Outposts usually grow into regular settlements. Here is a video (go to 1:50 in and watch to the end) that shows exactly how the process starts - a few trailers in this case watched over by an Israeli Army vehicle on a nearby hill. Remember that it is legal for those in outposts to carry firearms, while the Palestinians are forbidden the possession of weapons.
For an excellent overview of the outpost-to-settlement process, watch the following video from Jewish-American activist Anna Baltzer. She rightly emphasizes the economic support America gives to Israel that subsidizes the process and shows how settlers can attack Palestinians. She goes on to make the distinction between Jews, Israelis and Zionists, a distinction the Israeli authorities do not wish anyone to make. The entire video is worth watching. Anna has created a tutorial DVD covering the gamut of topics for the conflict.
Do you know the work of Yeshayahu Leibowitz, a Zionist who condemned the occupation? He argued that expanding Israel as a religious calling was idolatrous; and that State policy can have no religious function. Perhaps his writings may be useful to you: Judaism, human values, and the Jewish State, ed. Eliezer Goldman.
ReplyDeleteI had not heard of him, but just looked him up on Wikipedia where it says "Leibowitz was a staunch believer in the separation of state and religion. He believed that mixing the two corrupted faith". It's hard to deny that religion has been leveraged for the sake of the state - it's the sine qua non of Israel. Thanks for mentioning him.
ReplyDeleteThis from 2010's Peace Nobel Winner, Liu Xiaobo, from his statement before the court when sentenced for 10 years, in 2009:
ReplyDelete"hatred is corrosive of a person’s wisdom and conscience; the mentality of enmity can poison a nation’s spirit, instigate brutal life and death struggles, destroy a society’s tolerance and humanity, and block a nation’s progress to freedom and democracy"
The full statement may be found at
http://thelede.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/10/08/jailed-chinese-dissidents-final-statement/
The view is not limited in application to a Chinese dissident. Israeli victimization is a strong defense.