Knowledge and the Black American, Jewish and Arab Connection

Many have ask me why I decided to come to Israel and I’ve responded that this is where I need to be as a Jewish American developing my identity. Also, Israel is at the center of some of the world’s largest dilemmas and as a Jewish woman I feel that I am ignorant and unaware of this reality. Living in Israel for a year is not only about connecting and developing my Jewish identity but also about learning about Israel, the Middle East, Israelis, Arabs etc. I am so excited to form my own opinions and to have time to think and reflect about what I think rather than being influenced by everyone else. Of course the people around me and being in Israel will be a strong influence but I also have the privilege of meeting many people, having access to a lot of information and studying on my own. 

With that said, I do fear the knowledge that I will acquire. Who will I become after this year in Israel? What will I think? Will I be racist? Will I leave my more liberal beliefs for more conservative beliefs? I started thinking about this a few days ago when my roommate’s friend came over. She is American born and raised and moved to Israel permanently, serving in the army and now finishing up school. As an American, she was moderate in her beliefs about Israel and open to all people. However, her experiences in Israel have made her very racist against Arabs and very conservative. We spent hours talking and I could tell that she was a very intelligent woman. On some subjects I agreed with her, which was a surprise to me. We had good conversation on issues that I had never considered or taken the time to fully understand. At times I felt confused and shocked by her clear racism towards Arabs and her fixed notions of reality. For the first few days in Israel, her vision of reality was the norm. There is a clear anti-Arab/Muslim sentiment, very conservative views and it is interesting to be experiencing it all. Perhaps these sentiments, expressed by many Israeli’s, are perpetuated by the mandatory army service and the reality of life in a land surrounded by conflict and enemies. This is a reality that I do not know and may never truly know but one which continues to fascinate me and push me towards a deeper understanding of Israel and its neighbors.

A day or two later, I went out to lunch with a good friend (Jewish) of mine from England and the inescapable saga of life in Israel became our dominant conversation. Interestingly, my friend, who has not experienced, first hand, the reality of the army and life in Israel shared many of the same beliefs as the Israeli’s that I’ve met. She believes that all Arabs are bad and bases her conclusion off of the actions of some Arabs and Muslims, specifically those defined by the West as terrorist and the leaders of some countries who discriminate against women and limit rights. Additionally, she claimed that I lack proper knowledge about the conflict and the reality of Arabs and Islam to fully understand the situation. Well, I do lack knowledge in this subject but I also consider these political issues to be moral issues that I am qualified to have an opinion and a good basis to judge. She assured me that in a year’s time I would be in agreement with her beliefs. I assured her that I’ve never had a reason not to like Arabs/Muslims or to discriminate against an entire group of people, and that I was not going to start. I further explained that I do not understand why every Muslim and Arab person must be associated with evil. Is it fair that the actions of a few should reflect the entire community? There is evil all around the world and within the Jewish community itself! What makes us different? If we as a Jewish people are willing to allow the actions of a few represent everyone then what do we have to say about Madoff, the infamous, Jewish thief. Madoff stole millions of dollars and he even stole from his fellow Jews, so using her logic, are all Jews, money-loving, selfish thieves? Of course, when I brought this up to my friend she said it was not comparable…right. In my opinion, she failed to give an adequate explanation for why this was not comparable. What I find most interesting about my interactions and my discussions on these topics are the people with whom I discuss such issues. My friend attends one of the best schools in London, which is one of the most diverse cities and she has friends from all religions, sexual orientations and racial backgrounds. Most of my life it has been the uneducated, ignorant people who have always held ludicrous and unfounded opinions. However, each and every person I’ve met and who has expressed such extreme views have all been educated, and well educated, at the best schools in the world! This to me is scary- because it tells me that I could become them. 

But am I capable of becoming them? Does being African American and knowing the history and plight of blacks in the United States influence the way I look at the situation and if so, to what degree? African Americans are bound, for better or for worse, as a cohesive community- termed “linked fate” Thus, the actions of one black person reflects the black community as a whole. This term is most accurately applied to American voting politics and can be used to explain why black Republicans were willing to vote for Obama even though Obama’s liberal policies provided no benefit to them or their beliefs.  YES, some black people voted for Obama because he is BLACK… but can you blame them? Essentially, having a black man in power liberated (to a degree and  perhaps only conceptually or theoretically) blacks from the stigma, the stereotypes and the ideas formulated by Americans and others around the world. A weight was lifted off of our shoulders, as if we had a chance to live as individuals rather than as a reflection of a group. A privilege afforded mainly to white Americans. It’s important to remember that the linked fate is bilateral and negative images are also reflected on the entire black population. Thus, when there is a significantly horrible crime committed by a black the image of all black people is diminished and replaced with negative images and generalizations that continue to play a large part of American society. Even I, who was born into a privileged black family, can still relate and have experienced the constraints of these images and the fate that I did not choose but that has linked me in an inescapable web. A good example of the pressure created by this linked fate can be understood through the Virginia Tech shooting 4 years ago. I remember watching the tv and waiting to learn the ethnicity of the man who shot and killed all those innocent people. In my mind, I was hoping that he would not be black because that would have made my life that much harder. It was as if I had to fight another battle, as if I personally had to reclaim and repair a positive image of black people because some random black person destroyed it. I’ve spoken to a lot of my black friends and they felt the same way… for they too knew the repercussions of being understood within a single, cohesive culture and group. Personally, I’m tired of always having to carry (or feeling as if I have to carry) the burden of representation. Unfortunately, I believe (at this time) it is harder for black Americans to exist as independent individuals; this freedom remains a privilege (acknowledged or not) afforded mostly to white Americans. Generally speaking, if a white person commits a horrible crime he or she represents him/herself and not the entire community. 

It is with this historical linkage that I come to understand my opinions about Arabs, Muslims and Palestinians. How could I perpetuate the same unfair images and generalizations that I, and others have spent their entire life fighting against, voluntarily or involuntarily? I know all too well what it feels like to be linked to the images and actions of a subset of people who look like me and may have some of the same characteristics as I do. I refuse to buy into the notion that there are strict and linear lines of group cohesion and that we can generalize an entire group of people based off of a small sample. This is not to say that we can never make any generalizations but rather we should not base our truths off of these generalizations. The perception of the Arabs and Muslims may in a sense mirror that of the African Americans in that we are linked by others perception of us, constantly working to escape and redefine ourselves as individuals first, rather then as part of a misconceived, unified whole. (I also think that this case can be applied to Arabs, Muslims and Palestinian perceptions of Jews.)

On a different and more positive note, the other day I encountered my first Israeli who did not have such conservative or racist beliefs. He is not only highly educated but he holds one of the most elite positions in the Israeli Army. It was such a relief to meet someone who seemed so level headed and who believed that we could have peace with Jews, Arabs and Palestinians. He was not racist against Arabs and seemed to understand both sides of the story. I’ve been in Israel for about two weeks and I have meet many more people on all sides of the spectrum and I look forward to more encounters.

I know that this debate will be a huge part of my year. Frankly, I look forward to the development of my opinions and a constructive debate. (Although, I must say that these debates are exhausting and very divisive.) I am excited, nervous and scared of the information, the experiences and the opinions I will acquire and formulate. A small part of me wonders… can I handle what I will learn? Plato's speaks of a similar predicament in his cave allegory. What if I “come out of the cave” only to realize that everything that I once thought true, was indeed not true or a fabrication of the truth? Would I retreat back into the cave and live as if I had not experienced the truth? Or will I have enough courage and the will power to seek higher truths? I’d like to think that I would do the latter but that implies that I could indeed become someone  I do not know, someone I thought I would never become or someone I do not want to become.  Conversely, I could become someone I may not want to become but someone I NEED to become, for better or for worse…