Scribe, ut possis cum voles dicere: dices cum velle debebis (Pl. Ep. 6.29)

Saturday, July 16, 2005

Didn't Make Me Cry - The Politics Around the Destruction of Gush-Katif Greenhouses

Not that Disengagement makes sense in the first place, but this is going way too far now:

It is agreed that Israel will destroy all the houses, because they are too good for the Palestinians. It will be terrible enough, and in a certain way, even worse than expelling the people. Actual villages - with names, local councils, points on the map - will be erased as if they never existed. I would even prefer if they were settled by Palestinians who would change their names into something Arabic, but no, they will be simply bulldozed. And that is something about which everyone agrees that it is good. The problem apparently lies with the greenhouses. The greenhouses in Gush-Katif are unanimously considered an outstanding agricultural and economical success. They constitute over 15% of Israeli agriculture and provide jobs to about 5000 Gaza Arabs. I've been there, i've seen them - they are smiling and satisfied with their work. Israel doesn't want to destroy them, so that all the scientific agricultural advances won't be totally lost (that's good thinking); so Israel wants to sell the greenhouses to a European country, so that that European country will then give them to PA for free, because PA won't accept them directly from Israel.

It is crazy, of course, but it is still better than destroying them - I hate destruction of good things. Israel even wants to help PA sell the produce to Israel. That is weird too, because that produce is sold in Israel every day so why is help needed to just go on with doing it? But OK, it is still not so bad, just very stupid.

The really sad and weird thing is that Europeans don't want to buy the greenhouses because they are on occupied territory. It won't be legitimate, they say. They know that they are economically important to Palestinians who can work there, but it is not legitimate. It is so fucking stupid. It's like the Lebanese television, that broadcasts the European song contest and doesn't show the Israeli song. It's like the Iranian Olympic wrestler that gained weight so that he won't have to fight an Israeli wrestler, because Israel doesn't really exists. So, Europeans won't touch anything on occupied territory. It's not legitimate. They don't want any trouble with lawyers, i guess. Crap, they just hate Jews.

I am imagining a Gush-Katif settler, not necessarily religious, who, ignoring the Disengagement plan, planted dill / tomatoes / coriander / flowers in his greenhouse. The day the bulldozers come, he enters the greenhouse, waters them for them last time, then spills petrol all around and waits for the expulsion squad with a cigarette lighter. What will he be? Will he enter the history books - if at all - as a hero, a coward or a nut? Should i feel sorry for him? Will there be people who will consider his deed heroic? Will a street in Efrat or an outpost in Samaria be named after him? And if his suicide draws enough public attention to stop or postpone the expulsion - then what am i to think about him? That his terrible death was good??

I tried to write it coherently, but i can't - it just doesn't make any sense.

I'm sorry to admit that Daniel is right - this country has no chance.

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