I just received a solicitation from the Palestinian Feminist Collective (PFC) in regards to the violence in Gaza. I share the concern over the horrible conditions & events in Gaza & Israel but I am curious regarding the details & perspectives of such a group. I imagine that there are those in this community who can shed light from many different sides on this issue & I therefore write this diary as an invitation to conversation on the troubled situation in the Levant.
The PFC website has a number of position statements. I did not see any that condemn the acts of Oct. 07, 2023. Does the PFC regard 10/7 as justified violence?
The PFC claims to support the aspirations of LGTBQ+ peoples. How do they respond to the discrimination against such people in Muslim dominated countries s.a. Iran & Saudi Arabia? How do LGTBQ+ people experience life & acceptability in other Muslim majority countries from Morocco to Pakistan & Indonesia? I imagine there is a wide range of experiences but LGTBQ+ people have significant challenges to acceptability in many societies but particularly more traditional ones.
I can accept the perspective that the British abused their power in granting the Zionist movement rights in the Levant. However, that was nearly 100 years ago (~75 since the granting of state status to Israel). Since then, many people immigrated to Israel seeking refuge from bigotry & intolerance elsewhere in the world. While too many of them have promoted their own form of bigotry & intolerance, is there any possibility of the various peoples reaching some sort of accommodation? It seems to me that the Israelis have put forth at least as much & arguably quite a bit more effort to reach accommodation with their neighbors than they have received in return. My understanding is that the Jewish populations of many Arab countries have significantly declined because of intolerance & expulsions — even though those populations were not overtly Zionist. I understand that there are ongoing crimes taking place where Israeli settlers are stealing land w/o compensation. No-one but a religious fanatic would try to justify such behavior. Part of my query is to question the viability of anything other than a two-state solution as the expulsion of 10 million Israelis would be a humanitarian tragedy that is arguably worse than what has already taken place. Furthermore, I have also been led to believe that the Arab countries that have hosted many Palestinian refugees have tended to exacerbate their refugee status rather than provide any accommodation to facilitate assimilation into their population for those who would so choose.
I can understand that feminism & respect for women’s rights & choices can cover a wide range of experiences. This can include the acceptance & enjoyment of more traditional feminine roles — SO LONG AS IT IS FREELY CHOSEN! I advocate for freedom of choice which can include freedom from intolerance in all of its forms, including intolerance & judgement against women who prefer a traditional role of focusing on family over (or even in place of) career. Once again — so long as it is not externally imposed. Now I want to suggest that individuals have the ability to freely choose & are not just victims of cultural programming. Certainly, such programming exists but rebelliousness against such programming is just another form of programming. True freedom is not so simple & probably much too deep an issue to include in this diary. For the sake of argument, let us assume that people make choices based on what they desire & not based on programming.
I suppose come from a traditional old school liberal perspective. Raised by a Jewish family but not of Jewish faith but neither would I call myself secular. I believe in something that could pass for “God”& I believe that all sincerely religious people are striving in the same direction. I am very libertarian regarding personal behavior but economically, I support a government that allows for the rewards of industriousness & ambition so long as it comes from providing services without abusing labor or the consumer. I want a government that provides a check on the abuses of the powerful — including such people within government.
Once again, I seek a civil conversation about one of the most difficult political questions of the modern age. Many people have suffered great harm over the years in this conflict but at a certain point, we must tire of constantly seeking to take an eye for an eye until everyone is blind. I am hoping that this community can engage in such with respect & without vitriol.