardly, but do we want leaders who represent only the few and disparage families for being who they are...American?
Tuesday, August 21, 2012
Hot August Night
(Origianlly written August 2012)
It was 35 years ago that my August slumber party's plans for a movie night were ruined. The only thing on TV was the Watergate scandal. With the debt ceiling limit debate being broadcasted on this Sunday night, I'm reminded of that day. Never before we were told then and now. The theater of privileged interests is very predictable if not transparent.
Was this country created only for the wealthy. Hell no. My forefathers and foremothers came here to be free and have opportunity. They didn't come to exploit their fellow men. And when people were exploited it was up to decent, hardworking Americans to take a stand for what was right.
Not everyone slaughtered their neighbor just because they were different. Those who were of the cloth created their communities based on what they felt were moral guideposts. At the same time others were transforming those same stories and creating new possibilities, a new land with freedom for all. The women who first challenged the church leaders were banished, yet thrived in their new freedom. New colonies were formed. Women's equality was a matter of course....
It was 35 years ago that my August slumber party's plans for a movie night were ruined. The only thing on TV was the Watergate scandal. With the debt ceiling limit debate being broadcasted on this Sunday night, I'm reminded of that day. Never before we were told then and now. The theater of privileged interests is very predictable if not transparent.
Was this country created only for the wealthy. Hell no. My forefathers and foremothers came here to be free and have opportunity. They didn't come to exploit their fellow men. And when people were exploited it was up to decent, hardworking Americans to take a stand for what was right.
Not everyone slaughtered their neighbor just because they were different. Those who were of the cloth created their communities based on what they felt were moral guideposts. At the same time others were transforming those same stories and creating new possibilities, a new land with freedom for all. The women who first challenged the church leaders were banished, yet thrived in their new freedom. New colonies were formed. Women's equality was a matter of course....
Tuesday, March 13, 2012
You Can't Always Get What You Want...
Election years always bring out the extremes it seems. Down in the South "mysteries" about President Obama's birth certificate and religion are obfuscating the real issues, the ongoing war on democracy and human rights.
Since September 11, 2001, we as Americans have given up more rights than were gained since the Civil War. I'm not exaggerating. With the new era of robber barons and widening income disparity between the Earth's people, civilization is at a crossroads.
Born in the '60s and having a decent middle class life in the suburbs, I never would've predicted that our future would be so fraught with division. Whatever happened to the "Age of Aquairius"? I was no hippie, although I would've wanted to dress like one; I was an idealistic kid who bought into "it's a small world," after all. I read my Nat. Geo magazine and planned on seeing the world. Never did I think in choosing that path, teaching abroad and elsewhere, that I would be giving up a future of stability or making a difference. In following my path I, too, would have something to contribute.
But enough about me.
I am saddened to think how far to the right this country and the world have gone. Instead of making a better world for all, wars have taken their toll. Innocent people are killed daily in order for the few really bad actors to be stopped. There has got to be a better way.
Not being a religious person I have to admist that at times like these an appearance of the miraculous, nirvanic/messianic enlightenment is devoutly to be wished. Now, I'm not talking about fake stagings of the coming of the Messiah. I mean if people truly woke up and saw that we're all interconnected, that we don't have to spiral into destruction, we could tread water a bit and gain our bearings.
Growing spiritually doesn't require fanaticism or closed-mindedness. It's an individual path. Seeing yourself or the divine in the other is the first step. Resisting the urge to hurt another is another. Why become the thing you loathe? If you resist you find balance in the tension of ever-wakefulness. This world leads into the next, I believe. It's imperative that we act as healers and not destroyers. The choice is ours.
It may take a leap of faith to act in good faith, but the rewards could be immense. Imagine a world going in a different direction; instead of dismembering the Solomonic baby, we could preserve the whole and have a future. Our children and their children deserve it, not endless war and lies.
Who profits from war? Who can honestly choose that over another way, one that doesn't require slaughter and subterfuge. Speaking truth to power has always necessitated risking one's current level of comfort. I don't want to be comfortable with the state of our world. If each of us can make a difference then that's what I choose to do.
I start by welcoming dialogue.
Since September 11, 2001, we as Americans have given up more rights than were gained since the Civil War. I'm not exaggerating. With the new era of robber barons and widening income disparity between the Earth's people, civilization is at a crossroads.
Born in the '60s and having a decent middle class life in the suburbs, I never would've predicted that our future would be so fraught with division. Whatever happened to the "Age of Aquairius"? I was no hippie, although I would've wanted to dress like one; I was an idealistic kid who bought into "it's a small world," after all. I read my Nat. Geo magazine and planned on seeing the world. Never did I think in choosing that path, teaching abroad and elsewhere, that I would be giving up a future of stability or making a difference. In following my path I, too, would have something to contribute.
But enough about me.
I am saddened to think how far to the right this country and the world have gone. Instead of making a better world for all, wars have taken their toll. Innocent people are killed daily in order for the few really bad actors to be stopped. There has got to be a better way.
Not being a religious person I have to admist that at times like these an appearance of the miraculous, nirvanic/messianic enlightenment is devoutly to be wished. Now, I'm not talking about fake stagings of the coming of the Messiah. I mean if people truly woke up and saw that we're all interconnected, that we don't have to spiral into destruction, we could tread water a bit and gain our bearings.
Growing spiritually doesn't require fanaticism or closed-mindedness. It's an individual path. Seeing yourself or the divine in the other is the first step. Resisting the urge to hurt another is another. Why become the thing you loathe? If you resist you find balance in the tension of ever-wakefulness. This world leads into the next, I believe. It's imperative that we act as healers and not destroyers. The choice is ours.
It may take a leap of faith to act in good faith, but the rewards could be immense. Imagine a world going in a different direction; instead of dismembering the Solomonic baby, we could preserve the whole and have a future. Our children and their children deserve it, not endless war and lies.
Who profits from war? Who can honestly choose that over another way, one that doesn't require slaughter and subterfuge. Speaking truth to power has always necessitated risking one's current level of comfort. I don't want to be comfortable with the state of our world. If each of us can make a difference then that's what I choose to do.
I start by welcoming dialogue.
Monday, July 18, 2011
Israel...Moving Away from Democracy
As someone who grew up proud of the ideals that a modern, democratic Israel stood for__an ingathering of nations__it is a sad to read how far it's moved from its foundation of democracy, plurality and freedom of speech. With the recent passing of the anti-boycott law by the Knesset, Israel has moved away from reconciliation and a two-state solution with the Palestinian people toward a de facto annexation of Judaea and Samaria but without equality for all. The law basically forbids distinguishing doing business within Israel proper and doing business with those profiting from within the Occupied Territories taken in 1967. Regardless of how people feel about the status of Jerusalem, there is a distinction to be made between the lands partitioned in 1948 and the lands occupied since the Six Day War. As Bradley Burston recently wrote in "A Special Place in Hell," Israel is moving away from democratic ideals. But why should it matter to Americans?
As a student on a one year program to Israel in 1984, I remember the topic coming up: should the United States give military aid to Israel? "Of course; Israel is the only democracy in the Middle East; it's an ally." What if Israel stopped being a democracy? "No way," I said. Preserving democracy, human rights, equality and justice were paramount in my opinion. Just the discussion of hypothetically cutting off aid to Israel caused a classmate to say, "Israel could go it alone if it had to. In fact that might be a good thing."
At the time the first Lebanon-Israeli war was coming to a close; the Labor party diplomat Shimon Peres was prime minister. No one seriously considered Israel turning toward monarchy or a dictatorship. That was absurd. At the time those living in settlements in the "Occupied Territories" were primarily transplanted, newly-religious Americans or devout followers of an extreme rabbi who shot at stone-throwers.
Those of us studying at the Hebrew University on Mount Scopus were technically within the "West Bank" since it lay in Eastern Jerusalem. However, the Hadassah hospital and the university had withstood the blockade those many years to remain an island of sorts...one that continued to breach the divide. Palestinian or Arab-Israeli doctors worked side-by-side with Jewish Israelis. Students of all faiths attended the university. The mayor at the time, Teddy Kollek, was a pragmatic idealist who brought people together. That's not to say all was perfect. But the potential for connecting to something wonderful was almost palpable. Clouds seemed a little closer to the earth in this landscape. The sun's rays cast an aura over hillsides where stone facades glistened in late afternoon. And then a sonic boom from an invisible jet brought one back to reality.
Wanting to visit the historical burial place of Abraham, Sarah, Isaac and Rebekah, my roommate and I chose to ride the Arab bus to Hebron one Saturday morning. Wending its way south through the hills, the bus traversed Bethlehem and skirted a large refugee camp on our way to the tombs of the Patriarchs and Matriarchs. As American students we had no problems on the way there. Arriving at the city center, we walked the streets toward the Cave of the Machpelah; an Israeli soldier protecting a tiny Jewish barb-wired enclave chided us for our seeming recklessness. We made sure to speak to him in English, in this largely Arabic-speaking town, and walked on toward the historic site.
Hebron held its history close. Holy to three paternal monotheistic religions slaughters have occurred as recently as the 1994 attack on worshippers by a deranged Jewish gunman, but at this time the most memorable "recent" event was the 1929 massacre of 67 of Jewish residents by Arab attackers. What sometimes gets overlooked is the fact that 19 Arab families hid 435 Jews in their homes and saved them at great risk to themselves. Doing good in the midst of evil deserves remembrance.
My friend and I toured the tombs, had lunch at an outdoor cafe and visited a tourist shop where one could buy painted ceramic drums with sheepskin heads and other various trinkets. After purchasing a souvenir I explored another room where a tall, blonde tourist was speaking with the proprietor who was declaiming about "the Jews." The European nodded and the men paid no mind to this American eavesdropping on their conversation. The shop owner complaining about the occupation but didn't say "the Israelis." His gripe was with Jews in general. There was no pretense in working out a peaceable solution. This man was looking for allies, and I noted with irony the German-accented tourist commiserating with him.
I didn't confront the men; my friend and I left to return to the bus station. I contemplated the drum I now carried and how it would always remind me of this moment and a few minutes later.
As my roommate and I boarded the bus back to Jerusalem, a young man took notice of us and started heckling my friend. He sat across from us and asked if she was a Jew. Because she looked "Jewish" to this Palestinian and I apparently didn't, she was verbally berated on the twenty minute ride from Hebron to the Dehaishe refugee camp outside of Bethlehem. My friend__who had chosen to learn Arabic, to meet Palestinians as equals and wished to make a peaceful life in the land where her mother was born__stoically withstood the contempt after our attempts at talking with him failed. Thankfully, other riders did not join in; he vented and left the bus as it stopped at the Deheishe camp. The refugee camp was created after the Israeli War of Independence after the Jordanians conquerors of the West Bank didn't accept the Palestinians onto their lands and so made them stay in the slum. Generations later they remained trapped in an open-air tenement of despair, eloquently described in David Grossman's, The Yellow Wind.
We were grateful to be rid of the bully, and I felt for my friend. She had borne the brunt of the abuse with strength and courage. Later, she would verbally defend me from xenophobic bigots as I dared to walk through their neighborhood. But that's another story.
As a student on a one year program to Israel in 1984, I remember the topic coming up: should the United States give military aid to Israel? "Of course; Israel is the only democracy in the Middle East; it's an ally." What if Israel stopped being a democracy? "No way," I said. Preserving democracy, human rights, equality and justice were paramount in my opinion. Just the discussion of hypothetically cutting off aid to Israel caused a classmate to say, "Israel could go it alone if it had to. In fact that might be a good thing."
At the time the first Lebanon-Israeli war was coming to a close; the Labor party diplomat Shimon Peres was prime minister. No one seriously considered Israel turning toward monarchy or a dictatorship. That was absurd. At the time those living in settlements in the "Occupied Territories" were primarily transplanted, newly-religious Americans or devout followers of an extreme rabbi who shot at stone-throwers.
Those of us studying at the Hebrew University on Mount Scopus were technically within the "West Bank" since it lay in Eastern Jerusalem. However, the Hadassah hospital and the university had withstood the blockade those many years to remain an island of sorts...one that continued to breach the divide. Palestinian or Arab-Israeli doctors worked side-by-side with Jewish Israelis. Students of all faiths attended the university. The mayor at the time, Teddy Kollek, was a pragmatic idealist who brought people together. That's not to say all was perfect. But the potential for connecting to something wonderful was almost palpable. Clouds seemed a little closer to the earth in this landscape. The sun's rays cast an aura over hillsides where stone facades glistened in late afternoon. And then a sonic boom from an invisible jet brought one back to reality.
Wanting to visit the historical burial place of Abraham, Sarah, Isaac and Rebekah, my roommate and I chose to ride the Arab bus to Hebron one Saturday morning. Wending its way south through the hills, the bus traversed Bethlehem and skirted a large refugee camp on our way to the tombs of the Patriarchs and Matriarchs. As American students we had no problems on the way there. Arriving at the city center, we walked the streets toward the Cave of the Machpelah; an Israeli soldier protecting a tiny Jewish barb-wired enclave chided us for our seeming recklessness. We made sure to speak to him in English, in this largely Arabic-speaking town, and walked on toward the historic site.
Hebron held its history close. Holy to three paternal monotheistic religions slaughters have occurred as recently as the 1994 attack on worshippers by a deranged Jewish gunman, but at this time the most memorable "recent" event was the 1929 massacre of 67 of Jewish residents by Arab attackers. What sometimes gets overlooked is the fact that 19 Arab families hid 435 Jews in their homes and saved them at great risk to themselves. Doing good in the midst of evil deserves remembrance.
My friend and I toured the tombs, had lunch at an outdoor cafe and visited a tourist shop where one could buy painted ceramic drums with sheepskin heads and other various trinkets. After purchasing a souvenir I explored another room where a tall, blonde tourist was speaking with the proprietor who was declaiming about "the Jews." The European nodded and the men paid no mind to this American eavesdropping on their conversation. The shop owner complaining about the occupation but didn't say "the Israelis." His gripe was with Jews in general. There was no pretense in working out a peaceable solution. This man was looking for allies, and I noted with irony the German-accented tourist commiserating with him.
I didn't confront the men; my friend and I left to return to the bus station. I contemplated the drum I now carried and how it would always remind me of this moment and a few minutes later.
As my roommate and I boarded the bus back to Jerusalem, a young man took notice of us and started heckling my friend. He sat across from us and asked if she was a Jew. Because she looked "Jewish" to this Palestinian and I apparently didn't, she was verbally berated on the twenty minute ride from Hebron to the Dehaishe refugee camp outside of Bethlehem. My friend__who had chosen to learn Arabic, to meet Palestinians as equals and wished to make a peaceful life in the land where her mother was born__stoically withstood the contempt after our attempts at talking with him failed. Thankfully, other riders did not join in; he vented and left the bus as it stopped at the Deheishe camp. The refugee camp was created after the Israeli War of Independence after the Jordanians conquerors of the West Bank didn't accept the Palestinians onto their lands and so made them stay in the slum. Generations later they remained trapped in an open-air tenement of despair, eloquently described in David Grossman's, The Yellow Wind.
We were grateful to be rid of the bully, and I felt for my friend. She had borne the brunt of the abuse with strength and courage. Later, she would verbally defend me from xenophobic bigots as I dared to walk through their neighborhood. But that's another story.
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