All Mixed Up
I find it difficult to put everything I've been feeling about the disengagement down here. My thoughts have been so mixed and jumbled that it has certainly been easier to remain silent. But I thought I'd give sharing them a shot.
Though I have never been convinced that a unilateral disengagement is the best solution for Mideast peace, once the decision was made to go ahead with the plan, as a citizen of democracy, I feel that one has an obligation to submit to the rule of majority.
Let me be clear. I don't intend to be one of those living in my own little American bubble, while calling for those being forcibly evacuated from their homes to do so gallantly. There seems to be no dearth of those in the blogosphere. But that is not for me. I feel I have no right, from my perch here, to call upon these settlers to submit peacefully. I will say that I wish, for the safety of all involved, that they would agree to protest in a restrained, nonviolent manner. I would also like to note, that when I say I feel "those being forcibly evacuated from their homes" have the right to protest, I mean to exclude those not in that specific category, such as Dov Hikind, for a particularly relevant example.
What I am truly distraught over, though, is the thought that children not much older than my oldest are are being allowed by the adults responsible for their well-being, to move out of their homes and protest the disengagement in any manner they feel like. We've all heard about the young teen protesters who languished in jail, unclaimed by their parents. We've all seen the footage of youngsters blocking roads, and camped out in the Strip.
As a mother, I just cannot understand feeling as strongly about any of my political views as I do about the welfare of my children.
I hope and pray that the pullout comes off safely for all, and that we gain more from it than we are losing.
Though I have never been convinced that a unilateral disengagement is the best solution for Mideast peace, once the decision was made to go ahead with the plan, as a citizen of democracy, I feel that one has an obligation to submit to the rule of majority.
Let me be clear. I don't intend to be one of those living in my own little American bubble, while calling for those being forcibly evacuated from their homes to do so gallantly. There seems to be no dearth of those in the blogosphere. But that is not for me. I feel I have no right, from my perch here, to call upon these settlers to submit peacefully. I will say that I wish, for the safety of all involved, that they would agree to protest in a restrained, nonviolent manner. I would also like to note, that when I say I feel "those being forcibly evacuated from their homes" have the right to protest, I mean to exclude those not in that specific category, such as Dov Hikind, for a particularly relevant example.
What I am truly distraught over, though, is the thought that children not much older than my oldest are are being allowed by the adults responsible for their well-being, to move out of their homes and protest the disengagement in any manner they feel like. We've all heard about the young teen protesters who languished in jail, unclaimed by their parents. We've all seen the footage of youngsters blocking roads, and camped out in the Strip.
As a mother, I just cannot understand feeling as strongly about any of my political views as I do about the welfare of my children.
I hope and pray that the pullout comes off safely for all, and that we gain more from it than we are losing.
posted by orthomom at 2:11 PM
5 Comments:
and that we gain more from it than we are losing,
sorry, nothing good will come of this.
"As a mother, I just cannot understand feeling as strongly about any of my political views as I do about the welfare of my children."
Don't think of them as political views. Think of them as religious views. Because that's what they are for the bulk of the settlers.
Would you abandon your religion for the well-being of your children? It doesn't seem like a reasonable question to be asking a Mom of 4 in the NY Metro area. But in other places and at other times, simply raising your children as practicing Jews was not, rationally speaking, the best thing for their well-being. Would you have abandoned your religion then?
Settling every possible inch of the Land is a religious mission for the majority of the settlers, and they, like you, are raising their kids to follow their parents' religion fully. You may not agree with their particular religious conviction (personally, I don't), but this is what they believe.
There was an article in last week's NY Jewish Week (your favorite rag, I know) in which someone suggested that the Gaza withdrawal was precipitated primarily by the fact that after 38 years, only 8K people were willing to live there. Sharon's position reflected not just the demographics of Jew vs. Arab in Greater Israel, but also the failure to attract any meaningful aliyah to do anything about it.
Sorry for rambling. These blogs are a real problem for addictive personalities like myself.
And as for Amshi's comment, he might be right. But he also might not be. The only certainty about what will transpire after all of this is over is that no one saw it coming.
I agree with you OMom. I was watching the television news tonight and was astonished to see how young some of the children participating in the protests (actually, close to a riot, in my opinion) in Neve Dekalim were. I wonder if for some parents it is a matter of actually losing control of their children, rather than sending them off with their blessings. In any case, it is pretty horrifying, and I certainly hope that none of the children (or anyone else) is injured.
As a mother, I just cannot understand feeling as strongly about any of my political views as I do about the welfare of my children.
Anyone who supports sending their child to any army ( USA, Israel) automatically disagrees with this statement.
There's a distinction there. Suppporting the decision of an adult child (or their deference to a community norm) to enter the army isn't quite the same as letting an underage kid become a volunteer in a chosen fight.
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