ars-et-saliva

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DER SPIEGEL no. 48,  23-11-25

Concerns: Only despair can save us
by Natan Sznaider

Letter to the author

Dear Mr. Sznaider,

you write: "The selfless universalism that has emerged in the West over the
past decades as the political rationality does not exist for Israelis..."
In my view, this is the central sticking point in the Middle East conflict .

Neither the Israelis nor the Palestinians are obviously in a position to process
this knowledge and accept the consequences. No party disengages itself from
its outdated enemy stereotypes and prepares for a peaceful and prosperous
coexistence with its neighbors in order to stabilize the region and to demon-
strate the decisive degree of insight and willingness to cope.

For almost 80 years now, a spiral of time has been turning at this point on the
globe, which, at certain intervals, always leads to the same conditions: confron-
tation with massive violence and counter-violence, followed by "recovery" with
reconstruction and awkward "negotiations", with the authors of the whole thing
vaguely offering themselves as mediators and supporters, without being able/
willing to enforce anything on either side.
(The UN as successor to the League of Nations and the UK as former mandate
holder).

Of course, the reasons for the predominantly northern and eastern european
jewish immigrants who had been asked, lured there, to make their own state
out of their allotted living space are easy to understand. Given their painful
history, they were inclined to form a Jewish-dominated state. But to do so with-
out asking the people who had lived there for centuries for permission is already
the first stumbling block to making themselves unpopular.

The League of Nations and Great Britain as initiators for the creation of an act
contrary to international law offered land in a pompous postcolonial manner
that did not belong to them at all. This remains a monstrosity to this day as a
powerful factor in the spiraling dynamics of time.

Finally a decisive intervention from outside is necessary because after almost
80 years of completely futile fighting, the two adversaries are incapable of pull-
ing themselves out of this quagmire.

The Palestinians have known for decades that Israel uses brutal armed vio-
lence against the Palestinian attempts to attack. And the Israelis know that
despite this grueling counter-violence, the Palestinians will at some point
send their rockets towards Israel again. And both parties justify their actions
with the same argument: We are defending our land and our rights.

The question is, how long will the world continue to watch this spectacle
without  finally intervene and put an end to this nonsense, which with in-
creasing brutality ultimately only leads to deaths and injuries and destruc-
tion and annihilation and above all hate? On both sides, without even one
would benefit from it.

If at least Israel were prepared to send a strong humanitarian signal. Israel, the
most powerful state in the Middle East, which could really afford it and whose
image would finally benefit internationally, then there would be at least a hint
of hope for peace and equality.

Unfortunately, Israel has again thought too short. What a signal it would have
been if the civilian population of Gaza would have been offered the opportunity
to come to nearby Israel before the military operations began, in order to be at
a safe distance from the deadly struggle against Hamas, the uncoordinated
flight towards Sinai, the hunger, the thirst... to escape.
Missed. What a pity.

But one more argument in favor of these two peoples - like Germany after
WW2 - :  demilitarization and military administration until they understand that
they have to learn how to live in a democratically governed community in order
to be able to develop without danger from their neighbors.
In our globalized world, ethnocracies can no longer be advocated in the current
situation (climate change).

At the end you write as a conclusion from the Hamas attack on October 7:
"...but nothing but despair can save us." I'm not sure about that.
Despair is an exceptional psychical state that is difficult to handle. In order to
steer towards a positive development, you need a clear mind that is not bur-
dened by emotions. Despair is a feeling of powerlessness and is found at the
frustrating end of all efforts and attempts to bring about a turnaround.

From my point of view as an outsider: You have reached a dead end. (Which
you can only leave by trying to change the direction.)

-    So, go back, leave the lane at the next junction or the one after that.
-    Keep an eye out for overlooked facts and missed opportunities.
-    Organize new perceptions and old experiences according to usefulness
     and unsuitability.
-    Try to critically look at your previous behavior and decisions and look for
     opportunities in all areas to act differently, more future-oriented, more
     smoother, more accommodating and more generous according to your
     strength, and try to win the opponents as competitors on an equal footing
     and not to belittle them as enemies.

The order of the day should therefore be:
Have the courage to set out in search of a new horizon!
Start with the question: What have we not yet tried to win the palestine
population over to our side?

With kind regards

David Eiser

© dpe
Nov. 23


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