Ana Bonnheim begins a March 4 column about the irreproachable institutions of liberty and democracy with the title "Why Israel is Important." She claims that the future of the "democratic free world" is jeopardized by the anti-democratic nature of Palestinian suicide bombers. Though she asserts from the beginning: "To be pro-Israel is not to be anti-Palestinian," she fails conspicuously to mention that pro-Israeli sentiments do not preclude pro-Palestinian ones either.
Bonnheim masks her accusing finger in the pure and unassailable gloves of democracy. She asks, "How can we, as Americans who value the principle of life and liberty above all else, begin a dialogue with a group who is willing to destruct both themselves and unassuming civilians in order to send a political message?" Her sentiments, though directed toward Palestinian militants, have a disturbingly proximate echo. Have we "destruct[ed]" ourselves and unassuming civilians in order to send a political message? Are we still the only industrialized nation on the planet that continues to mete out the death penalty to our "unassuming civilians?" How many "unassuming civilians" have we killed in Afghanistan in the last few months as part of our "political message" regarding the "war on terror?" How many civilians have died in Palestine under the U.S. authorized military orders of Ariel Sharon (the estimates range from 400 to 900 in the last 18 months)?
Do we as Americans really believe that "Democracy is a means as well as an end," as Bonnheim so boldly states? She evens argues for the innocence and purity of our democracy with a hand-waving vilification and hollow analysis of the Sept. 11 bombing by accusing the attackers of "rejecting life" and "mocking our commitment to it." A classic case of the kettle and the pot. I suspect the pain of recognizing that "democracy" has been coopted by "license to do whatever we want" might prove unsettling to most comfortable U.S. citizens.
The other deception at work here that Bonnheim masks in the name of our Western Democracy and Liberty is the completely undemocratic, dis-human and humiliating treatment of Palestinians (this includes suicide bombers, old ladies and little children). It is preposterous to believe that Israel and the United States have democracy in mind as their vision and guiding light vis--vis Palestinian policy. Israel has historically provided unequal public resources (funding for teachers, infrastructure, healthcare, water access, etc.) to Israeli-Arab communities in Israel proper, let alone the paltry support for communities (certainly I do not refer to the illegal Jewish settlements) within the territories. Additionally, the United Nations published a report citing 17 laws within Israel that discriminate against its own citizens: Arab citizens. In the occupied areas, Israel has maintained a colonial policy of Bantustanization -- the dividing up of Palestinian land into small cantons segregated by Israeli-controlled roads and checkpoints -- hardly the infrastructure of a healthy democracy. Additionally, the Israeli government over the years has happily negotiated with Yasser Arafat, who cares little for the quality of democratic participation among his people. Israel has realized that a corrupt ruler in the pocket is worth more than an actively engaged and participating democratic populace under occupation.
Bonnheim suggests that "suicide bombers care about terrorizing the Jews, with no regard to their own lives." Conspicuously absent from this statement is perhaps the root cause of the bombers' desires. Perhaps the bombers also care, in addition to years of acculturated anti-Semitism that the Arab world has done disappointingly little to oppose, about ending 35 years of illegal and humiliating military subjugation. What this does suggest is that Israel does not care about the empowerment of the Palestinian people, but rather about navely fortifying its own security in response to long-held existential fears born of the Holocaust and a vicious anti-Semitic and violent history with many Arab nations.
Democracy is predicated on participation, not finger pointing. Bonnheim does well what is easy: she criticizes the moral nature of suicide and violence against civilians. She neglects to do what is more difficult and more important in any democracy: ask oneself, "What can I do?" I would be surprised to find any supporters of suicide bombers or detractors of democracy in our Dartmouth community. Rallying behind these flags is inadequate. If we really do "value the principle of life and liberty above all else" and are concerned that "democracy is in danger of losing all credibility," then we might, before pointing fingers, ask if we ourselves have not stepped outside the tenets of liberty and basic respect for human life. Our own first enemy is ourselves. It would be suicide for our own democracy if we continued to kill and disempower, all the while maintaining that we act as righteous lovers of peace and defenders of liberty.
Citizens of the United States and American-Jews, in particular, are today in a unique position of power. We live in a country that is at once espousing democracy and at the same time relatively free from the daily terror experienced by Israelis and Palestinians. We have the chance to sit in comparative comfort and security and are blessed with the opportunity to decide, without threat of machine gun or suicide bomber, if we choose democracy as our end or as our means. This is a choice that will manifest itself in our actions, our friendships and our discourse; in what we choose to say and not to say; and in to whom we choose to look first for change in this world.
