As Ramadan comes to an end, the Middle East is in the beginnings of yet another round of Israeli-Palestinian exchange of rocket-fire. This time, too, the fight is unequal. Not that I would want a fight between near-equals either. But, the asymmetry between the Israeli firepower and what the Palestinians in Gaza have is easy to see and understand in a world in which everything is broadcast live with video and audio.
Congresswoman Rashida Tlaib, who is the daughter of Palestinian immigrants, tweets about the tragedy that coincides with Eid.
All I can hear is children screaming & crying. Their fear. If this isn't terror, I don't know what is.
— Rashida Tlaib (@RashidaTlaib) May 12, 2021
It's Eid ul Fitr, the end of the holy month of Ramadan. Kids should be celebrating, wearing new clothes, and receiving candy & gifts, not hiding from bombs, homeless. pic.twitter.com/CXtAkS2t4t
The asymmetry leads Trevor Noah to ask, “If you are in a fight where the other person cannot beat you, how hard should you retaliate when they try to hurt you? ... when you have this much power, what is your responsibility?"
Thomas Friedman, whose opinions I read only if they are about the Israel-Palestinian issue given his rich understanding of the region and its issues, has a question that should worry us all: "Is this the big one? Is this the start of the next Palestinian uprising?"
Friedman answers his own question with this:
This could all calm down in three or four days as Hamas, Israel, Egypt, Jordan and the Palestinian Authority all find it in their interests to impose their will on the street. Or not. And if it turns into another Intifada, with the street imposing its will on their leaderships, this earthquake will shake Israel, Gaza, the West Bank, Jordan, Egypt and the Abraham Accords.
In short, we don't know. But we know well enough to hope that this will end soon.
Why even blog about this? It is not as if my observations will solve the problem and bring about peace.
To put it simply, old habits die hard.
In the old days before the university's president and provost decided to email me the layoff letter, reading about these matters and blogging about them was also a way in which I was engaging in continuing education. Even if I never taught about many of the topics that I blogged about, the broad understanding that I have helped me in the interactions with students. Now, all I have is one more term of teaching to wrap up the contractual obligations. From 2022 onward, I won't have any students to talk with, and no courses to teach.
But then, I suppose I blog because this is all I know!
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