There's an old movie that has a scene depicting the Arab army sitting in a town hall in Damascus. They had gotten there ahead of the British, who they knew would replace the Turks as their lords, but with much more ambiguous titles. This was their chance to win independence.ÿ It should have been a victory, but it looked like men on the brink of civil war. Chaos was unfolding. In trying to understand the issue of Palestine, I feel like the Englishman in that scene, tired and frustrated.ÿ
Lawrence of Arabia is one of my favorite movies, and I often look to it for inspiration. Like a twelve-year-old girl with her first boyfriend, I'll take whatever chance I can get to mention it. It is partly the story of a man who loved peace, and desperately wanted to give it to a group of people. I think some of us in the West, and Israel as well; have become intoxicated with this idea. We want to see a sovereign and democratic Palestine, and know that we have a hand in helping it.ÿ
Many may question our motives, but at the end of the day, those motives mean nothing if the aim is achieved. Through all of my efforts to wrap my brain around this place, this people, this war of passions, I can't help but feel just as hopeless as they do. Perhaps the illusion of the "us versus them" mentality is beginning to fade as Israel's absence in the Gaza strip is realized.ÿ
The most telling event may have been when Hamas, launched rockets across the border into southern Israel on September 24th. The Washington Post reports Hamas' claim that the rockets were launched in response to an Israeli attack, however, what is more likely is that the perceived attack was an accidental explosion of home made Palestinian weapons. I always look for the metaphorical in things, and this one was staring me right in the face. Human nature is a tricky thing. It prompts us to believe that the real problems are never within us but are outside of us. When our own explosions go off, we continue to attack the outside.ÿ
The Gaza pullout was a step forward that required sacrifices on both sides.ÿ I believe that if sacrifices continue, a kind of peace may be achieved. The blood that's been spilt in those sands can never return to the body, but perhaps if we give the dead to the sand as well, it will dry and cease to haunt the living.ÿ
Christa Blackmon is a sophomore in the School of International Service, and a member of the AU Foreign Policy Association. She is not speaking on behalf of the group, but is only expressing her personal opinion.
