A marriage proposal: peace and prosperity for Jews and Palestinians

By MARC L. WEINBERG

I’m a Jewish-American born in Cleveland, Ohio, three years after WWII. While my family was secular, there was no escaping that we were Jewish. Living in a mostly Jewish neighborhood reflected the reality that we were “others.”

Growing up, I learned about Judaism’s core humanistic tenets and history, good and bad. History seemed irrelevant.

In 1960, I read “Exodus” by Leon Uris. It rocked my world. I learned about the Holocaust and Israel’s birth, and I became afraid of “the Goyim.”

I couldn’t understand the Holocaust, so I had to learn more. I earned a history degree, focusing on Russia/USSR and Germany, layering objective facts on an unforgettable mountain of shoes and eyeglasses.

Yet, I felt relatively safe. I was American, guarded by a Constitution, the rule of law, and a strong, pluralistic society. I found solace in Israel’s existence. Even if the “unthinkable” happened in the USA, Israel always would be there.

The “unthinkable” has become more thinkable with the rise of Trumpism, which meets every feature of fascism.

The parallels are striking. Look at the Big Lie, the collapse of truth and facts, and blaming Muslims, Blacks, Hispanics, and Jews for America’s ills. Nazis brazenly walk America’s streets and antisemitic tropes slink through the internet. Remember the Tree of Life Synagogue massacre?

Oct. 7 shook me awake. Hamas’s actions were so horrific, they harkened to the Holocaust and early 20th-century pogroms in Russia from which my family escaped. “Never again” rang in my mind. I was shocked, furious, helpless and hopeless.

When I spoke with several non-Jewish friends about the conflict, we agreed that Hamas’s actions were despicable and that innocent civilians never should be targeted in war. One much younger friend, however, brought up the horrid hospital bombing and assumed Israelis did it, citing previous Israeli war crimes.

At that moment, everything became clear.

Even well-meaning people harbor prejudices that lurk quietly under the surface, fed by lack of knowledge, misinformation, and longstanding attitudes. It’s like “white privilege.”

In general, no white parent in America fears for her kids’ lives when they’re outside their homes. Until recently, no Jewish parent reasonably could fear for their kids’ and their own lives in America.

The situation is frightening. People protest Israel’s actions and support the Palestinian cause. Israel loses support each day.

Jews and Muslims are being attacked. The unthinkable becomes more thinkable every day.

I despair for Palestinians ignored, mistreated, and trampled for decades. I despair for my people who suffered so much for so long. I despair for the wounded, dead, and missing. I despair seeing Israel do what we did in Iraq — except Israel is justified to defend itself while the Iraq War was based on lies.

I still hope. Twenty years ago, my late doctor and close friend’s daughter got married. She was living in Israel and active in the peace movement.

She met a Palestinian man and fell in love. His family came to their wedding in the USA.

The service honored both cultures. The food was unbelievable. We danced and embraced. We reveled in our shared humanity in Arabic and English.

Imagine we’re in 1948 and the Arab countries around the new Jewish state honored the UN’s resolution creating a “twostate solution.” This agony would have been avoided. The promise of peace has been scuttled repeatedly, mostly by Arabs and, more recently, Israelis. There’s fault to go around.

But this tragedy must end. Israel, since birth, has been in an impossible position.

I heard someone say that if Russia stopped its aggression against Ukraine, the nations would survive and its peoples would live in peace. If Ukraine, however, failed to defend itself, it would die, along with its culture and people. Notice the similarity?

I hope today’s horror and hatred give way to a comprehensive effort to address this long-festering wound. Courageous world leaders must end this conflict expeditiously, then focus on that two-state solution.

It won’t be easy. The crazies on both sides must go. Netanyahu and his ultra-right-wing government must be removed.

Netanyahu has almost singlehandedly destroyed Israel’s democracy and security. He’s done no favors for Israelis and Jews in the diaspora, as well as Palestinians.

Enough is enough. Israel’s right to exist without fear must be guaranteed in a comprehensive peace agreement, with all parties “burying the hatchet.” In return, Israel’s illegal settlements under international law must return to their previous inhabitants. To (See WEINBERG D2)

(WEINBERG from D1) ensure peace, Israel must return to its 1948 borders.

Only then will the world’s Jews have that “safe place” the UN envisioned after WWII. Palestinians no longer will be pawns in this horror show.

Refugee camps would be emptied, and Palestinians would have a right to self-determination and international respect. Perhaps surrounding Arab states would cede some territory to the new state — to offset decades of mistreating and ignoring Palestinians’ plight.

That’s my dream. It should be yours, too.

The world will rejoice when Jews and Palestinians live in peace and prosperity, as they were meant to be.

Every Jew and Muslim are soulmates. They share prophets, beliefs, and practices. It’s time for a serious marriage proposal.

Editor’s note: Marc L. Weinberg lives in Frederick.