How Do You Spell ‘Flotilla”? by Anat Baruch
So the last few weeks were pretty difficult with all that was going on in Israel, in the media and in the community. What started as a local incident was in seconds translated into a world issue. The media had a huge part in this play as the director, the “peace activists” and the “Islamic terrorists” were the producers, and all of us were jumping from being part of the audience to part of the play and the other way around - some more and some less.
Somewhere in between reading the news and the articles the title: “How do you spell flotilla?” caught my eyes. The article was not the issue, but the decision to call it this is what caused me and probably many others to click and read.
A lot has been said the last few weeks about Israel and the conflict in the Middle East, but not enough about the media, and the place of the journalists in moulding our views. The vision and sounds make the media one of the most influential methods of evaluating public opinion. In a few short days “flotilla” - a word very few previously knew - became as well known as “no worries”. This was, to me, a demonstration of how words are used to control the mind.
There are huge differences between “maritime blockade” and “siege”, between an “attack” and “taking control”, “occupation of Gaza” and “armed conflict”, “terrorist group” and “the Hamas elected government”, as well as “Freedom Flotilla” as opposed to “humanitarian convoy”. We could see the different journalists views, depending on their use of the political language. The unfairness of not pointing this out to an unknowing audience was frustrating. Just like I was attracted to this article’s title, the media chose headlines that would be sexy enough to attract and increase their ratings.
I encourage critical thinking; that is my educational goal. “When we stop to criticize, we stop to think”, someone smarter than me once said. And whatever we read or hear, we should ask: who is writing and where does he/she come from? Who am I and where do I come from? And even more important: What isn’t written in whatever I’m reading?
But can we really ignore the mainstream, the vibe or the energy around us? Could people that were part of the crusades or the Nazi regime really think differently than others? Our highest level of governance is democracy so could the majority be so wrong? And who is the majority? Is it the anti-Israel world? Or the pro-Israel “die-hard” Zionists?
In discussions with the older members of the community, I found different voices, opinions and a strong sense of identity. In discussions with the younger generation, I found mainly confusion. “I feel like I’m at the stage when you realise that your parents aren’t right all the time and you can’t ignore the fact that they’re prejudiced against Muslims/Christians/bogans, or they drive badly or something,” wrote E. “One point I’m wondering about in this discussion, and in the wider discussion is: which information can we believe?” S asks. He added: “It would be nice to believe that they were terrorists because it would make Israel look a bit better. It would be nice to believe that they weren’t because then the people involved did have genuine intentions for aid. So I can’t even get started on deciding what I think because I just don’t know which information to believe. It’s kind of a problem.”
Ironically I felt lucky in that conversation, because when it comes to the dilemma of how to spell flotilla, and how to understand the specific actions of the soldiers as self defence or thirsty killers on the hunt, I know who I believe. I believe the personal testimonies of the soldiers, as I grew up with the same set of values as they did, and as you did. The IDF is me, my parents, my siblings and my friends. It is not some external organization constantly misunderstood. It is us. Indeed the discussion about the nature of the operation, the decision-making process and the quality of it is a valid argument. Also a constant search to become even better and more moral in all our ways. But I know what the ethical code of our society is and what values we cherish.
And there is another point in all of this. In Israel, there is a very high level of visibility. Not just because we have a democratic state with freedom of the press (which some people don’t know exists), but because the second soldier to slide down the rope is probably your cousin, your neighbour’s cousin, or your uncle’s wife’s second cousin, and if not him than the fourth one. Sooner or later, usually sooner than the press, you will know what happened there.
As for the rest of the world, in the first few days, many people could probably identify with the dilemma, but at the end of the week, with all the information that was around, you could actually find a lot of answers. Then you had to just ask yourself if it backs your personal political point of view or not, and you take it from there. That is true only for the Jewish world and a few others that care; they will go and search, read, ask and learn more. The main audience is not going to look at any more information. They are left with the headline: “Israel’s deadly attack on a peaceful humanitarian aid convoy”. The world is coloured in black and white, and just guess which colour we are?
In light of this discussion, another young leader wrote: “As Amos Oz wisely stated, the ‘definition of a tragedy is the clash between right and right.’ Israel has the right to protect itself, and the people of Gaza have the right to receive much needed aid.” I can only agree - I think every Israeli and Jew can. So where is the problem?
There is an almost invisible, thin, fading line, that separates legitimate criticism and de-legitimisation; crossing it means moving from political objection to Israel’s acts to anti-Zionism, from there easily to anti-Semitism and therefore racism. These past few weeks were an example of how easily this transfer is made all around the world. The problem is not that this line is invisible and not so easily seen, but that our young generation can’t see it.
For most people, Y generation in particular, growing up in this post-modernist world - where there is “no truth” but only “narratives of the truth” - is very difficult. Without a perspective of history and a sense of belonging you can’t be anything but confused. Today, it is urgent that we understand where we come from and where we are headed to. Being part of a nation, a people, a community and a family is needed more than ever.
To stand up against immoral actions, to ask ourselves difficult questions and to fix all that is needed to be fixed in our society and country is very important - that’s Tikun Olam and there is heaps to do. But to sit aside and disaffiliate yourself with Israel and with the Jewish people when that invisible line is crossed is betraying your own values of Tikun Olam.
“So where to go from here? As a Jew, as a Zionist, as an active member of contemporary society. Where to go from here?” asks L, in order to solve her and our genuine dilemma. I would like to propose a solution:
In the early days of the Hebrew Yishuv in Israel, Ben Gurion and the Zionist movement faced a dilemma. World War II broke out, and to stand by the Jewish people and save them meant to support the British government in their war against Germany and to join the British forces. Yet the British Mandate was the “enemy”. They initiated the White Paper that restricted Jewish immigration and the rights of Jews to buy land in Palestine. Ben Gurion’s solution was: “We shall fight the war as if there was no White Paper, and the White Paper, as if there was no war.” Tens of thousands of Jews volunteered in the British forces (including my grandfather Yitzhak), while immigration continued - in defiance of the White Paper.
And therefore I suggest: let’s criticize Israel and strive for it to become the place we want and think it should be, as if there is no anti-Semitism and existential threat; and let’s fight the de-legitimisation and the demonising of Israel by different people and states as if it is our most important battle to focus on.
“Recognise that loving Israel isn’t always easy, just like loving a family member or friend isn’t always easy,” says the leader Y. “You’re not always proud of what they do and sometimes feel humiliated by how they ‘brought shame on the family.”
Indeed, to be affiliated with Israel is not easy. So let’s choose to love her, help her grow, criticize her and teach her right and wrong, and at the same time defend and support her and don’t let anything bad happen to her, as she is our only child.
