Thursday, October 07, 2010

So, What Did Daniel Levy Say? Or Mean To Say?

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I have read Daniel Levy's quoted words several times and I just am not 100% sure that the interpretation of them, that he himself considers that creation of the state of Israel as a wrong, is correct.  Daniel Halper there thinks:

Translation for this: The founding of the Jewish state in the land of Israel was unjust. Quite plainly, there is no other way to read this bit.

The key lines are:

...we’re going to live next door to each other or in a one state disposition. And that means wrapping one’s head around the humanity of both sides. I believe the way Jewish history was in 1948 excused – for me, it was good enough for me – an act that was wrong. I don’t expect Palestinians to think that. I have no reason – there’s no reason a Palestinian should think there was justice in the creation of Israel.

Since they were spoken, it's hard to "hear" now the inflection and cadence.

Levy does say there:

it was good enough for me

which I think could refer to the need for the war.

It could be that what was intended to be said was, more or less, this:

I believe the way many Israelis excused or ignored the reality of Jewish history in 1948 when, true, Arabs unfortunately attacked the Jewish community in Palestine, but when Israelis subsequently basically rejected Arab claims of harsh behavior towards them during that war, – which was for me, though, good enough so that the State of Israel was created and the war for its independence was ultimately necessary even though it did provide an excuse for denying the Arabs a state – that denial of what was done to the Arabs was a wrong act.

Do I thyink that Levy is any less a self-loathing Zionist who supports, through his acts, the weakening of the state and the lessening of the security of its citizens?

No.

Nevertheless, I think my deconstruction of his words is as valid as any, until Levy owns up, one way of the other.

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1 comment:

Lynn B. said...

Thank you, Mr. Medad. FWIW, I totally agree. On all counts.