A Brief History of Documents edited and translated by Lynn Hunt
this book was a list of a bunch of documents that were written or circulated circa the time of the French Revolution (1789) and the upheaval of government and social chaos that followed in the 1790's in France.
jews were considered non-citizens in France, as well as many other nations at this time period. the jews lived in segregated communites, often speaking hebrew and were not forced to abide by many laws of the land. they were denied ownership of capital (property) and this basically forced them into dealing with money for their own survival.
thus the jews started practicing usury (money loaning at high interest) and created the foundations of many banks.
one of the arguments that jewish people used when justifying the creation of israel (and the uncompensated, immediate removal of the palestinians from their homeland) was that people without a nation cease to exist in history. this is exactly the fate that was transferred to the palestinians.
this could go anywhere... any thoughts on banks, the palestinian Crisis, social movements etc?
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The bank thing is interesting because the Knights Templar also were bankers before their order was destroyed. It seems that bankers never seem to lose their reputation as greedy, secretive, and evil, right up to today's financial mess.
ReplyDeleteIn regards to the Palestinians, they are one of thousands of ethnic groups wanting their own country. The Palestinians, Kurds, Castilians, Chechens, and many others all have strong independence movements and some of their people are willing to commit violence against civilians to get what they want. This is not a new phenomenon by any means, as the Visigoths rose up against the Romans, the Scotts against the English, the Mayans against Mexico, etc.
The problem is that just giving the group its own government does not solve the problem. The Visigoths sacked Rome, destroying the empire. Scotland and England warred for centuries before both became part of the United Kingdom. And the Mayans were beaten so badly that their defeat is still celebrated every year as Cinco de Mayo.
It seems that economic integration may be the best option in almost all cases, as we are seeing in Europe with the European Union. One of the main goals of the EU was to make the countries so interdependent that any war would completely destabilize both economies, thus making war an inconceivable option.
While there are ethnic Palestinians who are full Israeli citizens, both sides have shown political integration is not feasible. But perhaps with the help of its neighbors, a Palestinian state could get its economy up to a comparable level with Israel, and if trade was allowed between them, they might finally decide they have too much at stake to risk a war.
well, thanks for responding first kebis.
ReplyDeletein regards the the palestinians: they had their own country in Palestine until 1947 when the Jews essentially stole their nation with western backing. Palestinians were forced to leave their homes, without any kind of compensation forced to emmigrate to the surrounding muslim nations, which didn't want them either. Jewish policy during this time period was to establish a Jewish nation and prevent the palestinians from returning. being removed from their homes with no way to return and no more than what they could carry with them in their hands, it seems more than likely that they would fight for "their homeland."
a common jewish slogan at this time was "a land without a people for a people without a land." the only problem with that slogan is that there was a people on this land already: the palestinians. This was one of many types of propaganda used to justify the establishment of a Jewish nation in Palestine, to vindicate the Jews from having guilty for uneasy feelings toward ousting an entire peoples from their home.
however growing up in a western civilization that strongly supports the state of Israel, we grow up with feelings of animosity toward the Palestinians because they are the enemies of the "innocent jews." these feelings are amplified again by growing up in christian households (like myself) who are taught that the enemies of "God's Chosen People" are the enemy of God and should thus be association must be the enemies of us.
While the palestinians are not an innocent people, i would not dare such a claim, but had they not been given the boot by the Jews in the forties, it is likely that there would be a lot less conflict occuring in the middle east even to today.