Alan, I should have qualified my words with this: the hysteria I perceive is here, in the U.S., and most particularly in pronouncements on the order of "calls for ceasefire" being irreparably naive at best, and more likely a form of betrayal. In the "political opinion" media denying all complexity to the situation, branding anyone who suggests that Gaza is an open air prison (and this was always a metaphor) or that Israel bears responsibility for its situation as somehow complicit with Hamas, because they do not accept the hard line rhetoric. This is what war does, denying all nuance, shutting down differing points of view, quashing the imagination.
In Israel, from what little I understand from friends who have lived there or still live there, there is no disentangling of all the emotions or rationales. People adapt, and that perhaps is tragic, that we adapt. I have for years been a member of J-Street, and imagine the mix of reporting from them offers a window into the difficulties that those who earnestly pursue peace must experience. I acknowledge the anguish of my friends, and indeed of everyone caught up in this seemingly endless conflict. stay well, Paul On Wed, Oct 11, 2023 at 11:35 PM Alan Sondheim via NetBehaviour < netbehaviour@lists.netbehaviour.org> wrote: > Hi Paul, > > Ironically, I subscribe to the Nation. The difference I think, which I > emphasize (although I'm not writing a theoretical discourse, I don't have > one), is that 9/11 was a clarity, almost a clarification; the current > situation in Gaza/Hamas/Israel is much messier, a history which bleeds, > which has never been containable (when I was in Israel in 1960 or so, our > boat on the Galil was shot at by Syrians from a distance which rendered the > shooting useless), which is blurred and potentially violent (elsewhere I've > written about an Arab friend of ours in 1962 or 63, when he took us to > Nazareth as a kindness, and disappeared in a violent situation) -- this > 'pumping up beyond hysteria' in a sense I think is almost the opposite, > something that was simmering for decades, that was always already > incontrovertible, that portends/ed inconceivable tragedy, and so forth. I > saw this, had a letter published in the Jerusalem Post at that time about > this.. I never felt anything about the hysteria, it was always or never > pumped up, it was always already there (I was living in the Hebrew > University dorms, my roommate was an Israeli spy, when something occurred - > a house being blown up in the distance, I asked him what was going on, he > said Where, I pointed to the house in question, he said Where, there's > nothing there, and so forth, and in a dark sense what's occurring now > almost has to have occurred, it was always there (as far as I could tell, > as far as I can tell)). The cutting off of essentials in Gaza is horrible, > the massacres are horrible, the rockets are horrible, the hatreds have been > increasing - Netanyahu/Trump, Netanyahu and anyone, his continuing > provocations (re for example El Aksa Mosque), I have always expected > better. Fwiw, my mother was VP of International Hadassah and made > diplomatic trips to Russia, to Egypt, all through Israel, arguing for peace > all the way back (met with Sadat's wife, Israeli Prime Ministers I believe > as well, Refusniks, etc., I have her documents here), and nothing came of > it. Hatred is everywhere and everyone is reaping the results. The liberal > Judaism in NYC for example, seemed to have disappeared when I lived there; > Brooklyn Jews were migrating to Israel, the Ultra-Orthodox, I could go on > but - anyway I feel hopeless about the situation, this was always ready to > explode and explode it has, and it's inconceivably tragic for everyone, as > I said above, the fury a long time coming... My god (not literally), > Netanyahu and the far Israeli right, a marriage made in hell, dragging > everything down with it, fertile ground for Hamas... I have no answers, I > see no answers (a highschool friend of mine btw is a career diplomat who > has been dealing with the situation for real, not like my bull), what's > happening in a way is a 'pure or impure occurrence' that will play out. and > out and out in violence and brutality beyond exhaustion. Apologies for the > length of the reply, and I may well be wrong here of course, or on the > wrong track. - I'm far too distraught over all of this, the Nation > notwithstanding - > > Best, Alan > > On Wed, Oct 11, 2023 at 10:14 PM Paul Hertz via NetBehaviour < > netbehaviour@lists.netbehaviour.org> wrote: > >> Reading your text on NetBehaviour ++ wondering at 'absolute terror on >> both sides' yes but also the locking out of consideration that it could be >> otherwise, the contrasting of opinions theirs and ours, supposedly, pumped >> up beyond hysteria. Remembering what a calamity the reaction to the attack >> on the WTC brought. >> >> https://www.thenation.com/article/world/israel-us-911-lessons/ >> >> >> >> On Wed, Oct 11, 2023, 5:35 PM Alan Sondheim via NetBehaviour < >> netbehaviour@lists.netbehaviour.org> wrote: >> >>> >>> >>> Attestation: Thinking the Period of Inser(r)sections >>> >>> mung: http://www.alansondheim.org/mung.jpg >>> >>> I'm sitting here wondering whether this is This were a moment to >>> take or to pause and to look at what's going on around us I >>> wonder how far we would get and thinking through what is >>> occurring elsewhere in the world and who's at fault going to >>> take or not. Take it doesn't seem it's going to take it all. It >>> doesn't look like voice. does seem to take into And how does one >>> assign fault how can fault be assigned when what is occurring is >>> absolute terror absolute annihilation on all sides . It is not a >>> question at this point about who is to blame, it is a question >>> of what can be done so that people can live in peace everywhere >>> at least for a little bit of the time we have left. account >>> everything that I'm writing and how I'm writing. It period when >>> I'm worried about is the way that I am having gaps. Excuse me, >>> excuse me, excuse me, excuse me. Excuse me, the way I'm having >>> gaps in the day that I cannot account for period The gap was >>> usually just a few seconds or a minute. But I'm wondering if >>> this has to do with the decay of plaques I am a selfish person, >>> I am an inconceivably selfish person I don't know how to respond >>> and I want to do something that would make a difference. But all >>> I can do is defer that making a difference. Going back to some >>> antiquated version of deconstruction that no longer holds >>> anywhere at all. or the presence of plax in my brain, which is >>> something that has never occurred before, but might be the >>> result of COVID period. I'm searching for answers and I have a >>> great deal of fear period part of this is due to the conflict >>> now going on It's no longer what can be done or what is there to >>> do but it is what can be transmitted and what can be received. >>> How we can transmit or receive anything in this situation which >>> is occluded by so many violent and the absolute ideologies >>> everywhere. in the Middle East which I cannot get my head >>> around. There are too many elements in it too many things that I >>> believe in too many people that I believe in one way or another >>> and they all are in conflict with each other. Are they or are >>> they not. The mind is attempts to deal with these sorts of >>> contradictions and is falling far short of it period I have >>> friends everywhere, and Violent ideologies everywhere when the >>> temperature is rising across the entire planet when refugees are >>> becoming streams and rivers from one or another country to >>> another country or dispersions everywhere. What can be done when >>> populations are going beyond the carrying capacity of local >>> communities of governments of the world as a whole period what >>> can be done when for example annihilation is always already to >>> the limit. this kind of thing is destructive period it doesn't >>> take much for the mind to destroy the mind period. I wonder if >>> I'm lying to myself. I'm not just forced to alling yet another >>> piece of music or another ragged video tape that I would do >>> period I find my mind is extraordinarily CLEAR in terms of >>> philosophical Questions to the extent that I've ever been able >>> to inhabit those realms PERIOD but now things seem Different >>> PERIOD Now things seem as It's as if nothing can be done not >>> that there is nothing to be done but nothing can be done. We are >>> surrounded by the brackets in our lives that we ourselves have >>> created. We are surrounded by occlusions by travesties by >>> railroad tracks going nowhere. We are living in the midst of the >>> debris of that civilization which we alone have created we are >>> living in the midst in other words of our own debris it's just >>> that our own debris. if none of that matters anymore period but >>> I do know it matters period I know I'll go on period I will go >>> on by Golly. I will go on period I will go on forever period!!! >>> I will sign out now leave you with the ruins. The ruins of >>> our culture and what can be said and what can't be said. What >>> can be said is what I said decades and decades ago and I attest >>> to now ;: annihilation to the limit. That is what there is >>> that's what can be said until the limit is reached and we are >>> already surpassing our own expectations in that regard. Thank >>> you period. Tap to Pause. Subjunctive. >>> >>> __ >>> >>> _______________________________________________ >>> NetBehaviour mailing list >>> NetBehaviour@lists.netbehaviour.org >>> https://lists.netbehaviour.org/mailman/listinfo/netbehaviour >>> >> _______________________________________________ >> NetBehaviour mailing list >> NetBehaviour@lists.netbehaviour.org >> https://lists.netbehaviour.org/mailman/listinfo/netbehaviour >> > > > -- > *=====================================================* > > *directory http://www.alansondheim.org <http://www.alansondheim.org> tel > 347-383-8552**email sondheim ut panix.com <http://panix.com>, sondheim ut > gmail.com <http://gmail.com>* > *=====================================================* > _______________________________________________ > NetBehaviour mailing list > NetBehaviour@lists.netbehaviour.org > https://lists.netbehaviour.org/mailman/listinfo/netbehaviour > -- ----- |(*,+,#,=)(#,=,*,+)(=,#,+,*)(+,*,=,#)| --- http://paulhertz.net/
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